For starters, is there an underlying theme that connects the stories in THE SCARLET CIRCUS?

To understand where THE SCARLET CIRCUS comes from, you need to know the earlier Circus collections from Tachyon — The Emerald Circus and The Midnight Circus — each had their own themes. By the time I got around to this collection, the idea to do a book of romance stories was a no-brainer…except…except I didn’t think that I had published enough of those kinds of stories to fill out a collection. And yet here I was, a woman who had two successful marriages (with a long widowed-hood pause between), and so most people should have assumed that I had a load of love stories in my past.

Well, yes, love poems galore. Several love novels (mostly based on folk and fairy tales). Lyrics for love songs for a variety of bands as well. But I was certain I had only one or two love short stories at most.

Paul Samel