Author Spotlight - Tilly Delane and the Brighton Bad Boys

 

It’s a rainy day here in the woods so my special guest and I are enjoying coffee on the porch. I’m drinking a highly polluted wimpy java while she’s enjoying a strong Middle Eastern hipster favorite.

Speaking of favorites… who doesn’t love a dark, broody man with rock hard abs? How about three of them? The fact these hotties love their mum (Silas still lives at home) is a turn on! Our guest has a writing style that pulls you in fast and you won’t come up for air until the end. You’ll lose yourself in the compelling characters and intense romance. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to read and maybe keep a snack handy because you won’t be able to stop.

Please welcome Tilly Delany and let’s pick her brain about her sexy new stories, the Brighton Bad Boys.

Now, Tilly, I hear you have another identity. Is it secret, like are you in the witness protection program, are you on the lamb or can you tell us about it? (Author laughs as she puts her coffee on the table).

Prior to the Brighton Bad Boys I’d already written and published four clean, contemporary, critically acclaimed YA  novels under my real name -  the debut of which came out seven years ago - but I fancied a stint away from the constrictions of writing for a younger audience, to show my erotic romance/thriller side. I cut my teeth in erotic writing under yet another nom de plume, Ava-Ann Holland, when I contributed some short stories to anthologies while working on my second and third YA novels - and I got a taste of the creative freedom erotic romance affords you. Although, like in every genre, there are certain conventions that readers expect (like the HEA or HFN ending) it’s actually one of the most flexible genres to play with, and I love that.

Wow… I totally understand why you’d want to have different names especially since you have such different fan bases.

My latest romance-thriller ‘Diego’ is the third book under my pen name Tilly Delane and completes the Brighton Bad Boys trilogy, which started with ‘Silas’ in June, followed by ‘Rowan’ in August. I wrote the entire series before rapid releasing them this summer.

That was smart. Readers these days can be very impatient; when they finish a story in a series they are starving for the next one. I know authors often draw from their own lives and experiences when they write. Some say reality feeds the imagination. What inspired you to write the Brighton Bad Boys series?

There are elements of my life and my experience in all my novels. Where the Brighton Bad Boys were concerned, I really wanted to set something in my chosen hometown for a change and bring some of my younger self’s predilection for hanging out with unsavory folks to the page. Before I moved to Brighton thirty years ago, I grew up in a German city that shall remain unnamed and hung around with a beautiful plethora of nightclub owners, drug dealers and wannabe career criminals for the formative years of my life. For the first half a decade after my move to the UK I stuck to that MO, so I feel pretty confident when I describe the underbelly of Brighton. I also gave a lot of myself to the character of Kalina, Diego’s lady, although it must be said that Kalina is - naturally - infinitely prettier and infinitely more badass than I will ever be.

Awww… don’t sell yourself short. You are pretty badass to create such amazing characters. I see you named the books after each bad boy. What’s the story behind the titles?

Silas, Rowan and Diego aren’t exactly the most imaginative titles, are they? (Laughs, then shrugs.) Naming books after the hero is a huge trend in the ‘bad boy romance’ genre and while I was happy to flaunt the rules between the covers and make the genre my own, I wasn’t going to upset the apple cart with radical new titles and covers.

Speaking of names, your heroes have some pretty strong and sexy names. How did you come up with them?

The main characters come fully fledged, name included, into my head. I sometimes have to consult my daughters on naming side characters but very rarely. Occasionally I might rename a character because I realize halfway through writing that their name is too similar to another character’s and that it may get confusing for the reader.

I accidentally created a hero’s brother with the name Jason. Their last name was Mason. Jason Mason… bad idea. (We pause while the cat joins us momentarily for a few pats.) How naughty would you say you get with your writing?

I love sex and my sex scenes are explicit and generally described as very hot, but at the same time I’m personally not a fan of BDSM. I’ve tried almost everything at one point in my life, but BDSM just does absolutely nothing for me, which is extra funny because once upon a time I even did a stint as the door tart in a BDSM club and the owner was forever trying to convince me to do a regular gig as dominatrix. So, upshot, to me ‘hot’ doesn’t equal spanking and bondage, hot in writing to me means that it’s believable between those two characters and that it fits with the rest of who they are.

The chemistry between your characters is amazing and the sexy scenes are off the chart steamy. I love how you managed to keep each couple’s dynamics fresh.

My three Brighton Bad Boys couples - Silas & Grace, Rowan &Raven and Diego & Kalina - have very different types of sexual relationships, formed by who they are, individually and to each other. And that’s what makes it hot for me. Without wanting to be crude, I know I’m doing alright when I barely make it through writing a paragraph before having to take a shower break.

All right then, let’s cool things down a bit. (Fans self) Some authors say writing the sexy bits is difficult. What would you say, were the hardest scenes for you to write?

There is some really harrowing stuff in both Rowan and Diego, not between the couples but as part of the wider story and some of that was immensely hard to write, but I can’t give away any details without spoilers. 

My lips are sealed, I won’t give away spoilers. But I must say, those scenes really keep the reader turning the pages. I took my kindle into the bathroom with me. I couldn’t bear to stop reading!!! Authors are known for doing their research and I can tell you certainly explored in depth to create your storylines. What was the strangest thing you’ve Goggled while working on a story.

Collar bombs.

LOL. I’m going to let readers Google that one! Other than quality research, authors have a tendency to have writing habits, routines or rituals. Some writers will go for a walk or do sit ups before sitting down. Others will have a glass of wine & chocolate handy. I know one writer who has a silly stuffed animal on her desk and can’t write without it. Do you have any rituals or “must-haves” while writing?

Some form of writing utensil helps: pen & paper, phone, computer, type writer - I’m not picky . I can write anywhere, under any circumstance, if the muse kisses me. While writing my first three books I didn’t even have a desk to have a stuffed animal on.

Thank you so much for joining Romantic Interludes today, Tilly. It’s been a lot of fun.

Thank you.

Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?

Thank you for picking my guys over the gazillion others, thank you for giving some of your lifetime to my guys. It means EVERYTHING!

Join us tomorrow when I’ll be featuring teasers from 

the Brighton Bad Boys series.

The Brighton BadBoys

Silas

Rowan

Diego

All are available on KU

Visit Tilly Delane Amazon Author Page

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