Talking Shop: On Writing Sex Scenes

I think I tend to write very long sex scenes. The sex scene between Reagan and Princess Talaith in Goblin Fires originally stretched something like twenty double-spaced pages (though there was some conversation breaking up the naughty bits, I'll admit). Personally, I just like longer scenes.

 

One of the reasons I write erotica and erotic romance, rather than softer, "sweet" romance, is the sex. I like sex scenes. I enjoy one-handed reads and that's what I like to give my readers as well. To that end, I usually wind up writing very in-depth, very decadent sex scenes.

Friday Free Read: A First Time For Everything

 If you've been following me a while, you may have heard me say here or there that I'd like to try my hand at writing a story about a transgender character's experience. I hesitated on this for a long time because I wanted it to be the right story: one written because the character was there, and had something to say. She finally came to me in the form of Rachel, a gal experiencing intimacy for the first time, with a new partner, after transitioning from male to female.

I can't promise that I've got everything "right" here. My intention was to stretch myself into a new perspective, a new individual's experience. I researched quite a few aspects of the story, including the process of transitioning, real-life coming out experiences of transgender individuals, transgender lesbians, and so on. I hope that what I've written is written well, and honors the character and her real-life counterparts. If I've gotten anything wrong, I apologize ahead of time. For now, I hope you enjoy.

 

 

Hands, like the slow, sensual touch of a candle's glow, sliding down my sides. Her fingers touched me, shaping me, smoothing me like sculptor's clay. My sigh sounded loud and hot in the dim light and the thick, billowing steam, as the lilting dance of Spanish guitar guided her over my body. She danced with me, her slight, slender frame pressing to me, arching with me, inviting me to move with her like mermaids gliding through the water.

I hardly realized it as I murmured her name. Tassy, Tassy, baby, as her gentle palms explored. They roamed upward, sliding over the damp white nylon of my swim halter, and a light, shivering sensation of pleasure blushed along the breasts beneath. The nipples peaked underneath, oh, I'd warned her they were sensitive...I'd warned her.

Wednesday Writing Challenge: GenderBend

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. These challenges come from books on writing, classes I've taken on creative writing, or sometimes just from my own imagination. If you're an author, hopefully they will help you get your writing juices flowing and help you improve your craft.

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

April Prize: A copy of Secret Identities, a new Breathless Press anthology!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***

Talking Shop: Thou Shalt Not Write That

If you've been following my Twitter or Facebook the last few days, you'll know I've been working on a short story involving a transgender character.  Stories like this, involving characters of an underrepresented or historically excluded group, inherently involve a degree of controversy, if you as the author are not a member of that group. 

 

Laverne Cox as Sophia, transgender inmate in Orange is the New Black

 

Some critics claim authors should never write about ethnic, sexual, and gender experiences with which they can't personally identify. It's an understandable opinion: it's easy to misrepresent circumstances and experiences you haven't gone through, and in the case of groups which have been traditionally oppressed, stereotypes and misrepresentations are not only already pervasive in society, but potentially very damaging.

 

But should authors never write about identities or experiences they don't share?

Friday Free Read: Friday Night

Every Friday night, I had a little routine.  It was a simple routine, very mundane… one might normally think nothing of it.  I sure didn’t, in the beginning.  I simply did it to relax, to unwind after a long week and prep myself for the fun of the upcoming weekend, refreshed and feeling good.

 

 

Every Friday night I made it a point to take a long, luxurious shower.  Not like the quick five-minute rinse-downs I took every morning before work to wash my hair and face, and maybe shave my legs if I had an extra minute.  No, my Friday night showers were for me.  They were warm, indulgent escapes—I lit candles and turned on music, and I took my time bathing, enjoying the warm spray of the water, feeling the smooth, pleasant texture of my favorite body wash as I rubbed it all over my skin.

Like I said, it seems like it would have been innocent enough.  And for a long, long time, it was. Then, the new neighbors moved in.

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Dying

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!

Every Wednesday, I pose a new writing challenge here on the blog. These challenges come from books on writing, classes I've taken on creative writing, or sometimes just from my own imagination. If you're an author, hopefully they will help you get your writing juices flowing and help you improve your craft.

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??

The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

April Prize: A copy of Secret Identities, a new Breathless Press anthology!

~ For Full Contest Details, See Here ~

PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***

Talking Shop: Revisiting "Mates" ~ A Paranormal Romance Cheat

This "Talking Shop" article originally went live in February of last year. It's one of my favorite subjects and hopefully it will get more PNR authors thinking more about one of the genre's most overused tropes.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I can be an Overly-Analytic Bitch when it comes to the stories I read and write.  However, I also feel the genre of erotic romance, and especially paranormal erotic romance, gets a bad rap in "mainstream" circles. As erotica continues to gain more legitimacy, authors in the market must strive to keep the genre fresh, original and dynamic. To do that, we need to get away from cheats, tropes, and cliches.

One of my least favorite overused tropes in paranormal romance is the concept of "mates".