SquawkRadio

KITTY:What’s coming up next for you?

TONI: Well, Kitty, I’m a busy bee these days. 

I just agreed to two more books for Avon.  These books will not be in the Red line, but will instead come out in Avon’s mass market contemporary program.  But fear not, readers, they’re the same kind of book I’ve been writing all along – super sexy and super emotional – just no longer marketed as erotica. 

Meanwhile, I’ve just finished up another Lacey book for Penguin (SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN, April 2008) and have also just agreed to write a third.  I’m still at work on a continuing series at Ellora’s Cave, as well as taking part in an anthology with them that comes out in September, and as Toni, I’ll even have a short story included in an anthology coming out from Berkley next year, for which the proceeds will benefit a battered women’s shelter.

And more immediately, I and fellow author LuAnn McLane are embarking on The Blondes Have More Fun Book Tour, a four-state signing tour that will keep us occupied throughout much of the month of June.  If readers want a signed copies of our books and happen to live in the Midwest, they should check my website in June to see a list of bookstores that will have them.

KITTY: So, imagine I’m purely a Toni Blake fan and I’m not all over the erotic side of the market. Stop looking at me like that. I said *imagine.* Would I like your Lacey Alexander books?

TONI: That’s a tricky question, Kitty.  Sometimes people who know I write under both names will buy a Lacey book, then tell me how surprised they were by the “erotic content.” So trust me, they are very different, and if you’re easily offended or uninterested in reading about very extreme sex, Lacey books may not be for you.  (EC even puts disclaimers on most of my books, so consider yourself warned.)

On the other hand, many of the same readers subscribe to both Toni’s and Lacey’s newsletters, and often the very same reviewers give both Toni and Lacey great reviews.  I recently announced my double life on a readers’ loop I take part in and was delighted to find that many of my reader friends there who knew me as Toni had already been reading and enjoying my Lacey books, as well.

So I guess it comes down to your sensibilities and your interest in erotica.  If Toni readers want to pick up a copy of VOYEUR and check it out, I’m grateful and I hope they love it.  And if Lacey fans want to give TEMPT ME TONIGHT a try when it comes out next month, I would very much appreciate that, too!

KITTY: So why do you write about such “extreme sex” in your Lacey books?  Why isn’t “regular” sex a good enough topic?  Brockway made me ask that question. As dense as last year’s fruitcake, that girl.

TONI: First of all, Kitty, I’ve learned through writing erotica that “regular” is often in the eye of the beholder.  But to address your question, as I said, in each Lacey book, I strive to take readers on a complete erotic adventure, one that they’re probably never actually going to go on.  With Lacey, it’s all about fantasy and exploring sexual ideas.  Besides, there’s an awfully lot of erotic books out there right now, so I also hope to give readers something a little different than what they may have read elsewhere.

KITTY: So you’re saying your Lacey books are different than every other erotica book out there?

TONI: You’re putting words in my mouth, Kitty.  (And here I’d started saying nice things about you, too.)

I can’t really say what other erotica is out there, because to be honest, I’ve read very little of it.  I only know that my readers and editors often indicate that my books are filled with more extreme situations than much of what they’re seeing – and they seem to like that : )

When I sat down to write my first erotica (a book called FRENCH QUARTER, which still sells well more than three years after it’s release) I didn’t want to know what other authors were writing – I just wanted to take a stab at creating a highly-charged, envelope-pushing sexual adventure that I thought women would enjoy.  So that’s what I do now with every Lacey book. 

I also try, in many of my books, to write stories featuring very average, normal women who I hope readers can relate to, someone who is just as surprised as the reader when she finds herself swept up in a steamy erotic journey. 

KITTY: Are you concerned that current readers of both names you write under may feel deceived when they discover you kept this secret for so long? Not that I have anything against deception, mind you.

TONI: Don’t be silly, Kitty – my readers are far more sophisticated than that! 

Actually, a few people have suggested to me this might happen, but I can’t see why, especially since I was contractually obligated not to say anything for a long while.  And I pretty much see this a personal decision for any author, where many factors come into play.  So while I expect some people to be surprised, I’d be amazed if anyone was actually upset. 

KITTY: So where can readers learn about all your many personas and books?

TONI: There are only two personas, Kitty – quit exaggerating. 

They can learn about Toni’s books at www.ToniBlake.comAnd they can learn about Lacey’s books at www.LaceyAlexander.net

KITTY: Finally, how weird is it to refer to yourself in the third person? Because Bevarly does that a lot and we find it annoying as hell.

TONI: It’s pretty weird, frankly, and I have to do it a lot, mostly with my editors and agent, and also close friends – otherwise, they don’t know which one of me I’m talking about.  The double life thing is pretty crazy, actually.  One thing’s for sure – Lacey has added an entirely unexpected element to my life.  Trust me – no one who knows me personally would have ever expected me to write erotica.  Just goes to show that maybe we all have undiscovered parts of ourselves. 

As for why Liz is referring to herself in the third person, too, I have no idea what her excuse is ; )

Thanks for the interview, Kitty!

KITTY: No problemo. Just tell me where I can get hold of the phone number of that guy from the cover up top. I gots me a set of fur-lined manacles ...