Behind the Pen: An Interview with Rhea Harp

Welcome to Behind the Pen where Maya’s Bookshelves dives deeper into the writer behind the story. For this interview, we have the author behind Under His Command, one of my most recent 5 star reads! Rhea Harp has been incredible in connecting with her audience and I have to admit, her threads posts tempt me to reread every single time. Check out our interview!

Journey to Becoming the Storyteller
Can you introduce yourself to our readers? 

Hi, I’m Rhea Harp, and I write dark romance with morally-grey heroes and BDSM galore.

I’m based in Transylvania, so I guess it’s only fitting that my stories aren’t for the faint of heart.

Thank you so much for the interview, Maya, I’m super excited to dive into this! :) 

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME RHEA!!

What first drew you to writing as a craft? How did your author journey begin?

I’ve been writing ever since I learned how to hold a pen in my hand.

In my other business, I’m also writing, though over there I’m helping other businesses make more money. 

But so it happened that at the beginning of 2024, I felt the need for more. For something different.

So I randomly started drafting my first book not really thinking it would go anywhere.

To my surprise, that initial book ended up attracting thousands of readers from all over the world, as well as a publishing contract from a reading app known as GALATEA. The book turned into a series and it’s been living on that app ever since, which I’m very happy about. 

But it wasn’t really until the summer of 2024 when I decided I was going to publish something on my own after seeing the success of my first series. 

And so, another story was born – it’s called Under His Command and it’s a BDSM dark military romance that is now available on Kindle Unlimited and Amazon.

Are there any authors or books that inspired you or significantly influenced the way you write?

Definitely!

I love Sarah J Maas, and I learned a lot from her in terms of describing inner turmoil for my characters. I also love Jay Kristoff’s writing style – from him I learned to dive deeper into my scenery descriptions. I don’t write fantasy, but I think reading fantasy is making my contemporary dark romance more poetic, and I love that. My readers seem to love it, too.

Other authors that have inspired me are obviously Penelope Douglas (her romances are just *chef’s kiss*) and Shantel Tessier (the queen of dark romance herself, in my opinion). Lauren Biel is another favorite for her unique settings and characters. And… oh, I could go on forever! :)

What was the most surprising part of your publishing experience?

I didn’t know anything about self-publishing, so pretty much everything surprised me. It has been an incredible experience so far. But if I had to pick one thing, I’d say the most surprising thing was the amount of pressure I put on myself to get everything right. I don’t know why I expected to feel calmer in all of this, haha.

Where do you find is the best place for you to brainstorm your writing? Do you have a specific area in your house or a favorite cafe where you always end up writing the best? 

I do have a favorite cafe here where I live! They have these amazing raspberry croissants that I always get when I go there to write.

Other times it’s just me in my office at home. I live right next to the forest, so it’s a pretty idyllic setting for writing. Especially when it rains.

Let’s Talk Under His Command

After reading Under His Command, one of your recent dark romances, I found myself relating to Dove in a lot of different ways. What inspired you to write Dove’s character in the way that you did?

I think I put a piece of myself in Dove’s character in the sense that, when I wrote the book, I needed a break from all my responsibilities. For a moment, I just wanted someone to come in and take care of me in the way that Rowan takes care of Dove. I think we all want that from time to time, and it’s perfectly okay.

I also wanted her to have a character ARC from meek and inexperienced to this badass woman who isn’t afraid to fight for her values and for what she believes in, even when all the odds are stacked against her (which is what I’m working on now in book two).

What kind of research did you have to do to understand the dynamics between Dove and Rowan? How did you figure out the politics of it all?

To be honest, the relationship/dynamics between Dove and Rowan didn’t require much research on my part. Simply because I am an avid dark romance reader myself. The story just flew out of my brain and onto the page. I always write about what I love, and I hope that my readers can feel that passion through the pages as well.

Do you have a favorite character from Under His Command? Mine was Rowan (of course).

Really hard to pick, haha.

Other than Rowan, another character that speaks to me a lot lately is President Maddox Thorne – a 35-year old, perfect-jawline, broody, and muscled-galore president that I can’t wait to write about.

His wife, Cam, is another delicious character. Since she was born into a secret society/cult, there’s a lot to her that I can’t wait to write about.

Which scene from Under His Command did you enjoy writing the most? 

I think it has to be the scene when Dove and Rowan reconnect for the first time in Rowan’s military convoy, out on the highway. The moment where she waits for him to open the door and take a seat next to her. Ah, I just love it so much! 

(PS: this is also the scene where their very first spicy moment happens; think… a kiss. With the tongue. Between her legs.)

What’s Next?

You’ve been teasing us a lot over on threads – what is one thing that readers can anticipate from the second book of Under His Command?

The second book is going to feature Rowan’s POV a lot more. I want to show you what he has been doing all these years before reaching out to Dove. And how it all connects to the present moment. I also want you to see just how deep his love for her goes, and what he’s willing to do to be with her.

Other than that, expect a lot more politics, more suspense, and of course, more SPICE! :) 

Do you have any other exciting worlds that readers should get excited about? 

Other than the Devils & Pretty Sins series (Under His Command), I am currently working on a dark mafia romance standalone, but I can’t tell you much about it yet, haha.

And then, of course, my GALATEA series, which is called… are you ready for it?… Reed’s Sex Academy.

Don’t be fooled by the title, though. The plot is pretty complex, and yes, there is a lot of spice in it too. The second book comes out on October 14, actually.

More about Rhea Harp

If you could describe your writing in three words, what would they be?

Keeps you hooked ?

Or… okay, let’s try this: moody, immersive, suspenseful

Where can readers find more information about you? Leave your links below! 

You can find more info about me and my work on my website at rheaharp.com

Under His Command is available to read on KU right here.

And my GALATEA series is available to read here (it’s either free if you’re okay with waiting for new chapters to unlock or you can get 20% off a yearly subscription to the whole app with this link).
Lastly, my DMs on Instagram are always open. You can message me here! :)

I want to give a HUGE thank you to Rhea Harp for joining me for this interview. Rhea is one of my favorite indie authors and I honestly can’t get enough of her writing style. I can’t wait to see what else you do, Rhea!

Check out Under His Command now (and please slide in my DMs to rant about it because you’ll need to and I love it)!