SBD: Jackie Kessler, author of Hell’s Belles

As promised, I have something — someone — special here for Smart Bitches Day: Jackie Kessler, author of Hell’s Belles. Look at her. Oy, so cute.

In Hell’s Belles, you’ll meet Jezebel, a succubus on the lam from Hell. There’s a nubile witch, avenging demons, sex, a Fury, an incubus, more sex, Lucifer, and more!

Hell’s Belles was a trip — one of the few books I’ve enjoyed so much that I read it before work, between patients, at the gym, before sleep, every chance I got. I thank Michelle for the recommendation.

Here we go . . .

DH: You write so convincingly about the predations of the succubi. In lascivious, dripping detail, please tell us all about the research you did in order to write with such authority.

JK: Did you know that succubi are fools for chocolate? Especially Godiva? If you play your cards right, in exchange for lots of chocolate (figure roughly a month’s salary’s worth), they’ll tell you lots of things. Gossipmongers, the lot of them. And the things they do with the chocolate… I’ve, cough, heard that for the right price, they’ll show you a trick or two. But of course I’d never go there. (So what that I know the difference between a ball stretcher and a ball spreader? I knew about that before I started researching the succubi. I did, I swear…)

Oh, wait — you were serious?

I researched demons the old-fashioned way: I read. A lot. I cherry-picked what I liked, and made up the parts I couldn’t confirm with my research. So far, no demon has cried “foul.”

DH: But seriously . . . you also create a realistic strip joint scene (not that I would know). Was this all imagination?

JK: Hey, a gal’s got to work her way through college somehow…

Actually, I did tons of research on strip clubs and club etiquette — I read many books about (and by) exotic dancers, I watched a number of (bad) movies set in strip clubs, I watched HBO’s G-String Divas, I searched the Internet for club layouts and articles by strippers, I talked to a number of people who’d frequented strip clubs, and I even went to a local club to check it out in person. My Loving Husband, brave soul that he is, accompanied me. All in the name of research, of course. Sadly, he refused to let me buy him a lap dance. I would have taken SUCH good notes…

And I have to point out that we didn’t go to a juice bar. There’s only so much research that I’m willing to do.

DH: Okay, I’ll bite: what’s a juice bar?

JK: If you don’t know, I ain’t telling. (Hint: no full frontal if there’s booze.)

DH: From a guy’s POV, I think your sex scenes are — effective. Yeah, that’s a good word for it. Did you run these scenes by your husband, and if so, what sorts of tweaks did he suggest?

JK: “Effective.” Hee! My work here is done!Let’s just say that my Loving Husband truly enjoys the perks of being a romance writer’s husband. (Hey, someone’s got to test the moves before I put them to paper.)

DH: I’m having a hard time ‘classifying’ Hell’s Belles. The romance aspect is strong, but you violate at least one stringent taboo — I’m thinking specifically about Jezebel’s fling with Daun. Do you consider Hell’s Belles a romance?

JK: Honestly? No. When I wrote it, I thought it was a humorous urban fantasy with tingly sex scenes. But when I queried for an agent, I didn’t mention the genre, figuring that the agent would determine the category. And he sold it as a paranormal romance. I was surprised, to say the least; I didn’t consider myself a romance author. So I started reading paranormal romances — TONS of them — to learn more about the subgenre.

But even if I could, I wouldn’t change what Jezebel does with Daun. She’s a succubus — a sexual creature. One thing that I really aimed to do with the book (and with the series) is make Jezebel true to herself. Of course, she learns more about who, and what, she is along the way. And in the next book, her dedication to her one true love bumps up against her former nature. In a very big way.

Another strict rule I learned about regarding romances? The HEA. Heh. Whether paranormal romance needs a traditional HEA is up for (very heated, very vocal) debate. Let’s just say that I’m a firm believer in an HEAL — a happily ever afterlife. When writing about demons and angels and Hell and Heaven, I think that’s valid.

DH: Again focusing on Jezebel and Daun, have any readers given you flack over that? Does anyone believe that your heroine, succubus or not, should be obliged to behave according to a moral standard?

JK: A couple mentioned their surprise, but no one said that it was a complete turnoff.

The question of a moral standard for a former succubus comes into play in The Road to Hell. Jezebel’s world view has changed (ah, l’amour…) — but Daun’s has not. Heh.

DH: Your theology is quite interesting. Without giving too much away, I wonder if you would talk about how you came up with such a sympathetic Lucifer, and such an unsympathetic Supreme Being.

JK: It came about when I created the Hell mythos for the series. I was drawing a map of Hell (hey, I come from a fantasy background; there HAS to be a map. It looks a bit like Manhattan), and then I started thinking about the beginning of Hell — was it always there? Had there been a rebellion in Heaven? Can angels actually rebel, or is that not in their nature? Is there free will in Heaven? And then Hell’s purpose (for the series, natch) hit me. Everything fell into place.

There’s much more about Lucifer that will unfold through the Hell on Earth series, and the question of the Almighty’s benevolence is a continuing theme throughout.

DH: Do you remember when you first conceived the idea for Hell’s Belles? What was going through your head?

JK: Originally, Jezebel was going to walk away from Hell and opt to become a mortal (actually, a call girl). But as I wrote the story, I realized that walking away from Hell is nowhere near as fun as running away from Hell…and having a bounty on your head for doing so. Therefore, she needed a reason to run away. That led to the Announcement. The idea behind the Announcement itself sprang from a short story I’d written for From the Asylum called “Giving the Devil His To-Do’s.” That was a humorous dark fantasy tale about a demon that lamented its new role in the reorganized Abyss.

As I wrote Hell’s Belles, Jezzie wound up becoming a stripper because (A) that’s legal and much easier to research; and (B) Jezzie’s a bit of an exhibitionist at heart. Why seduce one man when she can captivate a roomful of men?

DH: Tell us a bit about the sequel, The Road to Hell.

JK: Jezebel, or Jesse, has a Hell of a past, one she can’t share with Paul, her true love. (If she did, he’d probably send her to a place with padded walls and white jackets. And white has never been Jesse’s best color.) So she keeps mum about her infernal history — until three of her former associates strong-arm her into returning to the Pit. Unless Jesse faces off against the King of Hell, she’ll lose Paul’s immortal soul. If she’d known love was this tough, she never would have turned her back on Lust.

In a nutshell: more Jesse, more Paul, more Daun, lots more Hell…and more sex. (Hey, Jesse may no longer be a succubus, but she’s not dead. Yet.)

Jackie adds:

Jezebel has taken over my blog, Cat and Muse: she uses it to run a talk-radio show, where she interviews the characters of other authors. The show is produced by Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy (who, sadly, speaks only in cliches and pop-culture references).Jezebel also appears in Magical Minxes, a blog run with a number of other paranormal sexpots…er, heroines from authors Richelle Mead, Jaci Burton, Michelle Rowen, Elaine Cunningham, and Caitlin Kittredge.

Damned succubus diva. Thank goodness I have my own blog.

Thanks, Jackie! Folks, if you click on the image, you’ll hop over to the Barnes and Noble page for the book. Enjoy.

D.