Episode 248: Embracing the Delete Key to Unlock Your Story — Interview with Tiffany Reisz

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am delighted to have Tiffany Reisz on the show!

Tiffany is the USA Today bestselling author of the Romance Writers of America’s RITA®-winning Original Sinners series from Harlequin’s Mira Books. She has also received a Lambda Award in Gay Fiction for her novel The King and two Romantic Times Editor’s Choice Awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Series Romance.

Her erotic fantasy The Red—self-published under the banner 8th Circle Press—was named an NPR Best Book of the Year, a Goodreads Best Romance of the Month, and received a coveted starred review from Library Journal. Her latest book, which is set in the world of The Red, is the erotic fantasy The Rose.

Tiffany lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, Andrew Shaffer (who I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with previously on the show), the New York Times Bestselling author of Hope Never Dies. She has two cats. The cats are not writers.So listen in as Tiffany and I chat about her amazing new novel, The Rose, and why embracing the delete key, no matter how many words you must trash, can be the thing that takes your book from good to great.

In this episode Tiffany and I discuss:

  • Using a framing device to craft an erotic romance.
  • Elements to consider when writing a sex scene.
  • How to discover your own erotic vocabulary.
  • Finding the key that opens up your story and lets the words flow.
  • How to know when you need to trash your existing draft and start over.

Plus, Tiffany’s #1 tip for writers.

About Tiffany Reisz

Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, Tiffany Reisz graduated from Centre College with a B.A. in English. She began her writing career while a student at Wilmore, Kentucky’s Asbury Theological Seminary. After leaving seminary to focus on her fiction, she wrote The Siren, which has sold more than half a million copies worldwide.

Tiffany is now the USA Today bestselling author of the Romance Writers of America RITA®-winning Original Sinners series from Harlequin’s Mira Books. She has also received a Lambda Award in Gay Fiction for her novel The King and two Romantic Times Editor’s Choice Awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Series Romance.

She also writes mainstream women’s suspense fiction, including The Bourbon Thief (winner of the Romantic Times Book Reviews Seal of Excellence Award) and the RITA®-nominated The Night Mark.

Her erotic fantasy The Red—self-published under the banner 8th Circle Press—was named an NPR Best Book of the Year and a Goodreads Best Romance of the Month. It also received a coveted starred review from Library Journal.

She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, Andrew Shaffer, the New York Times Bestselling author of Hope Never Dies. She has two cats. The cats are not writers.

Her latest book The Rose, an erotic fantasy set in the world of The Red, is now available.

To connect with Tiffany check out her website at www.tiffanyreisz.com.

And to listen to Tiffany’s husband, bestselling author Andrew Shaffer’s, interview and learn all about combining noir with bromance head over to DIYMFA.com/225.

The Rose

USA Today bestselling author Tiffany Reisz returns to the world of The Red with an imaginative sequel full of lust and magic, and the dangers unleashed when the two are combined…

On the day of Lia’s university graduation party, her parents—wealthy art collectors with friends in high places—gift her a beautiful wine cup, a rare artifact decorated with roses. It’s a stunning gift, and one that August Bowman, a friend of her parents and a guest at Lia’s party, also has his eye on. The cup, August tells her, is known as the Rose kylix, and it’s no ordinary cup. It was used in the temple ceremonies of Eros, Greek god of erotic love, and has the power to bring the most intimate sexual fantasies to life.

But Lia is skeptical of August’s claims of the cup’s mythology and magic—after all, he’s a collector himself, and she suspects he just wants to get his hands on this impressive piece of art. So he dares her to try it for herself, and when Lia drinks from the Rose kylix she is suddenly immersed in an erotic myth so vivid it seems real—as though she’s living out the most sensual fantasy with August by her side…

Realizing the true power of this ancient and dangerous relic, Lia is even more wary of giving it up, though August insists it is only safe with him. He’s willing to pay the full value of the cup, but Lia has another type of trade in mind. One that finds them more tangled up in each other—and in fantasy—than either was prepared for…

The Red

Mona Lisa St. James made a deathbed promise that she would do anything to save her mother’s art gallery. Unfortunately, not only is The Red painted red, but it’s in the red.

Just as she realizes she has no choice but to sell it, a mysterious man comes in after closing time and makes her an offer: He will save The Red if she agrees to submit to him for the period of one year.

The man is handsome, English, and terribly tempting…but surely her mother didn’t mean for Mona to sell herself to a stranger. Then again, she did promise to do anything to save The Red…

If you decide to check out The Rose or its companion novel The Red, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 248

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