Yearn Interview

Yearn

Tales of Lust and Longing.

This new collection of nine sensual, witty and mystical stories mark Tobsha Learner's return to the short story format after the international success of both Quiver and Tremble. Once again she explores the universal experiences of obsession, romantic encounters and secret regrets.

A movie star longs for anonymity; a Sydney sculptor wonders whether a lover can be summoned by the act of artistic creation; a California call-centre worker seeks an online release in Second Life; a London weatherman inspires both obsessive lust and devastating storms; and an eighteenth-century biographer discovers a magic, erotic ritual which will change his life forever ...

In Yearn, the line between reality and imagination is blurred by the power of fantasy and desire.

Tobsha Learner was born and raised in England and now divides her time between London, Sydney and California. She is an acclaimed playwright, best-selling author of historical fiction and short stories and also publishes hugely popular thrillers as T.S. Learner. Her previous books include the short story collections Quiver and Tremble: Sensual Fables of the Mystical and Sinister, and the novels The Witch of Cologne, Soul and Sphinx. The Witch of Cologne is currently in development as a feature film.

Yearn
Harper Collins Australia
Author: Tobsha Learner
ISBN: 9780732291846
Price: $32.99

Interview with Tobsha Learner

Question: What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

Tobsha Learner: The format, it forces you to be both epic and concise, to strike a balance between the psychological, the sexual, and the domestic, you have to create this intense window into your character then hook the reader in and carry her through the same emotional rollercoaster. In my current collection Yearn this varies from the jealousies of an 19th century English aristocratic biographer to a young sculptress living in 21st century Melbourne - from the simple obsession of a woman for a weather man on TV to the magical fantasy of a young student who starts to believe her cat is turning into a beautiful black man and making love to her at night - I like to weave both magical realism in with hard (excuse the pun) fact.


Question: How do you ensure you are in touch with your reader's fantasies?

Tobsha Learner: Fantasies are very individual, but always have a psychological base - sex is just as much about power play, intimacy, and emotion as position. Good erotica combines both - mine is both implicit and has the slow burn of psychological foreplay and often a poignant twist at the end. But on a practical level I do try and keep my ear to the ground, but failing that I often ask my friends (that would be female, male, straight and gay) to share.

Question: What inspires you to write your stories?

Tobsha Learner: The desire to move people, and as a craftswoman and reader I really love the genre. The idea of transporting someone, be it on the bus or a train, for half-an-hour, really taking them out of the mundane and into the wondrous meanderings of a doomed love affair, or the comic but tragic absurdities of an obsession is truly satisfying to me.


Question: Do you draw from your own experiences and desires when writing short stories?

Tobsha Learner: A little, usually memories! (being a happily married woman) but I think my background as playwright helps a lot as I will often start from building a character. Research is good too; I'm blessed as I get to travel a lot so I have a strong understanding of other cultures.


Question: Do you write your stories particularly for women, or both sexes?

Tobsha Learner: Absolutely both! And often the stories will be set equally from both a male and female perspective. I also try to sneak in a little sexy girl on girl or boy on boy when it's appropriate for the story.


Interview by Brooke Hunter