Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Let's talk about sex

Let's talk about sex, baby. Let's talk about you and me ... I'm not asking you about your sex life but let's face it, sex sell. Sex in romance sells too, especially in recent years with the rise of erotic romance post Fifty Shades of Grey. I enjoy sex in my romance and personally, I love when the bedroom door is left wide open. I find it very emotionally satisfying when the hero and heroine finally get it on. Even when the sex scenes fade to black, I kinda want to know that they did the hokey pokey together. :-)

Couple kissing red flower

In the interests of satisfying my curiousity, I thought I'd ask a couple of authors what they thought about sex in books. Both authors write sexy books and Lily Harlem in particular is my all time favorite erotic romance writer. If anyone ever asks me to recommend a good erotic romance writer, the first author I will mention is Lily. If you haven't read any of Lily's books, you need to. They are highly erotic but also very emotional. She gives you the perfect blend of eroticism and emotion so that the story is not only sexy, but it's also highly romantic and satisfying.

As for Morgan Kelley, she writes edgy thrillers and romantic suspense stories. Her books are long and involved, heavy on plot, but she adds in some great sex to shake things up and give you spice. I confess I have Morgan's books on my TBR and I really need to find time to read them, but she has a huge following and I am looking forward to reading her work.

Without much further ado, let's see what Lily and Morgan have to say about sex.

How important is sex in a romance?
(Morgan) In my world, very important.  It's edgy, it's raw, and it helps get down to the basics. People are animalistic at their deepest core. The rawer  the sex, the truer the person.  You can learn a lot about a character by how they behave in a bedroom.

How important do you think sex is in a romance novel? Must have or can be without?
(Morgan) It can, but then the book has to be that damn good.  If the heat is gone, it better not be a cookie cutter romance. If it is, it's not going to hold my interest. I've read some bad romances that didn't carry the weight of the book.  They were the same old...girl meets boy, boy saves girl from danger, guy gets girl.  Without sex, that gets old fast. 

(Lily) Definitely doesn't have to be there, but for me, it’s fun if there is. I always think if I’ve fallen in love with the hero, I want to know what he’s like between the sheets!

Couple kissing yellow flowers

How much is too much? or not enough?
(Morgan) That's personal preference. I like details. I like my reader to believe they are the woman being ravished.  Fiction is about fantasy. Sex scenes in books are important for a lot of women. At home, we are inundated by kids, laundry, and life.  I get asked (as does my hubby) if he's the men in the books. 
Hahahhaa no.  Who has romance novel sex? I wish. Sex scenes are set there to spice it up when we feel like it's the same old sex.
No one reads a book full of a harried mother running around all day and putting out for 30 seconds at night because her husband has begged for sex for days. 
We read to fall into the fantasy life of the characters.

(Lily) I don’t like it if it’s in a plot but doesn’t add to the plot. Sex has to change or move the relationship forward. It has to have consequences, even if it just means they fall even  more in love. Sex without the emotion is erotic but not romantic.

What is your ideal amount of sex in a romance novel?
(Morgan) It depends on the length of the books.  If it's a novella, it better not be every other page. That's not selling me a book. That's trying to distract me with sex so I don't think about the plot. It's about character development and how the couple gets together. Is it realistic? Does it feel forced? There's Theresa magic formula to writing a book. There is the same formula for adding in sex. You know when you know.
In my 500-600 page books, there are 6 sex scenes, 5 pages long each. So...30 pages total.  The rest is plot. That's the rate of character development for me.

(Lily) That depends on each novel and the story and characters. Some books can be very sexy without having pages and pages of sex scenes. The tension, the anticipation can be part of the fun too.

Can you give some examples of books (title and author) where you think sex has featured in the following areas and comment on why you thought they were go, irrespective of the sex - no sex, not enough, too much, just right.
(Morgan) Sorry, I can't.  I don't  read enough books to do a comparison. Besides, as an author, I don't comment, good or bad, on other authors' books.  It's bad business to critique your competition .  A book, to an author, is a very personal thing.  What I think is just right, or too much, is going to be subjective.  :)

(Lily) I’ve just finished Maestra by LS Hilton which is classed as erotic thriller. Beautifully written, great depth of character and interesting plot. The sex, well it’s there but it doesn’t take over and it definitely adds to the plot. I thought it was a great book and is erotic without being in your face, sex isn’t the story but makes the lead character realistic because what she’s up to, well, it would happen that way.

Couple kissing wedding bouquet

What about you? Do you like your bedroom door open or closed when it comes to sex in romance? Do you like sex in your romance? What's the sexiest book you've ever read?


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4 comments:

  1. Thank you for putting together this post, Deanna, it was really interesting to get Morgan's perspective on these issues. And thank you as always, for being such a wonderful, supportive reader of sexy books.

    Lily x

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    1. Lily, this was super fun. Thank your for answering my questions.

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  2. Hello

    You know for me any or all depends on what type of book I am reading I read across all the genres of romance so therefore some have the doors closed others wide open and yes I very much enjoy sex in my romance stories as Morgana and Lyly have both said though as long as it does not take over the story I don't pick up a romance to read about sex but I enjoy it very much in the story line and plot and yes some calls for doors closed and others open.

    Great questions and answers thank you Ladies

    have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Interestingly, I do pick up an erotic romance occasionally to read the sex because I'm in the mood for something sexy, but I have to be in the right mood for it.

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