Romance By Catherine

Today I have a very special guest. Author Helen Hardt is celebrating her third erotic release, Thai'd Up over at The Wild Rose Press. Thanks so much for joining me today, Helen.

Tell us about your new book out now:

Thai'd Up is my third erotic short story for the Destination Pleasure series in the Scarlet (erotic) line at The Wild Rose Press. This one crosses into the double rose rating. My previous two, Seduced in Seoul and Passion in Paris, are rated single rose, though my free read, Seoul Pleasure, which is a companion story to Seduced in Seoul, is a double rose. Double rose means the story contains explicit and graphic love scenes and may contain subject matter that is offensive to some readers, including extreme explicit language, anal sex, BDSM, fetishism, ménage, and/or experimentation with same sex. As you can guess from the title, it's mild BDSM that makes Thai'd Up a double rose.

Blurb:

Visiting Bangkok to do an interview for her employer, Heidi Clarke is intrigued by the wild and raucous nightlife. When a handsome and engaging stranger, dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, offers to escort her into a BDSM club, she's too curious to refuse. As the man behind the mask introduces Heidi to new and exciting pleasures of the flesh, she can't help but wonder who he is. Or if she really wants to know.This was a fun one to write. I actually came up with the title first. Once I had that, I knew I had to write a story for it!

I love it when a story comes together like that.

How do you respond when someone says... "Oh, you write THAT kind of book.

"Truthfully, no one has ever said that to me, LOL. I do know, however, that there’s a stigma attached to erotic romance. I’ve written extensively on my website, in interviews, and in my local chapter newsletter about the differences among porn, erotica, and erotic romance. I consider what I write to be romance. Yes, there are explicit sex scenes, but they serve a purpose other than to arouse the reader. They exist to develop the relationship between the hero and heroine and to help move the plot along to its happy ending. Or in the case of an erotic short, its "happy for now."Any kind of romance, including erotic romance, is a feel-good read, and I'm glad to be writing it. There's a reason why romance sales are flourishing in our current economy ;).

What are your goals as a writer?

To be a New York Times bestseller, of course! Well, eventually. Right now I'd like to make a name for myself and move from epublishing to New York publishing. I'd like to make enough money writing so my husband doesn't have to work. He has supported me all these years, and I'd like to do the same for him.I'd also like to continue to grow as a writer. I want each story that I write to be a little better than the last. I'm constantly finding ways to improve. A writer never stops learning!

How many books do you read a month? Are they all romance?

I read a lot. Two to three books a week, usually, and sometimes more. No, they're not all romance, though the majority are. I just finished reading Columbine by Dave Cullen, which is a deep look into the tragedy at Columbine High School ten years ago. I live in Colorado, so this hit close to home for me. As for romance reading, I read everything except inspirational and romantic suspense. I have a Sony e-reader for my ebooks, and I still read lots of print, too. When I'm not writing or editing, I'm reading! Reading is a huge part of a writer's self education, in my opinion. Who better to learn from than other writers who have been successful?I completely agree.Do you have anything new in the works?I have several other releases planned for this year. First up is a western historical novella, The Outlaw's Angel, which releases June 5 in the Wild Rose Press anthology Lawmen and Outlaws. After that comes Blood Wolf, which was one of the winners of the Got Wolf? contest sponsored by The Wild Rose Press. It's coming in October. My first Ellora's Cave story, Slow and Wet, will release in November as part of their "Wet" theme. My last Destination Pleasure erotic short, Montego Lay, is in the initial editing phase, so I don't know when it will release yet.I have several works in progress, including a Native American historical novella, a cougar story, and an erotic fantasy complete with Greek Gods. Several of my full length novels were requested by editors at my local conference a few weeks ago, so I need to get them polished and out the door.

Where can we find you? Your book?

Visit me at http://www.helenhardt.com/ and http://www.helensheroes.blogspot.com/. You can also find me at http://www.coloradovixens.blogspot.com/, the blog I share with my local critique partners.Thai'd Up is available at http://www.wilderroses.com/, along with Seduced and Seoul and Passion in Paris.

Thank you for having me, Catherine!

Thanks for stopping by, Helen.