Writing Sex Scenes with Life

When you read a sex scene, do you ever think to yourself – how did that writer bring that sex scene to life? If you’re squirming in your seat or feeling the urge to fan your face, the writer has probably made the sex scene leap off the page (whoa, there’s a visual!). So how do we do it? Well, first of all, writing sex scenes involves much more than insert tab A into slot B, and if your sex scenes read like that you’ll soon have your reader either throwing the book across the room or falling asleep.

Take this example:

He pulled her panties off and then spread her legs.

Not very titillating, right? Now let’s try this:

Trailing the pads of his fingers up the sleek muscles in her thighs, he reached for the waistband of her navy silk panties. He started to pull ever so slowly, working the material over her hips and now her legs, reveling in the vision he was uncovering with every downward inch of the material. The scent of her arousal wafted to his nose.

Now, yes, I used more words in general in the second example, but what else did I do? I added senses – he’s feeling the sleek muscles, he’s seeing her body revealed, he’s smelling her unique scent. I also added details – what color panties she’s wearing, where his fingers are, etc.

It’s this “layering” – the adding of senses and details that really make a sex scene come alive. So the next time you read a great scene, ask yourself – how did the author weave this story so effortlessly and how long did it take her to make it sound effortless?

To learn more about Cassandra, visit her website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com. To read the first chapter of her current release, Talk to Me, check out http://www.loose-id.com/Talk-to-Me.aspx. You can like her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr.

How far is too far?

On Twitter the other day a conversation arose about joining the Mile High Club. One person remarked "the airplane bathrooms are too gross to pee in, much less have sex in." Several others said, "................." (I would assume since they'd had sex in airport bathrooms.)

Anyhoo, that conversation got me to thinking: how far is too far? How much is too much? As an erotic romance author, I try to push the envelope in my sex scenes. After all, who wants to read about yet another missionary-style coupling? BORING. No, you greedy things want to read about sex in the workplace, in the water, in an elevator, upside-down, twisted-like-a-pretzel, etc.

When does it go too far for me? With positions I know damn well are back-breaking, or guys who can get it up and come seven or eight times a night no matter how old they are (where IS that guy, and why isn't he tied to my bed?), or people jumping into bed w/o establishing any sexual tension or chemistry.

So when does it go too far for you? Tell me in the comments below!
-- Cassandra Carr

http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com
http://www.loose-id.com/Talk-to-Me.aspx

What is release week like?

I don't know about you, but hearing "behind the scenes" things about publishing is always interesting to me. Because of that I thought I would share with you what happened during my release week.

My name is Cassandra Carr, and my debut novel, Talk to Me, was released by Loose Id on March 22nd. The night before the release I received an e-mail from The Powers That Be at Loose Id congratulating me and wishing me many sales. The e-mail also had my author copies attached. Another e-mail went out on the Loose Id authors loop announcing all the releases for that week.

Then, around 12:30am on Tuesday I went into Loose Id's website and checked out the page with my book information. It was live! I got a little shot of adrenaline looking at that page and knowing that all my years of hard work were finally paying off. My book was published and hopefully people would be interested enough to buy it!

I went to bed, and when I got up the next day I checked out the various blogs and websites where my release information was located, and then spent the day flitting between Twitter, Facebook, those blogs/websites and trying to do my regular work. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of writing done! It was so exciting to see people read the excerpts on the blogs and comment that the book looked interesting and they couldn't wait to read it! I responded to each comment (I was practically stalking these blogs and websites so no one had to wait long for a response to their comment, lol) and then finally left to go celebratory shopping with a friend.

On Wednesday things had calmed down a bit but I was appearing on another blog, so I watched that one closely so I could respond to comments. I was able to finish a newsletter that was on deadline for an April 1st publication, and even able to get some revisions done on my work-in-progress. All the while I wondered - is anybody buying my book? When will I see a review? Will it be a good review? When will I hear that someone read it?

On Thursday I checked Goodreads and the book was already tied to my Goodreads account. Someone had already marked it as "to be read" too - how awesome! Other than that Thursday and Friday passed much the same as other, non-release weeks. I revised my manuscript whenever I had time, hung out on Twitter, etc.

So there you have it. I don't know if that was interesting or not, but that's how it happened. I'm still waiting for reviews to come in and fretting. Because that's what an author does, whether they're releasing their first book or their thirtieth.

A Different Kind of Sports Hero

When Cassandra suggested we do back-to-back blogs on why we chose to write about sports heroes, I was more than game. You see, I'm a football junkie from way back. I love baseball, hockey, and basketball, too, but football is my sport.

Many years ago I wrote the first incarnation of Fourth and Goal. I was new to romance writing and RWA in particular. It didn't take long for me to hear all the negative remarks about sports heroes and book sales. I put F&G away and worked on other books.

Last year after a particularly long bout of writer's disinterest (I wasn't blocked, just not interested in anything I was writing), I pulled the book back out of mothballs. I'd written it so long ago, all I used was the idea and the characters, but none of the actual writing. After finishing it, I sent it to three NY editors and received three very nice rejections. Each one said: "Love the story, but sports heroes don't sell." Okay, no surprise there. I'd heard that for years.

But why don't they sell? Could it be the the authors who write about them don't really know or care about the sports they write about? Is it possible many readers are knowledgeable enough about sports that most of these books fall short and don't capture their interest? I know I've been frustrated by the huge amount of football hero romances in which the hero gives up his career for the heroine or the heroine is completely ignorant of or hates football. It's pretty much the norm for sports hero books. Yet, according to the NFL, over 45 percent of their fans are women. Certainly these women read. Maybe sports hero romances fill a niche market, rather than being the type of story which fits the mass market?

I really don't know the correct answers to the above questions. What I do know is that I wanted to write a different kind of sports hero romance in which my heroine, Rachel, not only knows football but wants a career as a pro football scout. Derek, my hero, is a struggling wide receiver on the verge of being washed up. Not only only does the book follow their romance, but it follows the team's transformation from basement dweller to Super Bowl contender.

I'm very excited about this book and am halfway through the second book in my Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series featuring Derek's bad boy cousin, Tyler, who's met his match in the form of an animal communicator heroine and an spoiled orange tabby cat.

Since Fourth and Goal is still in the final editing stage, I'm not able to post an excerpt here, but I do have a treat for you with an adult excerpt of Cassandra Carr's Talk to Me, due out next month from LI and featuring a hockey hero:

The elevator doors opened, and Drew hurried to unlock his apartment and punch his code into the security pad before continuing straight to his bedroom. He spun and picked Jamie up as she neared the door, and she let out a squeak of protest.

“Drew!”

“What? I’m trying to be romantic. Efficient too.” He grinned at her when she struggled to get out of his grip. The way she fought against him both amused and aroused him. “Not so fast,” he warned her. “I’m not planning to let you get away until I’m good and finished with you.”

Jamie cocked an eyebrow. “Good and finished? Be still my heart! Such dreamy talk from a man like you! I had no idea.”

Drew laughed and dropped Jamie on the king-size bed with enough force to make her bounce, then climbed on top of her. Before she could protest again, he’d pressed his erection into her belly and taken her lips in another deep kiss. Jamie melted beneath him, snaking her hands around his neck while his found her hips, pulling her closer. “You need to get naked,” he declared, rolling off her.

“Just me? That’s hardly fair. If I’m getting naked, then this time, so are you.” Her beautiful, full lips pouted at him.

He stood up, and in seconds, his pants and boxer briefs landed in a heap on the floor. He pulled his shirt over his head and added it to the pile. “Your turn.”

Jamie rose up on her elbows and stared at him in disbelief. “How did you do that so fast? And may I add, very nice.” She smiled and waggled her eyebrows, giving him a quick once-over.

“When I want something, I don’t waste time. And I want you naked. Now.”

He reached over and started yanking her top over her head, but she batted his hands away.

“Hey -- stop that. You’re going to dislocate my shoulder with your beastlike strength.”

Drew laughed but allowed Jamie to gently pull her blouse over her head. He took it and tossed it on the chair near the window. Next she tugged her jeans off, leaving her in only her bra and panties, which Drew made short work of.

He groaned when she was fully nude. “God, you’re fucking gorgeous, you know that? And I’m gonna put my hands and my tongue and my mouth and my cock everywhere on and in your beautiful body, so you better be ready.”

Jamie shivered, and he covered her body with his, kissing her briefly before moving down her jawline, sucking and licking. This is gonna be good.

 From Talk to Me by Cassandra Carr, due out in March at Loose Id.

Jami currently has three published books. You can find out more at http://www.jamidavenport.com/.