Titania Ladley is a wonderfully gifted writer. With memorable characters and sex scenes that are sure to send your temperature rising, she is one of the hottest authors around. Published by Ellora's Cave, eXtasy Books and Echelon Press; Titania currently has 7 titles available with more to come. If you haven’t had a chance to add one of these titles to your library, you need to run, don’t walk, and grab one today.

Hi Titania! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us.

Hi, Kathi! Thanks for inviting me. I’m thrilled to be here. (G)

Let’s start with YOU’VE GOT IRISH MALE!, your upcoming story in the EC anthology ENCHANTED ROGUES. I am such a sucker for an Irish brogue, can you tell us about this story and when we can expect it to be released?

I’m so excited about this enchanting anthology! It just released February 23 at Ellora’s Cave, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. My contribution, YOU’VE GOT IRISH MALE!, is a paranormal erotic romance about a home sex-toy business owner who opens an E-mail the night before St. Patrick’s Day. The E-mail contains a virus-spell that brings forth a handsome rogue---a strapping mutant leprechaun. Infected by the virus and by the irresistible charms of this hot man, the heroine becomes caught up in a sensual, magical world she can’t escape. But there’s more going on than even the leprechaun can fathom. Ultimately, choices must be made, choices between life and death.

I loved JENNIE IN A BOTTLE and was thrilled to see ME TARZAN, YOU JEWEL released in January! Can you tell us a little about the story and how it felt to revisit Carnal Island?

Thank you so much! JENNIE IN A BOTTLE was my first Ellora’s Cave acceptance, so I consider it my special baby. As a result, I couldn’t let go of the sultry magic I’d created there. So I wrote another story to follow it! ME TARZAN, YOU JEWEL is an old-flames-reunite-in-the-jungle premise with a little survival-of-the-fittest thrown in for extra conflict. Carnal Island was such an ideal paradise in JENNIE IN A BOTTLE that I started thinking opposites for ME TARZAN, YOU JEWEL. I thought, hmm…what if I threw old lovers on the island together who hadn’t seen one another in years and who’d left each other on bad, highly emotional terms? And what if genies Jennie and Luke came back to stir up trouble for them? What if the genies require them to survive together and render the island deserted but for the hero and heroine…and all those bananas and oranges? (EG) Lovers are forced to dredge up the past, and Carnal Island simply goes up in smoke with all that sexual tension!

I read about your trip to the BunnyRanch to research your story MOONLITE MIRAGE. It looks like you had an awesome time. What surprised you the most about the ranch? What was the best part of the whole trip?

MOONLITE MIRAGE was born out of seed in my mind in which I wondered…could love be found in a bordello? I thoroughly enjoy thinking opposites, so this setting really intrigued and challenged me to use it as a background for a love story. After several E-mail correspondences in which I inquired about many aspects of research for the project, I was awed to hear the phone ring. The invitation to visit the BunnyRanch was the very first thing that surprised me. Moi? I thought. Little ol’ me go to a brothel and obtain my research in real life? I was completely petrified to say the least! Once I arrived, though, the hospitality and total class act that owner Dennis Hof reigns over, took me by pleasant surprise and put me at ease. Not that I thought I’d encounter otherwise, but I’ll admit, I too had preconceived notions before witnessing it myself. It didn’t take me long to feel welcomed, to start my snooping and nosy lines of questioning. I’d have to say this was---and always will be---the highlight of my writing career. Ah, and the best part of the whole trip was being invited to join Madam Suzette and all her girls in the parlor for an afternoon tea party. It was elegance at its best!

Have you had or do you plan to have any more adventures for the sake of research?

I have no specific plans at the moment, but in the future, I do hope to research on-site as much as possible. But every place I do visit at leisure, be it the town next door or across the country, I take notes and gain inspiration for all those WIPs I’m working on. It’s so much easier to write about a place you’ve actually been to, the mannerisms of the “characters” you encounter, the scents and sights and climates. There’s nothing like jarring the muse and getting the inspiration flowing like being right smack-dab in the middle of your setting.

What is the biggest drawback to writing erotica? What is the best thing about it?

I would have to say the wrongful stigma that’s placed on romance and/or erotica. To me, love and sex are a vital part of life. I mean…it is our species’ lifeline and how we all got here in the first place, right? LOL. And most people, IMO, have fantasies to some degree. Reading is a great way to escape and “live” them without necessarily doing them in real life. Or maybe it can offer creative, real solutions, or just plain fun to spice things up. Erotica can boost sex lives, save marriages, create miracles---LOL! The best thing about writing erotica: the readers, hands down. Wow! I’ve gained so many friendships and bonds since journeying down this wonderful path. In addition, there’s nothing quite like the freedom of being able to cross boundaries and push limits. (G) I always did like seeing how far I could go with things, testing the deep waters, so to speak. ;)

Having read your books, I can honestly say that I have never read such creative and inventive sex scenes before. I feel the need for ice just thinking about them (bg). Where do you come up with such unique ideas?

ROFL! That is one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever received! Thank you so much! Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t know. I sit down with fingers to keyboard and these “inventive” things just pour out of me. Sometimes, I can be folding underwear and…voila! An idea is born. Oh, and I’ve been asked this question before: Do you actually do the things you write about? In most cases, no. In a select other cases, I might have thought about it, but in general, it’s all just my very active imagination coming to life on the pages so that I can share it all with the readers. (G) And I know when it’s getting me aroused just writing it, it’s got to arouse those who read it. ;)

What is the most emotional scene you have ever written? What is the most erotic?

Without giving away the story, I’ll just say the most emotional was the final “revealing” scene in ME TARZAN, YOU JEWEL in which the hero and heroine both expose their hidden motivations. The most erotic? Hmm, I really have so many. What comes to mind uppermost is a love scene in a steamy, natural hot spring in my newest sale, a historical re-telling of Robin Hood. (For more on this, see the “What else can we look forward to from you this year?” question below.)

How did you get the nickname Sparky?

LOL, blame Ellora’s Cave author C.J. (Charlie) Burton and his wife Jaci. You see, one day I was chatting on the Ellora’s Cave readers’ loop and complaining about my hair. I mentioned it’s always as if I have my hand set on one of those static-generating balls in the science museum. My hair is like baby hair, same texture, same thickness, won’t grow…and it’s always sticking out as if I’ve just seen a ghost. So, Charlie chimed in and dubbed me Sparky because I can’t touch anything or anyone without shocking them…and my dang hair won’t behave. Needless to say, I fend off this ongoing problem by keeping a travel-sized bottle of Static Guard and a Bounce sheet in my purse at all times. :-/

What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you?

Out of all your questions, this one stumped me the most. I must lead a pretty boring existence because for the life of me, I can’t think of a single thing!

What do you believe is the worst invention ever?

Cell phones! Gawd. Can’t live without it, but geez, it won’t stop ringing! LOL. And all those buttons and passwords and text messages and menus and sub-menus and---whew! My heart is palpitating just thinking about all the confusion!

If you could ask anyone, past or present, one question; who would it be and what would you ask?

Keith Urban, will you marry me? Uh, okay, I’m already married to a wonderful man so that’s out. How about…can I at least have a kiss, Keith? No? Then, would you please serenade me with just one teeny-weeny song? (swoon) That man just really gets me revved!

Please finish this sentence. The secret to a happy life is…?

Pursuing your dreams to their fullest, surrounding yourself with people you love and who love you back, people who truly believe in you. Ditch the rest.

What else can we look forward to from you this year?

Thanks for asking! You can expect to see my Ellora’s Cave Quickie titled SPELL OF THE CHAMELEON re-releasing in paperback any time now. It will be part of the MORE THAN MAGICK anthology including works with talented authors Rhyannon Byrd and Shiloh Walker. If anyone here is planning to attend the Romantic Times Convention in St. Louis in April, expect to see this print anthology there along with JENNIE IN A BOTTLE and other paperbacks. Then there’s my newest sale, which I mentioned briefly in an earlier question. A WANTON’S THIEF (previously named THIEF OF DESIRE) is my historical, paranormal version of the infamous bandit Robin Hood with a ménage slant. I just sold it to Ellora’s Cave, but don’t yet have a release date. I really got myself all worked up in the pre-writing stages of this book since it is my first historical. But I tell you what, I had the best time researching the 1500s and thoroughly enjoyed branching out into uncharted territory. I do plan to write Little John’s story (but he’s not at all little! *snicker*), so keep an eye out for that one, as well. For Echelon Press’ Men of Entice line, I just turned in a project I’d committed to them way before I even received my first Ellora’s Cave contract. RISQUÈ is a sensual contemporary novella that you can expect to see in a print anthology sometime in 2006. The e-version will come out in June 2005. As far as WIPs go, I’m currently writing my first vampire story tentatively titled HOT PANTS. It should be ready for submission to Ellora’s Cave by the time I go off to the Romantic Times Convention in late April. Next will come the sequel to my Ellora’s Cave Quickie SPELL OF THE CHAMELEON. It’s a paranormal witch story with a tentative title of CHASTITY’S COVEN: RETURN OF THE CHAMELEONS. I’ve been inundated with requests to expand on the Chameleons, so I intend to deliver. (G)

Is there anything else you would like to add before we go?

Yes! I’d love to invite all your readers to join Titania’s Secret Seductions, my new non-chat monthly newsletter. I give away monthly prizes to random subscribers. You must be a member to be eligible and you need to read the newsletter each month to see if you’re a winner. That’s it! No questions to answer or searching for clues. Special prizes will also be given away in addition to the monthly ones when membership reaches the marks of 200, 400, 600 and so on. This is the URL to sign up on the web, or you can simply send a blank E-mail to:
Titanias_Secret_Seductions-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Titania, thank you so much for talking with Fallen Angel Reviews! I wish you the best of luck and look forward to reading more from you.

Great interview, Kathi! Thank you for having me! (G)

Titania has a very sexy website! You can find excerpts and details on all her books there, so plan on spending some time exploring, you won’t be disappointed.

Interviewed by:
Kathi