My latest novella, Rose’s Garden, was written about a friend of mine. It isn’t a blow-by-blow account of her divorce by any means, and nor would she want anyone to think she had a hot and steamy affair with a younger man in the midst of the nuclear fallout that followed! But I did take many aspects of her life and use them for Rose’s story. Not least of them, the character of Rose’s despicable ex husband. Somehow I doubt that ‘Phil’ would appreciate reading about himself in the pages of an erotic novella… 

[IMG]http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh316/rlemonnier/rosesgarden-1.jpg[/IMG]

In real life, my friend went through a horrific divorce and only now, two years later, has she finally begun to see the light again. It has been a long, difficult road for her and many times I felt like I was living it with her. She is with another man now – one who appreciates her – but she is still having hassle from her ex. I don’t think he’ll ever leave her alone until he’s six feet under.  

At least in my story, Rose finds happiness and peace by the final chapter. 

If only real life was as easy as fiction…

eXcessica new releases

LORD MELCHIOR

By Varian Krylov

www.excessica.com

Length: Short Story

Category: Menage, Historical

Heat Level: eXcess 4

Price: $2.99

BUY IT!

Long ago and far away, Lord Melchior ruled over his lands and his serfs with an iron hand. Taken from their homes at the cusp of adolescence and brought up in strict segregation, the boys and girls of his realm learned total obedience and rigid chastity. But when naïve Zaccheus and Rasha were chosen to serve their master in his castle, they soon discovered that one of Lord Melchior’s greatest pleasures was forcing his innocent young servants to violate the very laws he himself has imposed on them all their lives.

ACROSS THE THRESHOLD

By habu

www.excessica.com

Length: Super-Novel

Category: Anthology

Heat Level: eXcess 3

Price: 5.99

BUY IT!

What gay male can ever forget his first full-blown sexual experience—a particularly memorable first time, given the conventions of society? The first time can be the culmination of long-held frustration, or completely casual and come as a complete surprise. It can be traumatic or sought; imprisoning or releasing, disappointing or far beyond the wildest dream. First times can be prearranged or ritualistic; spontaneous or unexpected by both parties. The first time could have been instigated by a predator, a new lover, or a savior, or even by the first timer himself. The situation and venue can be sordid or off-the-cuff convenient, or might involve silken sheets, candles, champagne, prolonged seduction and foreplay.

But for most men, the one thing it cannot be is forgotten.

This anthology provides a treasure trove of thirty-five short stories of separate, varied “first time” gay male experiences, from the stalked to long anticipated, from the romantic to the brutal, for the young or not so young. The one central theme of all of these stories, however, is the experiences depicted all result in the beginning of a new lifestyle, not the ending of a world.

A TWISTED BARD’S TALE

By Selena Kitt

www.excessica.com

Length: Short Short

Category: Lesbian, Historical

Heat Level: eXcess 2

Price: 0.99

BUY IT!

Did you ever wonder what started the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues? Check out this naughty version of Romeo and Juliet - you’ll be surprised and delighted by this twisted Bard’s tale!

My intention was to write something intelligent about…yes, you guessed it – writing!

But then I started musing about my love-life instead. It only took a few minutes. Love-life? Ha!

After all, who needs to cough up for expensive pyschoanalysis, when you can re-write the tale of your doomed relationship with the charmer who promised you, “5* all the way, baby!”, but only ever bought you a take-out from MacDonalds…

Looking on the bright side (and lets face it, somebody has to), I suppose my dalliances with dating and relationships have at least proven inspirational in a twisted kind of way. I find it very cathartic to spew my bitter recriminations into a fictional (ahem) story. As a result of several trainwrecks, sorry, relationships, several stories were born from the ensuing nuclear fall-out.

It’s rather satisfying to write about a heroine who eventually gets her man (the right one), after leaving the villain of the piece high and dry. (Yes, what fun it is writing Fred/Harry/Biff as a manipulative, conniving, cheating scumbag – and knowing that there is a very real chance they might read the finished story at some point).

Does the truth hurt, huh? Good!

Most of all I like to write happy endings. It makes me smile to send my characters off into the proverbial sunset loved up, shagged out, and ready to settle down for some happy-ever-after-sex.

So why does real life persistently fail to live up to the ideals of fiction?

Answers on a postcard please…

The late Canadian novelist Robertson Davies urged readers, in his 1992 book Reading and Writing, to “read eloquently,” to read a book “at the pace at which you can pronounce and hear every word in your own head.” He argued that the novel, no less than a dramatic work, is a work of performance. And like poetry, its “sound” must allow the reader to stage that performance in her mind.

Creating that sound is something that I have worked diligently to develop in my own writing. Storytelling is not a problem for me. At least a dozen concepts for stories pop into my head each month and, as one wag said of the ten or so daily ideas that Winston Churchill is supposed to have urged on his staff during the Second World War, one or two of them are actually good. It is the work of getting those ideas on paper – of writing – that slows me down.

As a result, I am particularly appreciative of comments that relate to the technique of writing. One of my on-line readers once singled out a single line of dialogue in a historical romance on which I am still working. In it, my hero, a dashing captain in the post-Nelson Royal Navy, sends his faithful coxswain in search of the man responsible for assaulting a young woman, and later asks him what became of the fellow: “Matthew scratched his head. ‘You see, sir, he were accidentally scragged, like, after he were found.’” My correspondent told me that I had perfectly established Matthew’s character in that one line. I was delighted to hear that. To me, it meant that the line had rung true enough to allow her to perform that scene in her mind, and to create a Matthew that probably matched, to a very close extent, the Matthew that inhabits my mind while I’m writing.

I can recall a time when I thought that certain novels were called “plot-boilers.” And it made sense. All the meat had been boiled off, leaving only the bone of the plot. I learned later that the actual term is “pot-boiler.” But I like my term, too. I hope to produce something a little better. And so, like Davies, I would urge you, if you really like something that you’re reading, to give it the attention that it deserves. Read it at a simmer, not a boil, and savor the sound of the author’s words.

Marshall Ian Key

photo credit: verybigjen

Sex sells.

That’s what all advertising teaches, right? And we see it, we’re inundated with it, we know it.

So you would think that sex would be primarily what would sell in something written specifically about sex… like romance novels, for example. In fact, sex has become such the perceived focus in romance, a whole new genre has sprung up in recent years– “erotic” romance novels, where we’ve upped the ante considerably. Men no longer sport manhoods and women don’t have “sheaths” to house them. Cock and pussy are right out there in the open.

It’s obvious. Sex is what sells.

Right?

No, contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the sex that gets the reader to turn those pages.

It’s the pain.

Copyblogger says so. It must be true!

Romance readers don’t keep picking up hundreds of titles a year because they want to read about sex. They come back, again and again, to read about the pain. Happy is boring. Pain is interesting. The more pain, the better. Authors just keep turning and turning and turning the screws, and readers writhe in painful ecstasy like a hot BDSM submissive slut on her way to orgasmic heaven.

And that’s just where the reader is headed, of course. And so are the characters.

Because a good Dom writer knows when to stop with the pain and start with the pleasure. To weave them together in a tapestry of delightfully terrible bliss.

To quote one of my husband’s favorite movies: (and if you name it first in the comments, I’ll give you a copy of my newest Phaze release: Sacred Spots. I’d give you an eXcessica book, but none of them currently released really have romance-y satisfying sorts of happily ever afters, and that doesn’t seem quite fair in a post about romance!

Life is pain, Princess. Anyone who tells you anything different is selling something.

Ah there’s the paradox. Because the romance novel requires, in almost all cases, a happily ever after, even if real life doesn’t always end that way. The pain has to end some time. Pain is interesting, and it works as both a marketing tool (as Copyblogger points out) and a plot vehicle, because the absence of pain feels so good. Believe me, the world looks like a tremendously more beautiful place the day after I have a migraine - much more so than on days I don’t.

As Copyblogger points out:

If the problem is bad enough, any solution feels miraculous.

As with my migraines… just the absence of pain can feel like a resolution! If you’ve put your two main characters through enough misery, all you have to do is bring them back together to satisfy the reader. Sex is a great way to do that… and of course, it’s no accident that the literal orgasm serves as a symbolic redemption for all those pages of horrible pain and misunderstanding and despair.

And once you’ve reached your climax–and in erotic romance, it’s usually simultaneous, or pretty darned close, plot-climax and characters’-climax–it’s time to go. A little cuddling afterward is fine, but not too much.

We all know what happens when a book or series or movie jumps the shark when it comes to the “too much cuddling” phase.

Anyone else remember Moonlighting? Hot and riveting… until they got together

Then… pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt.

Where’s the remote?

So in all this talk about sex and porn these past few weeks, it’s good to remember what really “sells” (in Copyblogger language) or appeals (in authorly language) might look like sex, and sound like sex, and feel like sex… but it isn’t really sex. Sex only serves as a symbol - it’s the closest we can come (every pun intended) as humans to one another, to redemption, to wholeness.

And we all know the journey toward that climax is what makes the ending so damned good.

Doesn’t that go for everything?

And if there’s an obstacle or two in the way? A lot of twists and turns and dead ends and fears you might not make it… and even, oh yes, even a lot of little pain involved in the process?

Oh yes.

That’s right. All romance readers are pain sluts. And the most experienced Doms writers can take them on a twisting, aching ride to Nirvana - again and again and again.

And hey…we writers don’t even need any Viagra!

~*~*~Selena Kitt~*~*~

My readers ask me “Vern” (I prefer Vernon but what the heck) “How do you come up with all them stories? Where’d you get all them ideas? Do you write fast, or half-fast?”

I tell them it’s a combination of diligence and research. Think up a plot, look up the relevant information to support the premise and don’t stop typing ’till it’s finished.

Excuse me. The doorbell rang.

Great, it’s those DVD’s I ordered. I’m a film noir fan. Several interesting titles here…

Oh yes. Story writing. I find a marked level of concentration is crucial to good story writing. I usually…

Whoops, microwave beeped. Just a sec.

Yummy, beef tips in pasta. It’s been a while since lunch…

As I was saying, I do a lot of research before I…

Now this is interesting. Did you know the male porcupine urinates on the females quills to soften them before they mate? Neither did I. Don’t want to get pricked while your using your…

Okay, back to the subject. I usually sequester myself in my den and concentrate on what I’m writing and…

My cell’s ringing. Hello? Excuse me for a minute..

No kidding? Okay I’ll be there in a few. Yes, I’m leaving now…

Darn it, I forgot my dart tournament was tonight. My team was wondering where I was.

Can I get back to you on this? Thanks.

Anyway, let me leave you with this advice.

Both diligence and concentration are the keys to being a successful author. It has always worked for me.

Shoot, they’re calling again.

Gotta run. caio everone.

I don’t know about other authors, but my life is hectic at the best of times. My writing is something that has to be fitted in around two jobs, three kids, assorted pets, not to mention other interests. Some days I truly wish I had multiple personalities and could therefore delegate some of the more boring tasks. Failing that, I wish my kids could be more [bleep] helpful!

Most of my work is written in hurried bursts during quiet interludes at the office, or whilst waiting for a pan of assorted items to cook for the evening meal. At the office, I have devised several methods for hiding the true nature of my writing. Any document I work on whilst there is always re-named as something innocuous. I often use acronyms of the true title so that any passing colleague is blissfully unaware that SMH.doc is in fact erotica, as opposed to an innocent letter.

One particular story was named html.doc for ages as I was supposed to be working my way through a HTML and CSS tutorial. Well I was – but I was also writing pages of steamy sex at the same time.

Working at home is less fraught. Since my laptop is password protected and strictly for my use only, I can work on anything I like without the risk of being caught. The only problem I have there is the constant distraction of domestic chaos.

Have you tried writing a sex scene while WW3 is raging in the adjacent room? No? Then try it sometime and see how far you get!

He slowly unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the curve of her breasts as she held her breath almost to the point of asphyxiation. When she felt the first touch of calloused fingers, Melissa moaned softly. Her traitorous body wanted him, even if every nerve in her body screamed that it was wrong to feel this way about her cousin. . .

“MUM! Issy won’t let me go on her computer. I hate her!”

“GO AWAY!”

Cue the sound of screaming before my bedroom door rudely bangs open. “Mum! Tell him! He’s annoying me!” my younger daughter cries petulantly as her brother throws things at her from the relative safety of the bathroom.

“Oh for [bleep] stop bickering!” I mutter crossly as I minimise my document window. Once the argument has been sorted out in the best tradition of parental diplomacy (both offspring sent to their respective rooms under the threat of extreme violence), I return to my story.

Ryan pushed her down on to the hard mattress and smiled slowly as he raked his gaze across her semi naked body. Melissa watched helplessly as he unzipped his jeans. Even though she was aware that anybody could walk in on them, the fear of reprisal was not enough to make her run away. When the denim finally slid down his taut, muscular thighs, she gasped out loud in shock. . .

The phone rings, jarring my concentration once again. A sullen teen on the end of the line asks in a monosyllabic tone to speak to my eldest daughter.

“Phone for you!” I yell, trying to make myself heard above the thumping dance music emanating from my daughters bedroom. The music momentarily deafens the entire neighbourhood as her bedroom door opens. My Britney Wannbe flounces in and snatches the phone from me with a disdainful toss of her dyed hair before flouncing back out, talking a foreign language of ‘yeah, whatever, he’s so fit…yeah…like well fit!’

I pull a face at her, but she is oblivious – I don’t blip on her radar unless she wants my cash, my clothes, or my make-up. In that order.

By now my characters are in a state of severe coitus interruptus and frankly I know how they feel.

I wistfully dream of a sun kissed patio beside an azure pool, where I wish I was sitting in the shade of a lemon tree, able to write for hours with no distractions. However, knowing my luck, I would probably end up being cursed with writers block in the unlikely event opportunity gave me a winning lotto ticket. Still, I’m certain the pool boy and a nice bottle of Chianti would soften the blow.

In the meantime, I should be able to give my characters a mutually satisfying orgasm before the Bolognese is ready . . .

Dinner’s cummmmmiinnng!

Pasta anyone?

Rachelle LeMonnier

What makes sex writing hot? What gives it its ability to not just stimulate and titillate, but to make us sweat, to push us to the point where it really moves us, to take it across the line into something that resembles an art of arousal?

A couple of examples:

John kissed Mary. He put his hand under her skirt and felt her leg. Mary took his cock and squeezed it. “That feels good, Mary” John said. “It does.” Mary replied. John took off Mary’s clothes and then his own and they got into bed and started to fuck…

Okay. Intentionally bad porn. But why?

It’s more than just the fourth-grade level sentence structure. Consider this rewrite:

John grabbed Mary and kissed her hard. He slid his hand under her skirt and began to caress her leg. Mary shuddered and grabbed his cock and began to slowly beat him off. “Damn, that feels good, Mary!” John gasped. “God, yes!” Mary breathed. John struggled to pull off Mary’s clothes then tore off his own. They stumbled into bed and started to fuck.

Same simple sentence structure, just a few more words, but it’s much more palatable. What’s the difference?

The difference is: emotion. The added words allow us to build a mental picture of the scene that shows us what the characters are feeling, whereas the first example has been stripped of all words that convey emotional content. It’s told in a flat, valueless language that paints the characters as automatons and is therefore devoid of all emotion and all humanity and consequently, all warmth and sexual heat.

And that’s the point: sexual heat happens in the characters’ heads. It’s the job of the erotic author to write sex in such a way that the reader knows what his characters are feeling and thinking as they’re having sex.

What makes a story hot is not so much what the characters do, it’s what the characters feel about what they’re doing. The hot little heart of any porn story is always psychological. Sex acts are arousing not because of organ plunging into orifice, but because of what that means, because of what that tells us about what’s going on in the characters’ minds.

You can prove this to yourself. Think about any juicy bit of sexual gossip you’ve heard lately. Take Elliot Spitzer. What’s the first thing you think about when you think about the former governor of New York? Do you think about what Elliot’s cock looked like going into that lounge singer’s pussy? Or do you think: What was he thinking??? What was it like to be Elliot Spitzer??? As humans, we’re fascinated about what other people think and feel. When we hear about some woman fucking 38 guys at a time, or the polygamist Mormon sect, we’re only interested in the sexual details insofar as they shed light on what those people are thinking and feeling as they’re having sex. Do those 14 year-old girls really “love” their 50 year-old husbands? Did they blow them? (Because oral sex means something much different than having intercourse, and we all know that.) What does it feel like to have four wives?

It’s the thoughts and feelings we’re interested in, and unless you can convey thoughts and feelings through sexual action, you can’t write decent erotica. Writing about people screwing isn’t enough. You have to write about how they screw. You have to show what their emotions are as they screw.

When we read a porn story, we’re always looking for those subtle clues that tell us how the people are feeling about what they’re doing. Does he “grab” her or “embrace” her for the first kiss? Maybe “clutch her” or “sweep her up” or “hug her”, hold her by her upper arms or her hands, twist her arms behind her or hold her face or not touch her at all. Each gesture means something precise and different, and each speaks volumes about what’s going on in his mind. It’s the difference between John kissed Mary and John grabbed Mary and kissed her. The first tells us nothing about how John was feeling. The second tells us John was a bit excited. That excites us, too.

Sex acts too are hot not because they show organs sliding in and out of each other, but because of the way they slide…or grind, or mash, or pump, or hammer, or slither, or whatever. The words create an image and the image reveals what the characters are feeling, and there, in the internal states of their minds, resides the secret heat of eroticism.

There are some who feel that erotic heat is obtained by describing the most outré and forbidden sexual act one can imagine, but unless this is done in such a way as to convey the emotions of the people involved, it’s going to fall flat. No kind of incestuous nasal intercourse or group bondage with teenaged tentacled space aliens is going to have any interest whatsoever if told in flat, affectless prose. It’s emotion that carries the heat.

On the other hand, think what is conveyed in such a simple act as oral sex, woman on man, the complicated issue of who is in charge of whom, how much can said about a relationship in how the deed is performed. Or the terribly intimate surrender implicit in an act of anal sex, whether the male be the aggressor or the woman use a strap on. Either one tells us a tremendous amount about the feeling states of the people involved in such an act and about their relationship. Sex is emotion, visibly expressed, as intimate and honest as it gets.

Fiction has been defined as emotion expressed though action, and in the case of erotica, the emotion is whatever it’s possible to feel for another human being, everything from hatred to love. All of these may be experienced when two people have sex, and we as readers are tremendously curious about this. We want to see these emotions described in the way the characters make love. We want to see their internal thoughts and feelings made manifest in their actions through the writer’s descriptive skill. We want, ultimately, for the truth of character to be revealed under the emotional strain of blistering ecstasy and transcendent passion, and that’s where the heat in any erotic story is ultimately found.

Dr. Mabeuse

A friend once told me, “Trying to find an editor is like playing pin-the-tale-on-the-donkey. Even if you get lucky, you still get an ass.” I laughed, but that certainly didn’t boost my confidence. In the years since I’ve emerged from my comfortable-but-dark shell, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The volunteer editors I’ve met were very nice, perhaps too nice.

Still, the pessimistic nature of my introduction to editing made me constantly away of important factors. This tendency to analyze increased ten-fold when I began editing—I longed to edit with the same values I’d want from my editor, and how could I do that unless I understood exactly what I wanted? The following is a summary of my thoughts from the past couple of years, and I believe this post is fitting because of our peer editing system.

Let’s begin with the obvious: great editing skills certainly include more than a grasp of grammar. Attributes such as attitude really make the difference between someone who can edit a manuscript and someone who can help that writer grow.

To bend Morpheus’ sound bite to my purpose, “…I can only show you the door. You’re the one who has to walk through it.” An editor can be an important sounding board, guide, and even an ally, but that editor cannot help anyone who is unreceptive or unprepared. There is little help for people who are convinced they’re at the pinnacle of their writing skills, or—for whatever reason—are stuck in an emotional loop. Typically though, any seasoned writer will realize they cannot possibly see all the mistakes and areas for improvement in their own work (more on this in my next blog in two weeks).

A truly thoughtful person will inquire and offer whatever level of help is appropriate to the situation. So, I believe the first key to being a great editor is empathy. Talk to the writers to identify with them and find out what they need. Usually, I settle for the direct approach: simple questions asking them what kind of help they’d like to receive. Many haven’t really thought about it, but it won’t take much to discover important clues, so get them talking about their goals and their expectations for their story. Gauge how wary they are about the entire process, and try to set them at ease—you can be their best resource if they allow it.

Communication. If not the penultimate goal of an editor, it should be near the top. Though this might go without saying, I like to state the obvious. A good editor should, as well—never assume something is grasped, and even at the risk of sounding like a simpleton, restate an important point in as many ways as needed. Even illustrate the point if you can; it is a valuable tool to aid in mutual understanding. Talking in half thoughts or expecting the writer to “know what you mean” is asking for a miscommunication that can be extremely unproductive. Collect your thoughts carefully before expressing them, and always check to see if more clarification is needed.

Beyond having a good eye for grammatical mistakes and typos, it’s beneficial to discern subtle nuances and patterns. Be focused on plot flow and tone consistencies as well as character development and dialog believability—these are areas where an analytical, outside perspective can truly aid the story.

Heighten the writer’s awareness of the importance of a story’s beginning; be more critical of the opening impression. This is the time when the reader goes through a learning curve and is unconsciously feeling around for the right rhythm, tone, and style as well as the more obvious “what’s happening.” Mention even the smallest error or miscalculation during this time—it might slide later in the story, but during the critical introduction, it can often give a bad (or incorrect) first impression. An opener that gives pause or does not enchant the reader is in need of editing (at the very least, it should build the base for what the reader can expect).

Be a perfectionist and be patient. Don’t skip a point simply because you think they’ll object; the writer can always veto your suggestions (and always accept the veto with grace, even if you approach it later in a more sneaky fashion ).

Know that there are exceptions to every rule; be flexible. The key is to always stay focused on the question, “Does this exception hurt the story from the reader’s standpoint?” While you’re a guide to the writer, you are also the reader’s champion.

And lastly, there is the over-arching benefit of being a “giver”—people without an obstructive ego or a chip on their shoulder who want only the best for those they help. It’s important to wish for the writer’s success as much as they do, to get satisfaction, even pleasure, in a shared job-well-done. An open spirit of helpfulness is contagious once writers see what to expect, and hopefully they will pass it on.

Ideally, an editor’s overall goal is to support the development of writers. Helping them feel more satisfied with a story and their progress as a writer is a very sweet reward in and of itself (though recognition for the help also goes a long way—no one wants to feel under-appreciated). Be excited for their story’s potential, and be creative when offering suggestions—just be sure the writer knows suggestions are given freely, with no requirements or expectations.

There is no such thing as a perfect editor all the time, but it is a goal worth struggling to obtain. This world needs more great editors, because they support the great stories.

Happy writing and reading.

Kev

The problems of being an erotic author are many and varied. This erotic author, for example, is seriously considering moving into the more generally accepted ’straight’ genre of romantic or ‘chick lit’ fiction, not least because then I could finally let my mum and dad read something I’ve written!

In fact, telling people is one of the biggest reasons I am considering moving into a more ‘acceptable’ area of fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ashamed. All my friends know I write erotica, as does my partner and my mother, but I can’t let them read anything I write, nor can I tell people at my volunteer work who ask me what I do. The follow-up question to “Oh, I’m an author” is always some variation of “Oh? What do you write?” A total nightmare if you’re in a very conservative situation.

Add to that the difficulty of getting it published in the real world – let’s face it, nothing feels as good as seeing your work in print – and the continual problems of finding new vocabulary for basic human anatomy and you have a rough idea of why non-sexual romantic stuff might be preferable for me.

Of course, the problem there is that I just write sex too damn well, and I bloody well enjoy it. For the time being I guess I’ll just have to continue typing away, producing marvellous works of literary genius that just happen to be filled with pages and pages of raunchy sex and deal with the consequences. Though, looking as sweet and innocent and I do, it is always fun to drop a bombshell now and then.

“So Emelia, what is it that you do?”

“Oh, I write porn…”

Emelia Bell