This is a copy of the interview that posted on The Naughty Dutch Girl on Tursday!
9/13/2006
AuThursday! - Roxy Harte
author of The Chronicles of Surrender, a BDSM erotica series Q: How long have you been writing?
I've been writing stories, major epics, in my head since grade school. I can still hear my mother yelling at me to stop daydreaming because I freaked her out by staring into space too long. During my twenties, I turned to writing poetry after the loss of my first husband...then in 1996 while nursing both terminally ill parents, I again turned to writing as therapy, joined RWA/OVRWA, and committed myself to learning the art of good storytelling.
Q: Is Sacred Secrets your first published Book?
Yes.
Q: You write for LSB's Molten Line...was it hard to find a publisher to accept your content/style?
Actually, yes. I've been courting various publishers for years and although several (print and e-book) expressed interest, they also requested major revisions, meaning they wanted my first person POV changed to third. I spent most of 2002 completely rewriting Secrets in third person, singular POV but it lost its intensity so I chose to not release it with that publisher. I'm really glad I held firm to my convictions because seeing the way Sacred Secrets turned out after edits, I can't imagine it any other way.
Q: How did you deal with rejection letters, if you received any?
I framed the good ones and burnt the bad ones. I am a firm believer in surrounding oneself in positive energy.
Q: What´s coming up on your schedule, book-wise, in the next year?
Sacred Revelations: Book 2 is slated for release this winter.
Unholy Promises: Book 3 mid summer 2007
Hallowed Screams: Book 4 by Fall 2007.
Also an anthology titled Advertising For Love with fellow LSB authors DJ Manly and Maeve Beckham for late winter/early spring.
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
Wow, depending on the day and circumstance...
You have to realize, I am a collector of quotes; so this is by far your hardest question. It is a tie between two famous thoughts by Mahatma Ghandi because both are challenges for us as humans to be more than we are. The first, “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within,” I used as the opening quote to Sacred Secrets. The second, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” is written on my bathroom mirror in permant marker as a daily reminder for both myself and my daugters.
Q: Have you come out of the closet so to speak about your erotic romance writing? If so what was the reaction?
Wide eyes and quiet nervous shuffle..or quick giggle glance away is the usual response when friends learn that I write erotica, more specifically dark, highly emotional, edgy BDSM erotica. "What's BDSM?" they ask and I answer, "You know, whips, chains, leather, pain." Maybe I need a new answer to that question. Though seriously, I try to explain to them that when I write about a BDSM relationship, I think the real story lies in the player's headspace not the bedroom. The relationship is all about what's going on in the psyche of both players, especially the emotional hotspots that can be triggered in the submissive's mind. In my personal opinion, that is the major role of the Dominant, to use his partner's emotional triggers to bring about sexual release, whether those triggers are based in childhood memories or adult fantasy. However, that's not to say that there isn't really HOT sex because there is!
Of course, after I've explained they always say something like, "You don't really do that kinky stuff though, right?" I just wink, smile and ask them if they'd like to see my suede flogger.
Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception in erotic romance fiction?
Erotic romance fiction is not porn.
There are lots of author chats going on somewhere around the globe this very minute about how many pages should I have between each sex scene, should I write the sex scenes and then link them together with a few pages of ordinary day to day stuff to make a story, does vulgar language make it more marketable??
My advice to all of them is to invest in some vintage erotica and read. Erotica is beautifully written scenes that tease and tantalize. Contemporary erotic romance has to remain based in story first...the sexual tension and resulting sex scenes are a result of character growth and story progression.
Q: Where can readers find you on the web?
www.liquidsilverbooks.com
www.roxyharte.com
www.roxyharte.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/roxyharte
Q: Would you like to share a sexy teaser with us for Saturday?
yes!
Great! Join me on Sexy Saturday when I'll post Roxy's excerpt.
I've been writing stories, major epics, in my head since grade school. I can still hear my mother yelling at me to stop daydreaming because I freaked her out by staring into space too long. During my twenties, I turned to writing poetry after the loss of my first husband...then in 1996 while nursing both terminally ill parents, I again turned to writing as therapy, joined RWA/OVRWA, and committed myself to learning the art of good storytelling.
Q: Is Sacred Secrets your first published Book?
Yes.
Q: You write for LSB's Molten Line...was it hard to find a publisher to accept your content/style?
Actually, yes. I've been courting various publishers for years and although several (print and e-book) expressed interest, they also requested major revisions, meaning they wanted my first person POV changed to third. I spent most of 2002 completely rewriting Secrets in third person, singular POV but it lost its intensity so I chose to not release it with that publisher. I'm really glad I held firm to my convictions because seeing the way Sacred Secrets turned out after edits, I can't imagine it any other way.
Q: How did you deal with rejection letters, if you received any?
I framed the good ones and burnt the bad ones. I am a firm believer in surrounding oneself in positive energy.
Q: What´s coming up on your schedule, book-wise, in the next year?
Sacred Revelations: Book 2 is slated for release this winter.
Unholy Promises: Book 3 mid summer 2007
Hallowed Screams: Book 4 by Fall 2007.
Also an anthology titled Advertising For Love with fellow LSB authors DJ Manly and Maeve Beckham for late winter/early spring.
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
Wow, depending on the day and circumstance...
You have to realize, I am a collector of quotes; so this is by far your hardest question. It is a tie between two famous thoughts by Mahatma Ghandi because both are challenges for us as humans to be more than we are. The first, “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within,” I used as the opening quote to Sacred Secrets. The second, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” is written on my bathroom mirror in permant marker as a daily reminder for both myself and my daugters.
Q: Have you come out of the closet so to speak about your erotic romance writing? If so what was the reaction?
Wide eyes and quiet nervous shuffle..or quick giggle glance away is the usual response when friends learn that I write erotica, more specifically dark, highly emotional, edgy BDSM erotica. "What's BDSM?" they ask and I answer, "You know, whips, chains, leather, pain." Maybe I need a new answer to that question. Though seriously, I try to explain to them that when I write about a BDSM relationship, I think the real story lies in the player's headspace not the bedroom. The relationship is all about what's going on in the psyche of both players, especially the emotional hotspots that can be triggered in the submissive's mind. In my personal opinion, that is the major role of the Dominant, to use his partner's emotional triggers to bring about sexual release, whether those triggers are based in childhood memories or adult fantasy. However, that's not to say that there isn't really HOT sex because there is!
Of course, after I've explained they always say something like, "You don't really do that kinky stuff though, right?" I just wink, smile and ask them if they'd like to see my suede flogger.
Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception in erotic romance fiction?
Erotic romance fiction is not porn.
There are lots of author chats going on somewhere around the globe this very minute about how many pages should I have between each sex scene, should I write the sex scenes and then link them together with a few pages of ordinary day to day stuff to make a story, does vulgar language make it more marketable??
My advice to all of them is to invest in some vintage erotica and read. Erotica is beautifully written scenes that tease and tantalize. Contemporary erotic romance has to remain based in story first...the sexual tension and resulting sex scenes are a result of character growth and story progression.
Q: Where can readers find you on the web?
www.liquidsilverbooks.com
www.roxyharte.com
www.roxyharte.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/roxyharte
Q: Would you like to share a sexy teaser with us for Saturday?
yes!
Great! Join me on Sexy Saturday when I'll post Roxy's excerpt.
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