The PHS Poll: Some Like It Hot!

When it comes to romance novels there's a wide range of heat levels. Our authors tell us why Some Like It Hot and others prefer the bedroom door to remain closed. What's your preference? Cast your vote in this month's PHS Poll!

Aja - I Love It Served Hot

I prefer the heat of my love/sex scenes to match the heat in the relationship my couple is having. But… honestly all the couples I’ve written have been hot, so my scenes are as well.

I think the only thing that separates them from each other is how I choose to share the heat. Sometimes it’s poetic, sometimes graphic, sometimes sensual. For me love-making is like art, it imitates life and circumstance, so it ebbs and flows. Hopefully it flows the most! ;)

For example, a project I’m working on with my writing partner, Roy Glenn, follows a couple we’ve written before in our Unexpected series. Maya and Roman are now married and have a six-week-old daughter, Sarena. This little girl won’t stay asleep for long which has made the time Maya and Roman have alone together, and not also trying to catch some zzz’s, scarce. So, they need a moment to get it on.

We’ve written very hot scenes between these two which can be found in Unexpected and Be With Me, books 1 & 2, so in this snatch in time which comes before our next book The Pursuit, we have nothing to prove to our readers. They know what these two, can and do share. But… the reality of being new parents, having a new baby still adjusting to the day and night schedule, makes for less than romantic moments and as writers we chose not to force them out of their reality.

You can read a scene from Aja's latest story here. For more information about her books check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Robyn Rychards - Sweet Romance

It’s all sweetness and light. Well, not really… Although I prefer reading and writing romance where the sex takes place behind closed doors, I also enjoy a bit of sexual tension and drama in the story. In my experience that’s a little hard to come by in sweet romance, so I’m always on the look out for a smexy sweet romance. Most of the time it’s either one extreme or the other; going all the way or stopping at chaste kisses.

I’m a sucker for tension and drama. That may be why, as a teenager, the vintage Harlequin Presents were my favorites. They had all that sexual tension and emotional drama without the all the details that make a story less romantic for me. I picked up a bunch of those vintage Presents on eBay a few years back and binged on them for quite a while. And the best part was, it had been so long since I’d read one, even the ones I’d read as a teenager were new again.

For me, there are two things about romances that make it my favorite genre. One is the emotional journey of the hero and heroine and their interactions with each other. Even more so when it includes that sexual tension without opening the door and tipping into what, for me, becomes TMI. At which point a lot of the time I’m taken out of the story, the romance is gone and I’m thinking, ‘Gah, didn’t really want to think about that…’

The other thing that draws me to the romance genre… The happy ever after, of course! Life is stressful enough, I don’t need to experience awful things while I’m entertaining myself. I want an escape from the real world for a few hours. It helps me cope with reality a little better, and a sweet romance with a happy ending does it for me every time!

Robyn's latest release is The Bodyguard's Catch To find out more about her writing and what she's up to, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Trish Wylie - Variety Is The Spice Of Life

Just like the music I listen to or the food I eat or the clothes I wear, what I read more often than not depends on my mood. Some days I want something sweet. Some days I crave a little spice. But regardless of whether a story is so hot it sets the page on fire or if everything is left simmering below the surface, it comes down to the same thing: The characters.

If their story is compelling, emotionally layered and at times, laugh out loud funny, then it doesn't really matter to me if they do the horizontal mambo or waltz around each other, sizing up the opposition, until they succumb to that first longed-for kiss. I have to care what happens to them, understand why they need to be with the other person and long for a happy ending so badly I'm tempted to skip to the last chapter and have to hold myself back.

I've read right across the board, from chaste to acrobatic but the one constant in every book on my keeper shelf is the strength of the story. To be honest, there are times reading page after page of sex scenes in every book can be as exhausting for me as I imagine t would be if I was participating in them all! So, just like everyone else on the planet, there are times when I want a bit of a heart to heart or some laughter or even to shed a few tears. And that's one of the things I love most about the romance genre, and why I keep returning to it over and over again and have done since my teens.: The spectrum is broad. Go looking and there are so many fabulous stories to choose from, with so many varied settings and eras and diverse characters, you will never, EVER be bored!

Trish's most recent release is Mostly Married. For more information about her upcoming releases and to stalk her check out her website, and follow her on Facebook.