Some of you know I also blog the first Saturday of the month at http://www.romancingthejock.com, romance authors who love sports and the men who play them. An interesting question came up among the contributors posited by Sophia Henry, new to our group and about to have her first hockey romance released soon. She'd been panned a few times by reviewers who received advance copies because her book lacked the heated sex scenes implied by the PR hype where she'd been compared to Toni Aleo and other highly erotic authors.
I had a similar experience when I started the Sinners series and my first book,Goals for a Sinner, was compared to Bella Andre and yes, Toni Aleo. New to the publishing game, I timidly suggested that the cover supplied was sexier than the book, and I feared readers might be disappointed. The reply back was along the lines of "This is what sells a book, honey". They did remove the hero's black beard since I pointed out he was blond and clean-shaven. I got a review that said, "You call that a sex scene?" Unfortunately for readers expecting more, my sex scenes are somewhat realistic. People get interrupted by phone calls. The couple doesn't copulate for hours and hours, and sometimes don't have simultaneous explosive orgasms because sex rarely happens that way. The best I've ever done is three flames or jalapenos or whatever icon is used for heat level, though a reviewer described one of my most recent scenes as panty-melting. Well, I guess I finally went up a level though not intentionally.
Like Sophia, my aim is to provide a good story about a sport I love. I am more interested in the lives of the players and those around them than I am on their having lots and lots of sex. Some books have more than others because it depends on the character. I always say whether I write a sports novel or one of my many other books, there is as much sex as is needed for the plot and that particular relationship. There may be only one sex scene or many. None will be longer than two or three pages simply because I get tired of writing them. A sex scene should never take longer to read than real sex. But, that's just me talking. I totally respect women who want the escape of a really hot encounter.
I suggested to Sophia that she check her cover blurb and cover art and see if she could get them adjusted or toned down. Writing for a big publisher, she won't have much input. Usually, I compose my own blurbs, but the PR folks sometimes ramp them up. I also get input on my covers, but have learned to adjust my expectations because this is what sells, honey. I have built a following for my brand of sports books. Readers who like my books find me, and they will find Sophia as well. Maybe her cover copy should compare her to Lynn Shurr.
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I'm very pleased to work with publishers which veer to the "keep it clean" side of that spectrum. I liken it to watching the movies of the 30s & 40s -- which I love. You knew the romantic couple was going to have sex, but they closed the door and enjoyed themselves inside. The viewer was left outside to imagine what was going on. Often the imagination paints a more vivid picture than a detail by detail commentary.
ReplyDeleteOver the course of the 7 novels & 3 novellas I've published so far, I've gotten used to "closing the door" and it feels perfectly natural now.
Jeff, you should always write what you are comfortable with when it comes to sex scenes. I was once asked if I could produce a book like Fifty Shades of Gray. I said yes, and it would be better written, but I have no desire to do so.
DeleteI think that covers the way I feel about it. I *CAN* write the intimate stuff -- and believe I could produce a higher quality of writing -- but don't feel motivated to do so.
DeleteI applaud you for keeping your writing realistic and in keeping with the characters and storylines. Too many writers have given in to the calls for more sex and more explicit sex scenes. It is a shame when good series and good writers are ruined from heeding those calls, Continuous sex and profanity are a poor writer's cheap,easy money. You make real efforts, and they show.
ReplyDeleteYes, I could tell when some of my favorite authors were pushed to put more and hotter sex in their books and it ruined those books for me. I have no objections to a steamy sex scene as long as it doesn't overwhelm the plot or is out of character. Any some people want mostly that, but there are plenty of other authors who can give it to them and do it far better than I can.
ReplyDeleteI read a novel by someone I knew and noticed a sex scene which seemed totally out of place with the flow of the narrative and the mindset of the characters at that point, so I commented on it. that author told me, "yeah, the publisher wanted another sex scene and that was the only place we could put it."
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