Because I just can’t get enough of Forbidden Fruit, I’m hosting another stop on the blog tour. đ Rachel O. Esplanade, whom I interviewed last week, is interviewing Allison Wonderland about her story ‘Ungodly Ours’ in Forbidden Fruit.
Rachel O. Esplanade: The influence of organized religion on the characters in your story âUngodly Oursâ in Forbidden Fruit is very strong and spoke to me. Was religion a strong influence on you during your formative years? Are you a religious person yourself?
Allison Wonderland: Not at all. I identify as Jewish, but Iâm essentially non-practicing. The storyâs protagonist, Nadine, is raised in a family of faithful and fecund Fundamentalists. You know the caveat âWrite what you knowâ? Well, for this story, I decided to take a flying leap out of my comfort zone and write what I know nothing about. Which is why I was up at ungodly hours writing âUngodly Ours.â
Rachel O. Esplanade:Â You have had over thirty stories published in a wide range of anthologies over the last number of years. Where do you derive your story ideas from?
Allison Wonderland:Â Divine intervention. Just kidding. You know how you always find things when youâre not actively looking for them? Thatâs how my ideas come to me. Iâll be somewhere – a roller derby, a theme park, a department store – and all of a sudden Iâll think This would be a great setting for a story. I can even be somewhere as seemingly uninspiring as the living room, in front of the television. Thatâs how âUngodly Oursâ came into creation. One of my guilty pleasures is a reality program popular in the States about a copious Christian family that expects every member to be strait-laced, straightforward, and, of course, straight. I started to wonder What if one of this familyâs nearly two-dozen offspring develops feelings for someone of the same sex? Itâs inconceivable. Itâs incomprehensible. Itâs inevitable. So if you join âem, you can beat âem.
Rachel O. Esplanade:Â Of the two lovers in your story, which character did you identify most with, Rebecca or Nadine? Why?
Allison Wonderland:Â Â Nadine, for sure. Sheâs unobtrusive yet unmistakable, subdued but not subservient. She likes to think, rethink, and overthink, and Iâm exactly the same way. In that sense, I did write what I know, and it really enabled me to embrace and embody the character.
Rachel O. Esplanade:Â What drives you to write, to actually sit down and bring a story to fruition?
Allison Wonderland:Â Deadlines. Iâm a procrastinating perfectionist, so I approach writing with a mixture of fright and delight. I love generating ideas and settings and titles for stories, and thereâs nothing more fearful or wonderful than the blank page. Once an idea is ignited, it has to be incited, and thatâs where deadlines come in. Theyâre my fruition ignition, if you will.
Rachel O. Esplanade:Â What is your favorite fruit? If forbidden, would you care to elaborate?
Allison Wonderland:Â Avocado, apricot, and pineapple. Hey, thereâs more than one way to be fruitful and multiply.
Excerpt from ‘Ungoldy Ours’:
âMom and I have something weâd like to discuss with you.â
You snitched, didnât You? I glower at God. I begged You not to tell. I even promised You my firstborn.
I scramble to get my jumbled thoughts in order. I havenât been sinning. I havenât even been rebelling. Iâve just been⊠resisting. Gently, passively, secretly. Submissive in practice, dismissive in theory. When Rebecca comes over, my parents and siblings hold us accountable for our purity, even though they have no idea that thatâs what theyâre doing. Itâs acceptable for girls to show each other physical affection, but Rebecca and I barely brush arms and we absolutely never kiss, not even on the cheek. When we say goodbye, we donât frontal-hug, because that would make our breasts touch. Instead we side-hug, arms around each otherâs shoulders, a perfect imitation of Thing 1 and Thing 2. At all times we are careful and prayerful.
So how did Mom and Dad discover that I am disobedient? Imperfect. Satanic. They will hate the sinner, not the sin. I will be excommunicated, exorcised, and excised from my family like bad words on TV or a filthy passage in a book. Unless I tell them the Godâs honest truth. The truth is Heâs got designs on us, and I donât mean that disrespectfully. I mean we donât get to decide how weâre designed. We only get to decide how to respond to Godâs design, and I choose to respond by accepting the way He created me: in His image. Our Savior is not unsavory. So, by association, I am not guilty. Jesus already died for my sins. Itâs no longer His cross to bear. Just because Iâve fallen for a woman doesnât make me a fallen woman. Itâs not like Iâve bared my body or shared it with some man. I havenât even shared it with her. Mom and Dad have taught me well and I will show them how much their dutiful daughter has learned, so help me God.
Seriously, GodâI need you. So help me. Please.
* * *
The next stop on the Forbidden Fruit blog tour is Erzabet Bishop interviewing Nicole Wolfe
Leave a comment on any post in the Forbidden Fruit blog tour to be entered into a random draw to win one of these great prizes. Prizes include a paperback copy ofGirls Who Score, lesbian sports erotica edited by Ily Goyanes, Best Lesbian Romance 2011 edited by Radclyffe, an ebook of Ladylitâs first lesbian anthology Anything She Wants, and a bundle of three mini-anthologies from Ladylit: Sweat, A Christmas to Remember and Bossy. All of these titles contain some stories written by the fabulous contributors to Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire. You must include an email address in your comment to be entered into the draw.
Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire is available direct from Ladylit or from Amazon, Smashwords, and other good retailers of ebooks. Check out Ladylit for all purchasing information.
EXTRA: We’re currently running a Goodreads giveaway. Enter here to win a paperback copy of Forbidden Fruit >>
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