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Come and Escape With e-Publisher
Linden Bay Romance...the new name in erotic romance fiction
On the face of it writing an erotic romance seems an easy task. Just write a love story, but put lots of sex in it, right? Well yes, obviously there does need to be lot of sex in the story and there does need to be a romance, but it's a lot more complicated that just putting romance and sex in the same story.
As Chief Editor of Linden Bay, I get to read some first class erotic romance with hot sex scenes and wonderful characterizations. When I edit sex scenes I have one word in mind - relevance. That's true of any romance be it sweet or extremely erotic. The sex has to be an integral part of the story or it's just gratuitous. In our submission guidelines we say that if the story still works without a particular sex scene then it just doesn't belong there. If the couple are to end up in bed having graphically described, mind-blowing sex, then the plot needs to be set up to get them to the point where they can do nothing else but jump each other's bones.
The reason need not be complicated, but the motivation needs to be clear and the author needs to be able to justify getting her characters to that point. They must also stay firmly in character. I've read stories where nerdy, shy men suddenly become studs when they get between the sheets and virginal heroines become nymphomaniacs with the ability to give blow jobs like a high class whore. I love a good sex scene, but it does kind of make me laugh when that happens. I've also read scenes that are no more than two strangers involved in a quickie (catch the opener to What they Call Sin by Philippa Grey Gerou and you'll know what I mean) and they just sizzle.
Learning exactly how much to write in an erotic sex scene is also another good trick to learn. An erotic romance does mean that the sex scenes need to be meaty enough to justify the label, but knowing when to stop is a good skill to learn too. We've all read the sex scene that goes on for so long that you start to fear for the health of the characters. I remember one a long time ago, in the days of the good old bodice ripper, where I truly thought the heroine's nipples were in danger of coming off in the hero's hand. And conversely we've all read the scene where it's over so quickly that you couldn't possibly believe that the characters traveled to the other side of the universe and back and all you feel is frustration! I like the philosophy at JERR. A good sex scene should have you running upstairs to get out the toys, and if you have one, the boyfriend or husband. It should leave the reader, as well as the characters breathless and satisfied.
That brings me to an interesting point and a question I'm often asked. /i>Do I have to use graphic language to write an erotic romance for Linden Bay? My answer to that is no. Use the language you're most comfortable with. One of the replies I'll get to that is, but how can it be an erotic romance without graphic language? I have to smile here because Gayle Eden one of our wonderful authors provides me with a ready made answer to that question. Her regency, Whispers in the Dark, uses little in the way of extremely graphic language, yet it manages to be one of the most erotic love stories I've ever read. Her beautiful prose, and consequently her characterization, melts the page at times proving that if you're not comfortable with writing the 'C' words, as I like to affectionately call them, you can still write a very sensual romance for Linden Bay.
On the other side of the coin we have authors who are entirely comfortable with the C words and use them with panache in prose that flows like poetry. Basically what I'm saying is write the words that best fit the characters and the setting of the story.
One of the requirements in a Linden Bay Romance is a hero the reader can fall in love with and to me that's the most important thing of all. I'm also a writer and one of the best compliments anyone can pay me is to say that they've either fallen in love with a hero of mine, or they want to take him home with them (for whatever purpose!). That connection with the hero is vital for me when I'm reading romance. I wholeheartedly approve of the trend of putting the reader as much into the hero's point of view as the heroine's. I love getting inside his head and finding out exactly what he's thinking and what moves him.
Whether they be macho alpha heroes striding around, shouting orders
and taking command, beta heroes languidly reclining, quoting poetry in floppy white
shirts (a personal favorite of mine
And if you love reading them then come visit our site. You'll be most welcome and are sure to find something that will set your senses on fire. All our books have adult sexual content and we use two ratings to indicate how much sex and how graphic the language used to describe it is.
This month we have two new releases in the very sensual category, A Touch of Heaven by Lily Graison is about a male stripper who gets more than he bargains for when he spots an old school friend in the audience and Gayle Eden brings us Refuge From the Storm, a sizzling historical which strands the hero and heroine on a desert island after a shipwreck.
For vampire fans Kallysten follows up the huge success of Checkmate with Her Last Words, due out in October and Vivien Dean is working on the sequel to another of our bestsellers, Chains of Jericho which will be out later this year. Candy Nicks' first release was Can I Keep You (find out more in the interview) and right now she's planning a very sexy futuristic story. We hope to have more stories in this sub-genre very soon.
Peter and Jennifer Smith have also nearly finished their sequel to The Monogamy Chronicles which are a very funny look at a couple's often disastrous attempts to spice up their love lives.
Egyptian Nights is a wonderfully sensual time travel story by Jennifer Mueller that takes us back to exotic ancient Egypt and Between Dreams and Darkness by Claire Michaels is a paranormal that definitely has a hero to fall in love with. Lara Williams brings us another sexy lead man in Shelter from the Storm and Eve Asebury (who also writes as Gayle Eden) has two historicals and two contemporaries waiting for release. The first of these will be the contemporary Bring on the Rain for which Scott Carpenter, our cover artist, has made a beautifully sensual cover. Also in our very sensual category we have Setting Him Free by Alexandra Marell and last but not least our charity anthology of sexy short stories will be available mid November. We're very excited at Linden Bay Romance to offer a free read in the form of The Linden Bay Diaries which is being written by contributing Linden Bay authors and is set in the fictional coastal town of Linden Bay. We hope to put that out in monthly installments and episode one is available to read on the site.
As I said above, some authors do a great job writing sex scenes without using graphic language and we have a number of books in our Sensual category. Alexandra Marell writes for both categories with ease. Waiting For Eternity is a love story set during the second world war and Something Worth Fighting For and In the Dark With You are her two new releases due out in September and October respectively. You can read about those in her interview....
Ashlee Hopkins takes her female jockey heroine into the male-dominated world of horse racing and Castello De Ama by Kaitlyn Mckintyre is a love story set amongst the vines of the Nappa Valley.
So, come find a hero to die for, heroines who go get their man, and Escape With Us at Linden Bay Romance. You can find us at www.lindenbayromance.com.
© Maria Morpeth, Managing Editor at Linden Bay Romance - September 11, 2005 Issue of the Just Erotic Romance Review Newsletter
