Vote for Ocean’s Touch/Denise Townsend in the Sammies!

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Hi folks! It’s that time of year again, and Samhain Publishing is holding nominations for their Sammie Awards!

I’d love it if you would follow the linkie-loos and vote for me! And you can also vote for Carolyn Crane (there is room for up to 3 votes in each category) and any other Samhain authors you’re lovin’ at the moment!

I’m eligible for best new cover and best new e-book release. It only takes a few seconds to vote and you don’t have to log in or anything, so give your fave Samhain writers some love! ;)

And if you haven’t read Ocean’s Touch, you can find out more about it here.

SSS: Dylan and Meredith I

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There’s this very fun meme, Six Sentence Sunday, that I thought would be a great way to share a little of the saucier bits of Ocean’s Touch, in delectable little teasers.

And I do love to tease.

So, without further ado, here are this Sunday’s Six Sentences:

First letting his eyes gaze on those soft mounds tipped by perfectly erect little nipples, Dylan then gathered both plump sweets in his hands before lowering his mouth for a taste. Meredith’s pleasure washed over him, mingling with his own as he took first one nipple, and then the other, into his mouth. Sucking gently, making them even harder, he kept pulling back to admire his handiwork before lowering his dark head to suckle her again.
When he brought his teeth into play, Meredith was already a lost woman.
Nipping gently at her nipples, then licking at the sting, Dylan nibbled down the underside of each soft swell. Palming them one last time, as if he didn’t want to say good-bye, he finally let go in order to move down her long body.

I hope that stirred your coffee! Now go enjoy some bacon and eggs. xxx

Wank Wednesday: Echo

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He stands above her, panting, his heavy breathing echoing hers.

It’s not the only echo in the room.

The marks and lovebites on her flesh echo the scratches and lipstick stains on his.

Their mewls of pleasure, cries of joy and surprise, still echo in their ears.

Another refrain: the scent of sex and expensive perfume.

While they are still, in many ways, virtually strangers, such echos resound.

Writing Erotica: The Dreaded Euphemism

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This post was actually written by the “real” me a while ago, for a bookstore chain that has now gone the way of the dodo. I thought I’d recycle it, here, as I’m afraid it’ll disappear otherwise.

Now, I get it that writers have to be careful. An author writing a sensual scene might not want to risk sounding porny by going all Lawrentian and throwing about the “C” word. There are also times when a softer, more subtle approach that avoids sex altogether, closing the door gently in the reader’s face, works wonders for the imagination as well as the libido.

In other words, not every writer has to write sex. But what I don’t like is when people write what’s pretty intense sex…but don’t use a single “real” word. Instead, they attempt to disguise their writing in euphemisms, as if sex and sexuality need to be stuck in evening dress to be presentable. Here are just a smattering of fairly commonly used euphemisms that get a bit overused, sometimes. Huge thanks to my friends on Facebook and Twitter for helping me compile this list:

Firstly, there’s the “garden variety” euphemism. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes wonder why I want to start planting flowers after I read some sex scenes. Then I remember that “petals” are now labia, which have been described as drenched in “dew.” “Rosebuds” have taken over for bits that are anything but(t). Other people have reported spotting “purple tulips,” “aching buds,” and “nests.” But not the kind sparrows live in! Finally, there’s the dreaded “manroot.”

Then there’s the group of euphemisms that I normally associate with jewelry, but what do I know? Clitori becomes “pearls,” which are not to be confused with “beaded,” as in nipples, unless they ARE confused, and then you should just go ahead and rub everything vaguely pointy. But be careful, in case the nipples are “rubies,” or “diamonds,” or “pebbles.” Fruity pebbles?

And where do I begin with the Weapons-Grade Euphemism? “Swords” fit in “sheathes,” but not so much the “lances.” They just poke at high speeds, presumably. As do “shafts.” “Torpedos?” Really? But I’ll take a torpedo, any day, over a “battering ram” charging at my “gates.”

Finally, and this is where I always get a little squicked, there’s the adjectives. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know that describing sex shouldn’t always be scientific, and I know that a lot of words of which I’m not a fan will push another person’s love-nubbin-of-pleasure. But here’s a short list of words I’m either tired of seeing, or a little squicked out by:

  • Throbbing. For that I take Advil.
  • Pulsating (see above)
  • Fleshy. Does one ever grasp a penis only to discover, to one’s shock, it’s TITANIUM?
  • Oozing. I know things ooze. I know it’s accurate. But there’s the whole “connection to sores” thing.
  • Straining! I see puppies. Happy, frolicsome puppies.
  • Turgid. Turgid Turnips Turnabout!
  • Spicy. Nothing ever described as “spicy” really tastes “spicy.” Ever. So don’t go thinking you can make a curry. Especially out of those “dark spices!”
  • Moist! That is all.

And then there’s my absolute LEAST favorite . . . the thing that makes me both vomit, a little, in my mouth AND makes me crave some chips and dip . . .

  • Creamy.

I can taste the cool ranch, even now. Now where DID I put those Lays?

How about you guys? What euphemisms have you read, heard, or (gods forbid) said that really knocked you for six?

Wank Wednesday: Dance

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This prompt made me think less of sex and more about bravery and honesty when it comes to sex, for some reason. I’ve been thinking a lot about living double lives, and what it is to be honest with one’s self and one’s society. My thoughts have come out a bit, here.

Dance

They’ve done this dance a hundred times before, but never with each other. The patterns are familiar: The initial glances turning into a sustained gaze; the first, polite greetings that become conversation; the chance taken to touch an elbow, a hip, a shoulder, building into that erasure of personal space that tells the other they are wanted.

The marvel occurs when first one, then the other, recognizes that this dance partner is different. What had been a familiar, sedate waltz, turns into something faster, more wild, less practiced. Their pulse raises, their bodies strain to match the tempo, their desire sublimates their reason. Suddenly, everything they had practiced is meaningless as the music whirls, unfamiliar.

Their bodies, locked together, follow the reel, careening wildly against each other until an inevitable climax sweeps them both away, leaving them panting and disoriented.

They are left, then, with a choice. Will they go back to waltzing, that dance that is safe, or are they brave enough to sustain this wild rhythm?

 

Contest Winners!

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Hi everybody!

Here are the winners from my contest from a few weeks back, for the launch of Ocean’s Touch!

The grand prize winner who wins ANY FOUR digital Samhain publications ($5.50 and under, per book) of your choice is MELODY J!

The first runner who wins ANY THREE digital Samhain publications ($5.50 and under, per book) of your choice is DEBORAH D!

The second runner up who wins ANY TWO digital Samhain publications ($5.50 and under, per book) of their choice is POPPY!

The third runner up who wins ANY ONE digital Samhain publication ($5.50 and under, per book) of their choice is BILLI!

Congrats to all you winners! To collect your prizes, make your choices at Samhain Publishing, then email me your choices and your email address at denisetownsenderotica(at)gmail(dot)com.

And congrats again, and thanks for playing! I should have some news on Ocean’s Surrender, book 2, soon.

Let there be selkies for all!

Wank Wednesday: Crave

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The cravings hit at the oddest time. Cooking dinner, for example, a friend says something completely random about poultry twine, and that single word, “twine,” sends my mind spinning in a thousand directions.

The twining of our bodies, your hands twined in my hair, your belt twined around my wrists…

Suddenly, I’m wet and wanting. Completely distracted.

And absolutely no use in finding the poultry twine.

Writing Erotica: Revising Sex

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In my Real Life, I’ve been talking loads about revisions all week, so that inspired me to write a post on Revising Sex. There are definitely a lot of things about revising a sex scene that are the same as revising a normal scene, but there are a few special considerations. Ironically, or perhaps fittingly, most of these suggestions can also be applied to fight scenes.

So here are some tips for those extra things to keep in mind when revising a sex scene:

1) Count your appendages! A lover can’t have a hand on a nipple each and reach up to caress your heroine’s face. Unless you’re writing alien sex, or hentai, but then you still need to count, then account for, all of your appendages.

2) This isn’t Twister: Don’t have a lover sucking one your prostrate heroine’s toes as he fondles her ear. Imagine the reach on that guy! Unless he’s a professional basketball player (or made of rubber) he’ll only have a normal human being’s reach.

3) Don’t Euphemize: We’ve all heard a thousand times, as writers, not to be too repetitive. But there are only so many words for cunt before you step into the dangerous territory of the euphemism. “Her sex” is still sexy, but her “sopping lady orchid” is just gross. The fact is that erotica is unique from other writing in that dirty words are dirty for a reason–they carry a resonance. Studied repetition of a powerful word like “cunt” or “cock” will carry a special weight that accidentally using “brilliant” or “delightful” twice in a paragraph will not. So don’t shy away from some repetition in erotica, when it comes to those lovely resonant words that make us all a bit squirmy on the insides.

4) Cushion for the Pushin’: Oftentimes our initial drafting of a scene is very bare bones, as we figure out what goes where (and how many times), how the characters got there, how they get out of there, etc. So second and third passes of a manuscript should be about building up all that gorgeous padding. In erotica, a lot of that padding will be sensory. So I might tell you that Dylan stroked over Meredith’s breast on the first pass, but a second pass may see me adding, “Dylan stroked Meredith’s breast, the nipple taut under his palm.” A final pass might see that become, “Dylan stroked Meredith’s soft breast, causing her to gasp as the rough skin of his calloused hand rasped against her taut nipple.”

Meow.

5) Reaction Time: I’ve noticed that one of the things I often leave out of a first version is the other character’s reaction. I’ve got one diddling away at the other, who is a bit of a passive recipient. So I need to add some physical response, but also emotional and mental. Sex is extra sexy when it’s also about our minds, not just our bodies. So show some thought, some emotional reaction, as well as the physical.

6) Don’t Rush the Fucking: This is something I do a lot, as a friend of mine pointed out. Luckily he was talking about my fiction. It’s so easy to linger over all that delicious foreplay, but it’s a challenge, at least for me, to write the actual fucking. After all, there’s not really much to the act, itself. “Thrust and repeat!” I have the most success with this, number six, by using number five. So yes, it is just thrusting, but what are they feeling, during the thrusting? Again, make this as much about emotions and thoughts as about physical reactions.

7) Turn Yourself On: If it doesn’t turn you on, it’s not going to turn on anyone else. So don’t over think a sex scene. The fact is that sex is pretty basic, pretty animalistic, and not very pretty. And it’s sexiest when we, as writers, embrace those aspects. Make your sex real: make it dirty, and unapologetic, and fun. If you’re enjoying it, chances are your reader will, too.

Any other things you’d like to add, or comment on, or hear more about? Just ask below!

Wank Wednesday: Blanket

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His body already blankets hers, his chest pressed against her back. The rough hair on his thighs scratches her own soft flesh, and another, softer patch of hair tickles against the V in her legs.

His cock, insistent, seeks out her heat, her wetness. She gasps as he plunges deep.

“Such a dirty girl,” he whispers in her ear, before his teeth find the nape of her neck.

At the sound of his voice, another blanket falls over their twined bodies. Underneath the weight of such words, she become faceless, nameless, a receptacle for his pleasure, and consequently for hers. Stripped of the trappings of education, civilization, socialization–in this city neither of them belong to, in this anonymous room–his rough language transforms them.

“Mine,” he grunts, as he thrusts.

Swaddled in the weight of fantasy, she allows herself to be, and to be his.

Writing Erotica: Making it Romance

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Hello!

I’ve decided to use this platform not just to write sex, or to promote my written sex, but to write about writing sex. So I’ll be doing posts like this one, under the category “Writing Erotica.”

For those who aren’t familiar with me, I write erotic romance for Samhain Publishing as Denise Townsend. At the same time, under my real name, I write mainstream, mass market fiction for a New York publisher.

For those unaware of my real identity (and no, I’m not revealing it here), my books are not romance, but they’re known to have fairly explicit sex for a mass market paperback. That said, what inevitably is left on the cutting room floor when I edit a book is…more sex. I’m a pretty neat, focused writer, so I don’t usually cut a lot, but I always have to cut sex. The fact is, I really like writing the smut. But, at the end of the day, I’m not writing romance, and I am writing for the mass market, so a lot of the nookie has to go.

Indeed, my initial reason for writing erotica was that I thought it would be a good way to use all that snipped away smut, unapologetically, and not have to worry about mass market appeal. I started joking about writing erotica, and then the joke turned serious, and one day I sat down to write.

That’s when the other shoe dropped. I realized that if I wanted to go a more publishable route, I wouldn’t be able to write just erotica…I’d want to write erotic romance.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love reading romance. But I wasn’t sure if I could write an HEA (a happy ever after ending). The thing is that, when it comes to love, I’m very cynical and a bit of a commitment-phobe. I love the idea of love, but I also don’t feel that love can solve anyone’s problems, and I think a lot of people wind up really disappointed for thinking so.

So what’s a girl, one who wants to write smut and get it published by the sort of company I wanted, to do? This girl started writing, and to her surprise, she found she loved writing romance.

What I did was I told the story I want to tell. It’s about a woman who has a problem in herself, that she can’t see a way out of. But she’s ready for change. And then I made the man (the selkie) in the novel a catalyst for her own change, rather than imposing the change upon her. In other words, I wrote about a woman overcoming an issue that keeps her from living and loving. The fact that she’s able to live and love again after that change become, in this scenario, her reward, not what she changes for or what changes her.

Writing the second novella, tentatively titled Ocean’s Surrender, was even easier once I’d figured out this formula that made me happy. Again, I have a woman who needs to overcome a trauma for herself, and it’s only by doing so that she can love again. But the love isn’t presented as the thing that will fix her–she has to fix herself for her to be able to love, and reap the benefits of love.

What I think I did, in this scenario, was that I changed the definition of “happy,” to suit myself and my own philosophies, and to present to readers a definition of happiness that I think is healthy and reasonable. Happiness is something we make for ourselves in those times when we’re satisfied with who we are and what we’re doing. No amount of outside influence can make us happy when we’re dissatisfied with ourselves or our lot in life. That’s why I depict women confronting themselves, first, and dealing with those issues they’ve been avoiding.

Of course, I do it using sexual therapy, something I don’t think your shrink can prescribe. ;-) Unless you have a very naughty therapist.

My message here for writers of erotica is to remember that writing shouldn’t be forumlaic. Yes, romance has to have an HEA, and if you think of that proscribed ending as a formula it may stunt  your creativity.

Instead, I think of the required romance conventions as a recipe. For those that cook, you know that the best way to follow a recipe is not to follow it. Instead, you do the things you need to do to make yourself, the people eating your cooking, and your kitchen happy. So you might add a few ingredients, or take a few ingredients out, or adjust the baking time because you know your oven runs hot.

In the same way, writing romance is best thought of as a recipe. I like a little extra female empowerment, a little soul-searching, and some dirty talk in my erotic romance, so I add a few dashes extra of these things, while taking out what I don’t like as much.

The results make me happy, and I hope they make my readers happy as well. But the best thing about recipes is that they can be adjusted, to suit your own tastes and the tastes of those eating.

Now that I’ve beaten the recipe metaphor into a pulp (which can be breaded and fried!), I’ll leave you be. Let me know if you enjoyed this, and please ask me any questions you have below. Also, feel free to request I write about an aspect of erotic romance writing that makes you curious, and I’ll try my best to get to it. See you back here soon for another Wank Wednesday!