Interview with
Carly Phillips
SR: How
would you define erotica?
Carly: Sex without emotion.
SR: How would you define
erotic romance?
Carly: A story with
a deep emotional connection between the hero and heroine, where the trust
is such that sexual boundaries can be pushed while still remain tasteful
and within the bounds of one man/one woman happily ever after romance.
SR: How would you define
sensual romance?
Carly: Much like erotic
romance but the "sexual" dance between the partners is more prolonged and
intense.
SR: What are the differences
in writing for Blaze and Temptation?
Carly: Blaze gives an
author the opportunity to explore more facets of character development,
plot, sexual tension, sexual boundaries, and yes, some erotic romance,
while still being faithful to monogamy and true love. Blaze stories
are longer, deeper and not necessarily more sensual, but more intense than
Temptation. Temptations for me personally are hot, sexy and fun.
They are shorter obviously and therefore can't delve into much more than
the hero and heroine's relationship with a minor subplot. One sentence
difference? Blaze is erotic and intense while Temptation is sexy,
sassy and fun. Both are romance!
SR: How does the new
Blaze line differ from Harlequin Blaze / Heat?
Carly: Same answer
as above basically. Temptation/Heat replaces the old Temptation/Blaze
which for me = sexy, sassy and fun. Heats are the hotter Temptations.
Harlequin Blaze for me=erotic and intense romances with all the distinctions
I mentioned above courtesy of length.
SR:Could
you tell us a little bit about your September Blaze, BODY HEAT, Sexy City
Nights series book #2?
Carly: Physical therapist
Brianne Nelson has spent her adult life raising her
"genius" younger brother after
the death of her risk taking parents. She works two jobs and is in deep
financial debt. The only thing that gives her pleasure is watching
the fantasy man at the cafe where she waitresses at night. Jake Lowell
is an injured police officer who is disillusioned with life. All
he wants is to put the drug dealing slime who killed his partner and injured
him behind bars. By pretending not to rehabilitate his injured shoulder,
he's buying himself time to investigate off duty. The only thing
that interests him other than his mission is the sexy waitress at the sidewalk
cafe he frequents with his sister. Jake can't afford to let any woman
into his life until this case is tied up. And the last thing Brianne
needs is another risk taker, a cop who will bring danger to her doorstep.
But Jake's wealthy sister has other ideas. She hires Brianne as his
very own physical therapist - his fantasy woman from the cafe is his --
every night of the long, hot summer -- a summer that's about to get much
hotter courtesy of Brianne's hands on Jake's body -- BODY HEAT.
SR: What do you think
makes a book erotic? Is it characters, situation, or
something else?
Carly: Erotic isn't
just one element. It is everything about a story that works well
together and clicks, generating heat. From plot to character, everything
is a factor.
SR: Would you consider
the new Blaze line erotic romance or sensual romance?
Carly: Sensual romance,
despite the title of my December Blaze, Erotic Invitation (Midnight Fantasy
series launch book). I believe Blaze skirts the boundaries between
sensual and erotic, but my stories never cross into erotic - as I define
erotic - sex without emotion . In a Carly Phillips Blaze, you'll
always get sizzling heat and emotional connection. I call that sensual
romance as opposed to erotic romance. But I'm not certain one label
on the Blaze line will fit all books! I'm describing my books as sensual
romance.
SR: How do you feel
being one of the first authors of the new line?
Carly: Thrilled and
proud. I'm absolutely elated that Harlequin has chosen to explore
sensual and sexual boundaries in longer length romances and I'm in awe
that they've given me the opportunity to help launch the line by participating
in the second month.
SR: Recently
we've seen a lot of new lines devoted to sizzle and spice, like Red Sage,
Brava, and now Blaze, to name a few. What do you think about this
trend towards hotter romance?
Carly: I think that
every line, Harlequin and others, fills a niche, a need. Readers seem to
be gravitating now towards the steamier books and it shows the intelligence
of the reader who is willing to accept and embrace these hotter yet still
emotional stories of love, romance and most of all monogamy.
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