SEX SELLS - WELL, DUH!

This week I've seen a few people hop on this subject with abandon, and they've all been sort of knee-jerk reactions over the book "50 Shades of Gray". One site gave her running review and she was not in any least bit kind. She could NOT BELIEVE she had actually read/spent time & money on the books. She really did us all a favor for posting the review.

So, after reading this and a few other posts where someone actually said "Sex sells[books]", I began calming down and aksing myself WTF do I care? It's not as if EL James invented trashy novels, or really hit on something new here. Because she didn't. And she's not the first to get wealthy over it, either.

Sex in novels has always sold well. Here's an example of an early novel. Valley of the Dolls by author Jacquilne Susan with her roman a clef debute novel that grossed her $8 million when it came out in 1966. It was about three women, abusing alcohol and barbiturates (dolls is the slang term for downers), and choosing the wrong men to get involved with. Oh, and sex, and lots of it. Well who couldn't like that? Critics were "unkind" to her books ("Once is Not Enough", "Love Machine" etc.), but still she was happily jetting around the world, being seen on all the TV talk shows, and hob nobbing with the stars of Hollywood.

It was dubbed as a "Gateway Classic Trash" -- aka "trashy novel", and boy, you know, a whole bunch of women writers after her got on the bandwaggon and wrote/write dozens of similar novels where weak women characters hook up with men who use and abuse them. Well gag me.

So, this isn't new stuff, people. And if sex scenes--whatever combo you write--sells, then certainly RAUNCY SEX SELLS even better. This is not rocket science, but basic human curiosity and someone wanting to get off on the scenes in a badly written book--who cares about what's between the pages or how badly it's written, as long as we get to that spanking scene, right?

I'm not about to read, and have no desire to read such books with BDSM in them. I don't like erotica. I could not get through a whole novel by Laurell K. Hamilton. For one thing there was no plot to speak of, and the writing was, on a scale of 1-10 about 4.5. (Example: "It was so cold... so cold" - well how cold was it exactly? Where your nips hard or what?)

Furthermore, I don't like weak heroines who wind up with assholes who use/abuse them. I'm not that way, I hate seeing women wind up with such men, so why would I want to put both my heroine or my reader through it?

In my Sabrina Strong series, my main character is a strong female. She hasn't quite got the kick-ass part down, but she's learning, gradually. She's not a vampire slayer. Well, maybe in bed she is... eh-hum. Her one weakness is sex, and since vampies have the pheromones going, she gets to wear a ring that deters it, as long as they haven't tasted her blood or she's tasted theirs. She manages to tell master vampire, Bjorn Tremayne (Vampire Ascending) that she would not tollerate his messing with her that way, and wouldn't work for him if he continues such behavior. He cools his heals, but still wants her. Throughout the three books I have out right now, there's many hunks in every one of them, and women readers can take their pick of their favorites.

I didn't want to write a romance, or follow such plot lines that were so predictable you'd fall alseep, or begin skipping every page in between the bedroom scenes... I've made it hard for anyone to predict which guy she winds up with in any book. I wanted adventure, mystery, danger and relationships to be key in my novels. So when it came to sex scenes if it has something to do with the plot, I write it in.

In contrast to "50 Shades of Gray" my books do have vampiers in them (I'd heard that 50 Shades was the result of fan fiction of "Twilight" I have no idea in what draft the vampires were taken out), werewolves, elves, one smart ass leprechaun, and a few surprises, as well as a strong heroine who won't get pushed around by vampires and demons. As a bonus you can sit and read my books in the doctor's office, on the train, or wherever, and not feel like you have to hide the cover. Althought the sex scenes in my books have been described as "hot", they won't make you want to poke your eyes out.

The third book has steampunk themes, where Sabrina goes into another world to find her cousin who fell into a portal. Here she encounters more good-looking, hunky vampires than you can shake a stake at, plus goes up against Dracula himself--and doesn't cave.

Vampire Nocture, available on Amazon.

SEX, SEX, AND ... (fill in the blank)

Okay. I admit that was a blatant attempt to get your attention today. But since you took the time to come on over I'll give you a scene--I call it the aftermath bedroom scene from book #5

But first I just wanted to preface and explain that as I got to the end of chapter 16, and realized I had to have something going on in the bedroom at the end of this chapter between Sabrina and her now husband, Vasyl (vampire). I'm not a romance writer. I've said this time and again. I do show the nitty gritty in my novels at times, but really, unless it has something to do with the plot, I see no reason to go into the blow-by-blow (okay, I could have used a better euphemism, but really, it works here, don't you think?) of two people going at it.

Plus, I'm lazy.

So, my little bitty brain came up with such a crazy after-the-dust-settles scene I nearly blew a gasket trying get it down without laughing myself silly. So, without further adu, here you go. Enjoy.

Please be advised this is rated P(X)G. And the Eff word is in there a few times as well.

I opened my eyes and found that the bed had moved at least a foot away from the wall due to my rocking motions. The amazing part was the bed wasn't on casters, and it rested on carpet.

Drenched in sweat, I was balanced precariously on top of Vasyl, in the last throws of ecstasy. The mattress below us had moved as well. It was now pitched at a forty-five deree angle, more or less, and my balance became jeopardized by weakened leg muscles from all my activities for the past two and a half hours. My knees had about four inches on either side of Vasyl's hips and that was it. The mattress buckled below my right knee, I pitched over, and tumbled to the floor.

"Ow." My hair, soaked from sweating profusely--because of the heat from both having sex with a vmapire and the too-warm room--fell down in my face.

Vasyl's laughter rang in my ears.

"Right. You try balancing on a two foot-wide mattress, buddy!"

He laughed harder, holding his hand to his stomach as though it hurt from laughing so hard. Then, pointing at me, he said something in French that sounded like an insult, yet sexy as hell.

I mopped matted hair out of my face and scowled, even though I found myself wanting to laugh, now looking at how we'd recked the bed and room, and the way I must look. He, on the other hand, looked entirely too comfortable with himself, like a nude study by Michelangelo. In contrast, my skin was coated in sweat. I needed a shower. I felt like I'd been mud wrestling. This had been the third or fourth time the mattress had wiggled askew from our love making. We had both fallen on the floor together before this. But this time Vasyl had somehow managed to remain poised on the top corner of the stupid little bed.

I threw a pillow at him and he easily swatted it away, still reamining banalnced on the edge of the bed. Bastard. I tried to move my feet. Couldn't. The sheets were twisted around one of my legs. Son of a bitch! I couldn't locate the bedspread. At this point it didn't matter. I worked to untie myself from the sheet, which was somehow anchored somewhere beneath the mattress. Vasyl reached down and pulled the sheet and freed me easily, his laughter finally dying.

"I am sorry, but you looked so silly," he said.

"Eff you," I spat.

"He chuckled sinisterly. "I think you already did. Would you liked to eff me more?"

"No. I'm taking a shower." I struggled to my feet and looked around. I realized I had no clothes up here except the ones I had on. I was not going to put a sweater and jeans back on over my sweat-soaked skin.

©Lorelei Bell

Writing the Sex Scene--tricky, but fun

Today is Tuesday. I've begun my new schedule for the summer, which means I'm off Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays now.

Over at "Archive" it's Poetry day.
I've taken a day off from posting at "Something Nebulous Within", and I'm getting visits all the time. Can't wait to see my first followers at either one of these blogs, but keep on stopping by.

I'm about three quarters done in the second book of my vampire series. Being that this is an Urban Fantasy, I can do a number of things with it. Including taking Sabrina places she's never gone before--or would hope to go. Thus, I've created a place--another world, perhaps a paralell world?--called Dark Realm, this is where the real fantasy comes into play and I'm busy working on the differences of that world and this one.

And because I wanted to write ahead, get into a section of the book where I was thinking about all this last week, I skipped the sex scene midway through chapter 20. Strangely enough, I've gotta be in the mood. Pun can be intended, if you wish.

Writing a sex scene would seem like it would be easy, but it isn't for a lot of us writers. I've read about some who avoid it at all cost in their novels. Reason being is that they feel embarrased about writing one, or feel it won't come off as sounding right, or it might even sound awkward. Shiness over writing one might be addressed by simply writing one, and not intend to be read by anyone.

But I digress. There are a few things you have to address, such as relationships between the two people, their own code of ethics, also their view on casual sex, romantic sex, premarital sex, etc. all must be considered when you work a sex scene into a book or short story.

In this case Sabrina is with a perfect stranger, she isn't likely to have sex with a guy she hardly knows. But I've placed her in a strange new world, and Jacob is offering to bathe her--she's in an exotic bath, and suddenly he comes in sans robe and allyummy male and in the mood. Yikes! And when she refuses him, he offers to wash her hair, and then well, the soap thing--highly erotic!

So, what's the problem? The problem is I've got my main character about to do something she doesn't normally do. In the first book she's only known one man before Dante (who tells her there is a very good reason they need to do it--to get his shiftchanger scent all over her so that the vampires don't want her so much). Well, she was okay with it, since she was really attracted to him, and he her, and it wound up that they began to see each between the first and second book. Then they broke up. A new relationship is on the horizon and it is with a master vampire who has claimed her, and they are getting hitched soon. So, I've debated on this scene, but considering Sabrina is technically free, and in a strange world, she finds the whole thing unusual, but caves due to her own raging desires.

But placing Sabrina into this situation where she simply has to give into it because she just can't resist his touch and Jacob is persistant had me wondering how to bring this about. The masage thing was out, because I just couldn't pull it together. When I decided on an exoticly scented private bath, it just gave me the best opportunity to have them together. If she doesn't give into it, then it would be rape. So, being careful, showing that she is into this, is where I'm at right about now.

Holding off writing this until I had a chance to think about how to go about this was the best thing. It's like any other scene. An action scene needs a lot of thought, as does dialogue. Dialogue moves your characters, and the story along, gives information to the reader. Action shows what your character is made of. Sex, also, determines a lot as far as what your character is willing to do, or how far they will go, or not go. The who they are is what you're trying to develop.

What does the sex scene do? In certain cases, and I'm thinking of the books I've read, we want to see the heroine choose the hot guy and go to bed with him. When I read a book I don't want to be led on and on and on until some later chapter in the book where the two get together--finally. I think Charlaine Harris is good at giving her character, Sookie, hunks to drool over and have sex with--sometimes multiple times. In some cases the mere mention of the guy's intention is enough to keep us interested, wanting to see (I was hoping she would get Sookie and Eric back together, and finally does in Dead and Gone). And she never has multiple lovers in any one book. She's seeing one guy at any one time, but when she isn't seeing a guy, she's given an array to choose from.

As far as writing the scene, we have to work in the details and find a way to make it "interesting". And if we want, we can make it funny, too. Depending upon how much detail we want to give it, I'd say a page or two is plenty. Unless you're Laurell K. Hamilton where half your book is errotic sex, about every 50 pages there has to be a sex scene, and usually goes on and on for pages. (I guess that's why I don't write erotica).

In my self-published book there is a short sex scene in early chapters with my main character, Zofia, and a man she was dating. I had her break up with him because after all he was a mortal and she was a sorceress--plus he was a cop, how do you tell a cop you can do magic? Then her husband returns (she thought he was dead), but he isn't exactly alive either, he's a vampire. I had male readers tell me they liked the hot sex scene in that chapter (I think it was 24), between the two. My husband and at least one other guy I know, said that was a hot scene,(smirk in place). I'd added red panties, a red bra and red high heals. No big deal. But it might have been different enough.

As my character, Sabrina Strong, grows in these vampire novels, her ideas about sex become a little different. Where once she couldn't even get a date--because she was thought of as wierd, because she wears gloves, as she is a touch clairvoyant, and of course the gloves can't come off during sex, or she gets emotional over-load from him. So, when she discovers that she can't "get a read" from vampires, because they can block her, and her telepathic lover, Dante can also block her, she's finding more and more how much fun sex can be. So,I didn't want her to repress her own sexual needs. Since becoming a were-creature, it seems to be more prominant a need. Especially during the full moon--and that leads me off in a few other directions with her in this book, as well.

I think I need to get back to this scene. Let me see. . . where did that bar of soap go? Oh, hell with it.