All About Tracy

2009 is debut author Tracy Wolff's year. She is versatile--she writes everything from Harlequin Superromance to paranormal romance to romantic suspense to erotic suspense. She is prolific--she will have 4 full-length books released this year. And she is just totally fabulous in every conceivable way. I interviewed her on the eve of the release of her first erotic suspense from NAL, Full Exposure.

To read an excerpt from Full Exposure, click here.

Your debut NAL release, Full Exposure, has been described as "erotic suspense." That intrigues me. What is erotic suspense?

Erotic suspense is a subcategory of erotic romance that seems to be taking the publishing world by storm these days. In a nutshell, it’s romantic suspense with the heat turned waaaaay up. But it is more than just a bunch of hot sex scenes strung together with a bad guy—good erotic suspense has a strong suspense plot, with sex somehow essential to that plot.

In the case of Full Exposure, my heroine Serena, has survived a vicious attack that left her sister dead. But it forced her to shut down inside to survive, and my hero, Kevin, uses sex (among other things) to reach out to her. The suspense comes in when the man responsible for injuring Serena, and killing her sister, is released early from prison—right around the time frightening and mysterious things start happening to Serena.

Tell me a bit more about this book that New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna calls "Edgy and erotic . . . a sultry, red-hot read."

Full Exposure is the story of a vulnerable but strong woman, who has managed to survive unspeakable horrors through sheer strength of will—and by disconnecting with her emotions and the world around her. It is, at its heart, a powerfully romantic story about how one man helps this woman find her way again after she’s been lost for nearly decade. It’s also the first book I ever wrote—though it was the second to sell and get published. It takes place largely in the Louisiana Bayou, a place near and dear to my heart as I lived in New Orleans for a number of years while I went to graduate school.

What is your favorite thing about this book?

My hero. Though I’ve written a number of books since this one, Kevin remains my absolute favorite character. Incredibly tough, unbelievably sexy, he’s got a great capacity for tenderness that helps him give Serena exactly what she needs. My other favorite thing—the fact that the sex scenes are so hot that they actually made my editor blush—and believe me when I tell you that that is no easy thing to do.

You also wrote a Spicy Brief for Harlequin. You teach literature at your local community college. I understand that some of your students were suitably impressed? :-)

I did write a Spice Brief for Harlequin—it’s called No Apologies and tells the story of a woman who refuses to believe in love and the man who loves her. It is quite “spicy” and while I usually mention to my writing students that I am a writer myself, I don’t give them my pen name as I have to stand up in front of rooms full of eighteen to twenty year olds three times a week and I would just prefer that they not think about me that way.

But last Spring, a group of motivated students hunted me down on the internet—just as No Apologies released. They—and their friends—really liked it, but when my fall rosters turned up classes that were almost exclusively male, it was my turn to blush. On the first day, it was obvious that they had heard about the story, but I didn’t bring up my writing at all this semester—and neither did they.

2009 is shaping up to be a banner year for you. Give us a rundown on what you've got going on this year.

2009 is busy! Full Exposure hits January 6th, followed by Naughty Bits —a Spice anthology—in March. In June, my second Harlequin Superromance, From Friend to Father comes out and in September my second erotic suspense, Tie Me Down, hits the shelves. I end the year in December, with my third Superromance—To Save A Boy.

And of course I can't let you go without begging for the recipe for your chocolate trifle, which is one of the most heavenly desserts I've ever had. Please share.

That’s one of my favorite desserts, as well, Sherry. It’s also super easy. You need:

One tray of brownies—sometimes I make them from scratch, but usually I just use the boxed kind.
1/4 cup Kahlua, Grand Marnier or Espresso
2 packages of chocolate mousse
1 pint of whipping cream, whipped with a little sugar and vanilla
3 Heath bars or one bag of Heath bar bits, crushed
1 cup crushed pecans

And then you just layer it all together. Crumble the brownies in the bottom of a trifle bowl, then pour half of liqueur or coffee on them. Spread with chocolate mousse and then a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with heath bits and pecans then repeat all the layers again.

Man, now you’ve got me thinking about dessert- I might just have to go make this. :-)

And thanks for having me, Sherry. It’s been a blast!

Tracy Wolff Giveaway

There is a contest exclusive to subscribers of An Infrequent Offer. To subscribe, click here.

But you can visit Tracy's website for her contest. She is running a mega-contest to celebrate the release--giving away books, bath products and a gift certificate to Starbucks!







And congratulations to Cindy M, who won the Mystery Case Files Huntsville giveaway, and to plhill2000, the winner of the Gold Canyon candle from Heather Bennett.

Book Recommendations

This month's book recommendations come from my guest Tracy Wolff. Thanks, Tracy.

May your shelves always overflow with great books to read.

Best,
Sherry