Tracy Wolff is in the Manor!

Every once in a while, us LIT ladies like to explore the 'other side'. Normally Lord Craven-Moore is our tour guide in these matters, but today, we're talking about something that has not required our rakish lord's expertise. Today, we're talking about steppin' out and reading something different. For me, I'm a die-hard historical fan, and these last two years have seen me become a voracious reader of paranormals as well. But for the first time this year, I've really stepped out and have tried to read different things, In January, I picked up an erotic romantic suspense by NAL debut author Tracy Wolff. Well, what did I think? LOVED it!!!!

This blog, as you know, is usually dedicated to the hot historical. In the last few months, the LIT ladies have been going back and forth with 'do we, don't we' about having non-historical authors blog with us. It's not that we don't love other genres, it's just that we formed this blog to celebrate the hot historical and will people care if we have the occasional non-historical blogger. I know this is a bit unorthodox but let us know if you like it, having the occasional non-historical writer to blog. We like discussion here at LIT so let us know if you want to see the occasional non-historical post. If you don't feel comfortable posting in the comments, send us an email via our website to have your say (we're as silent as the tomb when it comes to privacy, so no worries there!). We're building LIT one step at a time and trying new things to make your visits pleasurable, while keeping the blog unique!

Ok, disclaimer aside, Tracy is going to talk about a city that I am positively DYING to visit; New Orleans. I love the idea of this sinful city back in the 1700's. I love the era of its heyday and the lavishness and mysteriousness that still, today, shrouds the city. I will get there! (as well as to Savannah and Charlston!)I think that creatively it must be a font of ideas.
Help me giving a resounding HUZZAH welcome to my good friend (as well as NAL writing bud), debut author, Tracy Wolff!
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First of all, thanks to Charlotte and the other lovely ladies here at Lust In Time for letting me blog. I’ve been an avid lurker on this blog for a long time and it’s truly a thrill to be here.


New Orleans has always been a city close to my heart. It’s the city where I went to grad school and turned twenty-one. It’s the city I first got drunk in,the city where I met my husband, the city where I became a mom. And it’s the city that pops up in my writing again and again.

I’m in the process of writing my third novel of erotic suspense, called Tease Me, and like the two that have come before it—Full Exposure (available now) and Tie Me Down (available in September) it takes place in the sultry heat of southern Louisiana.

Why do I keep going back to this city? I’m not exactly sure, except for the fact that it inspires me like few other places ever have. I came to adulthood in this city, wandering its dark, mystical and often smelly streets in the middle of the night as I soaked up the ambiance of the Garden District and French Quarter. I drank hurricanes at Pat O’Briens, drank everything else at Jean Lafitte’s old blacksmith shop—one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans—often near Anne Rice, who was known to write there during my five years in the Big Easy. I toured the centuries-old cemetaries, haunted the houses and hang-outs of some of the most talented writers in American history and generally had a blast. So when it came time to write my first novel, how could I not set in the Crescent City?

Now, as I write Tease Me, I’ve done a lot of research into the changing face of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And as I researched, I found out some really interesting things about the new New Orleans. Things that the N’Awlins of old would probably never have considered.

For example, there are plans to restore huge sections of Louisiana wetlands that have been destroyed by recent hurricanes and oil drilling. The areas around New Orleans—and New Orleans itself-- have substantially increased urban organic farming. Solar paneled homes make up part of the lower ninth ward now, homes that would never have been considered before Katrina flooded about 80% of New Orleans. Things have changed so much here—and New Orleans has gone so green—that last year, the Energy Department dubbed The Crescent City a Solar American City. Since then, New Orleans has received numerous grants to help it rebuild in the greenest, most energy efficient way—including a $500,000 one that will help it establish solar programs.

It amazes, and thrills me, that the city of my youth—this city that is so rich in history and tradition—is leaping into the twenty-first century with such a bang. And inspires me to go just a little more green in my own life.

So, what’s your favorite city? Is there anyplace that is special to you because of the memories it holds? In celebration of Full Exposure’s recent 4 ½ stars, Top Pick review from Romantic Times magazine, I’m giving away a copy of Naughty Bits, the Spice Briefs anthology that just hit the shelves. Both Charlotte Featherstone and I have stories in it. Leave a comment here and you’ll be entered to win.

Tracy Wolff is a romance author and avid eBook reader, blogging this month for All Romance eBooks' Go Green/Read e Campaign. Find out more about the Go Green/Read e Campaign at www.gogreenreade.com. To learn more about Tracy Wolff visit her website at www.tracywolff.com You can find Tracy Wolff's ebooks and thousands of other eBooks on-line at www.allromanceebooks.com.**