Welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author, Lelani Black!

I found it eerie when I came across Lelani's latest release as both her story and the novella I am currently working on are set in Greece. There is something so erotic, so romantic about this beautiful island that when I holidayed there in 2009, I knew I would use it as a setting. It was inevitable, the words would be on the hotter side of decent of course! I will reveal more about that story on Thursday, in the meantime, it's over Lelani...

1) Did you set any goals for 2011? I’d hoped to have another book out in 2010, but due to timing, I’ll have two books out in 2011, instead. I want to complete another story, or two, by this fall, submit it to my editor and hope for the best!

2) What is the best part of the writing process for you? When I’m so inspired that my fingers burn up the keyboard. When I’ve pinned that story down and the lines just flow…pure joy!

3) The worst part? Staring at a blank page, scratching my head, staring some more. Stare…stare…blink.

4) What is the book you wish you’d written? So many books I love, I’d feel guilty picking one, but most recently I said (out loud and wistfully) to my husband that I wished I’d written the hilarious, deliciously naughty and romantically twisted movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

5) Favourite author/s & book/s? There are so many authors whose stories I enjoy in different genres, I’d feel bad not naming all of them, but authors of The Wild Rose Press’s Scarlet Rose line are among my favorites, Bertrice Small’s historicals fill two bookshelves in my den, along with other series type romances by various authors, including the cluster of books in my e-reader by authors from other publishers, lines and genres.

6) Tell us about your latest release? Going Greek rolled out on July 8, and whisks readers off to the sultry Mediterranean. Pleasure destination? Corfu, Greece!

7) Tease us with a blurb/short except.

Blurb – Going Greek:

Lingerie model Marigold Laurent arrives in Greece for a much-needed vacation from work and the sweet-talking man who broke her heart. Fate and the machinations of her well-meaning sister ensure that she collides with tall, dark and luscious Dmitri Damianos, forcing her no-men policy right out the window. But can he give her more than one-and-done?

Wealthy entrepreneur, Dmitri, guards his emotions well. And while he wants everything Marigold has to offer--beauty, wit, charm, and the best sex of his life--he can't give her what she really needs. But when the red-hot beauty climbs out of his bed and possibly out of his life, can he let her go?

Excerpt :

"Hello, did you miss me?" murmured a deep voice in Marigold's ear.

A finger slowly traced a strand of hair away from her cheek and tucked it smoothly behind her ear. She smiled, and inhaled the citrus-flower fragrance floating through the courtyard on an afternoon breeze.

"No," she said. He chuckled. She grabbed his hand and rubbed her cheek against her dream lover's palm. Masculine notes of an evergreen forest after a spring rain tickled Marigold's nose. With a sigh, she welcomed the imagery playing in her mind, especially since her only audience to this fantasy was herself.

"Why not, beautiful?"

"It's my dream. I can say what I like."

"Can you do what you like?"

She nodded and kissed his inner palm. "So can you."

8) What is your favourite attribute of the hero and heroine? Dmitri makes no long-term promises. A man who likes to run the show, he knows what he has to offer, and lays it on the line for the heroine. While he wishes he could offer her more, she’s got a few wishes of her own. Things soon steam up into a hot throw-down between the two!

Favorite heroine attribute--there is something so appealing about how Marigold just says “no” to Dmitri’s delectable offerings. She’s not afraid to tell him she’d like some of her deeper needs catered to for a change! A set of handcuffs and a lost key make them both re-think their positions.

9) What’s next? I’m finishing up another erotic contemporary. I’ve been tinkering with an erotic paranormal/fantasy, and I’m finished with part 1 of 2 parts. In other words, I’ve written half a story.

10) Tell me where you write? The garden room in my house, with its stone fireplace and out-of-control plants. Bookshelves of knotty pine are built into either side of the fireplace, and filled with special things. We’ve got a fossil stone from Colorado hills, and rocks from our travels imbedded in the stonework. The covers from my books are in frames. I’m surrounded by pictures of my family, and framed art. French doors look out into a yard hedged with soft purple lilacs, and allow light and sunshine in. No clutter, other than what’s on my desk.

11) Where would you like your career to be in 5 years?

I’d like to be established, my name branded in erotic romance fiction, with an abundance of current releases that are selling well! A friend asked if I saw myself writing other types of stories (non-erotic), since the natural progression of a writer would be to branch out into bigger books, or to sign with other publishers, perhaps. Strangely, I’m having fun right where I’m at, for now, doing what I’m doing. That said, I started my writing journey writing longer, sensual books targeted to paper publishers. I’ve got more than half a dozen sixty-some-thousand word manuscripts sitting in my computer. But, with the surge of popularity in e-readers, and my interest in writing shorter, heat-packed works of romance fiction, came the realization--I wanted in on that action. I shifted focus a bit, hopeful I, too, might sell stories that could ride this industry wave, and growth, in the delivery of erotic romance fiction to readers.

12) Where can we find you? Dinkering around on Facebook. When I’m not in Colorado, I’m traveling with my family around the US mainland, or chasing waves and coqui frogs in Hawaii. Readers can also look up my website for information on new releases: http://www.lelaniblack.com

Your surroundings sound amazing to me, Lelani, both your office and where you go when you're not writing! As I live in the UK, I am surrounded by what Americans love - the countryside, cottages, eighteenth century buildings just a short drive away. But when you mention chasing waves in Hawaii...wow!

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