Woo hoo! As of last night, Mysteries and Margaritas has 200 followers. We knew we were getting close, and we all agreed that the person who was blogging the day we hit that milestone would send the lucky person a $10 B&N or Amazon gift card. Since it happened on a Sunday, I'll step up and be the one.
Congrats to Melissa. I tried to find your email but can't. So, when you see this post, email me at Liz@Liz Lipperman.com and I'll put the prize in the mail.
I decided this was the perfect opportunity to say how much we appreciate all of our followers, especially the ones who religiouly comment and join in the fun as we laugh at ourselves, promote ourselves, and sometimes even say something that someone doesn't already know. Thank you all so much for hanging in there with us.
For today's blog topic, I decided to go with something that will hopefully generate a great conversation. Let's talk sex.
Since I write both straight and cozy mysteries, I go from one extreme to the other. We all know most genres have to have at least one good sex scene. To write a really good one, you have to kiss off your conservative upbringing and dive in. My question is--how do you do this knowing your mother, grown children, people you barely know, and the entire rest of the world will read every word? I remember hearing my daughter tell someone that she nearly flipped out reading her mother talking about orgasms. Does she think the stork brought her?
And I related a story a while back about a male friend who keeps looking at me funny after reading one of my sex scenes. I don't write erotica in my straight mysteries, but my sex scenes are steamy. I like getting into the H/H's heads while they're getting it on, and most of the time, I add humor. I think I do a decent job and have no problem with it, but I have friends who absolutely hate writing sex. They even go so far as to compare it to writing a synopsis, which ALL writers hate.
In the first chapter of Mortal Deception, my heroine dresses up in sexy clothes and goes into a bar for the sole purpose of seducing a man she has been tailing for the past 5 weeks. She's a widower and hasn't had sex in over two years, but she'll do anything to save her nephew's life. I particularly like that scene because I put so much humor into it. My girl worries she won't remember how to do it and needs liquor just thinking about getting naked. I also like writing villain sex, loving the way the dialogue during the act can really tell a lot about my bad guys.
I'm going to leave you with the trailer for Mortal Deception, which BTW will be available from Amazon in two weeks. Because I am using it to entice readers to get to know me, I will be offering it for $.99 until after Liver Let Die comes out. Stay tuned for the launch party, tentatively scheduled for August 15th.
In the meantime, I am curious how you guys handle your sex scenes. Do you agonize over them? Do you show your significant other? I made the mistake of reading one to my hubby, only to hear him say OMG! OMG! I toned it down.
Anyway, jump in this discussion as one lucky commentor will recieve a free download of MD when it is available. (Woo hoo. You win $.99!!)Believe it or not, it is a great heartwarming story...with sex!
29 comments:
Thanks for the reminder, I thought I was already following you :)
As for sex scenes, I haven't had to write one yet. Don't mind reading 'em though!
Great post Liz! And congrats to our 200th follower :-)
I write romance as well as cozy mysteries, and I love the sweet emotional consumation of a sex scene. I cringed a bit when my parents read those books, but hey, we're all adults! And when done tastefully, I think sex scenes can add so much to a book.
I can't wait to read Mortal Deception, Liz. Fabulous cover and trailer :-)
Congrats to Melissa!!! What a day for celebration!
Love the trailer Liz! VERY nice.
When I write a sex scene (haven't had to write many) I usually don't think of who will be reading it. I don't get overly graphic but yes, they tend to be steamy.It's not until all is said and done and I know the stories is in the hands of a family member and I think "oh boy". But you're right..we're all adults now, so deal with it and enjoy a hot and sexy moment!
Can't wait to read MD!!!
Congrats on your 200 followers. I actually enjoy writing sex scenes, though I don't write erotica. I'm looking forward to reading Mortal Deception.
Sarah, thanks for following us. I'm wondering what you genre you write that you haven't written a sex scene yet. YA? Cozy? Inspirational? In my cozy, there is a lot of innuendo but no sex. I even had to take out that my girl loves to party because the editor didn't want the readers to get a bad impression.
Good thing she isn't reading one of my straights!!
Thanks, Kari. This is one you've already read, though. It used to be Deadly Deceit, but I changed the name when I saw several books with that same title on Amazon. I thought I had a unique name, but I've since learned that's not the case. Oh well.
Hey, Barbie, that's the right attitude about writing the sex. Maybe if we look at it as a job requirement, it gets easier. As I said in the post, I don't look at it or write it as "Insert part A into part B." I always write the emotions going on.
I can't wait for you to read MD, Edie. And If I have half the success with it as you have with your self-pubbed books, I'll be happy.
Fabulous trailer, Liz, I'm so there when it comes out! Sex scenes, I make you read mine and then fix them! :) And now you've done it... Babies don't come from the stork???
Laughing at Donnell!!! She is one who hates writing sex, and I did offer a few sexy sentences for her.
I think the hesitation goes back to the way we were raised. I can just see one of the nuns reading one of my scenes and narrowing her eyes at me while I cringe. I once heard Jenny Crusie say that her mother was surprised that there was oral sex in one of her books. I guess, she skimmed right over the sex.
I used humor and indirection in Small Fish. Like this:
But Shannon is a resourceful woman, and she distracted me further with a deft raising of skirt and removal of underwear, and we used the prep table for a wholly unintended function which I suspect debilitated the structural soundness of its legs.
In the current WIP, the guy's a recovering sex addict, so there isn't any sex - but there's enough temptation to make you wonder if/when he'll relapse!
Congrats Melissa for being our 200th follower!
As for sex scenes, I don't like them too graphic. But graphic is in the eye of the reader, as I learned recently with reviews. One reader loved my story but thought it was a little too steamy. A couple of days later I got an email from a reader who thanked me for having such a great book with mild sex scenes. Go figure.
I think sex is a powerful thing and should be used carefully and purposefully in books. I don't think it should be tossed out willy nilly. My sex scenes are deep without being too graphic. I don't do flowery, can't stand flowery sex scenes. Make them primal, real, but not graphic. It isn't always easy to do.
I can't wait for your books, Liz. I know they're going to be great.
And humor, I love humor in sex scenes. I think the excerpt Pete posted is great.
Pete, I love that humor. I decided to post a couple of excerpts from my sex scene in MD. Both are from the first chapter when she is trying to seduce him.
She willed herself to relax. Sex with a stranger should be easier than shooting someone. Even though she’d never actually had to do that, she’d faced some of the worst felons in Cimarron without needing a new pair of panties. This should be a piece of cake. Or more appropriately, a piece of tail. Surely, a ten minute roll in the hay with a man who wasn’t ugly couldn’t be that difficult. She might even enjoy it. Hell, she hadn’t been laid in over two years.
And the other one:
Nate hesitated. “How do we do this? Do you want me to undress you?”
Oh, crap. The naked thing.
Dani looked away, hoping he wouldn’t see the color creep up her face. When she was more composed, she turned back to him. “Unless you’d rather watch me do it.”
Come on, folks. This could be fun. Give us a smidget of how you write sex.
Anita, I agree about flowery sex. I once read a contest entry and said something like he used his Mac truck to rev up her engines.
SERIOUSLY???
And I've read one of your sex scenes. You do it well.
Sex takes me a long time to write. At least those planned ones. But sometimes I get surprised and there is wham bam that I had no idea was coming. Those are my favorties. To me the sex has to move the story. It's got to up the conflict (those wham bam ones are great for that) and tell me something deep about the characters.
As for others reading it. I have 4 kids. My oldest is 22. She reads my stuff. At 22 she ought to the realities of sex by now if I did my parenting job right. My kids ask a question they get more info than they were after.
To me sex is a natural part of being human like eating or breathing. Those that don't approve of what I write don't have to read it. I usually only have two sex scenes per book, but they pack a lot of tension and dialogue. I don't get the scenes where the two characters are that intimate and don't talk to each other. This is a subject that I could go on and on about. I do spend 3 months of the year living in Utah.
Forgot to add, Liz, I can't wait for your book to come out. Both of them. And congrats to all the M&Ms for 200 followers!
Congrats Melissa on being the 200th follower. This is one great blog
How great our numbers are growing! Having you all join us and offer up your thoughts brings smiles to our faces.
Liz: Leave it to you to bring up the "S" word. One bit of advice I was given by a well-known author was, "Write your sex scenes as if your mother were dead."
I'm getting Mortal Deceptions as soon as possible. Also, BTW, I think August 15th is a perfect day for your launching. It's both Ferragosto in Italy (one of the biggest holidays for food and family fun) AND our 30 wedding anniversary. So, how can you go wrong with that combination coupled (pun intended) with your fabulous book?
Tiff, welcome back. I love the pix of you with the halibut. You do know my third book is Murder for the Halibut, right??
Anyway, I love your explanation of why we have to write sex scenes. And I love that you're looking forward to my books. I can tell by the way you comment, yours will be great...and funny.
Lindsay, I would have to say you are one of our most loyal followers..and we appreciate it.
What about the sex in your books?
Cassy, I love that way of thinking. We have to do that if we are even considereing writing GOOD scenes, I have a brother who is really religious. I told him NOT to read my straight mysteriss. My guess is those will be the ones he heads for first!!
Contemporary YA is becoming much more explicit--hope it doesn't filter down to MG.
M
Sex in my books. In Target Identified and the sequel I have what I call 'collie interruptus'. Every time the H&H try to knock boots, so to speak, either Kebi, in Target Identified, or Nibs, in Target Acquired, get in the way.
Not until the end, when the H&H are safe, will the collies allow them to have sex, behind closed doors.
In the Emily Dahill,CID Series there's no real love interest for her, so here the answer is no.
So, does that answer your question
Lindsay, I love that - collie interruptus. You could use all kinds of things here, toddler interruptus,phone call, etc.
In my second cozy, I let my heroine have sex, but it, also, was behind closed doors. I hate to say it, but the sexual tension and innuendo was as much fun as writing the sex.
To have toddler interruptus, first you have to have sex, then you get toddler interruptus all the time.
I never was very good at writing sex scenes. That's why when I do have them they are, now don't break into song, behind closed doors.
Who's the heroine having sex with behind the closed doors?
Ah, I've got you curious. You'll have to wait until next July when Beef Stolen-Off comes out.
Bwa ha ha ha ha .
Liz, did anyone ever tell you, you're mean, nasty, horrible, rotten and one hell of a great story teller
Love, love, love the trailer! You are so awesome.
And as for sex, my mom read my frisky one, but my men, no way.
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