Interview of Author Lily Harlem

Today it's my pleasure to present an interview of romance author Lily Harlem.

Latest Book: ‘Candy Canes and Coal Dust’
Buy Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=639
BIO:
Lily Harlem lives in the UK with a workaholic hunk, a crazy ginger cat called Rupert and a delightfully uncontrolled addiction to chocolate.

She writes mainly contemporary erotic romance and her stories are made up of colorful characters exploring their sexuality and sensuality in a safe, consensual way. With the bedroom door left wide open the reader can hang on for the ride and Lily hopes by reading sensual romance people will be brave enough to try something new themselves – after all, life’s too short to be anything other than fully satisfied.

Q: What’s the first thing you did when you received word you’d sold a book?
A: It was on a summer’s day and I had a big garden party planned for all my friends. In the morning, whilst elbow deep in pastry and salad dressings, I received an email to say I’d sold a spankingly naughty tale called ‘Stable Manners’ to Violet Blue. It was for her anthology ‘Best Women’s Erotica 2010’ and boy did I celebrate that night – the Pimms and white wine went down far too easily! It was a great feeling to have been acknowledged as a writer but I suffered for it the next day – in fact just them memory of it makes me wince. But I was so thrilled to see my name and words in print a few months later it was all worth it, the hard work and the hangover.

Q: What part of the book is the easiest for you to write? Why?
A: The middle of the book is the easiest for me – partly because I know my characters so well by then their dialogue and actions flow easily and also because in the middle I’m halfway through the hard slog of writing a novel - it feels like a weight is lifting from my shoulders but I still have time for fun. They say the best place to be is in the middle of reading a good book, the same is true for writing, it really is a good place to be.

I also love the point where the plot and characters are coming together. I get so immersed in the scenes and the romance (and the sex) that it becomes like real life to me – especially if I’m lucky enough to get several uninterrupted hours of just writing. It transports me to another world – I love it and it’s why I write.

Q: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
A: In ‘Candy Canes and Coal Dust’ it would have to be the heroine, Bridget, bless her, she dreams very publicly and very noisily about what she wants and as I wrote it I was so embarrassed for her my toes were actually curling.

I also like that she’s always been such a sweet, good girl doing the right thing year after year and then when she gets the chance she’s naughty and kinky and grabs hold of the chance to turn her wildest fantasies into reality.

It turns out the bad girl’s sack of coal was Bridget’s ideal Christmas present all along, forget the pink striped candy canes, they’re not for her at all, she’s dirty, so dirty in fact she doesn’t even deserve the lump of coal, just the coal dust!

As for a favorite character overall I think Ariane from ‘Shared’ although it’s hard to choose. Ariane is feisty and soft all at the same time and she has a broad enough mind to enter into a relationship with two men she’s attracted to and who both want her. She trusts them but not without demanding trust back and together they travel on a journey of sexual discovery.

‘Shared’ was just a total blast to write, Ariane felt like a friend, a heroine and just the luckiest damn woman on earth as I was writing this book. Not that I’m jealous of course!

Q: If one of your books became a movie, which celebrity would you like to star as one of your heroines? Tell us about your heroine.
A: Oh, good question. I think probably my novel ‘Thief’ because it’s such an action packed story both in and out of the bedroom, and also its set in London, one of my most favorite places in the world.

The heroine is called Kat and she’s a lying, thieving little witch who you can’t help but be fascinated by. As the tale unfolds you learn more and more about her and realize that she’s not the confident woman she projects to the world, she is in fact a messed up little soul who’s just doing what she needs to do to survive. Kat is curvy and pretty with sleek black hair and intelligent green eyes, I’m thinking maybe Lindsay Price who plays Victory in Lipstick Jungle would be good as her, or perhaps Angelina Jolie when she was younger, and not so thin. Although whether or not they would act out all the scenes is a whole other question – ‘Thief’ gets very steamy.

Q: Do all your heroes and all heroines look the same in your mind as you “head write”?
A: No, not at all. I always have a definite look for my heroes and heroines, it keeps them real in my head and for the reader. If you put all my characters in a room they’d all look very different. Also I like to give them each a physical individuality, for example a tattoo or a piercing and/or something about their bodies they’re not so happy about, maybe too big or too small breasts, an identifying mole or a bad scar.

I create lots of different body types and looks too, sometimes buff and muscular, a chiseled jaw line and blue eyes works for a male character and other times I like them lean and graceful. I like tans but I also like pale skin contrasting with dark hair combined with a sprinkle of black stubble and a sparkle in green eyes - I think there’s something very British about that look.

Q: What hobby do you enjoy when not writing?
A: I like to paint, it’s not extreme or dangerous I know but if I get the chance, particularly in the summer, I like to take my watercolors and a canvas down to the lake near where I live – sometimes I take a sneaky bottle of wine too! – the colors there are so vivid and it buzzes with life; swans and moorhens, giant dragonflies and a whole range of different species of butterflies. I like the details but my paintings tend to come out a bit abstract and capture a mood rather than looking like a photograph – which I guess is the idea of a painting.

I also love to look at art and have been lucky enough to visit art galleries all over Europe – I would say my most favorite one though, predictably, is the Louvre in Paris. It’s just so inspiring and the building itself is so ancient and mysterious it tells a story around every corner and beneath every room. Oh, it makes me shiver, if only walls could talk.

Tell us where to find you: website(s), publisher’s page(s), blog(s), Facebook page(s), etc. List them all!
Website: http://www.lilyharlem.weebly.com Twitter
Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-640-lily-harlem.aspx
Total-E-Bound: http://www.total-e-bound.com/authordetail.asp?A_ID=128
Xcite Books: http://www.xcitebooks.com/category-208/XB2032.html


BLURB:
A Finnish skiing holiday is the perfect winter wonderland for Bridget to escape her ex at Christmas time - beautifully decked trees, roaring log fires and plenty of mulled wine. What she doesn't count on, however, is a very erotic, very dirty dream on the plane from London to Levi - three perfect lovers all indulging her every whim and desire, how could she not moan and groan and beg for more?

But every dream must end, and as Bridget wakes, with toe curling embarrassment, she realises every passenger on the plane has heard her frantic orgasm...including the gorgeous Irish guy sitting to her left!

ADULT EXCERPT:
The two men began to thrust in perfect sync. One in, one out, riding her senses into realms of ecstasy she never thought she’d go. The fire hissed. A log tumbled out. They didn’t notice; they kept on fucking, the men intent on pleasuring her before themselves.

But it still wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

Bridget moved her head, her mouth open and searching. She knew it would be there somewhere—she just had to find it.

Ahh, there it was, another beautiful cock being offered forward on a hand wearing a thick, black ski glove. She glanced up. The owner of the penis wore a reflective, orange ski mask and his mouth was set in a hard line; determined, eager, impatient. But she needed no extra persuasion. This was the icing on the cake, the final piece of her jigsaw.

She leant forward and sucked him in greedily, eating him up like a starving woman. She rolled his glans around her tongue then thrust him against the back of her throat. He hissed like a punctured tyre and began to time his rhythm with the other two cocks invading her body.

Bridget whimpered in delight and gave control over to her three expert lovers. Now she could indulge in an orgasm. This was how it was supposed to be, every hole filled, every carnal desire indulged at the same time. Her womb and anus were being pounded into, sublime cocks sweeping past every nerve ending. Her mouth was absorbing the heat and lust of the sexy man looming over her. He clasped her head between his gloved hands. The roaring in her ears reached a crescendo as she climbed the ladder to satisfaction, letting her clit lead the way.

Suddenly she was there, suspended in a moment of sheer bliss, the glorious anticipation of magnificent contractions and spasms within reach. She sucked harder, groaned and moaned, pushed backwards into the cocks fucking and buggering her. Then it consumed her; washed through her, wave after wave of hammering delight.

“You want more?” the guy with the ski goggles asked in his husked, unfamiliar accent.

Bridget nodded around his cock—she wanted this to carry on forever. Please let this never stop.

“Would you like some mortar?” he said again.

Bridget nodded, letting her womb spasm around the cocks buried so deeply within her.

“Are you alright, would you like some water?” A female voice interrupted the guy with the ski goggles.

Bridget felt a soft hand rest on her forearm. The roar in her ears was so loud it was disorientating and confusing. But it wasn’t being caused by a set of hands covering her ears any more. In fact, there was no set of hands covering her ears.

“Madam, is there anything I can get you?”

Anything else you’d like to add?
To celebrate my being here on Thanksgiving I’m giving away a copy of my Christmas e-book ‘Candy Canes and Coal Dust’. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is visit my website http://www.lilyharlem.weebly.com and leave me a message telling me which of my stories, book covers or characters is your favorite and why – also there’s two free read links on my site if you’ve got time to hang out.

Good luck, best wishes and thanks so much for having me RBRU, Contest ends 1 December and I’ll send out the prize immediately! The winner will be announced on my website.

Lily Harlem, Winner of the 2009 Love Honey Award for Erotic Fiction