Month: July 2009

It’s so fun to be here at Naughty & Spice. Thanks so much to Shelli for inviting me!

So far on the blog tour for the release of STOLEN HEAT, the second book in my Stolen Trilogy which just released on Tuesday, I’ve talked about tame topics like setting and suspense and anti-heroes. Today I want to talk about heat.

And I don’t mean the temp outside for those of you sweltering in 100+ temps (like me!). No, I mean the sexiness of books. The hotness. The steam.

Stolen Heat

There’s a big misconception among non-romance readers that women (and men) who like to read romances do so because they’re closet porn freaks. What these non-romance readers don’t understand is that there’s a big difference between porn and a romance with a satisfying relationship and a happily ever after. Can authors write a good romance novel without sex in it? Sure, and I’ve read some great ones, but no-sex romances generally leave me feeling as if I missed something, and here’s why:

1)    Sex is an important part of any romantic relationship. How two characters relate to each other in and out of the bedroom says a lot about their character, their growth and who they are as a person. When you don’t get to see that in a book, you don’t get a complete picture of who a character really is.
2)    Sex changes a relationship. And this is especially true for women. It changes how you look at someone, it changes how you feel about someone, and in a romance, it’s often the point at which one or both characters have that “aha! I love this person” moment.
3)    Sex – especially in a romance novel – isn’t so much about the act as it is about two people connecting, two souls colliding and all the ramifications that take place from that point on. Some of the best novels I’ve ever read had extreme conflict that arose from amazing love scenes.

I love a variety of different steam levels in books. I can be just as happy with a short, non-descriptive love scene as I am with a very detailed and erotic one so long as the emotions are present and the author has hit the above three points with the scene. Like everything else in a book, if there’s no reason for the sex or it doesn’t push the story forward, even the most well-written sex scene won’t do it for me. But one that’s rooted in emotion and pulls me in so I forget I’m the reader? Now that’s a great love scene. That’s a great romance and it’s most definitely not porn.

As for me? I tend to write steamy love scenes rich with emotion. I never plan where a sex scene will take place in a book, I let the characters and the story guide me. Sometimes it’s early, sometimes it’s late, sometimes there’s one scene in my books, sometimes 3-4. What matters most to me is that the love scenes and steam level of the book shows the developing relationship in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading. After all, isn’t that the goal of a really good book anyway?

I’ve got a copy of either STOLEN HEAT (book 2 in the Stolen Trilogy) or STOLEN FURY (book 1) to give away to one person today. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think of no-sex romances…Yay or nay!…to be entered into the drawing!

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Bio:
A previous junior-high science teacher, Elisabeth Naughton now writes sexy romantic suspense and paranormal novels full time from her home in western Oregon where she lives with her husband and three children. Her debut release, Stolen Fury, was a 2007 Golden Heart Finalist and has been heralded by Publisher’s Weekly as “A rock-solid debut.” When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ball park or dreaming up new and exciting adventures.

Visit Elizabeth’s website…

Enter to win her “Big” STOLEN HEAT Release Contest for a chance to win $100 VISA gift card and other daily prizes

I found this via Dlisted. And at first all I could think was no way, no WAY is this fer realz. Because when you talk about beastly butt odor on a commercial? I mean come on…

But no. I found the site and well, it looks legit. “Are you suffering from pungent pits…foul feet…beastly butt odor? Stop the stink with Doc Bottoms Aspray.”

Doc Bottoms? Doesn’t that sound like some crazed name for a character on a porn? Yeah…

I can’t get over it. I can’t believe this is an actual product. I haven’t seen it on TV yet but oh man do I wanna. I don’t even have any more words to describe it. So let me invite you to watch this. It’s two minutes long but worth it:

I’m everywhere today, so I thought I’d send you where all the fun is!

To win Beth Kerry’s book, go to my blog.

To win my book (two days before it releases!) come to the Aphrodisia blog!

First I would like to thanks the authors of Naughty & Spice for inviting me as their guest.

Fantasy: (n) Creative Imagination

Fantasies are what The Black Stockings Society is all about. In my most recent series, four different women’s fantasies come true with the help of a secret society and a great pair of stockings! And believe me I had to use a lot of creative imagination in order to make each of my four heroines clear and distinctively different, so that readers would not get bored.

My first character ‘mousy’ Mary Reyland (POWER PLAY July 2008) didn’t have a very big fantasy. She just wanted a promotion and delicious sex with the gorgeous guy she’d just met in the elevator. Edmund Davis made sure that came true.

Exotic Yvette Coulier (A GENTLEMAN’S OFFER October 2008) fantasized about living the life of a wealthy woman. That fantasy was fulfilled when she met Nate Blackwell, a rich bachelor who made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Then along came good girl Brenda Everton (BODY CHEMISTRY January 2009). She didn’t fantasize much. As a successful scientist that wasn’t part of her character. She was a cool sensible woman so I had to discover her weakness—which I found in her devilish ex-husband Dominic Ayers.

The last and final heroine was Anna Marie Williams (ROUND THE CLOCK June 30, 2009) a ‘people pleaser’ who fantasized all the time (about telling her boss to go to H…, and having incredible sex with her high school crush).

I thoroughly enjoyed and had lots of fun revealing and fulfilling the fantasies of these women. I especially liked using stockings as part of the magic. Let’s face it, of all the items a woman wears, stockings are definitely a symbol of a woman’s sexual appeal. Now, don’t get me wrong, a pair of soft, sensuous, bare legs are usually a turn on for any guy, BUT….things definitely heat up when they are packaged in a pair of sexy stockings. Of course I’m not talking about your basic $3.99 sheer stockings. I’m talking about thigh-high, silk sheer, seamed, patterned, sequined, opaque and/or sheer stockings or pantyhose!

Throughout the months I worked on these four books I learned that fantasies are great. They can go the gamut from G to X rated. Be private or shared. Fantasies are powerful because they allow our imaginations to escape the doldrums that ordinary life can bring. And when a fantasy comes true…well…that’s when the magic begins.

Find out more about the Black Stockings Society by watching the video on my website: www.daragirard.com

So, do you fantasize? Do you think day dreams and fantasizes are the same thing? Do you think they are important? I’ll give an autographed copy of ROUND THE CLOCK to a random commenter.