Exploring the Intersection of Erotica and Suspense in The Seductive Escort Series
Tierney Moore discusses how her experiences as a flight attendant influence her writing, blending romance, suspense, and erotica to craft compelling narratives of empowerment and self-discovery.
Tierney Moore is a copyeditor, ghostwriter, and writer. The Seductive Escort Series is her debut series under this pen name. She spent several years working as a flight attendant for a global airline company, visiting all the locales her seductive escort character Miri Stewart does. She enjoys lots of different things… this & that—as long as they’re either naughty or nice. Or preferably both.
Your background as a flight attendant seems to have influenced your writing significantly in The Escort’s Endgame. How did your real-life experiences inform your characters and scenarios?
I used my experiences of being on planes and dealing with passengers to inform Miri’s dialogue and actions. I loved meeting different people, was always helpful and fun with them, and so I brought that to create Miri’s wit and flirtatiousness.
The Escort’s Endgame features a strong female protagonist navigating complex relationships and challenges. What inspired you to delve into the world of erotic suspense fiction, particularly with a focus on lesbian encounters?
Well, I’m gay myself, so that “writing what you know.” But I wanted to showcase a dynamic FMC living her life on her terms. A female escort is traditionally thought of as submissive in her professional life, lacking control and choice; I wanted my character to rise above that, manage that, and live life on her terms. I created the suspense plot for depth and a strong overall arc, which helped me to showcase how women are not—or should not be—submissive.
The settings in your novel—London, Paris, Monte Carlo, and Rome—are described in vivid detail. How do you approach researching and capturing the essence of these locations to immerse your readers in the story?
Thank you for saying so. It’s write what you know… again! I’ve been to many European cities—and I love them. I wanted readers to be immersed into and enjoy the “fantasy” of the locales, which meant detail and depth based on reality. For example, in Rome, I found a villa on Airbnb within the leafy Monteverde suburb, which I know, and combined internal photos with my external memories. I cheated a little with the apartment in a tiny piazza to set where Miri, Robbie, and Ed stay: I “moved” the piazza across Rome to fit where I needed Miri to be! I used Google Earth for the Fiat 500 car chase to create reality within my memory of those little side streets, to be sure to move the car as it really would and to make the scene fully visual.
The novel explores themes of sensuality and passion through the lens of intimate encounters. What message or experience do you hope readers take away?
It’s a story with liberal doses of spice, for sure, but with added emotional elements to make the physical scenes as engaging as possible. I set some of those scenes in fantasy locations like the Monte Carlo Casino (although I’m sure those private rooms are a complete invention!). Casual readers will enjoy that, I hope, but I wanted readers to take a journey with Miri, live her layered backstory and how she reacts to her past. She’ll tell you she’s taken control of her life. But has she?
Balancing elements of eroticism and suspense can be challenging. How do you strike a balance between these two elements in your storytelling to create a compelling narrative?
A challenge, yes! How would the elements combine? How much should I tease readers with how they do and/or don’t? It was difficult because I didn’t at first intend the suspense to play out as much as it did. But since I thought it was working, I just went for it! I ended up with a more complex heroine, plus things like a hired detective, a sting, a cute little car in a big chase, people in the shadows, and a climax that is quite physical, I think, and, I hope, pretty surprising.
Your writing style blends elements of romance, suspense, and erotica. What’s your creative process and how do you weave together these different genres to create your storytelling style?
I create an overall outline of the macro story, but outside of the main beats and arcs, I write scenes very organically. I start out as planned and then change them as I feel so as to improve my plan. The character of Cara Munroe, as she was eventually written, didn’t actually exist when I began writing; that’s the great thing about not being too tied to your plan—you can revise it, change it for the better and the story becomes richer for it. Another example is when Miri meets Caroline two thirds into the story. Their scene leaped off the page, I realized, and I knew only then that this new character was going to greatly impact Miri, later on to the point that I completely changed the story’s ending, leaving Miri in a very different place than I originally intended. That’s the advantage of having a flexible, organic approach, I think.
Follow the author
- Web: https://tierneymoore.com/
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09W5X453Y?ingress=0&visitId=4fa09125-c7ca-476b-a837-67868054898a&store_ref=ap_rdr&ref_=ap_rdr
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22309550.Tierney_Moore
- Allauthor: https://allauthor.com/author/tierneymoore/
