Muffy, author of erotic, romantic stories about love, sex, hope and passion, was born in San Antonio, Texas, to traditional parents. With two older brothers, she was the youngest, the family "princess," indulged and pampered. She adored her older brothers, following them everywhere and was surrounded by love, stimulation, and pets. Her father was a career Colonel and pilot in the U.S. Air Force which required the family to travel extensively. The family lived in most points between Alaska and France. Muffy spent her formative years in Europe and came of age in France.
Returning from France with her family, Muffy finished high school in Northern California and attended the University of California, Davis, and majored in Business Management. Muffy entered the work force, independent with a fierce work ethic reaching the pinnacle of her success when, at 36, she became the Mid-West Regional Director in the Real Estate and Construction Division for IBM and retired at 39. She and her husband moved to a small Island in northern Wisconsin where they owned a historic tavern, restaurant and resort business which they since have sold. They now live a charmed life by the water in SW Florida. Muffy pretends to be a serious real estate business person but, in real life, indulges her private interest in writing sexy short stories and sensual literotica. ~ Live, Laugh, Love with Passion
Who Is The Mysterious Muffy Wilson?
Although we can't reveal her true identity to you, we can share some insight into her life and her writing.
We asked Muffy if she would be interested in doing an author interview with us here at Rukia Publishing, and she gave us some exclusive information!
Let's Get Started!
Hello Muffy! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this exclusive interview with Rukia Publishing!
Thank you so much for inviting me here today. You know, the longer and more that I do this, it never gets easier to talk about myself. I think writers are inherently private, why I don’t know, because everything we write is revealing in some way. But, I love talking about my books and characters, so I guess, someday, I’ll get used to talking about myself too!
How long have you been a writer and how did you come to writing? In many respects, I have written most of my life. I was in sales and marketing before I retired and I had to write proposals, proformas, presentations and contracts so I had to have some command of the English language. It was only after I started writing provocative romance and erotica that I realized how little command I actually have!! But, I started, in earnest, writing stories and books in 2010. My first story, The Storm, was published in 2010 by Oysters & Chocolate, an online magazine now defunct. The $10 I earned mad me a pro! I hope that isn’t a sign of things to come!
How did you come up with this story? I wrote a very short workshop teaser, The Bath, for a group I am in in which the woman bathing dozes and feels hands on her, soothing her tired muscles and becoming more insistent, erotically. She gives herself over to the sensations and then as she drains the tub thinks she sees a face in the water. It was the beginning of a romance that spans a century about a seafaring man that keeps returning to his home to try to find his beloved, Amalya who died in childbirth. He mistakenly thinks that Emily, now in his home, is she. That is how this all started and these two characters literally swept me away.
What are the best and the worst aspects of writing? As always, the agony of a blank page and the ecstasy of two little words, “The End”. In all fairness, writing is a solitary endeavor, so the loneliness gets to me occasionally, but I have taken to the couch and write beside my husband as he does his crossword puzzles and watches sports. And I have my characters to keep me company.
What inspires you to write? I know writers always say ‘everything’ but for me, that really isn’t true. A melody might, something that happened to me in my life, someone, or something I saw. Once, on the day that JFK was assassinated, my Mother and I were shopping in Paris. My Dad was an Air Force colonel and we were stationed there for three years, but that is a story in and of itself! Anyway, I saw a man strike a woman across the Champs Elysees in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The ‘City of Love’ changed for me forever in that one moment. Things like that inspire me. Politics, for example, do not so everything is not inspiring to me. I suspect, to sum it up, the human condition is fascinating to me; how people treat and react to one another at their best and worst, is inspiring.
How did you conduct your research for –_The Para-Portage of Emily? Humm, I really didn’t. This is another time when much of what I wrote, I lived. The same is true of Moonbeams of Unintended Consequences, although not all, for sure. But, the setting in The Para-Postage of Emily, is on an island between Lake Michigan and Green Bay. For many years, my husband and I lived on an Island in the middle between both of those bodies of water and the ferry had to cross “Death’s Door, so named by the Indians because of the treacherous currents. It is a small 36 square mile island settled by Nordic settlers many generations ago so many of the current residents are related. Small Island, big gossip! Anyway, we lived there for nearly 20 years. That is where this story takes place, in a small part of my heart.
What are 3 of your favorite lines/quotes from The Para-Portage of Emily? Will they face eternity together or love in secret as dark things are to be loved between the shadows and the soul?
Let me be your future, let me be your love. I will cherish you forever or at least until the final star fades to black amidst Eternity.
And the last is in the Epilogue spoken by Colin:
You’ll wake when the sun slices through your window to kiss your cheek so fair, I’ll be there beside you, as I have year after year after year. Our love is locked in passion grown old along with us. Our hearts are woven as one—unbreakable—shored by love and trust. We have faced each day together, even triumphed before we’ve begun. The battles we have faced and fought are battles we have done and won. If we should leave tomorrow, and that tomorrow will surely come, I’ll take with me your sorrow and embrace you warmed by our morning sun. And though we were so far apart, by years and tears so cruel You were always in my heart. I was never meant to miss you. Come with me, Amalya.
What would your friends say is your best quality? I am a good friend, I think they would say. I hope they would anyway. I try to be helpful and supportive. It is so hard to be a writer today. There are 55,000 new books published monthly. Anyone can write and publish a book. I can be very discouraging for an author to be read and, as you know, promotion is time consuming and exhausting leaving little time to do what you love. I try to do whatever I can to help my friends. I try to be generous with my time and whatever talent I possess that might be useful to them.
Are reader reviews important to you? Reader reviews are very important to me. Positive reinforcement is essential to my life-force. It is like getting all dressed up for a party looking your best, and no one notices if I don’t get reviews. And it is crushing. You know, shameless self-promotion only goes so far, and that’s usually with your family! As in anything, word of mouth is the best form of advertising—and so it goes with books. Oddly enough, while I don’t particularly care for average reviews, they do not bother me. You cannot please everyone and one really never knows a reader’s points of reference. Anyway, I am harder on my work than anyone else could ever be.
What do you do when you don’t write? My husband and I used to boat, but we lost interest when gas prices went so high. We had a 28’ Grady White. Beautiful boat. But we could eat lobster every day for what it cost us to go fishing in the Gulf a few times a month! That takes all the fun out of a hobby. I walk a lot as, like Emily, I have a wee Havanese dog of 12 fluffy pounds and I sew. I am also a licensed realtor, although I have been ‘inactive’ for the last year making a heartfelt effort with my writing. Come to think of it, I have done little else but write in the last year!!
Tell us about your other books? Thank you for asking. I have a new book on pre-order now releasing on Valentine’s Day titled Consenting Heart: A Very Special Valentines. Pre-order here. It includes elements of the day I met my husband but the rest is pure sizzling fiction. Then I am contributing to a real scorcher, Alpha Fever: 22 Sizzling Contemporary and Paranormal Romance Stories. M y story is about a good neighbor and The Butterfly Collector. Pre-order here. It has an interesting backdrop of BDSM. I am not proficient in that genre so it is mild, but still an interesting story I thing about releasing ourselves to the care and trust of another and how we blossom as a result of what we learn about ourselves. The protagonist has a club foot, and yes, I once dated a man with a club foot. As with most disabilities, visible or not, it is our own feelings about it that are the most crippling. My last release was a fund raiser I help with for a friend that suffers from Ataxia, a neurological disorder affecting voluntary coordination of muscle movements. I wrote an inspirational piece about when I was raped and how we can overcome anything, with the right help and desire. This Beautiful Escape Order Here All proceeds go to charity and you’ll learn a little more about me and have loads of inspiring stories, poems, quotes and daily reads to perk you up. I have thirteen or so books/anthologies published now so I can’t talk about each of them, however, I love Moonbeams of Unintended Consequences as one of my favs and also, along with Emily, I am writing a sequel. This is an interracial love story about a famous opera star and a young beautiful designer. And yes, I did ‘know’ a celebrated opera star and the famous San Francisco Whitcomb Hotel does exist. My last release, written with my friend Chrissy Laurence, was in September in the form of Cheerleaders in Heat and that is a real 5 flame eroco-throbber. Fun and funny, but serious, it exposes the underbelly of life in South Miami’s nightlife; there is some violence that alters the course of my heroine’s life. Your readers will be hearing more about those books in the coming months as we delve deeper into my sordid writing and past. In the meantime, they can check out my books and add them to there Wish List on my Amazon Author Page.
If you could share one thing about yourself that you would like readers to know what would it be? I never graduated from college. Most people do not know that about me and just assume I did. While I would never want alter the course of my life, that is my second greatest regret. But, I am happy with how my life has gone; I am wealthy beyond money, I had a great career as a Regional Director with IBM, and my life has been enriched by all those that have touched me and continue to love me. I have a wonderful husband who thinks it is funny I write ‘porn’ and a step-son who thinks I am awesome. Could it get any better than that?
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this exclusive interview with Rukia Publishing! It has been a pleasure speaking with you! Well, I suppose I should say “Good Bye” as I would hate to bore your readers into thinking my books are equally tiresome! They are lovely. Read some of the reviews, speaking of reviews. It has ben an honor to be here with you today. I so appreciate your time and interest in sharing my work with your friends, family and fans. They are all a special lot and I love each and every one of them. Thank you for having me.
"Getting To Know" Muffy Wilson, author of "The Para-Portage of Emily". Previous Interview Submitted by Muffy Wilson
Could you reveal any personal juicy stories about you? Thank you, so much, for opening your cyber-home to me. It is a pleasure to be here with you, my dear friend. Well, I was raised in a military family so there are plenty of stories about men in uniform. Who doesn’t love that?! My father was a USAF Colonel whose work took us to all points from Alaska to France. We moved every two or three years, so I don’t have what most would refer to as a traditional childhood, more like Leave it to Beaver meets the Jetsons. Many of my ‘firsts’ were in France as my formative years developing were north of Paris. So, my first kiss, my first taste of escargot, my first hot dog on a French baguette was at the top of the Eiffel Tower, my first bikini (I was thirteen) was on the French Riviera and I fell in love with a thirty-something lifeguard named Aldo. I thought my father was going straight to an early grave. My mother thought it charming and funny since I wound up looking like a blistered, crying lobster with the worst sunburn ever. No need to worry about Aldo. A few years later, my mother and I were shopping in Paris; it was the day she bought me an alligator handbag, a small one, with a bright red leather interior. I still have it. We were on the Champs Elysees on a corner and everyone was wailing and crying. It was 22 November 1963 and I was 14 years old. It was the day John F Kennedy was assassinated and I witnessed as the world was crushed and Camelot fell. I think I grew up a lot that day. We had to hurry home, 90 miles north. The Base was on lock-down and red alert. It was a day the world stood still yet was fiercely frantic beneath the surface.
You are a mother. Could you tell us about your role as a Mom?
I met my husband in California, on a day that I was none too happy with men. I was thirty-five and working in San Francisco as a Sales Manager for Honeywell and my father had a heart attack in Georgia. I wanted to explore the possibilities of transferring to Georgia to be closer to the first man I ever loved, my dad. “The Silver Fox,” as my boss at the time was fond of being called, made a pass at me and told me ‘why bother, as my dad wasn’t going to live forever?’ I was stunned and profoundly moved by a myriad of feelings. Funny that I should meet the two most important men in my life from that day forward on a day like that - my husband and his youngest son, then 13. It was the greatest gift. We got married three months later and the three of us honeymooned in Niagara Falls. My husband is from Buffalo, NY, and had been married twice before (his first wife died and the second, VJr’s mother ended in divorce when he was just 6). I had never been married, so they were my first. When I was very young, and in college, I fell in love and got pregnant. He was my first, not my first love but my first lover, and for all my worldly experience, I was still pretty naïve - even in the ‘70s. Clearly, there is a whole lot more to this story but suffice it to say that decisions you make in your youth affect one’s entire life. I had an abortion and dropped out of college. The gift of my husband and his son, who fast became my own son, I felt, was God’s way of forgiving me. So, my role as a Mom is one I cherish, given it was my second chance and my redemption. Life has been good to me because of them. He has enriched my life beyond measure.
When did you decide to write? And what genre and style did you prefer when you first started? What style and genre do you prefer to write currently?
I have been in sales and marketing my entire business career. Writing was a necessity and I was good at presenting technical detail. English was always a love and focus of mine throughout my education, but I only wrote proposals, presentations, technical material and project material. In private I wrote poetry as a developing young woman. I really never thought about writing personally’ until I met up with an old school chum, an old boyfriend. It was never a calling to me as it is for some writers. He wrote and it spurred me on. I slipped into the world of Erotica, not by choice or design, but quite by accident…and I loved it. Turns out I was pretty good at it, too, or so people commented. But, my style has changed, developed a lot since then. What I wrote in the beginning was raw and erotic. Now, I like to think I am more of a literoticist in that I write erotic romance. The plot drives the story, the story drives the characters and the erotic romance is really an extension of the developing relationships. I don’t write groin-grinders, although they have a place in our genre.
What genre, books, and authors do you like to read?
I love crime, thrillers, edge-of-your-seat whodunits. I also love period pieces, non-fiction, poetry and autobiographies. When I was very young and we lived in France, there was no television, at least not in English or in our house. The only television available to us was in the local pub. I will never forget seeing Steve McQueen say, “Sur la route”, in French on his Wanted! Dead or Alive series! I believe I giggled until I had cramps! Anyway, I read everything, absolutely everything almost insatiably. I wanted to be a criminologist or a medical examiner. Or a veterinarian. As well an actress and Ella Fitzgerald! It was not until I was in high school that I wanted to become a law enforcement officer—a Homicide Detective! But, I do love to read good literotica. I am not a fan of jump-and-pump but a love story with great, eloquently involved sex is a real page turner for me.
Do you have a person, real or fantasy, you would like to be?
Barbra Streisand. I always wanted to sing. My aunt sang torch songs and played piano in smoke filled supper clubs and piano bars. Isn‘t that romantic, a la Billie Holiday? I always wanted to do that. When I was ten or so, I was a little pudgette and my mother wanted to send be to dance classes; I wanted singing lessons. We settled on a set of bongo drums. Many years later, we were out schmoozing together at a piano bar and I took the mike with My Funny Valentine. Now, I just sounded like me, but she dropped her jaw. It took her four more martini’s to recover. She admitted I should have had singing lessons. We laughed our asses off, but of course, that was the four more martini’s!
You have experienced many adventures in your life and have lots of energy, but what would you like to do if you had any free time?
I would love to learn to play piano, learn Spanish and brush up on my French. But I am enjoying my life now. I work in Real Estate in SW Florida and try to find time to straighten my office. There’s that Virgo nag again.
If you could give authors any tips what would they be?
My Top Ten Writing Tips:
Never start with a prologue or the weather, but start. Don’t worry if your first draft is any good, just start. Write every day, at the same time for the same length of time. Self-disciple is only routine. Start. Write what you would like to read, from your heart. And start. Allow yourself to change your mind. Change is a reflection of inspiration. A new perspective Name your work immediately and give it life, honor, position, credibility, purpose.. Keep notes of anything favorite or interesting: names, titles, phrases, descriptions, music. Each new voice requires a new paragraph. If you must, only use “said”. Anything else wastes ink pretentiously. Be kind to yourself. Your work may not be great or Nobel material, but it is yours. Accept that your voice will change and evolve, but it is still yours. Just start….. Muffy who would you say are your Top Favorite Authors? Virginia Wolfe Pat Conroy C.S. Lewis Kahlil Gibran Stephen King Erica Jong Robert Service Rod McKeun Jack London Tom Clancy James Patterson Nora Ephron Hemingway J.D. Salinger W. Somerset Maugham Sylvia Plath George Eliot Kurt Vonnegut Jack Kerouac Faulkner Richard Price F. Scott Fitzgerald Charles Bukowski Oscar Wilde Dorothy Parker Dylan Thomas Margaret Mitchell Stieg Larsson
Thanks for sharing with us Muffy, it is wonderful to get to know such an amazing person such as yourself! We are looking forward to sitting down with you again real soon for our official Rukia Publishing Interview!
I appreciate the time your fans and readers have spent with me, sharing my life, my family and work, as well as my inspirations and life. It has been a pleasure and an honor. I am looking forward to the next time we meet! ~Laugh, Love with Passion~