Janelle Denison is the award winning author of over 30 romances, with many more to come.  She writes super-sexy stories for Harlequin Temptation, red-hot reads for the new Harlequin Blaze line, and erotically charged stories for Kensington Brava, and is known for her sinfully sexy heroes and provocative stories that push the sensual envelope of category romance.  According to reader and reviewer response, the name Janelle Denison is synonymous with sizzling love stories that are packed with sexual tension and emotional conflicts that keep readers turning the pages.  Janelle is the recipient of the prestigious National Reader’s Choice Award, was a 2000 RITA finalist in short contemporary, and has garnered many other award and accolades in the romance writing industry.

Sue -- Welcome Janelle, to The Road to Romance.  I know you’ve been with us lots of times before, but this is your first as a single title author!  Congratulations on WILDE THING, coming in July, 2003 from Kensington Brava.

Ok, just how excited are you right now? 

Janelle -- I’m thrilled that my first single title release is FINALLY out in bookstores!  WILDE THING was definitely a labor of love, and since it is also part of my “Wilde” series, the book is even more special to me.  After writing category romances for nearly six years, this departure into the single title market is very exciting, but nerve-wracking, too!   

Sue -- WILDE THING is the first in a series about the Wilde brothers.   Tell us about the brothers, the series, and what we can expect when.     

Janelle -- The “Wilde” series started with the youngest brother, Eric Wilde in “Something Wilde”, which was part of the “I BRAKE FOR BAD BOYS” Brava anthology that was out last November ‘02.  In his story, I introduced his brothers, Steve and Adrian, and just knew that they had to have a story of their own, as well.  All the brothers have bad boy qualities, but they are also honorable men who ultimately respect and adore the women they end up with.  Steve Wilde’s story is next in WILDE THING, out this month in July ‘03, and finally Adrian Wilde will get his own story in THE WILDE ONE, a novella in the “Bad Boys to Go” Brava anthology, out in November ‘03.

The Wilde brothers and series is proving to be very popular with readers already!  In WILDE THING I’ve introduced four Wilde cousins, four men and one woman, and they are all getting stories of their own, too!  My next Brava single title will be about one of the cousins, Scott Wilde, in THE WILDE SIDE, which is scheduled for March ‘04.  And for those readers who want to know about Mia Wilde and Cameron Sinclair, they’ll be happy to know that they’ll be getting their own story in an upcoming Brava anthology in 2004!    

Sue -- What are some of the things that are different with this book, other than it being longer in length, than with the Blazes you usually write?     

Janelle -- The sexual tension in WILDE THING is definitely hotter and more erotic.  My Temptation and Blazes have always been hot, so it was a fairly easy transition to the longer format for Brava – but there are some things I did in the Brava that probably would have been too erotic for a series book.  The plot of WILDE THING focuses around a phone sex operation that they need to infiltrate, and as a result the two of them have to establish a connection through Liz’s job as a phone sex operator, and the phone sex gets pretty hot and steamy between them.  Especially when they take those fantasies they’ve talked about on the phone and make them into reality!   

Sue -- Are you still going to be writing series romance as well? 

Janelle -- Absolutely!  This month I also have another book out, which is a novella in the Harlequin Blaze INVITATIONS TO SEDUCTION anthology (along with Carly Phillips and Vicki Lewis Thompson).   And in October I have a HQ Temptation out entitled PURE INDULGENCE.  I’m still contracted to write two more Temptations, and at least one more Harlequin anthology, so it’s safe to say that I will continue writing series romances as well! 

Sue -- You had been writing Harlequin Romance’s, which are quite tame.  How did you get into the Temptations, then Blazes?   

Janelle -- Funny thing – before I became published, I was targeting my writing for Superromance and Special Edition, which are much tamer lines to write for, at least sexually.  But everything I wrote for them was rejected!  So, I decided to try my hand at Temptations because I enjoyed writing the hotter books, and at the same time I was revising those rejected stories to try and sell them to the Romance line.  After selling two Temptations, six months later I sold two books to Harlequin Romance, and for the next few years wrote for both lines – one steamy books, and the other more traditional stories!  I finally came to realize that my strongest books and stories were the Temptation and Blazes – they just came more naturally to me.  So, instead of writing for two very vastly different lines, with two very vastly different readerships, I decided to streamline my career into writing the sexier books.  The decision has worked well for me, and also led me to writing the Brava books, which I enjoy as well.  So, no more sweet, traditional stories from me! 

Sue -- Did you see yourself in this position in the present, sometime in the past?  Is this jump a planned career move or a ‘wow! I can’t believe this is happening!’ thing?   Or can you plan a career in a profession that so depends on editor’s preference and reader trends? 

Janelle -- As you read above, I think it was more of a “I need to streamline my career” kind of move, and one I’ve been very comfortable making.  Once I made the decision to write for Temptation, Blaze and now Brava, everything pretty much tied together for me as an author.  Most readers, when they hear the name Janelle Denison, think of hot, sexy books that are packed with sexual tension and emotional conflicts.  Yes, I do think you can plan a career in the publishing industry, so long as you’re willing to promote yourself and what you write and gain yourself a good strong following along the way.   

Sue -- Speaking of trends, the erotica stories are really popular right now – the ones even hotter than Blazes.  How do you explain such a sudden interest in more erotic stories when it seems like only a short while ago they weren’t acceptable?   

Janelle -- I think women are becoming more open about their own sexuality, and enjoying it, too.  Hot, steamy sex within a committed relationship is what most women crave, and the erotic stories fulfill a lot of fantasies and make women feel as though they don’t have to hide their more sensual cravings.  I hope the trend continues to grow! 

Sue -- I know you and Carly do a lot of self-promotion, to the point of holding lectures about it.  What do you think is the most important thing an author can do to promote herself with the number of authors and writers out there trying to get the readers attention?  

Janelle -- The most important thing an author can do to promote herself is to establish a “brand”, and work hard to build it – such as, Janelle Denison, author of wild and sexy romances.  “Wild and Sexy Romances” is a strong branding concept, and one readers immediately understand – and when they see the “Janelle Denison” name, they will automatically relate it to wild and sexy romances.  Another important (and must-have) promotional tool for an author is having a website!  Readers are so savvy, and the first thing they do when they discover a new author is search for a website to see what else is coming out, what books they’ve missed, and other tidbits on their new favorite author. Without a website, many readers may miss upcoming releases or lose touch of that new author.    

Sue -- You go to some conferences – how important are these to authors?  Are they work or play?  And how can authors and readers use them to their best advantage?  

Janelle -- I attend the Romance Writers of America conference on a yearly basis, and use that opportunity for “networking”, with other authors, editors, agents, and publishers.  The RWA conference is more of a “business” conference, though I enjoy meeting up with friends that one time a year, too!  I’ve also attended the Celebrate Romance conference, and enjoyed meeting and mingling with readers.  I think conferences are a great way to get your name out there, and also allow readers to put a “face” and real person with the name of the authors they read.  It’s always such a positive experience, and I’ve met some of the most wonderful readers through these conferences.   

Sue -- You admit to your first book being ‘stuffed in a box in the garage rafters’.  Do you ever pull it out and read it?  Can we? 

Janelle -- Those books have been up in the rafter for YEARS.   I haven’t read them in years, and no, you can’t read them either, LOL.   Those stories will never see the light of day, but I can’t bring myself to throw them out, either.  Each one of those manuscripts were a stepping stone to learning and honing the craft of writing romances, so they definitely served a purpose.   

Sue -- What is something that no one knows about Janelle Denison?  Something they’d be surprised to find out? 

Janelle -- Wow, tough question.  I don’t have a lot of deep dark secrets, LOL.  I think the most surprising thing about me is that I barely passed English in high school.  And I do mean BARELY.  Even though I always loved to read, It wasn’t one of my better subjects – and now being a writer I’m sure a lot of people would find that shocking, since so many of the fundamentals of what is taught in an English class would apply to my current career.  Though when I first decided I wanted to write a romance novel, one of the things I did do was take an English/writing class at a community college, LOL! 

Sue -- Janelle, thanks for talking with us today – and congratulations on WILDE THING!  It’s wonderful to see our favorite authors moving into new areas but not giving up on the stories we love to read.   

Janelle -- Thank you, Sue!   I’d like to take this opportunity to let readers know that I always have something fun and new going on at my website at www.janelledenison.com.   Read an excerpt of WILDE THING, enter my Wilde and Hot contest, and sign up for my newsletter so you can be informed about my next Wilde adventure!