Interview with Giselle Renarde

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m a Canadian city-dweller, but I would love to live in a forest bordering on a lake. Water is incredibly soothing. One day I’ll be a crazy cat lady, but I only have two kitties so far. My education is in communication theory, with special interest in sexuality and gender studies. I do volunteer work to help improve the lives of women and women-led families, but it’s a drop in the ocean. I want to do more for my community.

What do you write?

I write erotica. Straight, gay, lesbian, group... Actually, my story The Birthday Gift (Dark Eden Press) encompasses all of the above.


Why do you write?

Writing and art have been my primary creative outlets since I was very young. Just the other week, my mother showed me a box she kept of the little French books I wrote and illustrated in grade school. They’re too cute!
Now I write because I love to build characters, throw them into situations and see what the end up doing. It’s a weird and wonderful feeling when a story comes through you and not from you.

What are you writing now?

I’m just finishing up an erotic fairy tale. It’s the darkest work I’ve written to date. Deeply psychological and swimming with symbolism. I just love it!


What kind of clothes do you like to wear?

Depends on where I am. When I’m at home I wear frilly, sexy, feminine clothes. When I leave the house, I dress almost like a boy. Strange, right?


Are you in love? Have you ever been?

I’ve been head over heels for a beautiful man who should have resisted me but couldn’t. Maybe I’ll write a book about it some day.

Do you have a dream lover – and what does he look like?

I swoon for my fellow Canadian, Leonard Cohen. His smoky voice keeps me warm at night. That charmer Cary Grant is up there too. Oh, and I have a huge crush on Professor Snape from Harry Potter.
Ultimately, I’m a sucker for the baldies. I like a highly intelligent older man with an athletic physique and a voice to die for. Patrick Stewart comes to mind…

What kind of comfort food do you like best?

Any combination of cheese and chocolate is good. How about chocolate cheesecake? I’m a coffee addict with a tea habit on the side. Throw in some red wine, too. Oh, red wine and kettle chips. Yum yum!


What makes you laugh? Cry?

Storyteller Stuart McLean makes me laugh and cry on his radio show, The Vinyl Café. I’ve seen every episode of The Simpsons about forty times, but when I really want to laugh I’ll watch British comedies like Coupling. Hilarious!
Music makes me cry more than anything else. Particularly the “sail on silver girl” verse of Bridge over Troubled Waters. That gets me every time.

What do you do to amuse yourself when not working?

Everyone who knows me will tell you I’m a reader. There’s a little garden on my balcony that I try to keep alive. I also knit obsessively. Every day, I take my mp3 player for a walk through my local cemetery. It’s so peaceful there. I love to cook and bake as well.


What is it in a man or woman that turns you on? The clean version please!

The sexiest part of a man and a woman is the collarbone. There’s something very sensual about that shadow it creates. And a sharp mind makes anyone attractive, I find.

What do you hate about life?

I hate that we’ve been blessed with this beautiful planet and we seem to be doing everything we can to kill it. I’m a firm believer that every small effort helps, and that we can make a difference.

What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

Oscar Wilde wrote, “something hidden away in my nature, like a treasure in a field, is Humility.” Living a simple and humble life is my greatest challenge, and would be my greatest achievement. When I’ve abandoned conceit, and when my life is devoted to helping others, I’ll be a success.

What are you going to write next?

I have more ideas than I can keep up with. There’s a historical romance percolating in the back of my mind. Foyle’s War has me itching to learn more about the roles women played in WWII.