Cliches that gotta go, Part Four.

 Cliche: Telling us how sexy someone is.

 

 Show us how sensual a person is.

From American Photo, Nov/Dec 1993

.

One day, I got ice cream with a male friend. Conversation lagged while we enjoyed our treat. 

 He closed his eyes and swirled his tongue around the scoop, licking and sucking at the cone. I nearly orgasmed from watching his mouth relish the smooth, cold, silky cream. He was entranced by the flavor and simply abandoned himself to the sensations. If I hadn't already been thoroughly besotted already, I would have fallen just from watching him get into the moment.

A few years later, I showed my book hero impressing my heroine by his firm, assured handling of her classic muscle car, a 1966 Ford Shelby. This car model boasts 350 horsepower and went from zero to sixty in 4.5 seconds. This is the kind of automobile that easily could be pushed and pushed hard. I almost had the hero gunning the engine, squealing the tires - basically pushing the ferocious engine to its limits. But wait.

I remembered how my friend’s un-selfconscious pleasure seduced me. I wanted my character to seduce the heroine by showing how he handled power, by showing that he had class, sensuality, and stamina. I wanted her to be intrigued by his ability to unleash this magnificent automobile's potential with a long smooth ride, not something rocky, jerky, and way too short.

Don't just describe your sexy person. Show us what about them turns on the observer.

Cliches that Gotta Go; Part Three.

Coercion?

Just don't.  

 

I completely stopped reading a famous author when I realized that her heroes constantly pushed and bullied their way into the heroine's body. *coughLoraLeighcough*

One of them refused to let her orgasm until she agreed to his cock in her ass (a pet peeve of mine, see Part Two of this series). One 'hero' repeatedly forced his sexual attentions on a heroine despite her concerns for maintaining her reputation/pregnancy/losing her autonomy. At no point did the hero address her emotional needs, preferring to shove his various body parts into her mouth and other locales of interest.

I left those books feeling violated, not aroused. Force isn't sexy.

When you are creating your erotic moment, remember that there is a huge difference between a seduction and coercion. Seducing is an invitation to pleasure and mutual joy. There is an element of play, of delight, of seeing who the other person is, and learning what works on this one in particular.

Coercion is about one person's "need" to get off. It also refuses to listen to the other's concerns and worries about the act of sex. If one person is worried about anything, then the partner had better address that. 

 Don't traumatize your readers or viewers. Invite them to play with you instead.

Sex Cliches that gotta go, part two.

Today, we are talking about:

 Spontaneous anal penetration.

 

You've read the scene a million times.  A penis owner wants in their partner's butt. By coercing and pressuring the bottom, the penis owner shoves that monster dick in. The receiving partner cries out in pain, but eventually is won over by the battering their rear is taking and orgasms and nearly passes out.

 

Come on. Let's be real. 

 

The rear end needs lots of extra love and preparation. If your characters aren't using lube, time, and barrier methods to get the ass ready to party, you are missing out on an incredible chance to show their vulnerabilities and motivation. Is your top wanting in the butt because it feels so tight around the penis? Or do they want in because they want their partner to feel incredible pleasure? Are these people here for trust or brutality? 

The warm up process for the ass is a worthy scene in and of itself. The goal is to send someone through the roof, and that makes for a brilliant, non-stereotyped sex scene.

Also, what is hotter than a partner whose agenda is one of mutual pleasure?  

Not much!

Sex Cliches that gotta go. Part One.

There are so many cliches in erotic materials. My next few posts are going to talk about which ones I want to see gone, gone, gone, and how to avoid them. I want your love scenes to be truthful, arousing, and to give others permission to express their desires.

Cliche #1:

 Simultaneous Orgasms (S.O.s)

Orgasming at the same moment of your partner(s) is really hot and really fun. It requires co-ordination, sensitivity to each other's arousal, and can bond the people together.

But do all of your sex scenes end in simultaneous orgasms? Each of the scenes in your work should have different levels of emotional and spiritual intimacy. An act of love that creates a simultaneous orgasms needs to create a deeper connection between the characters. An S.O. can happen at any time during the character arc. 

Just remember, that when you are writing intercourse or mutual masturbation, don't act like that the height of pleasure is cumming at the same time. When I'm reading, I want the ones involved to experience all of their erotic potential, from raw lust to tender eye contact. An S.O. should never be the only goal. 

Once you remove the onus of an S.O. from a scene, you can let the characters' individual turn-ons and fantasies guide you.This creates memorable and more truthful sexual arousal. Your reader or viewer won't get bored, and at no point, will anyone say, "I've seen *that* a million times."

  

Teaser Tuesday

 

Writing "Real" Sex.

 

 

In a recent interview, the magnificent director Erika Lust reminded people "that porn is exaggerated fiction, done by sex gladiators. You are not going to be able to do exactly the same as they are doing." Filmed sex can look uncomfortable - the bodies contorted for the best camera angle, heads and faces out of frame which cuts us off from the emotions of the scene.  If I'm going to watch a sex act, I want to see how much pleasure the people involved are having - not just genitals. 

I feel the goal of all arousing material isn't to make something that looks like sex, but something that reminds the reader/viewer on how sex feels. For example, I recently read a couple of books where a heterosexual couple had hot steamy sex against the wall. And oh, was it a yummy scene, let me tell you. The author captured the yearning, the desire, the absolute hunger those two had for each other. They simply couldn't wait to get into bed, they had to have each other NOW.

The author made me think about how sex feels, not how it looks. Because when I think about how heterosexual intercourse against a wall looks, I start worrying about the man's knees and if he will need a ice pack at the end (why yes, I have had a sex injury, why do you ask?).

In this upcoming series, I'm going to explore what we need to unlearn in order to create not just great sex on the page, but also in your heart.

Erika Lust's interview:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQydxnoIwLh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Have you met Bec McMaster?

 Let me introduce you to one of my favorite authors, the brilliant Bec McMaster. I met Bec at the Romance Writers of America conference in San Diego, then she graciously allowed me to hang with her at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Melbourne in 2019. I'm nuts for her books...and I think you should be too.

Want to know a little bit about Bec? Here is my interview with her.

 

1.     Tell me a little about your writing - what are your favorite themes, what keeps you coming back to the page?

Hey Linda. I write epic fantasy romances with a dark and sexy twist, and I’m addicted to anti-heroes and villains-turned-heroes. I love trying to work out what makes such a hero tick, and anything with a marriage-of-convenience, enemies-to-lovers, villain-turned-hero trope is like catnip for me. Combined? Utter perfection. They’re the stories that pour out of me. 

2. Who are your writing influences? 

Ooh, interesting. I think a lot of my writing was influenced during my teen years when all I read was fantasy. I adored the strong female characters in Robin Hobb’s and Melanie Rawn’s books, but there was often something missing in the majority of fantasy that I read…. I binge read Katharine Kerr’s Deverry series for any glimpses of Rhodry and Jill, and I am still desperate to know about the ending of Melanie Rawn’s Ruins of Ambrai series for more Sarra/Collan moments. I cried buckets over the lack of HEA’s in fantasy (and basically rewrote the endings in my head). But it was probably me finding Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series that really influenced me. 

Daemon Sadi, Lucivar Yaslana and Saetan Sa’Diablo? The sex appeal was off the charts, and combined with strong female characters like Surreal, I was in bliss. This. This was what I wanted more of. Unfortunately, paranormal romance and fantasy romance was still a ways off, so I had to start creating my own, but Anne Bishop was a massive formative influence. 

3. You just released Thief of Dreams (loved it!) in the Court of Dreams series.  What was the seed of inspiration for this amazing, creative series?

I’d been asked to write a novella for an anthology back in 2019, and I was watching The Bachelor, running ideas through my head, when some of the bachelorettes were playing games with each other. And I was thinking: Wouldn’t it be interesting if one of the bachelorettes was killing off the competition? I laughed under my breath, and then this fully fleshed idea dropped into my head. A fae prince. A bride summons. Competing fae princesses all desperate for his hand. Someone killing off her rivals. And my heroine, using the opportunity to sneak into his court to steal a powerful relic.
 
The cream on the cake? Zemira doesn’t WANT to capture Keir’s attention. So of course, he wants the one girl he can’t have. It was one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve ever written. 

4. What is the hardest part of creating? 

I read something just recently about how your brain always wants to go flirt with the shiny, new idea beckoning just out of distance, when no, you actually need to finish THIS book. Jennifer Probst likened writing a book to being in a marriage—it was a fun affair when it was a new idea, but now you actually have to put in the work, go through the nitty gritty, maybe work through the not-so-fun stuff…. And this really hit me, because I think all writers suffer a little bit from this. So for me, the hardest part is definitely forcing myself to focus on one WIP, and not go off cheating with one or three others. 

I tend to use it as a reward now. If I hit my daily word goal, then I can go delve into that shiny, new idea. 

5. What is the best advice you have ever received? 

This is life advice from my mum: If you hit a brick wall in your life, then you need to figure out a way to go through it, around it, over it, under it, but don’t let it stop you when you really want something. 

6. And what is the best compliment you have received? 

I had a woman email me to say that her mother was dying of stage four cancer, and while she was in the palliative ward, she read one of my books out loud to her mother. It was a way to escape what she was going through, a way to bond with her mother, to bring some moments of happiness (that HEA) into both their lives. That really hit me, because this is why I write fantasy romance. I want to provide an escape for my readers. I want to deliver that HEA at the end, so it puts a smile on their faces. 

4. Tell me some of your current projects- Your works in progress, ideas, or any crazy, off the wall things.

I’m currently working on book three of my Dark Court Rising series. It’s a fae twist on the Hades/Persephone myth, in which my heroine is bartered away by her mother to an enemy prince for three months as part of a peace treaty. Her mother wants her to kill him, but the more Vi sees of Thiago, the more she can’t help falling for him…. And of course, there is a lot more to the story that she doesn’t realize….

 

The Emotional Tool Box

In my last post, I talked about reaching into my emotional toolbox to help me get over my moments of STFU. Let's see what's inside.

The key that unlocks the chest says, "Your feelings are perfectly valid and legitimate. There is a logic and purpose to them." Doing this lets me open up, relax, and not try to macho through the hard stuff.

Inside, I check my diagnostic, HALT DISC. This is a mnemonic to ask myself, "Am I... "

Hungry?
Angry?
Lonely?
Tired?

Cold?
Sick?
In pain?
Dehydrated?

This information lets me know what I have to do for myself right now. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time working at all, let alone efficiently, when these factors are in play.

I'll share more from my toolbox, but those two are my hammer and flat-head screwdriver of coping.

What do you have in your emotional toolchest?


(This amazing tool chest belongs to Michael Capozzio of Classic Corvette Restorations in Chardon, Ohio)
 

This is my voice, my weapon of choice.

 

 

Anyone who has ever been told to be told to shut up (everyone) has moments when they are convinced.....

 

Wait. Strike that. Let's not get cutesy with the passive voice here. Let's just say things. 

 

A nasty voice lives in my head and it loves to tell me that I have nothing of worth to say. My throat literally tightens up. My words slog through mud to leave my mouth. 

 

Grace Jones says in the linked video, "This is my voice, my weapon of choice." 

 

Being silenced removes your first, best weapon against those who do not want you to challenge the status quo. The status quo doesn't have to be big things, either, like political reform or climate change. The status quo I am fighting today? Sending emails out to independent bookstores to see if they would like to carry my books. 

 

Seriously. Today I am convinced that I am better served not drawing attention to myself, that no bookstore would want to shelve me in their stock. I'm going to reach into my emotional toolbox and find every thing I can that will help me. I will resist that cruel voice that wants me to play small. 

 

Tell me a time when you resisted your cruel voice.

Lost Tales (or, Linda Mercury takes on Tolkien)

Argonath Bookends

The Argonath

protect my desk.

They mark the boundaries of 

Gondor. 

"Go back," 

They tell the Numinorians. 

"You have reached the limits of your land."

Maybe I should face

them the other say. I have not

yet the 

limits

of my 

land.

Poetry Break.

 I found a long-lost poem while I was doing some KonMari organization on my file cabinet. It's obviously pretty old.

I call this one, "Bullshit."

A self-indulgent, condescending woman once told me,

"The greatest art is borne of sorrow."

(bullshit)

She then told me,

"When you finally experience sorrow, you

will understand what I mean."

(Because pain never visits those under thirty).

    I didn't say that my mother had died a year ago.

    I'd put my dog down two months ago.

    I had left my husband a month ago.

             She was a liar.

 

The best art comes from joy.

Writing Real Sex: Part One.

 

Writing Real Sex: How to Write Real Sex for Fiction Novels

Let's be real - I love writing sex. I want to write the kind of love scenes that make people want to connect, kiss, play, and share their appreciation of each other. I want all my love scenes in my stories to show just how good pleasure can be, no matter how many people are involved or their genders. 

To quote the Great Sages, Lynyrd Skynyrd, "I know a little about love, and honey, I can guess the rest."

Over the next few weeks, look forward to posts here, on my Instagram, and in my mailing list. I'll be doing Q&A's about writing intimacy, posting writing samples, doing a little reading out loud. 

Just how do we unlearn what we have been told is sexy and put what truly turns on our characters? Keep tuned!

Behind the Character: Valerie Tate

 

Many years ago, I had a nightmare about the Napoleonic Wars (if you have ever studied the Napoleonic Wars, you will understand. They were dreadful). One part of this nightmare was amazing, though. A dark woman, one full of secrets and violence, came into the tent where the generals were planning the Peninsular Campaign (Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Spain). She gave the best tactical advice but the men dismissed her. She left the tent, returned in men's clothing, and they thought she was a genius.

I knew this woman was Vlad Tepes, the vampire Dracula. This dream stuck with me. I was fascinated by this idea. Naturally, I did a little research. There are very few primary resources about Vlad (see here, here, and here). Most of the literature talked about the alleged atrocities she committed. If I looked at these stories through a feminist lens, I could see how these fictions could be seen as acts of a furious woman (impaling, especially. How Freudian of her!).

This began the long process of writing the Blood Wings series. Who was she? Why would her family hid her born gender? How could that be done? What motivated her? Did she have secret dreams? What were her wounds?

The series took many drafts and lots of brainstorming. I had to learn what kind of lovers she had, who she thought she was. 

I have been honored to share this journey with you. With the final revision being released on May 6, 2021, I feel like Valerie Tate has finally found a place of happiness.

At long last!!

Kensington Press and I released the first edition of Dracula Unleashed, the third book in the Blood Wings Trilogy, in early 2013. I had to write the book in less than four months, while doing promo and edits on the first two books. As a result, I wasn't terribly thrilled with the results. I got my rights back to the trilogy and released Dracula's Secret in 2016, Dracula's Desires in 2017. And then....nothing. 

My well had run completely dry. I had no idea how to strip this book down past its bare bones and completely rebuild it. 

It took several books for me to get even an inkling of an idea for Valerie Tate's final adventure. It wasn't until I finished The Cafe of Hopes and Dreams that I realized what she needed. She needed sweetness, dreams, and her own hopes. At last, the words flowed. 

And now, the book is available for pre-order at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0934FVTBS?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_2&storeType=ebooks!!

After centuries as the Dracula of legend, disguised as a male, Valerie Tate's current incarnation is the last thing she expected: mother of a precocious half-angel, half-vampire, and wife to two men. But Valerie is more familiar with battlefields than domesticity. . .

Some overwhelmed mothers relax with a glass of wine. Valerie soothes her immortal soul with a refreshing blood and coke. How else can she deal with her toddler Minerva's psychic powers--not to mention her determination to throw knives. Thank goodness for Valerie's two loves, John Jante and Lance Soleil. Without them, the trauma of her dark past and her primal, urges for violence and power would overtake her. Yet in a world where humans and paranormals uncomfortably co-exist, Valerie's peace will be short-lived. . .

Someone is killing the world's best paranormal diplomats. And Valerie's vampire brother and nemesis, Radu, is at the center of the conflict. Now Valerie finds herself as vulnerable and as weak as she had been as a human....

Words to live by.

 

The Dream Factory: Alice Kennedy

I realized that I told you all about Katrina, but I had never talked about the lady who kicked off The Dream Factory series, Alice Kennedy!

Many (many) years ago, as a teenager, my family frequented a local costume shop, as one does. I thought it was the most magical place I had ever been and I yearned to run a shop like that, full of fabric, color, makeup, and other creative tools.  The smell of clothing and high quality, theatrical makeup were balms to my young soul. These were the days before those cheap, nasty costumes in plastic bags, so everything looked gorgeous.

I had put that dream aside, but every so often, I would start a story about something amazing in a costume shop. It wasn't until I approached the magical Shea MacLeod to co-write it that I was able to find the real story.

Meet Alice Kennedy. My gorgeous young woman who needed to a chance to escape her family and discover what her real talents were. Last time, I talked about the keywords we use to get a feel for the theme and character of a new novel. Here are Alice's:

lavish, lush, color, adornment, whimsy. Beauty brings peace of mind, fashion makes a difference, fertility, creativity, conservation, fear, lush, fantasy, inner selves vs outer personas, dry, drought, depression, hard-time, care-worn, dusty, dry, clean, sparkling, rules, rebellion.

Her Motto: We need bread and roses.

Alice came into the sad town of Gold Coast, Illinois, and brought it to life. She is living her dream, and in many ways, she is living my dream, too. How wonderful is *that*?


 

 

Yum, yum, yum.

Almond Flour scones. Perfect for eating and reading together.

 

While I was cooking, might as well make almond shortbread with chocolate.

These were super yummy. :)

Of course, after publishing a book about a bakery, I had to do some baking.

And eating. :) 

Buy links: 

Where to buy
My Web Store
Amazon 
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Apple