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
Find Tilly Delane on
Facebook
Goodreads
