Carly Phillips is an attorney who has tossed away legal briefs in favor of writing hot, contemporary romances for Harlequin Temptation, Harlequin Blaze, St. Martin's Press and Warner Books.Carly lives in Purchase, New York with her husband, two young daughters and frisky Wheaton Terrier. You can write Carly at P.O. Box 483, Purchase, NY 10577 or visit her website at: www.carlyphillips.com.

Interview with Carly Phillips

Carly: Sex without emotion.

SR: How would you define erotic romance?

Carly: A story with a deep emotional connection between the hero and heroine, where the trust is such that sexual boundaries can be pushed while still remain tasteful and within the bounds of one man/one woman happily ever after romance.

SR: How would you define sensual romance?

Carly: Much like erotic romance but the "sexual" dance between the partners is more prolonged and intense.

SR: What are the differences in writing for Blaze and Temptation?

Carly: Blaze gives an author the opportunity to explore more facets of character development, plot, sexual tension, sexual boundaries, and yes, some erotic romance, while still being faithful to monogamy and true love. Blaze stories are longer, deeper and not necessarily more sensual, but more intense than Temptation. Temptations for me personally are hot, sexy and fun. They are shorter obviously and therefore can't delve into much more than the hero and heroine's relationship with a minor subplot. One sentence difference? Blaze is erotic and intense while Temptation is sexy, sassy and fun. Both are romance!

SR: How does the new Blaze line differ from Harlequin Blaze / Heat?

Carly: Same answer as above basically. Temptation/Heat replaces the old Temptation/Blaze which for me = sexy, sassy and fun. Heats are the hotter Temptations. Harlequin Blaze for me=erotic and intense romances with all the distinctions I mentioned above courtesy of length.

SR:Could you tell us a little bit about your September Blaze, BODY HEAT, Sexy City Nights series book #2?

Carly: Physical therapist Brianne Nelson has spent her adult life raising her "genius" younger brother after the death of her risk taking parents. She works two jobs and is in deep financial debt. The only thing that gives her pleasure is watching the fantasy man at the cafe where she waitresses at night. Jake Lowell is an injured police officer who is disillusioned with life. All he wants is to put the drug dealing slime who killed his partner and injured him behind bars. By pretending not to rehabilitate his injured shoulder, he's buying himself time to investigate off duty. The only thing that interests him other than his mission is the sexy waitress at the sidewalk cafe he frequents with his sister. Jake can't afford to let any woman into his life until this case is tied up. And the last thing Brianne needs is another risk taker, a cop who will bring danger to her doorstep. But Jake's wealthy sister has other ideas. She hires Brianne as his very own physical therapist - his fantasy woman from the cafe is his -- every night of the long, hot summer -- a summer that's about to get much hotter courtesy of Brianne's hands on Jake's body -- BODY HEAT.

SR: What do you think makes a book erotic? Is it characters, situation, or something else?

Carly: Erotic isn't just one element. It is everything about a story that works well together and clicks, generating heat. From plot to character, everything is a factor.

SR: Would you consider the new Blaze line erotic romance or sensual romance?

Carly: Sensual romance, despite the title of my December Blaze, Erotic Invitation (Midnight Fantasy series launch book). I believe Blaze skirts the boundaries between sensual and erotic, but my stories never cross into erotic - as I define erotic - sex without emotion . In a Carly Phillips Blaze, you'll always get sizzling heat and emotional connection. I call that sensual romance as opposed to erotic romance. But I'm not certain one label on the Blaze line will fit all books! I'm describing my books as sensual romance.

SR: How do you feel being one of the first authors of the new line?

Carly: Thrilled and proud. I'm absolutely elated that Harlequin has chosen to explore sensual and sexual boundaries in longer length romances and I'm in awe that they've given me the opportunity to help launch the line by participating in the second month.

SR: Recently we've seen a lot of new lines devoted to sizzle and spice, like Red Sage, Brava, and now Blaze, to name a few. What do you think about this trend towards hotter romance?

Carly: I think that every line, Harlequin and others, fills a niche, a need. Readers seem to be gravitating now towards the steamier books and it shows the intelligence of the reader who is willing to accept and embrace these hotter yet still emotional stories of love, romance and most of all monogamy.