They did it where??? ~by Jen Lewis
Now that I have a few books under my belt I’m starting to notice some things about myself. As a writer, I mean ::clears throat:: Obviously, romance authors write what appeals to us—heroes that haunt our imaginations, heroines we enjoy identifying with, locations that we want to hang out in—at least mentally—while we’re writing the book.
And I’ve noticed that my characters like to have sex outdoors.
There, I’ve said it. And the evidence is in print.
In my first book, THE BOSS’S DEMAND, my hero and heroine made love for the first time by a mesquite fire in the dark
I guess I just love the idea that the sexual tension is so taut and snapping and the characters are so wrapped up in each other that they just can’t stop.
Of course, sex outdoors in real life is fraught with problems: mosquitoes, nosy neighbors, grit, biting winds. The classic cliché of lovers going at in a hayloft makes people shake their heads and mutter “but hay is so scratchy!”
Who cares? It’s fiction. If you can’t have sex on a beach in a romance novel, then where the heck can you? I try to soothe potential nay-sayers by pointing out that yes, the heroine in my first book was worried about roaming coyotes and snakes (not until after they were done, of course, but still!). I was careful to point out in my current book that
And, let’s face it, people have been making love outdoors since the beginning of time. For most of human history, there was no indoors J
Do you enjoy reading about people making love in interesting places? Or do thoughts of the uncomfortable realities distract you from enjoying the scene? Is there an outdoor lovin’ scene from a book that sticks in you mind? One commenter will win a signed copy of BLACK SHEEP BILLIONAIRE.
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 1:21 am
I don’t mind outdoor romps in novels. I just like the author to acknowledge the…potential pitfalls that accompany such adventures. Which you appear to have done. However, there are those that have the hero and heroine overcome by passion…in the pouring rain…do the deed…then they get dressed again, but they only address the need to dry off, not, say, clean up.
Imagine the mud…everywhere…drying and caking as they make their way back to wherever.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:29 am
I remember that in Kat Martin’s “Hot Rain” the characters have sex in a jungle in Belize even though drug dealers are after them. They even had a box of condoms with them.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:16 am
I always get hung up on the location when they’re doin’ the nasty. Can’t help thinking: geez, that’s gotta be uncomfortable or, when the heck do these women get their periods? (I’m such a realist sometimes that it ruins my enjoyment of a book) I know from experience that sex on the kitchen counter is hell on your butt, but it never seems to bother the characters in books. So yeah, I guess you could say the uncomfortable realities influnce my enjoyment of a book.
January 11th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Wow, comments this early in the morning? I love it
LOL, Lynn! It’s always a delicate balance making romance realistic enough to be believable, but not toooooooo realistic, yanno?
Jane, the need for someone to be carrying a condom really does complicate matters these days. Though sometimes it can be funny, when the heroine later says, “That $hit! He must have planned it!!”
Periods?? Delia, the heroines don’t like to talk about it but they’re all taking Lybrel so they don’t get periods any more
My heroine in “Seduced for the Inheritance” does mention the mental edge of the vintage kitchen table digging into the back of her thighs when they… Oh dear. My characters almost never do it in a bed 
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am
I love outdoor sex, acrobatic positions, all the fantasy sex stuff that just doesn’t happen in real life. That’s why I read it-the fantasy element. (And the alpha heroes too, lol)
January 11th, 2008 at 10:44 am
As long as it’s done well, I say go for it. I remember reading a blaze when I was researching sex on a horse (don’t ask) and toward the climax the horse walked into the water and they floated off his back….it wasn’t very um climactic.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Ava Rose, my sentiments exactly. A romance novel is where you can enjoy all the excitement without needing to cover yourself in calamine lotion afterwards
LOL, Amie! I remember that sex on a horse scene so don’t pretend you didn’t write it
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I”m not talking about the one I WROTE…….I’m talking about the one I read…for research
January 11th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I know, Amie. Yours was in a field. Near a fence
rasta
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
GIDDYUP!
January 11th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I don’t care about where they have sex, as long as they have it - on Mars, under the house, in a torture chamber, right in the middle of Times Square - the sex is all that matters to me.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Love this topic! I read a Cherry Adair novel where they did sex while being chased, and there was sex on a camel in one book. I don’t mind sex in unusual places. It adds to the ‘fantasy’ of a romance novel. Because no man is ever that perfect, and most people don’t have sex in a hot air balloon (or such).
January 11th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
LOL, Bailey, you’re so right. And it would get dull if they always did it somewhere convenient and comfortable like this
Shelley, I’m chuckling at the image of sex in a hot air balloon. Would that make you a member of the 1/8 of a mile high club???
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I have no problem with sex in unusual places. It definitely heightens the fantasy of a romance and when I’m reading one, it’s all about the fantasy! And the hot sex! Whoooo…
January 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
On a mountaintop, in the desert, against a tree (wait, Shalvis has done that one - twice), on the Springer Show (um, I’ve seen those people, forget about that one), in the rain, in the snow, under the bleachers …
January 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Karen and Bailey, I’m so glad that I’m not alone in enjoying outdoor exploits in my books
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I enjoy outdoor love scenes!
They are usually more interesting. 
January 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I read one once where they did it on a hammock … well, her on the hammock, him standing in front of her - back and forth, back and forth, back and forth …
January 11th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
OMG, a hammock. That has some very interesting possiblities
(I love the smilies on this site)
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
January 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I wish I could remember what book that was, because it was a really hot scene.
January 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I don’t have a problem with outdoor scenes either since it adds to the fantasy. Actually, that hammock one - I have photos in one of my research books. It actually looks very…interesting
January 11th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I think it was a Blaze.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Jeeeez!! I have a hammock!! I just never thought….. but now that you mention it
But if any of you ever write about doing it on a motorcycle, be sure you mention the hot pipes…. A jungle in South America or on a camel, is pretty unattainable for most of us to go out and try, but the bike thing..that’s a little more realistic/doable…. but yeah, those friggin’ pipes get hot.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Shelli, I’m sorry I spelled your name wrong up above. Don’t know what I was thinking. I did realize it was Shelli with an “i”
Shelley, um, wear did you find those pictures? Just curious. For research purposes, of course
Peggy, I’m so glad my characters didn’t have sex on Declan’s motorcycle in Black Sheep Billionaire! I’m not sure I would have thought of the hot pipes. Just proves how important it is to really do all that research ourselves, doesn’t it?
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Um, yes, I meant “where.” Freudian slip.
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
LOL no prob on the name thing! I think all the Shelley/Shelli/Shelly’s get it various :) It’s habit.
I like the motorcycle idea. Mmm. Do I ever.
January 11th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Jen,
It’s in a book called Sex Games by Linda Sonntag. It’s a small book about the size of a PDA. I see they have photos of couples on a swing as well. Let me see - page 68 - Making Love in a Hammock. Warning - the photos are explicit. There’s an entire chapter on Bored with the bedroom along with the interesting photos
I think I’ll pass on the camel. Whenever I have ridden a camel I’m too busy trying to stay upright and on. Adding sex to the equation would be way too much for me!
January 11th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
When I read, I’m into the fantasy. If the scene doesn’t suck me in (pun intended) , the realistic side of me thinks… nah unh. But if the writing is good and wraps me in the emotion of the two lovers too hot to wait, those dang mosquitos biting his willy wanker are the furthest thing from my mind! I love outdoor sex. And I’ve never tried the hammock, but a rocking chair on the front porch in the summer…
January 11th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
LOL, Nina! Makes me wish I had a porch
Shelley, I am totally going to look for that book. Purely for research purposes, you understand :clears throat: I haven’t ridden a camel since I was a small child, but suddenly I feel a Sheikh book coming on…
Jen
January 11th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Jen I was thinking the same thing (research
)
January 11th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Oooh, Jen. I just went to the store and got waffle mix, a doughnut (I destroyed before I could eat) and… your book!
January 12th, 2008 at 3:32 am
Well, since Mr. Robin
January 12th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Is it my imagination or did this blog eat the rest of my comment?
As I was saying, since Mr. Robin
and I have done the nasty outdoors many a time, including over the hood of the Blazer while his father was combining corn on the other side of the tree break, I have no difficulty suspending my disbelief for just about any outdoor sex romp. In fact, I’d much rather read about sex on scratchy straw in the barn than in a public men’s room. (Ick.) And I’d rather not read about sex on a cliff or the roof of a tall building — I worry too much to enjoy it.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Eeew men’s restroom sex!? Don’t EVEN want to imagine. You guys all have fabulous sex lives! Look at all these places you’ve done it. Props to you.
You should write dirty books…oh wait. You do! Or if not write them, read them ;)
January 12th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Shelli, thanks for buying my book!! I haven’t even spotted it in the stores yet. Sorry to hear about the donut
Robin, I applaud you for doing so much hands-on research
LOL about the cliff or tall building–though it could work in romantic suspense 
Jen
January 12th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
LOL! I destroyed the donut on purpose (I just realized I’ve been spelling donut wrong, or is there multiple spellings?) I didn’t want to blow my health eating.
I saw your book at a grocery store! Top Foods.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Peggy, you were drawn for Jen’s book! Please email her at Jen@jenlewis.com to arrange details for your book!
January 12th, 2008 at 7:26 pm