Tag, I'm it.

C. Morgan Kennedy insisted I talk about writing. The nerve!

Here are the questions she wanted answered:

 What are you working on? 
 How does your work differ from others of its genre? 
 Why do you write what you write? 
 How does your writing process work? 

1. I am working on an erotic coming of age novella, tentatively titled "Auntie Vamp." I'm finished with the first draft, half way through the second draft, and I should have the third draft done by March 17th. Auntie Vamp herself is based on Mae West and she shepherds her great-niece Holly into discovering her true strength. 

 2. My work differs because I write woman-centric pleasure, with no coercion and no "bargains" of sex in exchange for something.  My heroine doesn't cook or clean and she wants a life in paranormal politics.

3. I write explicit, complicated stories because I despise books that fear women's sexual and personal power. A woman should be able to name her desires, both sexual and intellectual.

4. I flail a lot.  I hand write my brainstorming, plotting, and tricky scenes. I do have a loose outline at the beginning of the process, but it always goes off the rails by the middle of the first draft.

Thanks, C. Morgan!

Fantasies for all: Part three

Hello again! I'm back and ready to write again. It's time to return to my characters' sexual fantasies and see what they reveal.

My Mentor character is Celeste Barros. She is  flamboyant and sexual, as well as a sorceress of great power. I based her on Mae West in She Done Him Wrong.  Love of diamonds included. :)

Celeste's Anytime, Anything, Anywhere Fantasy: At one point, Celeste lost her great love, a man named Henry. She would give anything to make love to her beloved Henry again. This fantasy keeps her safe from finding and losing love again, but - it makes her vulnerable to the bad guy's machinations!

Her With Conditions Fantasy: She wants to be deeply entwined with someone she loves, but she would only do it with the condition that she never lose love again.

Her In Fantasy Only Fantasy: She kept throwing all sorts of cheeky ideas at me, such as making love on a luxuriously decorated stage while Brian May played a guitar solo. Which sounded really hot to me, but I knew she was trying to distract me from her deepest secrets. So I persevered in learning about her. Celeste finally gave up the goods.

Fittingly enough, it incorporated her exhibitionist tendencies along with her tender heart. Her inner fantasy is to have a household of lovers around her, keeping her warm, loved, and sexually satisfied.

Here's to seeing if I can find a way to give Celeste what she needs!

Catching up on 'The Classics'

I'm always watching movies and reading books, trying to learn more about writing, structure, and what makes a story dazzling. I've been on a musical kick, seeing how the writers tied the music to the story, used it to advance the plot, or used it to reveal a character's innermost self.

In Silk Stockings, Cyd Charisse's solo dance with her lingerie clearly tells the viewer that here is a woman who is finally embracing her yearning for pleasure. It's one of the most tender and touching metaphors for female sexuality and orgasm that I've seen.

So from this movie, I learned how to engage a reader in more than just the motion of the ocean, but also the emotions of the motion, so to speak.


On the downside, I learned just how necessary character development is. In Pal Joey, Joey starts the movie with being run out of town by the police. Because he'd been pouring drinks for an underage girl in his hotel room. For some reason, this was considered funny back in 1957.

I was yucked out immediately. And I stayed yucked out, because Joey remained a complete dog. Kim Novak played a helpless innocent (another Waif on our hands!), and Rita Hayworth played a woman who actually owned her sexuality. Which means, of course, that she got dumped. Here's the trailer to get you started.

What I learned?
1. I need to pay attention to the mores of your time, and what is considered funny.
2. Sometimes, I just want to watch the movie for the musical numbers, and not the plot. Or the characters.
3. If I'm going to write a jerk or someone in need of redemption, I need to show some kind of reason why anyone would cheer for this louse.

In order to get this foul taste out of my mouth, I had to watch some Mae West movies.  My Little Chickadee to the rescue.