Behind the Character: Holly Barros from Keeping It Up

Sometimes, people ask me, "Where do you get your characters from?" Naturally, my first instinct is to say, "Why, from under the sofa cushions, of course!" Which makes me look like a jerk and nobody comes away happy. Rather than give in to my over-the-top Dad Joke impulses, I wanted to write a newsletter series about where characters come from.

The first character I want to talk about it Holly, from Vamping It Up and Keeping It Up. I really identify with Holly, because in my youth, I also made a man the center of my life, wearing what he liked and doing what he thought was fun (hint - it wasn't fun for me). I wanted to write a story about a woman discovering who she really was without him. Women's power is one of my favorite themes in my writing, and I come back to it frequently. I was desperate to write a story about a woman learning to love herself.

It took me a while to get to know Holly. I knew she was going to be of Latin descent (part Portuguese, part Central American). I wrote and wrote, trying to find a way to show that her parents loved her, but also wanted her to take the safe path in life. We deserve to choose our own adventures instead of having them chosen for us.

We also deserve to believe in ourselves and to use our voices about what matters to us. Holly needed to find her voice. And she sure was shy about telling me who she wanted to be. I got very excited when I realized that her secret desire was to go into politics. Women are woefully underrepresented in politics and that shy Holly wanted to break out of her cocoon and step onto the world stage made me so happy!

I also wanted her to have the world's greatest mentor to teach her confidence. Enter Holly Barros and Aunt Celeste.
 (To be continued....)

I made Pinterest boards for Vamping It Up and Keeping It Up!
Live Like Celeste
Vamping It Up
Keeping It Up

 

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Have you read Vamping It Up or Keeping It Up? Can you tell me what you liked about the books? What do you want to see more of in light-hearted erotica? Authors loooooooooooooove feedback. :)

Thank you!

Writing Sex: Know Thyself

 

For the final installment on writing sex, I'm going to ask some questions about your tastes. I think it is important to know what your boundaries are about sex in fiction, so let's get started.

1. What do you hate about writing sex?
2. What do you hate about reading sex?
3. What do you love about writing sex?
4. What do you love about reading sex?

What do these preferences tell you about how you are going to craft love scenes?

Let me know if you'd like your answers to go up on my blog.

Enjoy!












 

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Writing a Love Scene: Safer Sex - yes or no?

 

The AIDS crisis forced writers to talk about safer sex practices and it turned into a debate. Some authors state that their readers know that this is fiction. They think barrier methods ruin the flow. Some insist that not acknowledging the potential consequences of sex lowers the stakes, turns the characters two-dimensional, and throws the reader out of the story. Your choices depend a lot on your world-building. Are you in outer space with all bad germs eliminated? Do diseases not bother the undead?

I say that you need to have your safer sex choices remain consistent. If your heterosexual characters don't use condoms or gloves, neither should your gay or bi characters.

Exercise One:  How do you feel about safer sex in fiction?

Exercise Two: What are your favorite ways of writing safer sex?

Let me know! I'll post your answers on my blog.











 

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My Bookstore

Writing a Love Scene.

 

I started writing love scenes before I even knew what happened past a kiss. Instead of trying to figure out how to grope a boy's butt, I would write what (I thought) was flirtatious conversation. Naturally, it was really dreadful.

The world needs your truth. I want everyone of feel powerful and confident about writing sensuality, no matter the heat level. Joyous, consensual sex is under-represented in fiction. That goes double for representation of people of color, sexual minorities, or people with disabilities.

I go into deeper detail on how to write arousal and intimacy in The Arousal to Zipper Workbook. This series of newsletters share some the exercises found in that book.

Sex is about your characters saying, "Yes," if not "HELL, YES!". The world needs more fiction saying "HELL YES!" to their sexual experiences. This is a chance to think about the ways we can say yes. Does the scene call for a slow, measured pace, such as encouraging the less-verbal, less-assertive character to say what they want out loud?

How do your characters (especially in your work in progress) say, "Yes"?

Write me back and let me know! I'll post your answers up on my blog. :)

 

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Multiverse Con is online this year!

 

On October 16, 17, and 18th, the amazing Multiverse Con On Line will be happening. Multiverse Con started last year in Atlanta, Georgia, and I was thrilled to be one of their presenters. Due to Covid-19, the con is taking place in the far-flung lands of Kwarentynia. Again, I am honored to be joining the Con. I'll be moderating the Girls Rule 2.0 panel (last year, this was *the* panel) and contributing to the How to Write a Memorable Villain.

Here is the con schedule.

I'll also be running mentoring sessions. If you need help writing sex, dealing with rejection, or avoiding burnout, check this out here.

 Please join the party. We can't con together, but we can still enjoy ourselves remotely. Come on in, the water's fine. :)

Help survivors of domestic abuse!

 Every year, the Emerald City Romance Writers host a raffle for survivors of domestic abuse. DAWN supports, empowers and shelters survivors of domestic abuse in South King County and helps to keep us all safe by educating our community to respond to and prevent violence.

I have donated two goodie baskets to the cause. Please come see all the fabulous things people have donated!
























Here is my first donation!

Item Description

We know that 2020 has been a hard year. With the pandemic and the West Coast fires, we know that there are many worthy organizations that need your support. So we have created 8 auction packages with a Buy it Now option to give 8 people the opportunity to support DAWN with a $25 donation.

Items in this package -
- Naughty Notes by PNW Author Linda Mercury (Signed)
- Cloth Mask (Donated by https://www.facebook.com/groups/249630659482235)
- Swag shown in the photo.

And this is my second donation. When I went to the Romance Writers of Australia's conference in 2019, I nabbed so many cool things. Here is the link to bid.
 

Item Description

Linda Mercury (https://www.lindamercury.com/) gave a presentation at the Australia RWA Conference and brought home some goodies to share with one lucky winner --

White Gum Creek by Nicole Hurley-Moore
The Art of Preserving Love by Ada Langton
Falling for the Pregnant Heiress/Rust Creek Falls Cinderella
Ocean Light by Nalini Singh
Die cut Melbourne Tram Card
Australia themed postcards
Cute Penguin bookmark
4 Fake Tattoos
2 Romance Writers of Australia themed notebooks
Romance Writers of Australia Tote Bag
Signed - Vamping It Up by Linda Mercury

Please note that the physical basket is for visual display only. Since this item will be shipped to the winner, only the items within the basket (and listed in the description) will be sent to the winner

 

I hope to "see" you all at the auction. :) Domestic violence is on the rise due to the tensions of sheltering at home. Please nab some great books (if I say so myself) and support people in need.

Love to you all,
Linda Mercury

Where to buy
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