I am so pleased and honored to have Shehanne Moore, the Queen of Smexy Hisotrical Romance on my blog today, discussing what makes sex good when writing a romance.
Shehanne:
And the good sex award goes to…..
Now there’s a question. Four books, four
very different couples, one thing in common. Sex. Some of it not that
brilliant. Why? Because I don’t like writing sex scenes? Believe it or not, it
can be difficult to write. Or because I
think that one of the most important aspects of writing a sex scene is to make
it appropriate for that couple at that stage in the story?
Let’s start with the sex in The Unraveling
of Lady Fury. It’s sex all right and
quite a lot of it, but it’s cold. Flint broke Fury’s heart, now she needs an
heir, so she sets the terms of exactly how this
encounter will be and—it’s not nice. It’s cold. It’s clinical. She will
use a cream. He will keep his hands to himself. Of course eventually it’s back
to how it used to be in the old days. But
you are not going to bring a couple with that amount of baggage to together and
expect an instant blaze and I did have a lot of fun writing him trying to get
around her rules. I think I’d give them a good sex award eventually.
Moving on, the sex in His Judas Bride was kind
of scorching. Games are being played and these games get out of hand. Also
neither the Black Wolf or Kara have been with anyone for a long time. But do they qualify for a good sex award when
this passion gets completely out of control and they’re not really caring about
what happens next? Eventually love comes into it, so they get a little bit more
tender.
I think Devorlane Hawley and Cassidy Armstrong
from Loving Lady Lazuli would win the bad sex award hands down. The problem here was that here’s a man who
has experienced it all and feels nothing, sex is one wild night’s ride to him.
As for Cass? Well, beneath her glittering, premiere London jewel thief
exterior, she’s a virgin. So the big question was what’s so different about her
that she keeps him when the initial encounter is a complete disaster. It’s awkward, it’s fumbling, she nearly falls
all her length when her leg gets tangled in her skirt, then she ends up
slapping him when he has the temerity to ask if she’s a virgin. But when Cass
is torn between looking a complete fool
and not wanting to give herself up to him, she turns the heat up. That also ends in disaster, but perhaps it’s
because he never quite has her to his satisfaction that he keeps coming back
for more by which time he’s hooked. I’d give them a good sex award but not till
the very end of the book.
So what is the sex like between Sin and
Malice, hero and heroine of my new book, The Viking and the Courtesan? Pretty
hot, largely because of the hero’s guilt that he’s cheating on his pretty
horrible betrothed. But the catch with this time-slip story is that without
true love this couple can never be together, so they have to learn sex is about
more than a scorching screw. The catch is that to start with the arrangement
between them is purely business.
What tips can I give for writing a sex
scene?
- Never write what you are uncomfortable with writhing.
- Anchor the sex to where your couple are in the story.
- Remember sex is a great source of conflict and tension in a story. When I was writing the first sex scene in Loving Lady Lazuli I initially had Cass succumbing to Devorlane. That one touch and she is swooning with need scenario has been done- pardon that pun – to death. So I ripped the scene up and explored things differently. This leads me to…
- Vary your scenes that way. Length-pardon that pun too- how much you describe, cut to fade occasionally. Repetition can be dull.
- Remember the five senses. Appeal to each. Set your scene carefully that way even down to the lighting.
- Watch the flying body parts. Phrases like, ‘she exploded, her head hitting the pillow’ sounds like she stood on a hand grenade and it went off.
- Think about the physical possibilities of what you are describing. I think the main thing is to make it real. Sometimes that can mean lousy sex. Just look at the possibilities opening up when that sex starts to get better.
Excerpt
He reached down, grasped her skirt, the
material so wet he could have wrung drips from it. Delicious. As for her lips,
her fingers tugging at his belt, even as he brought his lips back on hers, they
drugged and beguiled. But most of all, they drove him. Of all the women he’d
had, he couldn’t think of one who did this to him. Cos t
him his restraint. Made him just want to have her at any cost. He had to be inside her whatever the
insanity.
The
frantic fumbling, the way her fingers tugged his clothes, yanking his tunic
free of his breeches, then working inside the tight waist, drove him to the
edge. Her skirt was around her hips so his hand clasped naked thigh. She hooked
her leg over his hip. He hoped she was ready for him because he couldn’t hold
off. Heart, blood, breath pounded. So did he. Her eyes stared with a
wantonness, a desperation, that increased his. Although she was cold and
shivering he had never known a woman so hot.
Blurb The Viking and The Courtesan
In 898 AD she wasn’t
just from another land.
Wrecking a marriage is generally no problem for the divorce
obtaining, Lady Malice Mallender. But she faces a dilemma when she’s asked to
ruin her own. Just how businesslike should she remain when the marriage was
never consummated and kissing her husband leads to Sin--a handsome Viking who
wants her for a bed slave in name only?
She came from another
time.
Viking raider Sin Gudrunsson wants one thing. To marry his
childhood sweetheart. Only she’s left him before, so he needs to keep her on
her toes, and a bed slave, in name only, seems just the thing. Until he meets
Malice.
One kiss is all it
takes to flash between two worlds
But when one kiss is no longer enough, which will it be? Regency London? Or Viking Norway? Will Malice
learn what governs the flashes? Can Sin?
Where worlds collide
can love melt the iciest heart?
Buy Links – on pre-sale
now at Amazon. FREE on Kindle Unlimited. RELEASE DAY....July 29th!
BIO
When not cuddling inn signs in her beloved
Scottish mountains alongside Mr Shey, Shehanne Moore writes dark and smexy
historical romance, featuring bad boys who need a bad girl to sort them out.
She firmly believes everyone deserves a little love, forgiveness and a second
chance in life.
Shehanne caused general apoplexy when she
penned her first story, The Hore House Mystery—aged seven. What didn’t she work
at while pursuing her dream of becoming a published author?
Visit her blog to find out about past
releases and hear more about her forthcoming time-slip historical, The Viking and The Courtesan.
Other links
Shoes are her addiction, but books are her passion. Anne Lange grew up with a love for reading. If you take a close look, she’s got either a book, her Kindle or her Kobo nearby at all times. You know, just in case there’s time to sneak in a chapter or ten. Anne reads many genres of romance, but prefers to write sexy stories, often with a dash of humor, and usually with a side of those sinful pleasures your mom never told you about. And always with a happily ever after.
While embarking on this wild journey of becoming a romance author, Anne juggles a full time job and a family. Though not always successfully. Who needs a clean house every day? And what’s wrong with cereal for dinner? She lives in Ontario, Canada with her wonderfully supportive husband, three awesome kids who are growing up way too fast, and the family pets, Rocky the bearded dragon and Lily the chocolate lab.
