An Interview With Rhiannon Irons

Greetings, gentle readers!

Trent Alexander Faulkner here. For those who don't know me, relax, I'm the man behind the scenes. But today, I get to jump into the spotlight for a brief moment as I bring you a rather exciting blog entry.

She's enchanted you with tales of fantasy, teased you with erotica so steamy it comes with a health warning and has scared the goose right out of goosebumps, but how well do we really know Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons?

Armed with a tape recorder (so I wouldn't miss anything) I had a pleasure of setting up a 'mock' interview with the soon to be published author (and my former ex-girlfriend) and asked her the questions you're dying to know the answers to.

We agreed to meet in my hotel room – not for that reason – and decided to this Hollywood style. Rhiannon arrived looking casual yet gorgeous in low riding jeans, a simple pink T-shirt and a Letterman jacket with 'R' blazed on the chest. Her blond hair was swept up in a perfect ponytail and her blue-green eyes flashed with excitement.

She was cheerful as we exchanged pleasantries before I turned my attention to the list of questions before me.

Trent: So, the ultimate question for today – When does Ahlephia come out and what is it about and more importantly, how do you pronounce it?

Rhiannon: It's pronounced Al-e-fear-ra. And it's a fantasy story which I created about a group of youths who break into the town's haunted house in order to find clues to a murder. They get more then they bargained for when they are transformed into mythical creatures and sent into an alternate realm known as Ahlephia. Upon awakening they learn that they have 72 hours in which to find the antidote and get out otherwise they will be trapped in Ahlephia forever.

As for when it's coming out. I'm aiming to have it finished by November. I'm suppose to fly down to Sydney then and present it for the publishers.

Trent: Sounds extremely interesting. What makes Ahlephia different from every other fantasy story on the market?

Rhiannon: How “real” it is. I don't mean suddenly waking up as a gargoyle is real, but more along the lines of how real the characters are. These are real seventeen and eighteen year old youths. They drink, they smoke, they have foul mouths and the experiment with their sexuality. They live in the real world. It's like when they first wake up after the transformation has taken place, there's a lot of references to “This has got to be a dream” because it's a hard concept to wrap your head around that one minute you're human suddenly you're a mermaid.

Trent: It's not just the youths that are real. I've had the pleasure of reading a snippet of some of the later chapters and briefly want to touch on the characters of Jafar and Shenzi. Who are they?

Rhiannon: Shenzi is the Big Bad of the book. She is the most evil thing in Ahlephia. Jafar is also a bad guy, but there's a bit of a twist to his character...

Trent: Can you tell us anything about Jafar?

Rhiannon: You'll just have to wait to read it

Trent: Sneaky. Let's talk about your blog www.rhiannonirons.blogspot.com – you tend to post samples of your writing on there for people to read, along with quick messages of thanks etc. How often do you update it?

Rhiannon: It depends on if I'm feeling inspired. Sometimes I post multiple things in a single day, other times once or twice a month. August was a big month for me. I wrote 20 different posts. Most of them were short stories.

Trent: Your short stories are quiet hot and very sensual and after reading them, I'm forced to take a cold shower, but lately you've taken a bit of a turn into the horror genre. Why do you focus so much on erotica and horror?

Rhiannon: - laughs – Erotica comes easily to me. The more descriptive you are, the better the story because then people can picture what's happening in their minds. I write what I know. I'm a very sexual person, and I'm a horror feind. It was only a matter of time before I'd write about them.

Trent: But you've said before that you can't write horror....

Rhiannon: And I still maintain that. I can't write horror. If this world was dependant on me writing a horror story, we'd be doomed. I tried a hand at it with a couple of short stories and I was praised for them. The Secret Story seemed to be a favourite and was even posted on www.craptastichorror.com by a good buddy of mine, Kristian J. Hanson.

Trent: Speaking of writing for other sites, lately you've been racking up the posts on www.trulydisturbing.com – You voice your opinions on everything from remakes to Scream Queens. Why the sudden interest?

Rhiannon: I was approached by them to write a column about why horror movies want to disgust us rather then scare us, which I was more than happy to do. It snowballed from there and if I found myself thinking of something that I could argue regarding horror then I would sit down and write and eventually just e-mail it off in hopes it was something that they wanted to use. But it's good to read the comments that people leave so I know that what I've done is appreciated.

Trent: Most people tend to agree with your views. Have you had much debate regarding the pieces you’ve written for Truly Disturbing?

Rhiannon: Yes and no. The only people that are willing to argue with me are people who I'm pretty closely connected with. Friends and family. Strangers tend not to leave any comments and sort of accept what I say. Which is why I like to drill into people's heads that those are my opinions and that I welcome people to disagree with me.

Trent:  When you were a child, you started writing, winning an award at the age of seven.  What do you remember of that honour?

Rhiannon:  I remember it was a state-wide competition and I was encouraged to enter it by my teacher who thought I showed a lot of promise.  I wrote two stories for the contest; one called Rabbit's Cleaning Day, which was about a rabbit who cleaned his house from top to bottom and went for a long walk while the floors dried only to have his friends think he was having a garage sale and they took all his furniture.  The other story I wrote was something about a group of kids visiting a farm as part of a dying boy's last wish. 

The people of the contest said I was writing well above my age bracket and that they saw a lot of promise with everything I was doing.  One judge even said she would be surprised if I didn't follow through with my writing and try and make a career out of it.

Trent:   Which you certainly are doing with Ahlephia and your works both on your blog and on the above mentioned sites.  So what inspires you to write?

Rhiannon: It depends. If I'm writing something for Truly Disturbing or my blog all it takes is a nice, long walk with Pepper (Rhiannon's Dalmatian). If I'm hunkering down to write a short story or to continue with Ahlephia, then I need five things: A large bottle of water, a bowl of buttered popcorn, a plate of fresh steamed vegetables, a bowl of fries and a ball point pen.

Trent: A ball point pen...?

Rhiannon: I know it sounds weird but when I get stuck I find clicking the pen, or constantly sliding the lid on and off helps me. I know, I'm a freak – laughs.

Trent: So steamed vegetables, popcorn and fries are your main vices?

Rhiannon: Absolutely.

Trent: What is it about those foods in particular?

Rhiannon: I don't know. I just enjoy them. There's no rhyme nor reason behind my madness.

Trent: What motivates you to create the stories and columns that you do?

Rhiannon: Everyday life mostly. I write what I know. I guess I view good writing as having an element of truth to it. - shrugs -

Trent: But most of your stories are fiction

Rhiannon: True, but if you look closely at Ahlephia who does the main character remind you of?

Trent: You

Rhiannon: Exactly. Each of the characters in some small way is me. Roxanne is 90% me where as someone like Dawn is probably 10% my personality. And with my short stories, most of them are based on personal experience or research.

Trent: Wow, I never looked at it like that before. So, I think some people really want to know if you're single...

Rhiannon: No, I'm not. Sorry.

Trent: And hearts are breaking all over the world. Is he a good guy?

Rhiannon: He's the best!

Trent: How often do you check your Twitter account?

Rhiannon: - laughs – About every thirty minutes. I'm addicted to updating and checking to see what's happening. I'm heading away over Christmas and I'll be without an Internet connection so I'm warning everyone now that their time lines will be bombarded when I get back – laughs -

Trent: Going somewhere fun?

Rhiannon: Returning to my home state to visit some family. Big family reunion. Plenty of fun in store.

Trent: Speaking of fun, what do you do for fun or to relax?

Rhiannon: The best way for me to relax is to run a bubble bath. I light a few candles, add some scented oils and just chill. Considering that my idea of a mud bath is playing football on a muddy oval, it's pretty girly for me – laughs – but in all seriousness, it's the best way to relax after a hard day or if I'm stressed. As for fun, you can often find me at the beach, at a theme park (Warner Brother's Movie World) or sitting under a shady tree at the park with Pepper. Plus I kick ass at video games.

Trent: So, not only are you horror minded, you're a video game fan too?

Rhiannon: Oh God yes! Street Fighter is my favourite fighting game, but I'm also addicted to The Sims 2 and Scooby Doo First Frights. Not too mention that I love sports. I use to be a martial artist until injury forced me to retire at 19. I watch all sport but I'm an AFL girl and make no apologises for it.

Trent: Who's your team?

Rhiannon: Richmond Tigers http://www.richmondfc.com.au/Default.aspx

Trent: Do you follow NFL?

Rhiannon: Yes. I'm starting to get into it. I've even got a copy of Football For Dummies at home – laughs -

Trent: Do you have an NFL team?

Rhiannon: Not really. But if I had to back one, it would probably be the Cincinnati Bengal’s.

Trent: Are you serious? (I'm a Cowboys man myself)

Rhiannon: Yes. I support the Tigers in the AFL and Bengal's are tigers so it makes sense.

Trent: Do you support the Tigers in the rugby (NRL)?

Rhiannon: No, I'm a Storm supporter and proud of it. You can take the girl out of Melbourne, but you can't take Melbourne out of the girl. I also have a soft spot for the Bunnies.

Trent: Russell Crowe's team?

Rhiannon: Yes, but that's because every time I see them, I think of Freddy Krueger (Red and Green stripped shirts)

Trent: Great, now I'm going to picture a bunch of Freddy's lined up whenever I see them -laughs- I've got some rapid questions lined up. Are you ready?

Rhiannon: Bring it on.

Trent: Coke or Pepsi?

Rhiannon: Pepsi

Trent: Dog or cat?

Rhiannon: Dog

Trent: Jeremy Irons or Robert Englund?

Rhiannon: Sorry Rob, but I'm going with Jeremy.

Trent: City or country?

Rhiannon: I'm a country girl

Trent: Winter or Summer?

Rhiannon: Neither, Autumn -laughs- Summer

Trent: N*Sync or Backstreet Boys?

Rhiannon: Backstreet Boys

Trent: Horror or Disney?

Rhiannon: (makes a face as she's clearly torn between the two) Horror, but not by much

Trent: What hurt more, you're belly ring or your tattoos?

Rhiannon: Belly ring – I passed out.

Trent: Favourite actor?

Rhiannon: Jeremy Irons

Trent: Favourite actress?

Rhiannon: Sarah Michelle Gellar

Trent: Favourite movie?

Rhiannon: Halloween, 1978

Trent: Original or remake?

Rhiannon: Depends on the film but 99% of the time I'll side with original.

Trent: Favourite singer?

Rhiannon: I love Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osborne, but I also love Buddy Holly and Cher. I'm eclectic.

Trent: Pet hate?

Rhiannon: Animal abuse. I believe that whoever harms an animal is the lowest form of pond scum. They should have done to them what they did to the animal.

Trent: If you could be any animal, what would you be?

Rhiannon: Tiger, baby!

Trent: If you were a Disney Princess, who would you be?

Rhiannon: Princess Aurora better known as Sleeping Beauty or Briar Rose

Trent: If you were a Disney Villain (and I know who she's going to say here)....

Rhiannon: Stupid question, Scar -laughs-

Trent: Favourite quote?

Rhiannon: I'm not as innocent as I look, but I'm not as bad as you think.

Trent: If you had 3 wishes what would you wish for?

Rhiannon: World peace, to end world hunger and finally, I wish that I could put my hand into my pocket and pull out the exact change (plus tip) when making any purchase.

Trent: That's an odd wish...

Rhiannon: Not really, it's smart. That way, I'll never be broke. I can reach into my pocket and pull out $5 for an ice cream or $500,000 for a brand new home.

Trent: And who says blonds are dumb. Lady Gaga or Britney Spears?

Rhiannon: It's Britney, bitch!

Trent: You're a Buffy fan so Angel or Spike?

Rhiannon: Spike – no contest.

Trent: How about Buffy or Faith?

Rhiannon: I've got a thing for blonds so I'll go Buffy -laughs-

Trent: Use 3 words to describe you

Rhiannon: Rambunctious, coy and sensual

Trent: And last but not least, E-mail or letters?

Rhiannon: I prefer to write and receive letters.

Trent: Well, that it. We've reached the final question.

Rhiannon: -claps hands joyfully- Yay

Trent: Rhiannon, it's been a pleasure

Rhiannon: Believe me, the pleasure was all mine.

Thank you to all who sent in questions for Rhiannon to answer. If you feel like we haven't answered your question please send us an e-mail at prettypoisonedpaige@hotmail.com and we'll get back to you with Rhiannon's answer. Otherwise, hit her up on Twitter @Ahlephia and be sure to check out her the rest of her blog.