A Goodreads user asked Brenda Hiatt:

How do you decide how much "sizzle" to add to your books?

Brenda Hiatt Hi, Sheila! The short answer is: however much that story calls for. Longer answer: I started out with traditional, "sweet" Regencies and when I moved on to the longer historicals I was expected to make them sexier. In fact, I was sometimes urged by my then-editors to spice up my books after turning them in. Mostly, I did so, but I was never completely comfortable with it, especially if I felt it didn't "fit" with those characters and their story. When I got the rights back to those books, I actually toned some of them down slightly for that reason. My longer historical romances DO have sex in them, but I definitely don't add as much "sizzle" as a lot of authors do these days (or even back in the day). Also, I never know when one of my teen readers might pick up one of my historicals, so I keep that in mind, too, even though those books aren't marketed to teens. (Gee, that WAS a long answer, wasn't it? LOL)

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