Please welcome best selling Erotic Romance Author Berengaria Brown to my blog today! She is kicking off my series of Thursday Blogs on the topic of
writing erotic romance. I am looking forward to learning from successful writers, so please join me every Thursday for Insights on Writing Erotic Romance!
Writing Erotic Romance
by
Berengaria Brown
Although there are still some people who believe romance is
not real fiction, in the way a thriller, for example, is, many other people
recognize that since romance outsells any other genre by a long way, the vote
of readers seals the issue in favor of romance.
Romance offers great freedom to the writer. Almost any genre
may be found inside romance, as long as the romance is a major part of the
story, and there is a Happy Ever After (or at least a Happy For Now) ending.
Erotic romance simply carries this progression one stage
farther. The romance must be an integral part of the story, and within that
romance there should be explicit, detailed sex, which leads to the HEA ending.
In erotic romance the sex itself is another place where the
characters display their love and affection for each other. They open their
minds and hearts to each other, and the reader learns about their past, their
characters, their feelings, their emotions, and their innermost selves, as well
as participating in their bedroom antics.
In other words, the sex itself is a part of the plot. It
moves the plot and characters forward (or back!).
A word of warning to writers contemplating this genre. If
you aren’t prepared to use explicit words and describe in detail what happens
behind the bedroom door, this genre is not for you. Readers are very demanding.
A good plot is not enough for them. They want plot and sex. And not just a
paragraph of sex, but several pages showing every emotion, feeling, sight,
sound, smell, and intimate detail of what happens next.
Berengaria Brown is a multi-published author of erotic
romance: contemporary, paranormal (ghosts, vampires, fairies and werewolves),
futuristic, medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all
different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: one man/one woman; two
women; two men; two men/one woman; three men, two women/one man… Whatever the
characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure
they get it.
“Enslaved”: “Freedom be Damned” book 1:
Blurb:
Trevellyan's cousin Aurelia got a job in a call center and
hasn't contacted him in six months. With his partners, Merrick and Vaughan, he
goes to visit her but isn't allowed to see her. With their concern rising, the
three men hire Evelyn, a sexy motorcycle courier, to deliver a parcel to
Aurelia and find out whatever she can about the call center. Evelyn discovers
that things are hardly what they seem and that Aurelia could be in great
danger. She collects a message from Aurelia, then helps the men by sending them
to friends of hers, an IT specialist, Mas, and a retired Marine, Niall.
Evelyn becomes invested in saving Aurelia—and in spending
time with Trevellyan, Merrick, and Vaughan. While they are all determined to
rescue Aurelia, they can’t help but act on their growing attraction to one
another. Can their relationship flourish in the face of such danger?
Evelyn becomes invested in saving Aurelia—and in spending
time with Trevellyan, Merrick, and Vaughan. While they are all determined to
rescue Aurelia, they can’t help but act on their growing attraction to one
another. Can their relationship flourish in the face of such danger?
Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/enslaved
“Freed”: “Freedom be Damned” book 2:
Blurb:
Aurelia has moved into Niall's apartment, as has Mas, the two men
choosing to accept each other so they can share the woman they both want.
Aurelia plans Trevellyan, Merrick, Vaughan, and Evelyn's commitment ceremony,
and finds she has a talent for such things.
Mas and Niall continue to love Aurelia, giving her more orgasms
than she's ever dreamed of, and planning fun outings where the three of them
truly bond as a unit. Aurelia continues looking for a job, and all three of
them are still trying to get a lead on where the other call centers may be, to
free the workers as they freed Aurelia.
Meanwhile the sex just gets hotter.
But will Aurelia ever find a real job? And can the demons running
the call centers be stopped?
Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/freed
Berengaria Brown
http://berengariabrown.com/
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You make good points. Erotic romance may be very different from other genres, but it's just as much hard work to write. Erotic romance writers not only can't be squeamish about graphic love scenes; they also have to be comfortable editing those scenes for publication. Editors may tell you to find a synonym for that body part or explain more clearly what the character is doing with it at any given moment:-) You have to be professional and treat those hot scenes with the same frankness and attention to craft as any other.
ReplyDeleteHell, yes, Allie! That's so true. Many of my menage scenes are role-played to ensure they do really work.
ReplyDeleteMelisse, thank you for inviting me over today.
Berengaria
Berengaria: Great post! I am not an author only a reader...but an avid reader of all things romance since late in the 1960s. I guess you could call me a newbie to erotic romance but I was "afraid" to give it a try....Finally, I took the big step and I was hooked. One thing about the sex scenes is that they dont come off, no pun intended, sounding like a technical manual. Slot A into Slot B while Slot C....you get the idea. I have found that many of the Siren authors have moved beyond that to include so much emotion that you cant help but feel like you are there....I guess that sounds weird but I dont know how else to put it.
ReplyDeleteThe 2 books you posted on the blog I dont have yet but I will....*grin* Keep the great reads coming.
Your fan,
jo
johannasnodgrass(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for a thought provoking post, Berengaria!
ReplyDeleteAllie, you're right. hot scenes need all the same elements that make other scenes fulfilling.
The Jo--I like emotion threaded through hot scenes, too.
Jo, thank you so much for commenting. And oh yeah, without emotion it's just like a technical manual. It's the emotion that brings the characters to life. And thank you so much for reading my books. You're awesome!
ReplyDeleteBerengaria
You make a lot of great points. Erotic romance is a tough genre. Some people assume it's easy to write and its not.
ReplyDeleteJanice~