Meet Radclyffe

 

The name Radclyffe started showing up on a few books here and there sent to us for review a while back. The first cause for fascination with this author came in the form of her name; one name, was it a first name or a last name? And, of course the question, “Is she really good enough to warrant using just one name?” like Cher or Madonna. It didn’t take long to answer that question with a resounding, “Yes!”

An award-winning author, and lesbian, Radclyffe’s extraordinary talent for storytelling soon became apparent through the pages of her books, hence this interview, but first a bit of background.

Born in Glens Falls, N.Y., in 1950, Rad, as she is affectionately called by friends and fans alike, has always enjoyed writing having written her first story at the age of nine.

“I first wrote plays and short stories when I was a child,” she said in her website bio, “just for the fun of it and, sometimes to keep myself company. I couldn’t find enough stories that I identified with, particularly stories of adventurous, independent women doing exciting things, so I made up my own. As an adult, I did the same thing with novels. There weren’t many romances involving two women available at that time, and I longed to see our stories told.”

However, when it came time to choose a career path, she didn’t take the literary road, but instead opted for a journey into the field of medicine, more specifically plastic and reconstructive surgery.

In 1999, Rad had her first novel accepted for publication (Safe Harbor) and in 2004, she decided to start her own publishing company, Bold Strokes Books.

Family & Friends: From the dedications in your books, it’s obvious you have a partner, Lee, who’s also listed among the staff of Bold Strokes Books, correct?.

Radclyffe: Correct.

F&F: How did you two meet?

Rad: We met in an online writers’ group in 1998.

F&F: Do either of you have any children?

Rad: Since we both work full-time and then some, and travel fairly frequently, we have no children, but three dogs. The dogs are slightly more portable.

F&F: With such a busy schedule, what do you do in your spare time?

Rad: I like to read and exercise. (she has a black belt in Ju Jitsu and a brown belt in Aikido)

F&F: Do you have any siblings?

Rad: One brother, and he reads all my fiction.

F&F: What’s your favorite color?

Rad: Blue.

F&F: When did you first realize you were gay and how old were you?

Rad: I was a teenager.

F&F: What is your coming out story?

Rad: This one I’ll take a pass on since it has little bearing on my writing.

F&F: Something that does have a bearing on people’s writing is the space in which they create. Describe yours.

Rad: I have a large office, which is my private space, although dog and family members are allowed to visit. Big windows, lots of computer equipment, office paraphernalia, etc. My desk is u-shaped and covers an eight-foot by nine-foot space.

F&F: Do you still practice medicine?

Rad: I have recently retired in May 2005, to publish and write full-time. I was an associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery for 20 years prior to that.

F&F: What made you decide to go into medicine?

Rad: It was the perfect combination of my love for science and my desire to have my work impact others on an individual, personal basis.

F&F: Earlier you mentioned that you like to read. What was the first lesbian romance you read?

Rad: Other than Beebo Brinker, which I would not call a romance,

The Latecomer by Sarah Aldridge.

F&F: Do you have a favorite book or author you enjoy reading?

Rad: This is an incredibly difficult question to answer because my favorites span 30 or 40 years. I’d have to go through every genre to even begin to answer the question.

I’ve read literally everything published by every lesbian press - some writers I enjoy (in no particular order) are Jennifer Fulton, Lauren Maddison, K. Simpson, LJ Maas, Cate Culpepper, Gerri Hill, Kenna White, Karin Kallmaker, JM Redmann, Kate Allen and anything from Tristan Taormino or Nicole Foster. I also think that Nora Roberts is an incredible writer and (I) have learned a great deal from reading her works.

F&F: When and how did you first get published?

Rad: I was first published in 2000, after a publisher approached me about a novel length work I had posted on the Internet on my website. I had eight finished manuscripts at that time and published them rather quickly after that time. I currently write three full-length new works per year.

F&F: Lesbian author Rita Mae Brown once said to be a good writer you had to have a knowledge of Latin. Do you agree?

Rad: I don’t know. I love Latin, which I studied in high school, and German, which I studied in college - which are similar in many ways.

Both give one an understanding of the structure of language, which is essential to good craft.

F&F: Where does the inspiration for your stories come from?

Rad: The plots often stem from current events, but the characters arise from my imagination - and the character interactions are an exploration of those issues I find most interesting in romantic relationships - power, need, passion, sexual expression.

F&F: Are any of the characters in your books autobiographical?

Rad: No.

F&F: Exactly how do you go about writing one of your books?

Rad: I first decide on a very basic plot, ie two women meet under “x” circumstances, are attracted, but have some (several) obstacles to their forming a relationship. Then I concentrate on “who” these women are. Why are they single (if they are), what issues do they have precluding forming an intimate relationship, what’s their history, etc. Then, I start at page one and write until the book is finished. I write every day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

F&F: Why did you decide to start Bold Strokes Books?

Rad: In the last decade I have seen an upsurge in the amount of lesbian fiction being published and a broadening of the types of work being sought by readers and written by “new” authors. This is very exciting to me as a reader and as a passionate follower of the development of lesbian fiction over the years.

I can’t think of a greater contribution to my community than assisting in the production of fiction that provides enjoyment, validation and a positive sense of identity.

I enjoy interacting with other authors in a formative way and I also enjoy the mechanics of book making. Publishing marries all these elements, plus it gives me control over the timing and production of my own work.

F&F: How would you describe yourself personally?

Rad: Organized and focused.

F&F: Is there any one particular book of yours that you’re more attached to than the others?

Rad: Ah, not really – there’s the first, then there’s the one that was the hardest to write, the one that marked a new direction, etc. Each has a particular place in my heart.

F&F: Which was the easiest to write?

Rad: Safe Harbor - because the setting is as much a character in the book as the people and I loved the place.

F&F: Okay. Which was the hardest?

Rad: All of the Justice series - the plots are multi-layered, I’m working with an ensemble cast and I have to balance intrigue and character development. There’s just a lot going on that requires a great deal of integration.

F&F: In addition to the Justice series, there’s the Honor series. How did these come about?

Rad: I think you can be much more experimental in a series because you have the opportunity to take your characters much farther along in their life story. The more I write the same characters, the more I learn about them and the more complex their relationships become.

These two series, because they have an action/procedural plotline, adapt well to the ongoing nature of a series. Fortunately, the characters are also popular, which helps maintain reader interest.

F&F: I’m sure you have quite a few fans. Any of them ever try to get close to you or expect you to be like a certain character in one of your books and find themselves disappointed?

Rad: I don’t know if they’re disappointed. I am definitely not my characters - they are all far more interesting than I.

F&F: I have noticed an obvious lack of particularly “butch” and

“femme” roles in regard to many of your characters. What are your thoughts on the whole butch/femme thing?

Rad: It’s interesting that some readers have commented that they

don’t see my characters as being butch or femme (although I feel I write them that way), and I think this reflects the fact that readers shape the characters in their mind to a form what’s comfortable for them or more in keeping with their own experience. Other people simply look at the characters on the surface and think they typify “butch-femme” roles.

I think my characters definitely lean toward butch-femme polarity, but in many important ways, they diverge. From a physical appearance point of view, the characters often fit the butch and femme models as the terms were initially defined, but psychologically and emotionally, I think each character is a blending of the archetypal characteristics. By that, I mean that those characters who “appear” butch in profession or body build or with androgynous names often are the emotionally more fragile characters. And many of the “femmes” are “tops,” both psychologically and sexually.

I happen to find the physical polarity sexy, which is part of the reason I write the characters the way I do, but I also find that the blending of what were once rigidly segregated emotional characteristics allows for two well-balanced main protagonists. So I think that my characters tend toward butch and femme in almost every book, but subtly.

F&F: How do you define the butch and femme models?

Rad: I think simplistically, butch-femme archetypes can be reduced

to “more masculine” versus “more feminine” behavior. Defining the terms masculine versus feminine is very difficult and changes as gender roles change within society. What was considered butch in

1950, is different than in 2006.

Gender roles encompass physical, emotional and sexual characteristics, and I would define the butch-femme dynamic as some polarity existing within the spectrum of what is recognized as masculine and feminine behavior exhibited by individuals within a relationship. For example, I think we can all agree that to be “butch” means to exhibit some characteristics that one would traditionally term “masculine,” such as short hair, absence of traditionally feminine accoutrements, such as makeup, emotional reticence or reserve and a greater comfort level with active, problem-solving behavior as opposed to empathetic or reactive behavior.

The femme role is often equated with nurturing, supportive, cooperative behavior. Obviously, and I wish to be very clear, these are fluid roles, which are not rigidly defined nor adhered to in today’s social and cultural environment. Nevertheless, some physical, emotional and sexual distinction is often apparent within lesbian couples, and I write the couples in my work that way.

F&F: What advice would you give to someone, both as a writer and as a publisher, who is interested in writing stories with lesbian main characters?

Rad: It helps to be a lesbian, and I’m not being facetious. Not everyone who writes lesbian characters is a lesbian, and I think that the most important aspect of any fictional work is “truth of character.” The characters must be believable in terms of their behavior, experience, reactions, etc. If one is not a lesbian it is very difficult to appreciate what it means to live as a minority and to deal with the social and cultural pressures that result.

Therefore, if one is writing lesbian characters and has not had the experience that those characters would be expected to have, then it’s important to discuss those issues with someone who has. Not every lesbian work needs to be focused on “being a lesbian” and what that means, but the characters themselves must have a lesbian identity sensitive to the issues that lesbians face in the world today.

If that isn’t apparent in the work, then why write lesbian characters

at all?

F&F: Since you’re a romance writer, where’s the most romantic place on the planet?

Rad: Personally, I don’t think romance has anything to do with place.

It has to do with attitude, and fortunately, we can take that with us anywhere we go.

(In case you’re still wondering about that one-name business,

Radclyffe is a nom de plume.)

F&F: Why the nom de plume? Does it have any symbolic significance?

Rad: I first began sharing my writing with others on the Internet, and having a desire to be “lesbian-identified” in a forum where many writers were heterosexual and on occasion, men, I chose a pseudonym with what to me was a telling historical reference.

When I reached the point where I was ready to publish, I had an established following of readers who knew me as Radclyffe. Since I relate very naturally to the name and many people know me primarily as my nom de plume, I have kept it and continue to publish under it.

Thanks again for the opportunity to interface with your readers.

Presently, Radclyffe is working on Promising Hearts, the sequel to her book Innocent Hearts. Promising Hearts is due out this coming

June and will feature the main characters from the previous book, as well as a new romantic pair.

(as published in Family & Friends Magazine, February 2006)