tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25070674356010816382024-03-05T06:42:09.397-08:00Lise HortonLise Hortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10781016555473490979noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-91537422574929429462015-09-11T14:49:00.002-07:002015-09-11T14:49:19.729-07:00The Golden Flogger Awards of 2015It was supremely exciting to be able to celebrate The Golden Flogger Awards the first evening of this summer’s BDSM Writers Conference. I was thrilled to be one of the authors in the anthology Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission that was edited by double finalist DL King. While that anthology did not win, I was able to cheer DL King’s win for her other anthology.<br />
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What great fun we had! The breadth of finalists was wonderful and it was incredibly heartening to see so much joy in the room for these titles and authors.<br />
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I hope that you will discover some new favorites!<br />
<br />
So without further ado, here are the Golden Flogger winners, and certainly worthy reads to add to our kinky libraries:<br />
<br />
AND THE WINNERS ARE…..<br />
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BDSM Light<br />
Sierra Cartwright — Crave<br />
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BDSM Advanced<br />
Cherise Sinclair — Edge of the Enforcer<br />
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BDSM Dark Erotica<br />
Drury Jamison — Safe Words <br />
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Novella<br />
Elizabeth SaFleur — Holiday Ties<br />
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Dominant Women & submissive Men<br />
Lynda Aicher — Bonds of Courage<br />
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LGBT<br />
Sean Michael — Underground: Special Teams<br />
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Ménage<br />
Jennifer Kacey — Jenna’s Consent<br />
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Paranormal<br />
Joey W. Hill — The Scientific Method<br />
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Non-Fiction<br />
Mike Makai — The Warrior Princess Submissive<br />
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Anthology<br />
Edited by D.L. King — She Who Must Be Obeyed<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-29097658127607042392015-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:002015-09-09T11:09:20.307-07:00The Better To Dominate You, My Dear: Discovering Dominance with Sir Guy<br />
<br />
At the last workshop of day 1 of BDSM Writers Conference, Sir Guy addressed a great topic for writers of BDSM romance. Despite the common presentation of a Dom as a man who has sprung, fully-formed in his kink, wielding his implement of choice with aplomb, the truth of the matter is: He had to start somewhere.<br />
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There had to be a “first time” for your Dom. Real, or imaginary, he happened upon that first flogger, first time he looked upon a hank of rope at Home Depot and things begin to tingle (they don’t call it Dom Depot for nothing!). The first occasion on which he gave a woman’s ass a smack and declared: It was good! The very first instant in which he held a woman down during sex and it turned the act up a slew of notches.<br />
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When the realization hit, or the curiosity grew, that vanilla guy took the first step into his journey of kinky exploration; got his first idea what it was about him that made him need – more.<br />
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And when he begins to learn…<br />
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The question for an author is this: Is your Dom already comfortable in his own dominant skin? Aware of his fetishes and happily indulging them? Or has he just had that eureka moment? Or perhaps you have a Dom who gets that itch on page one and your story IS his journey?<br />
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While the experienced Dom is oh-so-tempting: The supreme Alpha hero – don’t be afraid to explore a less experienced kind of guy.<br />
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Because, as Sir Guy explained, it’s not like you’re taking a milquetoast and morphing him into the superhero of Doms. There will be “a dominant personality at the root of all else”. Your character will have a strong presence. He is calmly confident. He can be assertive (not to be confused with aggressive), though he might also be a quieter type of gent.<br />
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Sir Guy used words to describe a Dom’s character like: empathy, confidence. Phrases like a Dom “earns respect from others”, is not “domineering, menacing, a bully”. He doesn’t behave in an “actively hostile manner”. And a Dom can, and will, show emotion.<br />
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And he will never say he has “never submitted”. Because in reality, we all submit, no matter how dominant, on some occasions (as my heroine Eden responds to my Dom Hud, when asked: <br />
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“You are a kink virgin. Never played. Never submitted, right?” He asked.<br />
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“Not unless you count the IRS. They have me on my knees on an annual basis.”<br />
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And if he does submit? What a wonderful element to add to your plot! But it will never detract from his core of dominance.<br />
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These root qualities are the foundation for his acceptance of his desires. So you have the right clay to mold your Dom, on the page, and let your reader watch him evolve. Essentially, you have an Alpha hero who is seduced by his carnal dark side!<br />
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As a believer in the idea that it is characters who drive your story, characters in a kinky romance are like the Indy 500 drivers. The race will be faster and more fraught with dangerous curves, but the victory lap will be supremely satisfying. Because your Dom – beginner or old pro – is in the driver’s seat.<br />
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So writers, all you have to do is: Choose Your Dom!<br />
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Readers wouldn’t you purely enjoy watching a man discover his carnal self? From that very first dominant touch….<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-38197009384209550162015-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:002015-09-07T10:00:00.973-07:00SYNCOPATED RHYTHM: The Dance of Dom and sub<br />
<br />
<i>“This is like a kinky duet, my friend. You can’t do it alone and expect it to be smooth, or pretty.” Ben Sterling, HOLD TIGHT, 9-15-15 from Loose Id<br />
</i><br />
<br />
Our second round of workshops on the first day of the BDSM Writers Conference was another opportunity to sit at the feet of Cecilia Tan and wallow in her greatness. Her “Doms Are From Mars and Subs Are From Venus” covered such rich ground as we delved into the supremely important aspects of a relationship between a Dom and a sub, that I’m still foraging for nuggets of writing gold in my notes.<br />
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As so often can happen with any relationship, miscommunication can lead to huge conflict. Add to this D/s play, and power exchange, and raw sexual action, and you have the recipe for wonderfully rich conflict and plot elements for BDSM erotic romance. This kind of conflict can heat up your characters, and your story, exponentially, helping to drive the blend of kink and romance that must be woven tightly and seamlessly to ensure riveting characters and a gripping story.<br />
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Trust. Truthful communication. Expectation. Kink. Love. Jealousy. Mistaken cues. Overlooked clues. These all become a recipe for a romance. Or a recipe for disaster. And what better way to torment your characters than to thrust them into a disaster!<br />
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I know there were other authors there who took note of a keen insight Cecilia had made while researching. A large majority of submissives would rather suffer bodily harm than disappoint their Dom. Startling, until you think about the power of the relationship in question. And then it is far more understandable. And shows just how difficult it can be to navigate a relationship in this world. Where even a safe word unspoken can rock that world.<br />
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As an author, using these realities of human experience and psychology allow me to create fallible characters. <br />
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Because, after all, who wants perfect on page 1? We want to see the characters in all their troubled, tangled, confused humanity. We want to watch them be forced to face their foibles, overcome obstacles. We want to cheer them on as they learn, and grow, acknowledge hard truths, embrace those truths and grow to become a better, freer person at the end of their journey. A person who can embrace the love that they thought they didn’t deserve, or couldn’t have. Characters who finally – FINALLY! - accept themselves in all their kinky glory, and find the right person to share their life with. Happily ever after!<br />
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Cecilia Tan’s presentation added a wealth to my library of information to work with when creating my characters. Wonderfully, too, she confirmed the legitimacy of my heroine, Eden Grant, in my forthcoming BDSM erotic romance (HOLD TIGHT, 9-15-15, Loose Id Publishing), whose mistake during a scene instigates a major hurdle that she and Hud Crockett, her Dom, will have to overcome.<br />
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No human is perfect. No Dom is always right. No sub always behaves. Scenes can go wrong. Mistakes can be made. People can mess up. And in our stories, perfection isn’t where the fun is. Conflict is our meal, and angst and drama are the spices that flavor our tales of lust and love.<br />
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Bottom line, screwing with our characters heads and hearts is where it’s at. Because it’s so awesome when they figure it out!<br />
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Yes. I’m that twisted! Aren’t we all? Come on. Admit it.<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-24408344172421334812015-09-06T11:00:00.000-07:002015-09-06T11:00:04.013-07:00THE DEVIL’S IN THE KINKY DETAILS: BDSM Intensive with Dr. Charley Ferrer & Getting Kink RightInternationally recognized sex expert, BDSM community advocate and Conference Founder, Dr. Charley Ferrer got the conference underway with her information packed intensive. Her drive to educate both the reading and the writing public about the lifestyle is fueled by her desire to make sure the misconceptions, and prejudices, can be avoided by writers who can portray the lifestyle accurately.<br />
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To that end, her talk was filled with the nuance and specifics of the BDSM lifestyle. From psychology to terminology, from the many roles participants may play, she urged us to “get it right when writing about kink, be it erotic romance, erotica, or any other form that discusses this subject matter. And this session reiterated for many of us, just how much we still have to learn about the lifestyle and its people.<br />
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One of the most important concepts that I took away (along with copious notes) is that it is vital to understand that there is no one type of participant (in real life, nor should there be in our books!).<br />
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And for me, that is a glorious treasure for me as an author.<br />
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As a former actress, I was not surprised by the revelation that I am a character-driven storyteller. Just as with a role, every performer’s take on that character will be unique. There will be no two Juliets alike. No two actors would be the same as Harry Potter. We’ve seen that several times over with James Bond and the various acting incarnations of that character.<br />
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So with my romantic tales populated by kinky characters, each foray into BDSM is driven by those characters. Each has different kinks. Each embraces a different dynamic. Each explores different desires, dreams and fears.<br />
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Where one player is a raunchy Dom with a penchant for spanking and nasty BJs, another is a sensuous sadist who loves building the anticipation until his submissive love teeters on the brink of sexual insanity. One loves expensive toys, the other pervertables. One heroine is a feisty gal with a quick comeback, the other a vulnerable soul yearning to belong.<br />
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Likewise, my characters each feel differently about their kinky predilections, and you’ll see that characters such as the ones we at the Con write run a gamut of personality types, emotional types, and diverse backgrounds. Each has different expectations to the lifestyle, each has different reactions, and each embraces different aspects. As they say, “your kink may not be my kink, but your kink is OK”. And it’s a concept you’ll see embraced throughout this writing community.<br />
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So learning some marvelous specifics about protocols and rituals, about play specifics, roles and types of players; learning that basically anything goes in the safe, sane and consensual world of BDSM allows me, and my fellow authors, the latitude to create special worlds, populated with a vast array of kinky characters to romance, to titillate, and entertain.<br />
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Which means that while Dr. Charley’s panoramic presentation was great for authors, it is hella great for readers who love their romance hot and kinky and twisted and filled with awesome characters of every type! <b><br />
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<i>And hey you folks out there who haven’t discovered the joy of BDSM? Come on in! The water’s steamy!</i>lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-86525665200133838662015-09-05T10:00:00.000-07:002015-09-05T10:00:04.186-07:00Kinky Writers Talk Writing. And Kink. It’s What We Do: 2015 BDSM Writers Con Friends Old and New<br />
One of the pleasures of the conference is catching up with my fellow authors of smokin’ hot kinky erotic romance. I had a chance to do this on opening day of the Con.<br />
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Fired up after the opening ceremony, I grabbed a meal with authors Roz Lee and Cris Anson. Though the fare was modest, we weren’t. We chatted, and laughed and make snarky comments about all manner of things, but what we mostly talked about was writing. It’s what we do. Writing is a world unto itself and we authors generally learn the hard way that the non-writers in the world think you’re a tad odd when you earnestly tell them your characters “want to have sex on every page”. Generally a step back is taken, or the more daring suggest medication.<br />
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But we had a wonderful chance to wrap ourselves in the feeling of being part of something special, and apart, as we sat at a small table and the work-a-day world of NYC swarmed around us, unaware that the three average ladies of a certain age were authors of all manner of kinky smutty goodness.<br />
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It is a similar energy to the atmosphere of other writing conferences, including the 2015 RWA National conference that was held in July in NYC. That con championed the genre of romance, in nearly all its myriad forms, instilling us with a fervor to produce the best romance we can, even in the face of the perennial snobbery that afflicts our genre. <br />
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But BDSM Writers Con goes one step further. Because it champions the vastly popular, but still too often maligned, sub-genre of BDSM erotic romance.<br />
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While vanilla erotic romance has slowly been welcomed to the fold after several years of vitriol and exclusion from the mainstream romance playground, kinky romance, with its edgy play and consensual Dominance and submission dynamic, is still viewed with trepidation at the least, or outright disgust at worst.<br />
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Yes, even among our romance writing brethren, who know well how it feels to be treated shabbily!<br />
<br />
So, it is Dr. Charley’s conference at which we romance writers of this taboo topic are able to let it all hang out. We share, unabashedly, not just our joy in writing, but our enthusiasm for BDSM. For raw and raunchy kink. For sensual and sublime D/s. Books with flogging and pain play. Humiliation play. Master/slave scenarios. Cuffs and canes and nipple clamps, oh my!<br />
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And an additional plus of the Con are the readers who joined us. Because it has always been the readers who keep this genre flying off the virtual shelves and onto e-readers with asbestos linings. These readers who have traveled with us into this kinky land of wondrous sexual riches. Where there literally is, something for everyone. No matter your choice of kink, there’s a book for you! BDSM erotic romance covers every genre from shifter to rock star, from billionaire to bad boy bikers. Our readers are looking not just for the happy ending of a romance, not just for the deep emotion of partners in love. They are looking for the complex connection forged in the flames of kinky sex. And ladies and gentlemen, my friends and I are more than happy to make your naughtiest dreams come true!<br />
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When Cris and Roz and I took our lunch break, I was thinking about how much it means to me to be a part of this incredibly open and honest community. So, to my supportive and generous community of kinky authors and experts, thanks for another great escape into our twisted universe. Seeing the wholehearted embrace of this genre left me filled with renewed determination to bring all my kinky characters to life – and what deliciously twisted lives theirs are!<br />
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And to those readers? The folks who could barely contain their excitement at being a part of the fun, and meeting some favorite authors, and talking with unabashed glee about all their favorite – ahem – action? It was great fun to meet you, talk with you, share with you!<br />
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Until next year, keep looking for your favorites stories. Or take up a pen and start one of your own. Let your characters explore their deepest and darkest secrets. And until next year? See you on the page, ladies and gentlemen!<br />
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(And if you can't wait until 2016 - HOLD TIGHT, my brand spanking new BDSM erotic romance, debuts September 15, from Loose Id.<br />
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<i>PS – if you haven’t discovered the BDSM Writers Con? Check it out! The portal to all the kinky goodness is right through the Golden Flogger Award badge to your write! I mean RIGHT!<br />
</i>lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-79548578055157434452015-09-04T11:19:00.001-07:002015-09-16T11:26:15.833-07:00How is BDSM Like Writing? Cecilia Tan at BDSM Writers Con<br />
To a writer of fiction, the word “scene” means one thing. But as we writers of kinky romance know, in a BDSM story, “scene” has a whole other meaning.<br />
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In her wonderful presentation, Cecilia Tan, author of numerous BDSM erotic romances, showed us the parallels between the elements of a good BDSM scene, and a successful BDSM romance. <br />
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First, she shared her belief that we, as author, are the Dominant or Top and our readers are the submissives or bottoms. For one, our readers give us the power over them. The power to seduce and entertain them with our tales. There must be trust between an author and her readers. They trust us to give good story. To bring our worlds alive. To pen stories with heat and heart. Stories with characters who come alive on the page. To give them romances to feed their readers’ passion.<br />
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We begin our “scene” by negotiating with our readers. Our beginnings lay out our world and the cast of characters and foretell of the intense action to come. When we seduce them successfully, they give over their trust to us. They agree to journey with us all the way to “The End”. From the first moments of action and attraction, to the “aftercare” - where we soothe our readers who have allowed our torments. Tales rife with conflict, sizzling sexual adventure, climactic action and a breathtaking resolution for our lovers. We help our readers come down from our carefully doled out pleasure/pain, to bask in the afterglow of our literary “scene” - the kinky ever after for our literary lovers.<br />
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It is mutual consent. A power exchange. Promises made, and fulfilled. We agree to write the very best BDSM erotic romance we can, and our readers submit to us, trusting that promise of satisfaction. I torture my readers as I do my characters – putting them through hell, but promising them a kinky heaven of satisfaction.<br />
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As their “Dom”, my satisfaction comes from knowing I have seduced and entertained for a while. <br />
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My readers are rewarded with my arousing stories of lust, longing and happily ever after. Being bound up in a story of romance and passion. One with orgasmic highs and heart-stopping lows. Like a masochist, they ride my rollercoaster of emotion and sex. Like a Sadist, I apply the writer’s lash with flair and accuracy to wring the perfect response from my loyal readers. Sighs. Moans. Cries of “please, may I have some more?”<br />
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It is a true relationship between author and audience. As in a D/s scene, it is reaching that mutually satisfying climax after our readers have consented to be ours. Even for that little while.<br />
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Now, let me ask you dear reader. How do you take your kink?<br />
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Here's a brief taste of how Eden Grant and Hud Crockett, the lovers in my forthcoming BDSM erotic romance, HOLD TIGHT, take theirs:<br />
<br />
<i>“Look at that. I’ve marked you.” The indentation of his teeth marred the soft flesh. It made him nearly mad with possessive power. She looked surprised, but not fearful. “Shall I stop? Tell me you don’t want to push this envelope. I’m all about pleasure and pain. I want to feel your flesh beneath my hands. I want to watch your ass turn red while you beg me to stop spanking you. I’ll make you come like you never have. It will be a wild ride, and you’ll love it. I’m a true sadist, and I want you to walk through that fire with me. But it’s all about consent. Yours.”<br />
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“I didn’t expect this.”<br />
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“Be honest. You didn’t know what to expect. I will lead you, but nothing happens without your consent. Good?” She smelled incredible. Like sex. A spicy perfume, that aroma of feminine arousal. She was responding, but how far could he push? “Can you let go, Eden? Give yourself to me? There’ll be nothing you don’t want.”<br />
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Her eyes were wide. Beneath his hands, against his chest, her body quivered. Excitement. Fear of the unknown.<br />
</i><br />
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Releasing from Loose Id<br />
September 15, 2015<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-52345899607364544202015-09-03T11:34:00.001-07:002015-09-03T11:34:11.911-07:002015 BDSM Writers Conference - Day One: And Away We Go – The Kinky Adventure Begins!<br />
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The first moments of a writers’ conference are always great fun. You get that jolt of energy as you are walking in, knowing you’ll be immersed in your chosen world of writing and publishing. And the BDSM Writers Conference offers that along with the special spirit that comes with being part of a vital group of individuals sharing like minds on the subject.<br />
<br />
I marched upstairs to the cordoned off section for the event only to encounter two ladies I’d met at the 2013 BDSM Writers Workshop event, which was the perfect kick-off. After getting my goodie bag, badge and all-important wrist band (it was a must to get into the Saturday Powders play party), who should I spot but my dear friend, and editor, F. Leonora Solomon. We were soon joined by agent and publisher extraordinaire, Lori Perkins, of Riverside Avenue Books, and host of the Between the Covers monthly erotica reading series in NYC and we caught up (writing, life, and kinky stuff) before settling in Metro 1 for the rousing opening ceremony where we debated which workshops and panels to go too while the room filled with authors, lifestyle practitioners, and readers who love what we write.<br />
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Dr. Charley Ferrer spoke movingly about being the “different” daughter in her family. Now an internationally recognized sex therapist and BDSM advocate, her beginnings as a young girl who had different desires struck a chord in me, and I’d guess every other attendee as well.<br />
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When was the first time you wondered?<br />
<br />
Living an alternative lifestyle is something not just kinky people attending the Con could identify with. As a romance author, I suffer the periodic slings and arrows of having my genre called “trashy” and belittled by the literary community at large, and society in general. And as an author of BDSM erotic romance, even my own romance community includes many who denigrate my sub-genre as something that’s not real romance, but porn in disguise. To be ostracized by my brethren is disheartening, as we who write erotic romance, and BDSM romance in particular, believe whole-heartedly that our romance is just as valid, and powerful, because of the inclusion of intensely sexual characters, which we weave seamlessly with the emotional relationships as we tell our stories. So while at larger, general conferences I might feel a bit shunned, at the BDSM Con I was in my element, with a marvelous group of folks who understand just how magical the marriage of kink and romance can be.<br />
<br />
Long before the public’s eyes were opened wide to the kinky world via the wildfire popularity of Fifty, there were massively talented authors writing BDSM romance, including many lifestylers. These romances kept to the tried and true tropes of romance so beloved by readers, but ingeniously clothed in the psychology, emotions and sexuality of BDSM.<br />
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Doms and subs are merely romance heroes and heroines taken to new heights. Sexuality is not merely an adjunct to these romances. In kinky love stories, the sexuality drives both the characters and the romance. Protagonists’ desires are what bind them together (pun intended) while providing the opportunity to portray deep conflicts, which give these novels their carnal heart and soul.<br />
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Understanding the dynamics and accurately portraying our characters with intense humanity, coupled with edgy desires, is the whole purpose of the Conference. To ensure we, as authors, deliver the best romances we can write; stories that bring this lifestyle to life in all its edgy realism, within the classic form of a romance novel.<br />
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With Dr. Charley’s inspiring words to start us off, we were then treated to a terrific talk by our Keynote speaker, erotica author, and BDSM activist, Cecilia Tan.<br />
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Her advice was to be just the first gem of the Conference. So stop by tomorrow, when I talk more about this author’s insight in to the genre of BDSM fiction, and my musings on this marvelous genre and the world of kinky creativity.<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-90889027973820028842015-09-01T11:22:00.000-07:002015-09-01T11:22:08.169-07:00Welcome to the 2015 BDSM Writers Conference - Live from New York City!The anticipation for the 2015 BDSM Writers Con had been growing as we all kept in touch via a Conference Facebook page, and on August 19, the festivities began with an Author Meet & Greet & Buddy Up cocktail hour at the suite where founder, Dr. Charley Ferrer, held court.<br />
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Having attended the 2103 BDSM Writers Workshop (from which Dr. Charley created the inaugural Conference in 2014), I was thrilled to see some old faces, like Rose, and Karla and Jenny of Exquisite Reviews. And finally got to meet in the flesh some of my new soon-to-be-fast friends from the FB group, with whom I’d been corresponding.<br />
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We had a few drinks, did a round-robin introduction that included the who’s and what’s of our writing sides, that had us howling and, as the newbies quickly discovered, hilarity was to be the overall mood for the entire Con. That night we kicked it off and ended up laughing like hyenas.<br />
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See, that’s the irony of the BDSM Con, where discussions of flogging, knife play, bondage; safe, sane and consensual Sado-masochism and Dominance and submission are the norm – everyone hugs hard, and laughs harder. It’s a wonderfully giving and supportive environment, and above all, crazy enthusiastic about the lifestyle, and the erotic writings that seek to portray it.<br />
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Because that was the original impetus for Dr. Charley’s master plan (pun intended). She wanted to offer an opportunity to writers of erotica and erotic romance to get it right. To understand the nuance of BDSM, the play, the protocols and the dynamics. And most importantly the people who live the lifestyle in all their marvelous diversity. Getting it wrong like “that” book, has riled up lots of community members and I, for once, was thrilled to have the chance to learn, as well as to experience some things that allowed me to gain a greater understanding, from a personal perspective.<br />
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One of my personal pet peeves is the failure of authors of BDSM erotic romance to get it right, psychology-wise. I want to understand why the characters want what they want and if there’s no understanding, I feel cheated.<br />
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By opening it up in 2014 as both a writer and reader event, Dr. Charley allowed interested fans of the genre to experience the real thing, too. To come, and explore and at club nights, play. Hearty volunteers got to be demonstrated on, and a grand time was had by all (or so I’m told – sadly, I am forced to commute to the events and cannot party til all hours!). But even the simplest of experiences can reveal startling details about many facets of BDSM. <br />
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Even being told to kneel before someone can illuminate your view of what power exchange can entail!<br />
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This first evening was a rousing intro to what was to come. A fact-and-fun-filled three days of immersion into “the Lifestyle” of BDSM. Which included a wonderful vendor shop, and great swag.<br />
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So after that first gathering, I arrived the next morning, on Thursday, to see what I could see.<br />
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Come back tomorrow for another glimpse into the awesome Conference when I chat about the Opening Ceremony, with Dr. Charley and Keynote Speaker, author and advocate, Cecilia Tan.<br />
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Trust me. You will not want to miss it!<br />
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Interested in BDSM as a writer or reader? You, too, have a chance to find out for yourself just how intriguing the subject is. BDSM Writers Conference 2016 will be adding a second venue event in addition to the NYC Conference, in Everett, Washington. Check out the site and see for yourselves (just click on the "Golden Flogger" Award badge)! Just remember – bring some dungeon-wear, and leave your inhibitions at home!<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-45349291978214889882015-01-28T11:52:00.000-08:002015-01-28T11:52:15.742-08:00The Spice of Variety – The Importance of Mixing It Up In the Boudoir (On The Page, Of Course!)<br />
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My personal oeuvre is gritty, raw, erotic romance. I have Dominant Alpha heroes, and feisty submissive heroines. I love intense love scenes, filled with graphic action hot enough to scald. But there are always occasions where I have to mix it up.<br />
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By and large I find, in my writing and in the erotic romances I read, that no matter how intense the story is, no matter how dark or dramatic, there come those moments when you need things less intense and more languid. Filled with less boom-chicka-bow-wow and more with velvet caresses and sensual sighs. Where perhaps, something kinder and gentler is called for. Perhaps one of the characters is wounded, at a black point, and the love scene is, in part, a healing or comforting for that character. Or another alternative that may be a perfect fit, something lighthearted - spiced with wry humor, or giddy joy – the occasion when nothing goes right, but it’s all okay! Where my lovers learn to laugh at themselves and relax . . . just a bit more (which we know will make things even hotter the next time around, right?)<br />
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One of the things I therefore focus on is the appropriateness of the tone and action of the scene: Does it fit the mood? The place where the characters are both in their own heads at that moment? In the course of their relationship? All while furthering that relationship, working smoothly with the plot, and advancing it at the same time.<br />
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I also survey of my love scene “roster” once I’ve got a rough first draft, to ensure that the mood and intensity does vary, so the reader is not treated to the same old, same old love scene throughout. (That’s a major complaint I’ve seen concerning the love scenes in FSOG, for example.) No one in the real world has sex the same way all the time, or feels the same way every time they are having sex. The intensity varies, the commitment varies, and the emotions vary.<br />
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Our moods fuel our lovemaking. Internal and external conflicts of my characters will fuel theirs. As will the seasons, surroundings, the atmosphere (one example is the staple of romantic suspense and romantic thrillers where the lovers are in the thick of danger – gotta love those adrenalin-heightened couplings!).<br />
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Likewise, the love scenes will morph as the characters and relationships grow and change. That introductory, somewhat stilted, or perhaps edgy, or eager and unfamiliar first love scene – where everything is being experienced for the first time, and those first sights of one another, those first tastes and touches are so vital. <br />
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Then the story grows into those scenes where the lovers have become more comfortable with one another, but are still discovering the depths of their passion; they’re exploring and trying new things – but there are still mysteries to unfold, and discoveries about one another to make. <br />
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And we continue to progress, reaching those scenes where the lovers are embroiled in their conflicts and problems as you approach the dark moments of the book. Their differences, fears and uncertainty infiltrate the scene. It might make the love/sex desperate, or yearning – or lousy. It might make one lover selfish and demanding, or another withdrawn and hesitant. And it might be a moment for coitus interruptus – the better to ramp up the tension, sexual and otherwise, as the characters deal with it.<br />
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Finally, the couple’s emotions are fully mature, and the depth of their love is powerful and strong and committed. As we approach their HEA, so does their sexual relationship swell in power and importance. Everything has become clear. They’ve overcome all the crises. They’ve fallen apart and healed those rifts. They’re recommitted, or reunited, with a soul deep connection that is illustrated in their lovemaking. Physical and emotional have become one, and the coupling is a hallowed moment as the sex becomes an affirmation of their romantic journey together.<br />
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So. Each of the moments within my stories have to satisfy many criteria. First and foremost, from a technical perspective, I want to change it up. Keep the sex varied for the readers (and my characters – can you imagine the complaints?!).<br />
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Secondly, I want my love scenes to fit smoothly in the moment in the story in which they appear. A humorous love scene in a dark moment probably wouldn’t work. And a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am when they’ve just acknowledged they’re madly in love would be inappropriate, too. And no brand new couple, falling into the sack for the first time is going to be utterly uninhibited. No matter how tough or feisty or Alpha, we all hold back a bit of ourselves in a brand new relationship, right? It’s a protective instinct to avoid hurt and rejection.<br />
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Thirdly, I must remain true to my characters, which means that even as the love scenes evolve along with the story, and with the relationship, they must reflect the ongoing tone, or mood of the moment. The actions cannot go completely against the characters’ grain. But they can reflect that changing moods of the character.<br />
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My hero may be a crude and rough sadist, but he will find himself in a romantic situation where his emotions, and desires, prompt him to seek a different way to experience that sexual relationship. By doing so, it allows my hero an opportunity for revelation – for growth. As I did with my down and dirty sadist hero, Hud, in Hold Tight, when he abandons all of the paddlings and spankings, the erotic humiliation and total command of his lover, Eden, and discovers that the more vanilla experience is just as rich, and enjoyable – and even more naked, emotionally – without the trappings of the lifestyle or kinky touches. The simple act of making love is a breakthrough moment as he realizes she’s “the one”. It’s not just the kink. It’s the woman.<br />
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Likewise, no matter how freely my submissive Eden gives herself to Hud, there comes that moment when she turns dominant, forcing him to accept her and his own desires, and becomes the driving force of that particular love scene – the climactic one that ends the story.<br />
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The bottom line is that I want my characters to change it up in the bedroom. It keeps things lively for them – and keeps my readers looking ahead to see how the characters’ physical relationship grows along with their emotional relationship.<br />
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Because as we all know, variety is the spice of life!<br />
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Lise Horton writes super steamy erotic romance and, as Lydia Hill, intense erotica. She’s published in full-length fiction by Carina Press, and in short fiction by Ravenous Romance, Riverdale Avenue Press (a recent naughty coupling can be found in RAB’s “Bad Santa”) and her latest story, “Tryst of Fate”, as Lydia Hill, is included in the Cleis Press “Best Women’s Erotica of 2015” anthology, edited by the iconic Violet Blue.. For more on her thoughts on writing romance and the writing life, you can find her and all her social media links at www.lisehorton.com.<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-30512585160759026912014-11-18T07:47:00.000-08:002014-11-18T07:47:04.021-08:00The Bliss of BDSM Romance EroticaYou read a book one day that wowed you.<br />
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In the past, you’d discovered the romances you liked best were hot. The hotter, the better and you sought them out. Pored over back cover blurbs and flipped through the pages to spot “those” words. You know the ones. The ones that rang your chimes. Some of those books were sensually and romantically erotic. Others? Just down and dirty raunchy romance.<br />
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Then one day the book you picked up had some other words. Words like Dominance and submission. Kink. Master/slave. Words like flogger, butt plug, bondage, discipline, paddling, spanking, sadist and masochist.<br />
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And your little heart went pit-a-pat, didn’t it?<br />
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And something else started up to throb and tingle, too, didn’t it?<br />
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‘Fess up.<br />
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What you discovered next was that this book wasn’t one of a kind: There were dozens and dozens, nay, hundreds of these kinky romances out there. Not just hot vanilla love scenes. Not just the always titillating ménage romances. No, these books were totally populated with ladies and gentlemen getting their kink on.<br />
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So you began to devour them. As you read, however, you began to notice that the quality varied. Sure, there was lots of well-choreographed BDSM action going on. But sometimes it felt like the characters were being put through their paces by an author who just didn’t quite . . . get it?<br />
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And those books didn’t have quite the same oomph factor as some others. Those others that really stirred you - where the characters’ psyches and emotions were all woven together. Their kinky desires didn’t spring from nowhere. They weren’t just “playing”. Those dark needs and cravings were all part of the heroes’ and heroines’ personalities. And those needs and cravings caused conflict. Those needs and cravings were part of a journey to an emotional and physical understanding, and acceptance of self. The acts these characters engaged in were not casual. They were part and parcel of the romantic exploration the lovers undertook together as their loving relationships evolved.<br />
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These are the books that truly mesmerize me. I want the souls of these characters laid bare for me (along with their bodies). I want to understand, be aroused and seduced, and take the journey with them.<br />
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I want to read about their feelings and the physicality of their play. Don’t just tell me he spanked her …. I want to experience her reactions. Not just physically, but how does the act she is indulging in make her feel – emotionally? How does He feel when she kneels in submission? How do the complexities of the lifestyle challenge them, both physically as well as emotionally?<br />
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Getting the full picture is what makes a BDSM erotic romance pulse with life for me, as a reader.<br />
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And as a writer of BDSM and erotic romances and erotica, I want to be able to give my readers, too, exactly what I crave: Specificity, authenticity, reality.<br />
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I have learned a great deal about BDSM over the years, both as a person, and as an author. But it wasn’t until I attended the BDSM for Writers Workshop in 2013, where a small group of authors explored further aspects of BDSM together, that I realized just how much more I needed to know.<br />
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So this August’s 2014 BDSM For Writers Conference turned out to be one of the most awesome experiences I could have had, as an author AND as a reader and fan, of this smoking hot genre.<br />
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Grandly expanded, it afforded the opportunity to meet so many new people in the lifestyle. In addition to panels and presentations, we visited a local NYC dungeon, Paddles. We watched dozens demonstrations of activities that you can read about, but can’t fully grasp until you see them unfolding right in front of you.<br />
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A beautiful young woman being bound and punished by a powerful, dominant man. Hearing her moans. Watching the expressions on her face as he put her through her paces. Seeing her body in all its spanked and bound rosy flush. The memory of these sights, and her sighs, now fuel my own writing.<br />
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And that couple who gave a flogging demonstration?<br />
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Watching her strip. Watching the focus as the two of them began their scene. Hearing the sounds of the floggers, hearing their whispers. Hearing her shrieks. And then watching her lazy smile as she checked out the marks he’d left on her ass.<br />
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And incredibly, watching the pair as they essentially shut out the rest of the people and withdrew into a world where it was just the two of them. Cuddling, stroking, holding one another in the afterglow.<br />
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There were tons of other opportunities to chat with authors and lifestyle participants. Good, dirty fun at the “Kinky Confessional” panel. Witnessing a spanking. And the array of implements we got to test out – How can I spank thee? Let me count the kinky ways!<br />
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Fire play.<br />
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Electric play by a very creative – and funny – Dom and his traveling array of violet wands and kinky accoutrements.<br />
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Of course, everywhere there were books with BDSM-themed covers. There were giveaways and raffle baskets filled with naughty toys. There were paddles and floggers that left marks. Nipple clamps and blindfolds for sale. And books, books and more books. By iconic authors like Laura Antoniou and Joey W. Hill and many authors unknown to me (of whom I am now a rabid fan), who were all generous and informative about their books, their writing, and their own personal kink.<br />
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And best of all, there were readers galore. Readers who’d come from near and far to celebrate their favorite sub-genre of romance: BDSM erotic love stories. <br />
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So I was in heaven for those four days. Surrounded by kinky toys, kinky people and kinky books, I was able to learn a great deal. Experience a few new things, get a more in-depth understanding of the variety that exists in the lifestyle - from the sublime, to the legally precarious moments lifestyle practitioners may encounter. Still, we all laughed so hard it was ironic, given the many chats on sadism and masochism we had!<br />
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Dr. Charley Ferrer, author, lifestyle teacher and spokesperson, lecturer and creator of the Conference, provided us all this chance to wallow in the warmth, humanity, humor and insight of the world of BDSM. To network with others of like-minds, and to uncover great new details for our own writing that, I, for one, can attest will ensure I have the knowledge to craft a richer portrait of my kinky characters.<br />
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And here’s the best news of all for you readers and authors of BDSM erotic romance and erotica! You, too, can get your kink on, meet some great authors, mingle with some fellow fans, and if you’re feeling adventurous, volunteer to be a subject in a demo!<br />
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BDSM Conference for Readers and Writers 2015 is already open for registration! http://bdsmwriterscon.com/<br />
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See you there!<br />
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<i>Lise Horton is an avid reader of BDSM erotica and erotic romance, and a writer of same. Under her erotica pseudonym Lydia Hill, her short story, “My Master’s Mark” in the 2014 “Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission” anthology edited by DL King, earned Library Journal’s praise in its starred review as “surprisingly poignant”. Her short story, “A Simple Tryst of Fate” will appear in the upcoming Violet Blue edited Cleis Press anthology, “Best Women’s Erotica 2015”. As Lise Horton she writes erotic romance, including Words of Lust (Carina Press, 2013). For more of her kinky creative musings, visit her blog http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/</i><br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-67581391228072814892014-09-25T14:02:00.001-07:002014-09-25T14:02:35.528-07:00What's YOUR Favorite Romance Trope? All That Glitters Is Not Just Her Hoo Ha!<br />
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When it comes to the romance trope, I am especially fond of the “glittery hoo ha”, for the name alone. However, I consider it less a trope, than a de rigueur requirement of the genre. No matter the heat level, once the hero has, er, experienced the heroine’s “hoo ha” (or her lips for the chaste among our genre titles), he will be blind to any other woman’s non-glittery type hoo ha (seriously, a tarnished hoo-ha? I think not!). The heroine’s will remain his be all and end all go-to hoo ha, romance-wise.<br />
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So, while I chuckle over the term, I don’t consider it a trope, unlike the myriad others from enemies to friends (always good for conflict), to the ‘meet sweet’ trope (not one of my faves). There’s a trope out there for every taste, naturally, but if forced to choose, I am especially fond of what I’ve seen called “the broken bird” trope. (Though it trespasses a tad on the Beauty and the Beast trope, for in that case, the heroine must heal the hero’s psychological wounds and accept his scars, be they emotional or physical – in fact many of the tropes can be found in blended forms, and there are multiplicities of tweaks on all these tropes.)<br />
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The broken bird trope actually figures into my own writing quite heavily (perhaps all that misplaced maternal energy to heal and protect one of my characters, along with my tendency for melodrama?). Probably for the same reason that I enjoy suspenseful elements in my writing, and erotic romance – because the broken bird trope offers an opportunity for immense conflict, both internal (the broken character), as well as relationship-wise. It’s always a major uphill battle to heal the broken one and get that character to succumb to love.<br />
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However, I’ve most often seen this trope used in stories where it is the hero who is the broken one, and the heroine’s love that heals him. Because we love the tortured alpha bad boy, don’t we?<br />
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That’s the essence, in fact, of my recently completed BDSM erotic romance MS, Hold Tight. My billionaire hero (no, money doesn’t heal all wounds!) has been kicked in the teeth by life on a number of occasions. He now lives in his ivory tower, untouched by a woman’s love, and scarred by numerous past betrayals. And it is my average, every day heroine who comes along and recognizes the wounded little boy, and heals him with her love (and her tenacity and willingness to submit to his sadistic domination and mastery of her glittery you-know-what).<br />
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But I love seeing the broken bird trope turned upside down. It may be a bit more unusual to have your alpha hero be the strong, supportive and nurturing type who becomes the healer to a broken bird heroine, but I think it offers a wonderful opportunity. You get to create a hero who isn’t tortured or tormented, and who can be the lover to bring his heroine into the healing light. (And at the LIRW luncheon, and in several reviews I’ve read recently, the dearth of the “nice guy” hero was lamented…Voila! I have the answer!) (Keep reading…)<br />
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My second Stellato siblings novel, Hot In the City, is an example of this. My heroine is as dark a heroine as I’ve read lately. Not only was she abandoned by her father, and the father of her son, but now she’s smothered by her responsibilities, and her fears for her special needs son should she be unable to care for him. At first, what Berto offers her is hot sex – her only distraction from an anxiety-filled life. Alice sees her future as a bleak and demanding one, until Berto proves to her that he can give her more than momentary, distracting pleasure. He can protect her, provide for her, and love her – but he can also be a partner in life who provides the shoulder she’s never had.<br />
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I love my heroes dark and tormented. Mad, bad and dangerous to know. The strong, silent type hiding his wounds behind his muscles. The primal man unleashing his inner demons only to have them tamed by the heroine (and her glittery lady parts).<br />
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But it’s wonderful fun to also craft the solid, Gary Cooper, Atticus Finch, Mr. Smith hero who recognizes the humanity beneath a heroine’s tortured persona (and the allure of her glittery vajayjay) – whether she is using sex to block out reality, or cutting herself because of a trauma, or hiding behind an ice maiden shell to avoid pain, or a heroine battered by fate, going down for the last time – as she reaches out for the helping hand of the only one who can save her. When her white knight rides to her rescue, he may be a billionaire, or a boxer. A Regency spy or a WWII officer. A blue collar guy or a once-a-month shifter. But he’s the one who’s whole, and this time he’s doing the healing. <br />
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He is the hero broad of shoulder, compassionate of soul, with a heart of gold.<br />
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And he’s the proud possessor of the perfect complement to her glittery mound of Venus: <br />
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His “Golden Gun”.<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-28008248218647574002014-09-18T10:44:00.000-07:002014-09-18T10:44:12.721-07:00How Do I Love Thee? HOT That's How! Let Me Count the Ways . . . Despite the popularity of kinky, BDSM erotic romance, replete with whips and chains and paddles and ball gags, it may not be for everyone. Don’t lose sight of the variety available for writers and readers of erotic romance. Here’s an overview of a few of the delicious options:<br />
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PRO: BDSM erotic romance, to start with, has the heightened plus of edgy sex play and the power exchange dynamic to augment the emotional relationship. From Master/slave, Dom/sub or Top/Bottom roles for heroes and heroines, to S&M paraphernalia, pain play, erotic humiliation, slave auctions; kink allows for an author to ramp up the sexual heat, tension, exploration and growth in a blended role with the emotional relationship. BDSM can also provide another layer of external conflict for characters who have to deal with societal biases against the lifestyle, and personal conflicts over these darker desires.<br />
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PRO: Like the kink but shying away from the heavy-duty stuff? Read a wide spectrum of BDSM erotic romance and you’ll see the breadth of coverage of this type of sexual activity. It can run the gamut from the serious scenes in an Eden Bradley, Roni Lauren, or Maya Banks novel to a tamer version that travels the middle road of kinky copulation.<br />
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PRO: Then there is what I call “BDSM light” (not a reference to the derogatory comments made about FSOG, BTW). I think of it as kinder, gentler BDSM. You can have an emotional BDSM relationship with the Dominance and submission emotional and psychological elements without the pain play, or the other edgier aspects like erotic humiliation. You can have mild physical “domination” such as being held down, and sexy mind play. This category allows you the opportunity to Alpha-up your hero (they don’t come more Alpha than a Dom, after all!) or heroine (I don’t write Female/male submission so I tend not to refer to it; but all aspects of BDSM can be F/m, M/f, F/f, M/m or any other permutation your kinky little heart desires.)<br />
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CON: BDSM, no matter the intensity or scene play specificity, requires a firm grasp of both the technical logistics, as well as the emotional and psychological mind-set of the participants. The more the reading public knows about the scene, the easier they’ll spot errors in your presentation if you don’t know what you’re talking about, S&M-wise!<br />
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But there are options, too, for writing smoldering hot ero-rom wholly outside the BDSM/kink realm. Here are two:<br />
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PRO: Ménage and polyamory. Here’s the sub-genre of ero-rom where no holes are barred. Any combination of heroes/heroines goes here. (Granted, you can have BDSM ménage, and it’s an incendiary sub-sub-genre all by itself.) Options abound. You can have a pair who bring in a third friend for a 3-way fling, or you can have a committed triad. Lora Leigh is the queen of multiple partner polyamory with up to 3 men per gal where all the men love the woman and she loves all the dudes. It works great with M/M/F, too, as illustrated by Lauren Dane. Whether your male partners are together first, or come together (pun intended) in a bisexual triad while also loving a woman, or whether it’s the M/F/M variety where there is no gay sexual aspect, it can be a super-intense, dramatic and sexy scenario. For one, you’ve got all those extra body parts to play with (and the object of this physical affection is really getting an overwhelming experience). But additionally this ero-rom choice heaps on the conflict. Society frowns on multiple lovers. There’s no legal “marriage” possibility. And there’s a third (or fourth) personality fraught with jealousy and personal issues in the mix that can ramp up conflict, both internal and external. But it’s the orgiastic couplings that are the real treat in this sub-genre. <br />
CON: It takes a skilled hand to avoid falling into the orgy or gang-bang scenario (unless that’s what you’re going for, of course, you naughty thing!).<br />
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CON: Writing multiple-partner ero-rom also requires an in-depth exploration of your characters’ mind-sets to ensure that there is a viable emotional relationship and connection among the parties. Just tossing in an extra set of cojones for the fun of it won’t enhance the romance; which, of course, if the bottom line, regardless of the XXX rating. Make sure all your characters are engaged in the relationship (in and out of the boudoir).<br />
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CON: Ménage is NOT about cheating lovers. While your triad may have sex independent of one another in some scenes, they are all aware of the actions and no one is lying to another or cheating on an unsuspecting lover.<br />
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PRO: Perhaps the most obvious of erotic romance tropes in what I call “hot vanilla”. This is where erotic romance actually started (as far as my experience is concerned). The hottest of the hot couplings of an M/F couple (which now happily also encompasses the M/M and F/F couples). No dominance, no chains, no taking turns with a third, just two loving people having super-hot sex. It’s the nature of the graphic depiction of the love scenes that pushes the vanilla couple into the erotic romance sphere. Simple, straightforward, but hugely satisfying to the reader who loves the sex scorching, but shies away from the wilder side of lovin’.<br />
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PRO: One particular thing that can make a vanilla ero-rom smokin’ is that delectably taboo raunch: Anal sex. You’ll definitely find anal in BDSM and ménage (and obviously even in an erotic vanilla M/M). But inclusion in a hot vanilla allows you, the author, to push that envelope to the breaking point. Back door Betties are your friend! One happy way to include it and use it to cement a vanilla M/F relationship? The vaginal virgin is pretty much an anachronism these days (unless you’re writing historical), but your heroic fella can still be her “first” if she’s an anal virgin. Ass play allows for a wider variety of sexual activity and you can mix it up for hotter and hotter scenes.<br />
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PRO: Naturally, the good-old graphic BJ is less prevalent in the borderline sexy romance, but it’s a staple in erotic romance along with its “cunny” cousin. So don’t forget to have some give-and-take 69 action in your hot vanilla tale!<br />
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PRO: A couple of other ways to turn up the heat for your vanilla couple? Sex toys, mutual masturbation, phone sex, and fantasies. It’s all about exploration, and pushing those intimacy boundaries.<br />
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CON: As with any other variety of erotic romance, writing graphic sex scenes when you don’t feel it, or get squirmy (not in the good way) using all those hot 4-letter words, can be problematic. Using euphemistic language doesn’t fly with ero-rom readers. And they’re savvy when it comes to the sex scenes. Toss in a few because you need the heat but they’re not progressing the story or moving the characters’ relationship? They’ll call you on it. And be cognizant that an EROTIC ROMANCE has that requisite erotic plot line that is woven into the others (whether it’s a single romance plot line, or a story with an additional one, such as a romantic suspense plot line). It’s about the erotic, sexual relationship that grows and evolves alongside the affair of the heart.<br />
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Clearly, we have a delightful array of combustible possibilities for crafting erotic romance on the writing menu. Be it schtupping in a galaxy far, far away, fornicating in a gazebo in a country manor in the Regency, or doing the mattress mambo in the Big Apple, your options for writing erotic romance are breathtaking!<br />
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Can YOU stand the heat?<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-62952154105852729232014-06-20T23:30:00.000-07:002014-06-20T23:30:01.135-07:00Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission - Blog Tour! <br />
<b><i>Desires.</i> </b><br />
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They can be simple and vanilla.<br />
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Roses before a pleasant interlude of love-making. <br />
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Holding hands. <br />
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Kissing beneath a full moon.<br />
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A sweet endearment whispered in the ear. <br />
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Sweetheart.<br />
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Or they can be a very, very different sort of desire.<br />
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<b><i>A craving.<br />
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A hunger to be possessed.<br />
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<b><i>Roughly.<br />
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A yearning to be subsumed by a . . . masterful man.<br />
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And be used in oh so many decadent ways.<br />
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To feel the bite of teeth on the ear.<br />
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To hear a different sort of endearment.<br />
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Slut.<br />
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A submissive’s craving.<br />
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A slave’s hunger.<br />
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<b><i>To please her Master.<br />
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Within the pages of “Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission”, these cravings are revealed. <br />
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These dark desires are explored. <br />
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Hungers are sated.<br />
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The wickedly good authors in this torrid collection feed their passion – and yours – for Masters and Mistresses and the slave girls who serve them.<br />
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“My Master’s Mark” is one such story. It is a kinky duet of raunch, and rabid appetites. Allow me to share an appetizer:<br />
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<b><i>The continued steady application of the tattoo needle kept the sensations ramping up. The endorphin glow had begun. The pain was throbbing now, the way it did when Master used his hand on the same spot, again and again until my muscles quivered with the effort not to squirm away, to not use the word. The word. My safe word. During all the years I’d been his “slut slave”, I’d never needed to use it. I’d been tempted. And he’d always let me know how much he enjoyed the challenge of pushing me and he often vowed that, before he died, he would break me.<br />
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But I’d never used it because I wallowed in everything he did to me. I craved seeing that look of heated pleasure in his eyes.<br />
<br />
Sick? Some might say so. But Master M and I made beautiful music together. The counterpoint between sadist and pain slut. The whish of the paddle, my hiss at the blows. His basso-profundo chuckle as my ass turned red, and my moans rising and falling as he forced me to the limits of my endurance. Then that expectant moment – the crescendo when the very air hummed - those times he waited for me to say the word before, with a grunt of satisfied lust, he’d let me have one last, blistering smack. When I punctuated our virtuoso duet with a shrill scream, it was like applause for his rousing performance.<br />
</i></b><br />
<br />
I hope this morsel has whetted your appetite for more.<br />
<br />
Why not give in to temptation?<br />
<br />
<b><i>Haven’t you ever craved a little . . . sting?<br />
</i></b><br />
A smorgasbord of delights awaits between the covers of this torrid collection, gathered together for your pleasure by editor extraordinaire, D. L. King. Each one delectable. Mouth-watering.<br />
<br />
Why not indulge your . . . tastes?<br />
<br />
Go ahead.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Feed that kinky passion of yours, ladies and gentlemen.<br />
</i></b><br />
<br />
* * * *<br />
<br />
<br />
You can still visit the prior posts of the anthology contributors here:<br />
<br />
June 1 D. L. King <a href="http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 2 Rachel Kramer Bussel <a href="http://lustylady.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 3 Alison Tyler <a href="http://alisontyler.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 4 Valerie Alexander <a href="http://www.valeriealexander.org"></a><br />
June 5 Nina Fairweather <a href="http://ninafairweather.com"></a><br />
June 6 Sommer Marsden <a href="http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 7 Evan Mora <a href="http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 8 Victoria Behn <a href="http://kdgrace.co.uk"></a><br />
June 9 Donna George Storey <a href="http://sexfoodandwriting.donnageorgestorey.com"></a><br />
June 10 Teresa Noelle Roberts <a href="http://www.teresanoelleroberts.com"></a><br />
June 11 Erzabet Bishop <a href="http://erzabetsenchantments.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 12 Lisette Ashton <a href="http://ashleylisterauthor.blogspot.co.uk"></a><br />
June 15 Giselle Renarde <a href="http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 16 Lisabet Sarai <a href="http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com"></a><br />
June 17 Graydancer <a href="http://www.graydancer.com"></a><br />
June 18 Deborah Castellano <a href="http://deborahcastellano.tumblr.com"></a><br />
June 19 Nym Nix <a href="http://nymnix.wordpress.com"></a><br />
June 21 Lydia Hill <a href="http://lisehorton.blogspot.com"></a><br />
<br />
“Slave Girls” is available, in print and digital formats, at all major distributors & bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple.<br />
<br />
<i>For more Lydia Hill/Lise Horton erotica (free reads!) you can also visit my blog, Lust In the Afternoon at <a href="http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/">http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/</a> .<br />
</i>lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-67209983560392203942014-06-06T09:23:00.001-07:002014-06-06T09:23:39.768-07:00One Stop Shopping! Blogging with the authors in "Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission"<br />
<br />
We are having a blog hop to celebrate the release of our Cleis Press anthology, edited by the marvelous DL King. So that no one misses a moment of the scrumptiousness that is this collection, and the insights of the authors, I'm posting the list of all the participants here on my blog. You may indulge one at a time, or all at once - a veritable smorgasbord of titillation of the stinging variety:<br />
<br />
June 1 D. L. King http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com<br />
June 2 Rachel Kramer Bussel http://lustylady.blogspot.com<br />
June 3 Alison Tyler http://alisontyler.blogspot.com<br />
June 4 Valerie Alexander http://www.valeriealexander.org<br />
June 5 Nina Fairweather http://ninafairweather.com<br />
June 6 Sommer Marsden http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com<br />
June 7 Evan Mora http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com<br />
June 8 Victoria Behn http://kdgrace.co.uk<br />
June 9 Donna George Storey http://sexfoodandwriting.donnageorgestorey.com<br />
June 10 Teresa Noelle Roberts http://www.teresanoelleroberts.com<br />
June 11 Erzabet Bishop http://erzabetsenchantments.blogspot.com<br />
June 12 Lisette Ashton http://ashleylisterauthor.blogspot.co.uk<br />
June 15 Giselle Renarde http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com<br />
June 16 Lisabet Sarai http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com<br />
June 17 Graydancer http://www.graydancer.com<br />
June 18 Deborah Castellano http://deborahcastellano.tumblr.com<br />
June 19 Nym Nix http://nymnix.wordpress.com<br />
June 21 Lydia Hill http://lisehorton.blogspot.com<br />
<br />
My naughtier alter ego, Lydia Hill, will be stopping by on June 21! It will be an eye-opening visit, I guarantee!lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-32025494314141392452014-05-29T14:55:00.000-07:002014-05-29T14:55:01.653-07:00Spank You Very Much!<br />
<br />
The masochistic heroine is tough enough to write. Delight in pain, for the endorphin “sub space” glow, or to please her Dom, can be difficult to write convincingly and sympathetically. She needs to be strong of spirit and true of heart and to meld that with submissive desires can be tricky.<br />
<br />
But even harder? Crafting the romantic, loving, sympathetic sadist hero.<br />
<br />
He’s the possessive guy who cherishes his lady, nut also loves inflicting pain on her. That it is “erotic pain” helps differentiate him from the sadistic villain, but in order to capture the reader’s heart, this hero must be perfectly drawn.<br />
<br />
The author crafting such a character walks a fine line, allowing him to indulge his carnal appetites on the willing heroine’s flesh, yet be strong, loyal, loving and tender, by turns. If you don’t want to end up with a kinky Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde scenario, you need an exploration and deft explanation of his desires, plus exposing just how awesome it feels when the heroine is swept into the maelstrom of “pleasure/pain” (as it’s often referred to these days in BDSM erotic romances).<br />
<br />
And on top of the issue of doling out pain, I’ve noticed of late a new and darker flavor being added to the S&M romances already being done so masterfully, and that is erotic humiliation.<br />
<br />
Having a hero call his loving heroine a “slut”, or putting her in a position to be exposed in a position of humiliation as an aspect of the “play” – or punishment, can be a high wire act. The readers who get it are already on board (I’m one of them). But names like “slut” or edgier, and humiliation play, that can be interpreted by some in a derogatory way (as has happened in recent years when critical public statements have led to the term “slut shaming”) can be startling at best to the unwary reader, and offensive at worst.<br />
<br />
So this is yet another element of a razor sharp sub-genre whose potential is great for the most swoon-worthy uber-alpha sadistic Dom character to ever singe the pages; but if ineffectively done, for the most cringe-worthy misogynist douche bag to ever come down the pike.<br />
<br />
Still, edgy romance of this sort is an “eye of the beholder” thing and full-disclosure is always your best bet when talking about a character. And read, study, and craft your raw romance hero with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel.<br />
<br />
Examples of some authors who have beautifully mastered the art of the loving sadist? Maya Banks in her “Sweet” series, Roni Loren’s “Loving On the Edge” series and Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin’s “Edge” series.<br />
<br />
<i>I love writing edgy, kinky heroes who love masochistic heroines beneath their hands. Of my short story "My Master's Mark" under my erotica pseudonym, Lydia Hill, [Cleis Press’ May 2014 Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission], Library Journal’s starred review said “surprisingly poignant”. For free, naughty reads stop by my Lust In the Afternoon blog, http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/ </i><br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-41541233617209249042014-03-24T09:08:00.000-07:002014-03-24T09:59:58.257-07:00<b>MY WRITING PROCESS</b><br />
<br />
My thanks to the lovely and talented Jess Russell (http://jessrussellromance.com) for "tagging" me and allowing me to participate in this fun blog tour this month. It has been terrific cheering Jess through this process and watching her book The Dressmaker’s Duke come to fruition!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf4cWMoxdfsp9JRfBWgxNFDvr3z4bxoLcnU2vYiG0Quq-HckriLUHM-Vr5kNQ__JQJjjW7lCN-NtO_IFrEEYAew0IwRaWdQA-rxQ_OZr2WEtaYU5pdlv_4W1MFETDxE3cnTuAnwDIRWta/s1600/pen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf4cWMoxdfsp9JRfBWgxNFDvr3z4bxoLcnU2vYiG0Quq-HckriLUHM-Vr5kNQ__JQJjjW7lCN-NtO_IFrEEYAew0IwRaWdQA-rxQ_OZr2WEtaYU5pdlv_4W1MFETDxE3cnTuAnwDIRWta/s320/pen.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b><i>What am I working on</i>?</b><br />
<br />
My debut erotic romance for Carina Press, Words of Lust, was the first in the Stellato Siblings series. Set in NYC, each of the 5 Stellato brothers and sisters enjoy his or her own tumultuous romance (Book #2, Alberto Stellato’s Hot In the City is with my editor now!) and I am currently deep in Book #3, (working title) The Fire Down Below, on tormented middle brother, Vincenzo Stellato. Vin is an FDNY Lieutenant, still dealing with the trauma of 9/11, which occurred during the fall he began his rookie year. He's closed himself off from love and only "plays" the BDSM games he craves with women who aren't looking for permanence. Then he encounters Nell Grant. Daughter of a theatre family, she comes from a long line of actors, but the new show in which she stars, "Decadence" threatens to upset more than just the critics. Its dark themes speak to her own desires - desires she has not yet explored. When the two meet, it's a sexual conflagration the two agree to enjoy. Without entanglements. But these two intense souls make a connection that soon leads them to a much deeper emotional relationship even as danger threatens Nell from an unscrupulous developer who is determined to force the Grants to sell their Broadway theatre.<br />
<br />
Vincenzo is the darkest of the 3 Stellato brothers, and he evolved wonderfully as I wrote his brothers' happily ever afters. Now I'm thrilled to be giving him his very own naughty lover in Nell. This is the kinkiest of the Stellato books so far, and I'm enjoying the darker elements of their story, including addressing the often divisive issue of society’s view of the BDSM lifestyle.<br />
<br />
<b><i>How does my work differ from others of its genre</i>?</b><br />
<br />
I write erotic romance that pushes the envelope. By its very nature, erotic romance is more graphic, and the sexual evolution of the characters parallels the emotional evolution of the romance. But I write no-holds barred, gritty erotic romance, utilizing the more extreme vocabulary that I don’t often read in other erotic romance. Also, my stories all contain at least some BDSM acts whether it’s a spanking game for fun, or a soupcon of submission and dominance. In The Fire Down Below, for example, Nell enjoys the debauchery of submission and erotic humiliation and Vin is a willing participant in bringing her to ecstatic states she's only ever fantasized about. I’ve explored and investigated these elements to ensure that my portrayal is both a genuine one, as well as a positive one that conveys the consensual nature of the lifestyle.<br />
<br />
This is not to say that I don't write heightened and intense love stories. I am a true romantic at heart and I find the two are mutually beneficial. Intense sexual levels drive, and are driven by, intense emotional states. Vincenzo's own emotions and psyche as a first responder during the horrific attacks on NYC are inextricably entwined with the darkness of his sexual yearnings. Nell may appear to be a cool and sophisticated career woman who has it all together, but what she wants from a man is diametrically opposed to the image she presents to the world - and that the world expects! Nothing about my characters is ever simple, or easy. They fight for everything they desire - in bed and out!<br />
<br />
<b><i>Why do I write what I do?</i></b><br />
<br />
Because I love it. Plain and simple. Humans are sexual beings. Even from some of my earliest adult readings as a teenager (Kate Millet, Erica Jong) I’ve loved seeing sexuality expressed in so many ways - from vanilla to kinky and every shade in between. I've read romance for decades, and have always been drawn to the more sexually explicit and intense love stories, be they historical, contemporary or paranormal. When I discovered there was an actual genre of erotic romance that pushed all those lovely boundaries, penned by authors like Thea Devine, and later Eden Bradley, Lora Leigh, Jaid Black and more recently Maya Banks, Shayla Black, the awesome Jeffe Kennedy, as well as the terrific Stark trilogy by J. Kenner, well, I was a thoroughly happy camper! I continue to cheer the growth of the genre and its acceptance by the reading public.<br />
<br />
Even before I knew there was a genre like this, in my first attempts at a novel (which is still languishing in a file somewhere), my characters kept ramping up the sex and getting naughtier as the novel progressed. My own research, including attendance at Dr. Charley Ferrer’s “BDSM for Writers” workshop, as well as further readings, led me to the erotic romance genre which I get a tremendous satisfaction in writing. I also write erotica under my pseudonym, Lydia Hill, and get a thrill out of delving even further into the realm of erotica stories that do not always have a happy ending. My short story, “My Master’s Mark” will appear in the Cleis Press anthology Slave Girls and is a bittersweet BDSM tale. As mentioned, I find that heightening the sexual relationship serves to also heighten the romantic one. I adore conflict and I never stint on putting my characters through the mill - I make them work for every orgasm as well as their happy ending. My characters may fall into bed before they truly know each other, but they are always drawn to one another from the word go with a visceral intensity I hope is palpable. <br />
<br />
<b><i>How does my writing process work</i>?</b><br />
<br />
I'm what writing folks often call a "pantster". I write from the germ of an idea, a vision of two lovers, and the incredible setting that I work and live in - Manhattan. They say there are a million stories in the "naked city", and I've tweaked that to say there are a million naked stories in this city. My story ideas can be prompted by a news article, someone I see in passing, and dozens of other places. I'm very much a "what if" plotter (as Stephen King has made famous!) and as a former actress, I am very character driven. I refer to myself as a “method writer” - What would my heroine do if she finds herself in a particular situation? How would my alpha hero react if such and such were to happen? I love crafting complex characters and then I take the journey with them. As I evolve as a writer, I've discovered the benefits of plotting out a bit more than I originally did, but I am still not a major outliner and I enjoy the flexibility of allowing my characters to find their way to the various milestones in their romance. In other words, I give them the stops they’re going to make, but there’s no GPS. The journey is their adventure!<br />
<br />
Once I've completed a novel (and mine tend to run long - I enjoy complex sub-plots, social issues, and investing in a cast of supportive and reflective secondary characters to populate my lovers' lives), I then begin my own editing process and have specific things I work on in each re-write pass. For example, one draft may be focusing on the characters’ emotional relationship. Another on the nuts and bolts – grammar, spelling and so on. Generally 8 drafts or so later, I have a book ready for submission.<br />
<br />
With each book, I learn more and more about the process and am enjoying each aspect of it that much more, as well. For me, the editing process is one of discovery. It is a challenge that I love meeting and when I read the finished book I can see where all my efforts paid off in crafting a complex, rich, lively and rewarding love story.<br />
<br />
<b>Next week (31st) check out</b>:<br />
<br />
Del Carmen – She writes hot, kinky, satisfying erotica. Visit her at www.mydelcarmen.com<br />
Bronx-born wordsmith Larry Benjamin is the author of the gay novels Unbroken and What Binds Us and, Damaged Angels, a collection of short stories. - <br />
http://authorlarrybenjamin.blogspot.com/<br />
<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-10965055860742835292013-08-28T10:42:00.002-07:002013-08-28T10:42:42.074-07:00Back To School: Dr. Charley Ferrer's BDSM For Writers Workshop<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxfFFyn1L-Ywlw6brr9jrwf_f8uxvTnycDGVCIhSbYbPBnwWjzmuxRKFjtvTBX3pxwns8dfedf79jDveRwukL93Pg7RSIRkbsa_xkyjUfh2YMjjea_mBZ8YTXL8GKJsMrdYG_M6VbjQBG/s1600/b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxfFFyn1L-Ywlw6brr9jrwf_f8uxvTnycDGVCIhSbYbPBnwWjzmuxRKFjtvTBX3pxwns8dfedf79jDveRwukL93Pg7RSIRkbsa_xkyjUfh2YMjjea_mBZ8YTXL8GKJsMrdYG_M6VbjQBG/s320/b5.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I have always loved school, but let me tell you, school was NEVER like this! Last Friday through Sunday I had the immense pleasure to attend BDSM FOR WRITERS, a workshop opportunity provided by Dr. Charley Ferrer, sex expert and BDSM lifestyler.<br />
<br />
I write erotic romance and more and more kinky business is finding its way into my torrid tales. What can I say? My heroes and heroines just like it edgy! SO I found this a great opportunity to make sure that I am depicting these characters fairly, realistically and with humanity and complexity. But unlike college with its textbooks and ivy laden campuses, we met in a building on the West Side of NYC in the heart of the garment district. We came with our pens and notebooks at the ready, and our “homework” assignment – print out the manual – in hand, but here is where any similarity ended.<br />
<br />
9 of us introduced ourselves and got comfy in a small room where “educational aids” were displayed - including floggers, whips, heavy metal collars, and fetish “intro” kits. We ladies came from all around – from Virginia, Boston, New Jersey and Rhode Island, among other locales. Young, older, some in the lifestyle, some not, we had the one thing in common that brought us together: Writing kinky erotic romance. Paranormal, contemporary, historical and everything in between. And what we wanted to know about BDSM was – well, everything!<br />
<br />
Dr. Charley herself provided massive amounts of information on the lifestyle. A sex expert, worldwide speaker and presenter, she had us oohing and ahhing, and laughing. She explained the roles, the kinks, the fetishes and the psychology. She gave us the opportunity to try out the implements on one another, which we did with much giggling. I got to try on a collar and it was a curious experience to feel that heavy metal being locked around my throat. I had a few licks with a deceptively benign looking whip. We even had exercises to get us into the heads of submissives, and masters (though the kneeling was hell on my knees!) which was perfect for this “method writer” as I can now rekindle some of those sensations when crafting my characters. The “never-know-til-you-try” adage was a marvel in this regard because I, and the other ladies, were open-minded and willing.<br />
<br />
We shared some of our own personal experiences, and got to know one another the first day, lunching together and chatting about our writing, social media, families and more. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately I was unable to take advantage with the other gals when they trekked on down with Dr. Charley to Paddles S&M club. DomSub Friends was celebrating an end of summer party and the reports the next day by the bleary-eyed ladies were eye-opening, and hilarious. Suffice it to say they all had a blast and got into the swing of things with vigor.<br />
<br />
In addition to Dr. Charley’s talks, she also arranged for a great group of guest speakers. Electrical play expert Jay presented a mind-blowing presentation on electricity in his “sensual” role. The discovery that Michael’s craft stores, my local supermarket and Home Depot can provide many naughty & fun enhancements to this play was a kinky kick. I’ll never look at Christmas decorations the same way again! Being able to play “hands on” with volunteers and get a sense of this play was really cool. His partner, volunteer and “sweet sadist” MaryAnn was likewise filled with great information about BDSM play and the lifestyle. They also generously shared information about organizations and play in other cities and Jay took names for his “dance card”, promising those ladies one “electric” experience that night at Paddles!<br />
<br />
There were also several other speakers, members of the BDSM community, but writers too, which provided a wonderful parallel to the discussions on BDSM. Cassandra Park spoke about spanking and discipline play, and how it infuses her own erotica writings. The amazing Laura Antoniou, author of the cult Master/slave cult favorite series, The Marketplace, among other titles, was insightful, informative and wildly, hysterically funny. And I was thoroughly thrilled to have an opportunity to meet, and listen to, DL King, She is the award-winning editor who acquired my erotica short story “My Master’s Mark” (under my erotica pseudonym, Lydia Hill) which will be the finale in her upcoming Cleis Press anthology SLAVE GIRLS (2014).. She talked about her role in the community, and how her knowledge – and our research into this lifestyle – imbues her writing and will raise ours to a realistic level that will fascinate readers.<br />
<br />
A second night at Paddles included game participation by two of the ladies’ husbands, and what was clearly an incredible demo of fire play, by Dr. Charley herself, with the assistance of one of our group who volunteered to be the flammable playee.<br />
<br />
Our terrific workshop was rounded out with a discussion on psychological pathologies, including Dr. Charley stressing the distinction consensual BDSM players, sharing the power exchange and a mutual intent, and those who are sadistic and/or abusive outside this structure.<br />
<br />
Having a chance to gain some understanding into this socially provocative community, to meet some authors intent on rendering this lifestyle with honesty and realistic depictions, to meet these lifestyle participants who gave so generously of their time, expertise, knowledge and humor, as well as to just make new friends, was simply a delight. <br />
<br />
And as I made my way home on the LIRR, my head was filled with wonderful research, newfound respect, as well as great ideas, and a terrific base on which to build my BDSM erotic romance. Where my heroes and heroines play - safely, sanely and consensually - and find their happy, kinkilly ever afters.<br />
<br />
Interested in attending next year’s bigger, better conference? Check out: http://www.bdsmforwriters.com/ <br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-88060064571679343372013-08-01T14:37:00.001-07:002013-08-01T14:38:23.347-07:00Floggers and Ball Gags & Cuffs – Oh My, My. My<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_pOL51ikVz84WQR9tiZFJEc981BtC6tFAwKJr1_2BYQ7GwV_ovUjpidPE_M2W7IUcatxJy1K4Nk4ASus6weJdVrxvI7zLHxHWLgdYKBVnVm1I5hyphenhyphenaMxjpBigLmE_t6j7O0ws49QlLIm1/s1600/b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_pOL51ikVz84WQR9tiZFJEc981BtC6tFAwKJr1_2BYQ7GwV_ovUjpidPE_M2W7IUcatxJy1K4Nk4ASus6weJdVrxvI7zLHxHWLgdYKBVnVm1I5hyphenhyphenaMxjpBigLmE_t6j7O0ws49QlLIm1/s320/b5.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The sub-genre of erotic romance now in the spotlight (thanks to Fifty Shades) is BDSM. Bondage – Dominance/Submission-Sado-Masochism. Kink, power exchange, Master/slave dynamic, Safe, Sane & Consensual rules. It works in historical, contemporary and paranormal. I’ve even seen Steampunk BDSM Erotic Romance! In other words, something for every kinky reader out there.<br />
<br />
Of course, there have been incredible authors of this smoking hot sub-genre writing great BDSM romances for years. Some write what I lovingly call raunch romance. Gritty, graphic and hot. Others, like Eden Bradley, write more psychologically intense and sensual BDSM erotic romance. But what the best have in common, regardless of the tone of their tales, or the depth of their delightful depravity, is a great understanding of their sexual subject matter. Some of these authors live the lifestyle openly. Others may not, but have done in-depth study and research to make sure they are getting the details right and avoiding the criticism so many have leveled at EL James’ trilogy, calling it “BDSM lite”.<br />
<br />
Short of putting yourself up for auction to the highest bidding Master, though, how can YOU educate yourself and enjoy writing this kind of erotic romance? What resources are at your disposal to help you understand the – ahem – ins & outs, and craft stories that rivet those readers, the ones who’ve been reading these tales for years, along with the millions of newly converted fans to the genre?<br />
<br />
Here are a few that I have taken advantage of:<br />
<br />
<b>ORGANIZATIONS<i></i></b><br />
<br />
The Eulenspiegel Society. Self-proclaimed as the “oldest and largest BDSM support group in the USA”, they can be found at http://www.tes.org/. They sponsor many events, including their first annual festival that was held this July.<br />
<br />
Dom/sub Friends. http://www.domsubfriends.com/. They hold monthly “munches” where novices are welcome, with a dinner and chat at a restaurant, and then you can accompany members to Paddles for an evening of – education.<br />
<br />
Paddles. http://www.paddlesnyc.com/. This club is for folks in the scene. Why not take a friend and check them out? Be prepared to throw aside your preconceptions and your inhibitions!<br />
<br />
FetLife. https://fetlife.com/. This is an on-line social community for participants in BDSM. You have to join, but it is recommended by everyone “in the know” as a great place for respectful interaction.<br />
<br />
Dr. Charley Ferrer’s Annual BDSM for Writers 3 Day Workshop. http://doctorcharley.com/. In addition to this workshop, check out her website for on-line workshops on various topics. She also has published BDSM for Writers which is available as an e-book.<br />
<br />
House of Scorpio Kinky Salon NYC. http://www.houseofscorpio.com/kinkysalonny.html. This is a kinky costume event.<br />
<br />
<b>ON-LINE RESOURCES<i></i></b><br />
<br />
Kink.com. http://www.kink.com. This site is porn. Yep. In addition to a variety of other fetishes that you would never be able to use in erotic romance, they also have submission videos, bondage and restraint videos, from which you can get a real handle on some of the physical logistics.<br />
<br />
Websites. These websites abound. You can find hundreds of them. But be very careful. My advice would be to go to sites that are listed in the other organizations, like Eulenspiegel which has a number of them. Many others out there are porn sites or riddles with viruses.<br />
<br />
<b>MOVIES<i></i></b>: Films like “9 ½ Weeks”, “Secretary”, “Blue Velvet” and “Body of Evidence” explore BDSM psychology.<br />
<br />
And CineKink NYC film festival is exactly that, including their 2013 festival opener, “Remedy”.<br />
<br />
<b>FACEBOOK<i></i></b>: There are dozens, if not hundreds of BDSM Facebook pages. I have “liked” and many of the ones I’ve found, I’ve surprisingly gotten a lot of information from them. You need to be respectful, and understand that there are lots and lots of kinky photos posted that you may be taken aback by. But there are also lots of discussions, questions, comments, and postings on thoughts, situations, etc., that can really give you details and background that can infuse your writing. Everything from BDSM Education FB pages to Daddies Love Their Little Girls (for the Daddy/little girl role fetish, not for pedophilia or incest!). If you try a page or 2, however, and find they aren’t for you, just “unlike”!<br />
<br />
<b>BOOKS<i></i></b>: Shy? Want to study up on your spanking techniques in the privacy of your own home? Books abound. They have many classics on the lifestyle, as well as titles addressing specific kinks. There are even titles on how to deal with BDSM safety, emergencies and accidents. Then there are memoirs and non-fiction accounts by folks in the life. And there are hundreds of BDSM erotic romances and tons of BDSM erotica available to see how the other folks are writing about this subject. Here are just a few non-fiction titles that I have used that are honest, funny, and give great information about all the aspects of the lifestyle:<br />
<br />
BDSM For Writers; BDSM The Naked Truth by Dr. Charley Ferrer<br />
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns by Philip Miller (it includes a Master/slave contract)<br />
Different Loving: The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission by Gloria Brame, et al<br />
SM101 by Jay Wiseman<br />
The New Bottoming Book; The New Topping Book by Dossie Easton<br />
The Loving Dominant by John Warren<br />
Consensual Sadomasochism by William A. Henkin<br />
Flogging by Joseph W. Bean<br />
Partners in Power: Living in Kinky Relationships by Jack Rinella<br />
<br />
Many of these titles are available through Greenery Press if you can’t find them elsewhere, including their [eye-opening] Toybag Guides for every kink, which I definitely recommend to get those exact technical details – they have illustrations! They include the “Dungeon Emergencies and Supplies” I bought at The Museum of Sex. http://www.greenerypress.com/. <br />
<br />
You can get a great deal of insight from memoirs, as well, especially about psychology and emotions. I’ve read these and can recommend them (for the not-faint-of-heart):<br />
<br />
Dangerous Games: Sex and Slavery by Damian Swiss & Daphne Simons<br />
Surrender by Toni Bentley<br />
The Sexual Life of Catherine M. by Catherine Millet<br />
100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P.<br />
The Pleasure’s All Mine by Joan Kelly<br />
Diary of a Submissive by Sophie Morgan<br />
<br />
And if you want my recommendation on other BDSM erotic novels, BDSM erotic romances and BDSM erotica, give me a holler.<br />
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<b>DO-IT-YOURSELF<i></i></b>: While you certainly can’t explore serious BDSM power exchange by yourself, you can try a few things, just to get some sense of the feel of things. Ever felt a flogger? How about a cane or paddle or belt? You can buy some and give yourself a whack. Don’t forget to check out the marks afterwards! See how you’d describe the sensation – and the differences. Nipple clamps (clothespins work fine)? Safely try wax play. And if you’re lucky enough to have a partner who’s willing to indulge you, perhaps try some of the fun things like handcuffs or restraints, blindfolds, or spanking (or all three)!<br />
<br />
So, depending on how far you want to push the envelope, these resources can help you get started.<br />
<br />
And if you discover that the entire scene doesn’t do anything for you or, worse, yet, upsets you, turns you off or dismays you? Then writing BDSM erotic romance is not for you. Fortunately – if you don’t want a red room of pain in your novel, there’s plain old vanilla erotic romance and it can be just as satisfying!<br />
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Now get out there and write hot!<br />
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You don’t want a spanking do you?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF4Zt6rHK_albXGD_UNm3FQqVxjjMoiR5p9pOSOjsRLKULjiK6apmzgGzpULfPAHTIcz21lpZFCv9wIZvpsuUAZqZtYwBXnm_gSFjtRuRouDiUQ3TylZDrydmnFgUxBykVXAlUhy05soC/s1600/master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF4Zt6rHK_albXGD_UNm3FQqVxjjMoiR5p9pOSOjsRLKULjiK6apmzgGzpULfPAHTIcz21lpZFCv9wIZvpsuUAZqZtYwBXnm_gSFjtRuRouDiUQ3TylZDrydmnFgUxBykVXAlUhy05soC/s320/master.jpg" /></a></div>lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-6340484337327371702013-05-30T15:51:00.001-07:002013-05-30T15:51:04.231-07:00A MUSE OF FIRE: Something Wicked This Way Comes – The Power of Villains<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3NlCQ4LJVDuGCA1I0HMRA4L8o6reWtXv8psguZUfxmUzpyIBmY50ZmKsAXiCKDWEl-TMK1qgLwDmZrzUCZZV3zAp_UhdZ4JEI_OKTd2zO5ATG2xdo6SZQSWW7UNYYGDeEoUZC3aRvDtZ/s1600/villain1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3NlCQ4LJVDuGCA1I0HMRA4L8o6reWtXv8psguZUfxmUzpyIBmY50ZmKsAXiCKDWEl-TMK1qgLwDmZrzUCZZV3zAp_UhdZ4JEI_OKTd2zO5ATG2xdo6SZQSWW7UNYYGDeEoUZC3aRvDtZ/s320/villain1.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Thus do I ever make my fool my purse;<br />
For I mine own gained knowledge should profane,<br />
If I would time expend with such a snipe<br />
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor,<br />
And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets<br />
H'as done my office. I know not if't be true,<br />
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,<br />
Will do, as if for surety. He holds me well;<br />
The better shall my purpose work on him.<br />
Cassio's a proper man. Let me see now:<br />
To get his place, and to plume up my will<br />
In double knavery. How? How? Let's see.<br />
After some time, to abuse Othello's ears<br />
That he is too familiar with his wife.<br />
He hath a person and a smooth dispose<br />
To be suspected--framed to make women false.<br />
The Moor is of a free and open nature<br />
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so;<br />
And will as tenderly be led by th' nose<br />
As asses are.<br />
I have't! It is engendered! Hell and night<br />
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light. <br />
<br />
(Iago's soliloquy, "Othello," Act 1, Scene 3)<br />
<br />
Where cerebral or martial, man or woman, William Shakespeare unleashed upon the world some of literatures most complex and chilling villains. As I discussed in my earlier column on crafting strong adversaries/antagonists, villains are a particular subset. An adversary of a different color if you will. An action of fate can be adverse to your hero, but the action is benign. A villain – black-hearted, black-souled, sociopathic, homicidal or psychopathic – acts out of personal motivation to damage, harm, kill, destroy.<br />
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Shakespeare’s villains may wound with a word or a sword. They may take action themselves or set in motion a deadly intrigue; and then sit back with a self-satisfied smirk as the blood flows.<br />
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Motivations vary, but to me the most dark and chilling villains are the ones not driven by flawed human frailties, by need, or greed, or hatred, but the ones driven by a Machiavellian need to destroy. Iago fits that bill and his cold calculation makes him a deadly adversary for Othello, whose fiery and impetuous, passionate personality serves Iago well. In the end, Othello’s beloved Desdemona is dead at his hand and he is crazed with the guilt of what he’s done.<br />
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Creating a great villain requires finesse. A villain must be a worthy adversary for your protagonist: Smart and dangerous enough to challenge, but not superior enough to best your protagonist(s).<br />
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The best villains are crafted with enough complexity to intrigue the reader, but to avoid caricature or stereotype. Surprise your reader: The baby-faced torturer, the suave serial killer, the grandmotherly ax murder. Likewise, their psychological makeup must be a canny blend of psychology and motivation. We must understand what drives them, what their triggers are (the better to create an atmosphere of suspense as we see them driven forward on their evil journey, just as we see our hero and heroine compelled on their heroic and romantic journey), what their motivations are, and what conflicts may thwart them.<br />
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The caliber of villain you craft will depend on your story. Do you want the blackest-hearted blackguard ever written – whose demise will leave your reader standing and cheering? Or a tortured soul for whom the reader may feel a bit of pity? Is your villain the MacBeth type, or the Iago type? The first driven by human emotion, the other enjoying the murderous outcome with cold satisfaction?<br />
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Also, what is the villain’s ROLE in your story? How is he to be the foil, the human embodiment of conflict, for your heroic pair? That question, too, will determine how you need to mold him or her with greatest effectiveness.<br />
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To help you craft these characters, you have a wonderful array of resources: Study contemporary villains – sadly, the news on any given day provides a despicable perp walk of villainous types, all of whose characters, backgrounds, motivations and actions are dissected in minute detail.<br />
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There are also innumerable non-fiction titles written about every high profile villain, from Jack the Ripper to Charlie Starkweather to Bernie Madoff. Written by forensic specialists, law enforcement, psychiatric professionals and reporters.<br />
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There are, too, countless research titles available. You can research abnormal psychology and crime scene investigations. Types of killing and murder, and overviews of demographics of who murders who, how and why (One reason why the Aileen Wournos case was so sensational? Women were not expected to be serial killers, and when the “black widow” murderess invariably showed up, they used not guns or weapons of overt violence, but the “kinder, gentler” weapon of poison.)<br />
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And there are books specific for writers: Some simply help you understand different character types. Some help you understand the purpose of your villainous character in the context of your story and how he or she plays against your hero/heroine. Some go into the details about writing different kinds of villainous characters in fiction.<br />
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Once you have chosen your villain, read enough to understand the psychology so you can create an intense villain, with layers of human complexity. Set up the character biography so you are clear on what has set them on this path, what their motivation is; what they seek to gain by committing their criminal act, and how they feel in the aftermath. And do enough forensic research that the acts they commit ring true and your reader will shiver at the thought of being prey to the heinous character. Of course, read the best in the genre to see how other capable authors handle these subjects.<br />
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As always, there are legions of films and television shows with great evil doers to study. And likewise, in dramatic literature, there are some great villains: Ms. Venable in “Suddenly Last Summer” is a chilling character who’d give Iago a run for his money. Regina, in Lillian Hellman’s “Little Foxes”, Mme de Merteuil in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Christopher Hampton, and of course Sondheim’s bloody “demon barber of Fleet Street”, Sweeney Todd in the play of the same name.<br />
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In point of fact, there is no end to the number of dastardly types you can study in order to give your readers the fright of their life: The fear that the hero and heroine may succumb to the marvelously complex and dangerous villain in their midst.<br />
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“Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even <br />
the bed she hath contaminated.” <br />
<br />
Iago, “Othello”, Act IV, Scene 1 <br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-53851986795934250112013-04-19T12:35:00.001-07:002015-02-24T09:00:26.301-08:00Lust Scenes?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8glDoMkcSb1y_-aWwQqrPQmtPwnzWGx47cTlggxqUT8CW4VXUYFMKZF1biu9qIvM1O1BvJLHpMzzD-Qjw7NLveJaAwzb-esSF3-z1qYncb9pU37W0181PoGsjLpGkw7Lm-ALbhxPHj9sW/s1600/kinkysex.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8glDoMkcSb1y_-aWwQqrPQmtPwnzWGx47cTlggxqUT8CW4VXUYFMKZF1biu9qIvM1O1BvJLHpMzzD-Qjw7NLveJaAwzb-esSF3-z1qYncb9pU37W0181PoGsjLpGkw7Lm-ALbhxPHj9sW/s320/kinkysex.jpg" /></a><br />
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I write super-hot love scenes. I especially like writing kink like ménage and BDSM, and the hotter and more graphic, the better. During a recent discussion a fellow author said that “sex scenes aren’t love scenes”. I feel I must respectfully – and strongly – disagree. Admittedly, what is “romantic”, or “sexy” to one reader, is not to another, so bottom line is to each her own! (And isn’t it great? Plenty of readers for everyone!)<br />
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For those who do not read erotic romance, with its full-contact, graphic sex scenes, they may not immediately appear to be all about love. In some cases in fact, the story may NOT begin with a couple (or more) who are already “in love”, or already falling emotionally, before they indulge in the physical; one difference from less steamy romances. But they are always people who are embarking on a relationship because of an immediate attraction or growing into a committed love relationship, even if it may stem from an initially sexual relationship. I think it’s important to note this initial attraction is unlike anything they’ve ever known – there’s chemistry, but also something “more”. This lets a reader know which way the wind WILL soon be blowing, emotionally.<br />
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I strive in my stories - complete with HEAs – to illustrate just how romantic, emotional and psychologically satisfying a sexually graphic love scene can be. In order to convey this truth, I need to make sure my characters – and their actions - are immediate and believable. So I do tons of research about providing emotional and psychological detail in my characters and their love scenes.<br />
For example, using kink means showing why my characters are kinky. How that sexual preference evolved, and how it ties into their emotional make-up. I have read a lot of kinky erotic romance that contains things I would not personally want to participate in. However, that doesn’t mean the author was not successful in making those scenes really hot and erotic for me! (I’m one of those whatever-blows-your-skirt-up kind of gals, after all.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSqL1rYvndEGTLy3OrVyrH8qBe-_igOfGP2g5HgP0LIaP4RgmyBZPT7kUgH0uh3xRckyioo03N5BVc3-mEy7OsnxWpBtrm-BGjhAmoGBVeQJkADAsp923vcyjNln4hjbuBuM8fF6A3i6G/s1600/sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSqL1rYvndEGTLy3OrVyrH8qBe-_igOfGP2g5HgP0LIaP4RgmyBZPT7kUgH0uh3xRckyioo03N5BVc3-mEy7OsnxWpBtrm-BGjhAmoGBVeQJkADAsp923vcyjNln4hjbuBuM8fF6A3i6G/s320/sexy.jpg" /></a><br />
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Or if I am using Dominance and submission elements (D/s) (I’m not a creative “switch” – my heroes are always the dominant ones, my heroines always submissives) I need to do a psychological study of my characters to show why they are the way they are. In particular, with a heroine who is a submissive (which can mean many different things, but it doesn’t mean that she is not a strong, independent character): Is she a submissive only in the boudoir? That means she can be a total take-charge woman in other aspects of her life. I love the dichotomy of a female who loves being controlled in bed, but woe betide the man who tries it any other time! Or is she a submissive personality 24/7, meaning that her hero will dominate her both in bed, as well as be her protector in life? I have a character in a current WIP that is a 24/7 submissive personality. She has been physically wounded, emotionally tormented, and is adrift and alone. Finding a masterful man who takes care of her and helps her regain her stability is a relief and a blessing for her. It is a big plus that he is a wonderful, caring lover who helps her understand her feelings in bed, allowing her to blossom and enjoy her true sexual nature. But my hero’s proclivities and motivations must also be made crystal clear. He is not simply a megalomaniac out to control a woman’s life. He will be the masterful man she needs, within the context of his dominant, protective nature, especially when it comes to their sex life. He is compassionate about her desires and dreams, and helps her achieve them. He doesn’t use force or coercion to make her do what HE wants!<br />
<br />
I do a lot of research. I read BDSM lifestyle books. I read books on alternative sexualities and their psychological aspects. I also read a wide selection of erotic romance for tips, and to see how far others push the envelope of kinkiness, and to see if other authors successfully (to me) create emotionally gripping, kinky characters.<br />
<br />
Before writing, I create a character sexual biography for each protagonist. It contains every single element of my characters’ sex life, from family teachings, to religion, first lovers, as well as all the negatives – bad experiences, fears, taboos. I include “worldbuilding” elements which impact their belief systems, or dictate sexual development. When I get to “present” circumstances I clarify their likes, dislikes, desires, and their own feelings (Curious? Scared? Embarrassed?). I log possible reactions to new lover(s) and new sexual experiences. I catalogue how these events will change them, emotionally and psychologically – filling unfilled needs, resolving old issues, revealing new sides of their sexual selves. And I go in depth clarifying their motivation and conflicts as they apply to the sexual plot, as well as how they tie into the overall plot: Her growth and how she’ll be helped to surmount these conflicts to achieve happiness on all fronts.<br />
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Once I have a clear picture of exactly what the character is like I can make appropriate plot choices and/or appropriate choices for characteristics, and actions & reactions in sexual situations. My goal is to have honest, believable, understandable characters who a reader can travel along with on the sexual journey - a journey entwined with the emotional and romantic one. <br />
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Then I ramp up the fun and make sure everything is hot hot hot! Because, after all, as a famous hedonist once said, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”<br />
<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-89593752299080560112013-03-13T05:00:00.000-07:002013-03-13T05:00:07.639-07:00A MUSE OF FIRE: All The World’s A Stage – Setting & Description<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQFjZ-7QPch5YhJikttJJqgpWYrzaYqk04MtzAdAHRnt-yO63lVIm7hHkVgSZ7e737dNmWQi5yeDU9U6_jizjWeF_PbJxhEVou2wlZYrsF1gq0haZ79IDj5oqnY-8t-d63wZyVHmEVWMd/s1600/lear.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQFjZ-7QPch5YhJikttJJqgpWYrzaYqk04MtzAdAHRnt-yO63lVIm7hHkVgSZ7e737dNmWQi5yeDU9U6_jizjWeF_PbJxhEVou2wlZYrsF1gq0haZ79IDj5oqnY-8t-d63wZyVHmEVWMd/s320/lear.jpg" /></a><br />
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<br />
. . . And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,<br />
On your imaginary forces work.<br />
Suppose within the girdle of these walls<br />
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,<br />
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts<br />
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:<br />
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;<br />
Into a thousand parts divide on man,<br />
And make imaginary puissance;<br />
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them<br />
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;<br />
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,<br />
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,<br />
Turning the accomplishment of many years<br />
Into an hour-glass . . .<br />
(Excerpt, Act I Prologue, Henry V, by William Shakespeare)<br />
<br />
In theatre, a play’s author gives bare setting descriptions. Then the director and set designer work together to create the living set on which the play will be enacted. Whether it includes a falling chandelier, rotating sets and waterfalls or a spare, single room presentation, it takes an entire team to create the effective setting so the audience can see the visual rendering of the world of the play’s creator.<br />
As writers of fiction, there is a good side, and a bad side, to our job as the sole designer of setting and our use of description. The upside: Our readers will imagine, based on our words, the place, and the setting that fits perfectly for them within the context of the story. No risk of disappointment as happens in theatre, or film, where the end result does not match the visual the readers had already created from the books. But the same plus, is also the downside. Because YOU are the sole creator of the setting. If you skimp on it, or if your description fails to captivate and conjure a sense of place for your story – then there’s no THERE there for your audience: The Reader.<br />
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Shakespeare gave his audience tremendous setting and atmosphere hints via his chorus speeches and prologues (such as I opened this piece with). His words allowed his audiences to fill in the blanks and augment the stage set with the grand world and events amid which his plays were to transpire.<br />
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He utilizes dialogue, as well, to enhance the sense of time and place, as in the first words of King Lear in Act III, Scene II, as he enters with the Fool in the midst of a storm:<br />
<br />
“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!<br />
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout<br />
Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks!<br />
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,<br />
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,<br />
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,<br />
Strike flat the thick rotundity o’ the world!<br />
Crack nature’s moulds, all germens spill at once<br />
That make ingrateful man!”<br />
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You have the opportunity to do this task utilizing both narrative as well as characters’ own description in thought or dialogue.<br />
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But how many elements go into crafting an effective setting?<br />
<br />
Some major ones would be time, place, era, season, weather, temperature. What are they and how are you conveying this information? What impact or effect do these elements have on the narrative/action? Is it backdrop? Does it enhance the mood? Is it part of the challenge to the characters in the context of forward action?<br />
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Then there are the subtleties that more specific description adds to your setting. Like a set designer your eye must fall on every single nook and cranny of your setting. Then decide what is vital, and what is unimportant for your scenic design and what details would be innocuous, and can be ignored. How does describing the important elements help make your setting richer, bolder and more conducive to drawing your reader into your world – so that it runs like a film in their head as they read.<br />
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Take for example a set piece – a clock, which can be utilized both as a set design element and as a detail to help establish time frame, perhaps, or passage of time, as it ticks away the minutes. How can this element be adding to your atmosphere. Does it toll the ominous passing of time as the heroine desperately attempts to escape her bonds and flee the killer coming for her? Does it register the mounting excitement as a bride awaits her bridegroom on their honeymoon night? The frustration of a woman awaiting her lover who is late, or the trepidation of a character awaiting news of a job interview, the angst of a parent awaiting word on a sick child? Or does it notch up the erotic tension as a man watches his lover coming towards him to begin their tryst?<br />
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From ensuring that your description is specific: Is your heroine’s hair blown by a wind? Or is it a zephyr, a gale, an icy gust? Here’s where your word selection will come into play, and remember that action words convey more than non-action descriptors, details that bring to mind sense responses – especially touch and smell – can ramp up the depth of your setting. When elaborating on your setting include specific details that help anchor the time and place in your readers’ minds. Not just a city – is the city more like New York? Or Paris? Moscow, Shanghai or Casablanca? Kalamazoo or Kingston? Does the character live in a house surrounded by a garden? Or by a wild cacophony of wildflowers, daisies with bright faces, and nodding sunflowers? Is the smell permeating the room simply “food cooking”? OR is it the smell of old bacon grease and stale coffee, the pungent aroma of garlic and herbs, or the homey scent of meatloaf and cornbread? Is it raining? Or is it a typhoon, a sun shower, a nourishing spring rain, or a thundering downpour? Is the house just a house? Or a hobbit hole? A magical Weasley oddity or a dreary Kansas farmhouse?<br />
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What tiny elements can add atmosphere and mood to a set? What can help convey the tone and emotion of the characters in a given situation? What aspects of your setting and description round out and complete the world your characters inhabit so that – whether the setting is a space ship headed for Alpha Centauri in the year 2525, a Scottish castle in the highlands, or an upper West Side Manhattan one-bedroom apartment – it is a rich, vital, immediate and REAL world for your readers?<br />
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Like a combination playwright/set designer/director you must use all of your skills to build a perfect world – setting – and illuminate the place in which your novel’s action proceeds. From first page to last, in every chapter, scene, paragraph – your descriptive detail of the surroundings must be gripping, evocative, enlightening, compelling and they must sweep your reader away into a world so real that there IS a THERE there!<br />
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P.S: For some additional plays where marvelous “worlds” are created, try “The Iceman Cometh” by Eugene O’Neill, “The Hot L Baltimore” by Lanford Wilson, Sam Shepard’s “True West”, “Bus Stop” by William Inge, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen, “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harding or “The Skin of Our Teeth” by Thornton Wilder. <br />
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And for incredible setting and descriptive detail – within a story that runs from modern-day London, to the English countryside, as well as back into Victorian England and Italy, there is no more wonderful novel I have ever read than A. S. Byatt’s Booker Prize winning Possession. It is like a wonderful creative writing class all by itself!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZiP3DCeF41mqzfkj9Ga1B3yOG2L1Xb_NVwCsKsbV9x378s2yFjcIj2NNiJK6qObYhOA3RwTRZY-WHhLmvbblQHqXQErnifTIqun33w1KLUNc7Oer3Yh6_ePik6PoCTtzc_N-SncXTwlW/s1600/midsummer.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZiP3DCeF41mqzfkj9Ga1B3yOG2L1Xb_NVwCsKsbV9x378s2yFjcIj2NNiJK6qObYhOA3RwTRZY-WHhLmvbblQHqXQErnifTIqun33w1KLUNc7Oer3Yh6_ePik6PoCTtzc_N-SncXTwlW/s320/midsummer.jpg" /></a><br />
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I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,<br />
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,<br />
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,<br />
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:<br />
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,<br />
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight;<br />
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Oberon, Act II, Sc. I “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”<br />
William Shakespeare<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-6485970171304314042013-03-06T14:00:00.001-08:002013-03-06T14:00:03.139-08:00UNCOVERING THE PAST & SHINING A LIGHT ON THE HEROINES: Writing World War II Women’s Fiction<br />
By Lise Horton<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS5rTjtnpab5rKljOPLyWEKTrUauoHRfvNfyEBvsFKfFGv4iFkxkk229ntfgjnTgKcyBw_yklIugkQ1VDTyN7cljmN3PaG-66JAElDmJQOLEgyrwTIcu6F2DAL_Nqav9nGCgWxTCYDrhH/s1600/higgins1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS5rTjtnpab5rKljOPLyWEKTrUauoHRfvNfyEBvsFKfFGv4iFkxkk229ntfgjnTgKcyBw_yklIugkQ1VDTyN7cljmN3PaG-66JAElDmJQOLEgyrwTIcu6F2DAL_Nqav9nGCgWxTCYDrhH/s320/higgins1.jpg" /></a><br />
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The series of World War II women’s fiction novels I continue to work on have fostered an even deeper appreciation of the era than I already had. As the niece of a Marine medic who landed on Iwo Jima, the great niece of an aunt who served as a nurse in Africa, and as the daughter of a woman who well remembers the home front life of Victory Gardens, food and gas rationing, black outs and civil patrols, it is not a time in our history very far removed from me (having been born in 1955 – a scant 10 years after VJ Day). First hand recollections instilled a feverish desire to know everything I can about the time, the world, how it began, how we rallied, and how the events changed us.<br />
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Since I’ve become a writer, it is not surprising that I gravitated to the period. When contemplating my series of novels, I decided that each book would have as its protagonist/heroine, a woman fulfilling a role that women took on in real life. I came to this decision for a specific reason. All through my life, reading WWII histories, I was continually frustrated by the lack of information on women. A mention here or there, very briefly, of nurses, and occasional references to women in the USO. Aside from the Rosie the Riveter coverage, presented mostly as novelty to break up the important stuff, the most frequent mention of women in wartime was coverage of prostitution. <br />
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I started searching because one day my Mother mentioned that her chemistry professor at Skidmore in the early 1950’s had been a chemist working on the atomic bomb at the Los Alamos location of the Manhattan Project – along with some of the most famous scientists in the world. That got me determined to find out more about the other women involved. <br />
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Mom also regaled me with stories about her youth during the war. She and my grandparents had a hefty Victory garden and we still have a ration book that my grandmother used. My grandfather was a foreman in the Scranton coal mines and, as such, got additional gas rations because he was employed in the war effort. Neighbors volunteered to be members of the civil patrols. All the kids participated in gathering tin, rubber and the ladies donated silk for parachutes, doing without stockings for the duration so that paratroopers and flight crews could be saved. Women at home scrimped, saved, sacrificed and sent care packages that kept their men in touch with home and what – and who – they were fighting for. No matter who they were, the folks at home did their part and have wonderful stories to be told.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpDSEN6jOuqyXxJ5ZYVJM5nNbi9FqBGlOqFmMLl1dzmeXixYQ_REKymfs8ns2Vh7VDRAC1_W9TtxuQ576xSS5ZyMTghUG_YZVSNCH8Ne5ucF5TS5aB4Xz3uSPVJ0DXZvyNIJFffe22sMr/s1600/dailey.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpDSEN6jOuqyXxJ5ZYVJM5nNbi9FqBGlOqFmMLl1dzmeXixYQ_REKymfs8ns2Vh7VDRAC1_W9TtxuQ576xSS5ZyMTghUG_YZVSNCH8Ne5ucF5TS5aB4Xz3uSPVJ0DXZvyNIJFffe22sMr/s320/dailey.jpg" /></a><br />
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Then I read a book by Janet Dailey, Silver Wings and Santiago Blue, which was a novel about the Women Airforce Service Pilots – the WASPS – who’d taken on the daunting task of plane ferry duty, anti-aircraft gunnery target towing, and the sometimes deadly job of test pilots for the various new aircraft being rolled out to beat the Germans and Japanese in the air wars above Europe and the Pacific. Investigating a bit I discovered a wealth of information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9USLse_zHJPDHdKyNLiBkfOXywTXoLgnsSV2HhzqC8mEFcUGGVRqmNYSQgSwAstWOlxL08QdM-gmUCzN3mR2Ehpmrp8hUoo2Q8xa_mODpZoaPH_mgS2ehKd28mUKaXVEwqDNbZZnUP9d1/s1600/WASP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9USLse_zHJPDHdKyNLiBkfOXywTXoLgnsSV2HhzqC8mEFcUGGVRqmNYSQgSwAstWOlxL08QdM-gmUCzN3mR2Ehpmrp8hUoo2Q8xa_mODpZoaPH_mgS2ehKd28mUKaXVEwqDNbZZnUP9d1/s320/WASP1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Reading a biography of Ernest Hemingway, I encountered Martha Gelhorn, one of his wives who reported from many locales, including the front lines, during WWII. This discovery led me to uncover the cadre of female reporters and photographers who were right in the thick of things with the men – despite the battle they had to be permitted, and ultimately, accepted in that role.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbg7CszIaq6E0R26n6FdYXZ1vd7jpyQLsH7zKqCign_vY0WdUVyTuanA8LXuT2GPiSoQUbjiRl9O_ed8HQHwP4JWm4yvSy3QB9WzsssWRaAgfpgN-UH624AElsmkeOiQegt5H5lQ2gf2r/s1600/mbwhite.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbg7CszIaq6E0R26n6FdYXZ1vd7jpyQLsH7zKqCign_vY0WdUVyTuanA8LXuT2GPiSoQUbjiRl9O_ed8HQHwP4JWm4yvSy3QB9WzsssWRaAgfpgN-UH624AElsmkeOiQegt5H5lQ2gf2r/s320/mbwhite.jpg" /></a><br />
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Yet again, I was reading a book (I’ve been known to do that ….) called Shining Through by Susan Isaacs. The novel concerned a young Jewish woman who decides to help the war effort and ends up working for the US government and the OSS – the clandestine group that would become the CIA. As a German-speaker, she ultimately volunteers to become a spy in Germany, putting her own life in peril. Lo and behold, I discovered that, indeed, numerous intrepid American women were employed by the OSS (including Julia Child), and while most worked at desks or other, safer duties, many actually were trained and went into occupied territories, a number of them losing their lives.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAnQz9Xr2k0GuohPrr79tekBzXnvnxet5CVtc6BoSU8-tRtGZ4xu0BbMnuPVn8X_KZUEnxVgwv_qgp2ZyTPC-oZXRZK064cqWgzYBa3QgSGvwVAvXL_OjHrRYURN0g0g7Ab8RV4ofuV8g/s1600/isaacs.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAnQz9Xr2k0GuohPrr79tekBzXnvnxet5CVtc6BoSU8-tRtGZ4xu0BbMnuPVn8X_KZUEnxVgwv_qgp2ZyTPC-oZXRZK064cqWgzYBa3QgSGvwVAvXL_OjHrRYURN0g0g7Ab8RV4ofuV8g/s320/isaacs.jpg" /></a><br />
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Once I became enmeshed in the history of the female participants in WWII, and called to mind my aunt’s nursing service, that was another role I investigated. Sure enough, the role of the nurse was a vital one, and many perished in their duties working on the front lines. Early in the war when the generals let Guadalcanal surrender, a number of them were left behind caring for wounded prisoners and these nurses were subsequently captured, and spent the remainder of the war in Japanese POW camps such as Santo Tomaso, under horrific conditions – many of them, along with other internees, dying of disease and starvation.<br />
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Bette Midler’s film, “For The Boys” tells the story of a character some say was based on real-life singer Martha Raye and her USO tours during WWII. Lots of other women, famous and otherwise, toured with the USO. Marlene Dietrich for example, though German, was a fervent anti-Nazi and was a familiar USO performer. Soldiers recalled a particular instance in which she, clad in her ubiquitous slacks, helped soldiers get a rolled over Jeep back upright, wiping her hands and walking away afterwards.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfapHSavjkbaAighU1vWexkjZtXExr-Ld-FqJ-5nN_V8fteHI2hMMPCm4tlUEOV2nplUp2xOHEvhBSQSkREsA5WZRSvG2-pdRgf0nHfX8wHtLP2ScW_sVwm0JNIxpcNp_KvP_vMKrnby-/s1600/martha.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfapHSavjkbaAighU1vWexkjZtXExr-Ld-FqJ-5nN_V8fteHI2hMMPCm4tlUEOV2nplUp2xOHEvhBSQSkREsA5WZRSvG2-pdRgf0nHfX8wHtLP2ScW_sVwm0JNIxpcNp_KvP_vMKrnby-/s320/martha.jpg" /></a><br />
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Attempting to uncover more of the history of New York City during the War I came across “Over There” and “Helluva Town”, non-fiction titles that covered in great detail the City and surrounding areas during that time. Wouldn’t you know it? While I already knew of the most famous of the WWII female – the iconic Rosie the Riveter – when I read of the plot to sabotage the Long Island Grumman aircraft factory by an American Bund group, which was being funded by money coming in from the German Nazi party, a light bulb went off – how about a heroine Rosie who helps to thwart the plot?<br />
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An old movie from my (impressionable) youth, “The Yellow Rolls Royce”, a trilogy of romances involving the title auto. In one segment, a widowed American woman is trapped in Yugoslavia when war breaks out. With her car, her money, and her American fortitude, she aids the Yugoslav partisans in their battle against the Russian and German invaders (falling in love with one, natch). In fact, upon researching, there were many women caught behind enemy lines – including the wives and daughters of missionaries in the Far East. Yet another heroine’s story was born!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApHyFQLufqqVTeXhMJJvRSUPcZ69nHXQJ9J6P8R9UUiJsBCCnq_fgXnlXCEh-wEGuBW7KSyz_gFf-gb4hvgmzrl1wp8nruNHqZDPmmEX_7oeN3ww_z2TgJJ0L_Bw0zMmcFOqWFkIRjfjj/s1600/nurses.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApHyFQLufqqVTeXhMJJvRSUPcZ69nHXQJ9J6P8R9UUiJsBCCnq_fgXnlXCEh-wEGuBW7KSyz_gFf-gb4hvgmzrl1wp8nruNHqZDPmmEX_7oeN3ww_z2TgJJ0L_Bw0zMmcFOqWFkIRjfjj/s320/nurses.jpg" /></a><br />
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So. Why were the exploits of these women so casually dealt with in the histories? I guess because most of them were written by men. But in recent years numerous female historians have uncovered these courageous women and have begun telling their stories. And the self-publishing industry has allowed many, many women who participated to relate their own stories. These first-hand accounts are exceptionally valuable because you are getting the flavor of the times, and the people and details you cannot find as easily in current reports about those times.<br />
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It’s been a wonderfully educational experience studying all of the material, and learning of more and more roles American women played in the struggle, and victory, during this conflict. And it just goes to show that ideas come from innumerable sources. For me, I’m well on my way thanks to personal histories, film and fiction, and historical sources. All of this information also means that I can, with luck, help illuminate the history of women in wartime by virtue of my fiction.<br />
lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-18212692725065106422013-01-08T08:57:00.000-08:002013-01-08T08:57:15.014-08:00The Important Role of Secondary Characters<br />
<i><b>“His name is Romeo, and a Montegue;<br />
The only son of your great enemy.” </b></i><br />
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Nurse warning Juliet, and illuminating the crux of the conflict for the audience<br />
Act I, scene v<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOcraqIu6vm54igJXYp3UmmN5ArKChjzI1p-8akClYnf4m3gNASM9_UGZ3vSZRc9g-alJSEI5TUSR_eUW_bAvm2R8jDgNyhhGFKjMe9xWcsUr_WDw8qno9YhTaTQKlpQnnLVfdi981XRx/s1600/lear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="244" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTOcraqIu6vm54igJXYp3UmmN5ArKChjzI1p-8akClYnf4m3gNASM9_UGZ3vSZRc9g-alJSEI5TUSR_eUW_bAvm2R8jDgNyhhGFKjMe9xWcsUr_WDw8qno9YhTaTQKlpQnnLVfdi981XRx/s320/lear.jpg" /></a></div>(Painting "The Storm", by Wlliam Dyce depicting King Lear and secondary character, The Fool)<br />
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Shakespeare’s plays are filled with secondary characters of every sort and variety. For every towering, iconic protagonist, there is a secondary character who aids and abets the action. Hamlet has Horatio; Prince Hal has Falstaff; Juliet has Nurse; Prospero has Caliban; Portia has Bassanio and the list goes on.<br />
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Secondary characters play many roles in fiction. Mentor, confessor, guardian, teacher, foil, sounding board, catalyst, muse: They may be present in the guise of friend or foe, parent or sibling, loved one, stranger or servant.<br />
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Use of a secondary character offers an author a wealth of possibilities. Your hero’s best friend can be the voice of reason that helps the volatile hero work through a crisis. Your heroine’s big sister can act as confidant to help her make relationship decisions. In these roles they allow a further exploration and exposure of the protagonists’ thinking and emotions, without the “telling” worry. Perhaps an abusive parent allows the author to illustrate the difficult times our hero has risen above, illustrating his fortitude and strength without blatantly hammering the point. A teacher’s wisdom lets us be privy to a character’s struggle and growth. A secondary character’s predicament allows an opportunity for a hero or heroine to show their loyalty, bravery or willingness to put themselves in danger for a friend.<br />
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But while we can use these characters to great advantage, there are also pitfalls inherent in who you populate your stories with.<br />
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If you fill a story with a gallery of innocuous secondary characters who are little more than window dressing and are either duplicative of, or of no value to, a protagonist, it means they probably shouldn’t be there.<br />
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Certainly, too, the “chorus”, or tertiary background characters used to create a sense of time, and place and social background are valuable. But keeping their participation appropriate is important. <br />
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And the important role played by secondary characters brings up the flip side of the problem. Rather than ineffective secondary characters, you have the potential problem of a secondary character taking center stage and usurping the limelight from the protagonists. This effectively nullifies the importance of the hero or heroine as well as distracting the reader. There are many authors who very effectively straddle this fine line, creating secondary characters who both know their place, but who are rich, complex and human. They appeal to readers, and the author, even while they ultimately allow the primary characters their moment in the sun. We’ve seen this happen frequently enough when a character is so appealing he or she ultimately grows into the protagonist of their own story, bringing in those fans who enjoyed the character in a supporting role in a prior book.<br />
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A slightly different problem is creating secondary characters so strong or superior that the protagonist in question pales in comparison. An non-romance example might be Melanie and Scarlett. While Scarlett was admirably tenacious and determined, Melanie far outshone her in the admirable qualities we imbue our heroes and heroines with. Loyalty, gentle courage, honesty, morality are all Melanie traits but Scarlett? Well, not so much …<br />
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Look at any of the great stories and you will find examples of these vital characters and the authors’ deft use of them. Beyond Shakespeare’s own cadre of the good, the bad, the wise, funny, and ugly, and more accessible to us, would be the supporting actors in television and film.<br />
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Harry Potter is surrounded with classic secondary characters, from Dumbledore (mentor, guide) to Lucius Malfoy (catalyst). Likewise, Frodo in Lord of the Rings learns from Gandalf and he is provided (as are we, the audience) a glimpse of what might come to pass in the example of the obsessed, grotesque Gollum.<br />
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Buffy has her team of seconds, from clowns to BFF.<br />
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Antihero Dr. Gregory House has his conscience and voice of reason in the form of Dr. James Wilson, and takes on the role of mentor to the changing cast of residents.<br />
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Andy Griffith had Aunt Bea, Goober and Gomer, the classic sidekick Deputy Barney Fife, as well as Opie – his parental interactions with Opie allow us to see Andy’s sterling qualities as parent and teacher.<br />
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Superman had Perry White, and Lois and Jimmy Olsen were the frequent catalysts (read: victim needing rescue from heinous antagonists) in providing the superhero plenty of opportunities to exhibit his super-hero-ness.<br />
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Many actors today have honed the skill of playing the supporting cast member to the hero and as such frequently are seen in those roles. John Goodman, for example, supporting not only Dennis Quaid and Al Pacino, but Roseann herself.<br />
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TV, film, Shakespeare, other novels – all offer stellar opportunities to study the role these supporting characters play, and how to craft them effectively. How to make them rich, fully-fleshed, playing his or her role to perfection while not encroaching into the protagonists’ territory, can be learned from reading any good romance novel.<br />
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And, as always, from the dramatic canon of my fave, Tennessee Williams, I have a perfect example of the vital secondary character, whose presence effects all of the protagonists in one important way or another and leads them to decisions and actions that rock their world. He is not even given a name, but he is the human interjection that changes everything. He is The Gentleman Caller, and when he joins the action among Laura Wingfield, her brother Tom, and faded Southern Belle, Amanda, upheaval ensues.<br />
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So, next time you are reading a book, give the secondary characters some extra attention. What is their role in the story? How does the author utilize them to good effect to bolster how we see the hero and heroine, and how their presence impacts the storyline?<br />
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<i><b>Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!—<br />
The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,<br />
Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state,<br />
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,<br />
Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down!<br />
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,<br />
That sucked the honey of his music vows,<br />
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason<br />
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;<br />
That unmatched form and feature of blown youth<br />
Blasted with ecstasy. Oh, woe is me,<br />
T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!</b></i><br />
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Ophelia’s monologue following confrontation with Hamlet wherein she shares the dastardly change that has overtaken her beloved.<br />
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Act 3 scene 1<br />
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lisekimhortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-11348057778369259392012-12-21T12:03:00.000-08:002012-12-21T12:03:05.424-08:00Benefactors & BelieversThe other day I got the call. My novel made the cut at Carina Press and so I have officially “sold” my contemporary erotic romance.<br />
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My first call was to my Mother. She’s been a supporter, cheerleader, critic, beta reader and grammar source since I began to seriously pursue my writing.<br />
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My second call would have been to my friend Milton Burton. A writer, an incredible mind, and my biggest fan, I can hear in my mind the big booming voice of congratulations. Sadly, Milton passed away a year ago today, and after nearly five years of support, missed my first publication, and the sale of my first novel.<br />
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The third person I told was an attorney at the entertainment law firm where I work. That may sound odd – I told her before I announced it to my RWA NYC chapter mates, or my cohorts on my Yahoo erotic writers’ loop, Let Me Get You Hot & Bothered – but it really is not.<br />
This lady, a wonderful, creative talent in her own right as well as a brilliant attorney, is a member of a select group I came to call My Benefactors. A few years back, she and four other attorneys I worked for pooled their gift one Christmas and gave me a laptop. One of them scoped out the best model, based on what I’d mentioned I was looking for. It was a teary moment and one that I will never forget, because they were all exhibiting their full support for what I was attempting. <br />
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That attorney had produced and directed her own documentary while at film school, before law school. Another of the bunch was a stand-up comedian when he wasn’t parsing legal contracts. A third was a screenwriter hawking his own work to Hollywood connections. So they, more than some, perhaps, got me, got my dream and showed me the ultimate in support.<br />
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When I gave her the news, she started whooping, yelling, and dragged me out of her office into another attorney’s office to share the news. A third attorney heard the ruckus and came running in, also hugging me in congratulations.<br />
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Every single one of the attorneys I work for gave me heartfelt congratulations. Even my one boss who looked askance and asked if I’d gotten a big advance. I have a feeling he was nervous I’d get an E L James deal and leave him high and dry, assistant-wise. It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon.<br />
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No one even objected when I was less than functional that day.<br />
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Then came the surprise party we were throwing for a paralegal who was off to have her baby. There was cake and cheers, and lots of frivolity.<br />
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Suddenly my boss pulled out a bottle of champagne, and they filled glasses and passed them around to the entire department of attorneys and staff, and everyone toasted my book sale.<br />
I hear often of authors, particularly those who write steamy or erotic romance, who have to keep their passion and work secret from employers. Here at my home away from home? Not only have they supported me all along, not only have they cheered my successes as they rolled in, from contests, to completing manuscripts, to sales, but they have told their spouses, who’ve also called to congratulate me. One has offered her husband’s photographic services for my author photo. The attorney who specializes in publishing has offered his help. The Marketing Director posted my news on the Firm’s Intranet calling my book “erotic romance”. My boss also tells everyone that I’m not the first assistant to “make good”, publishing-wise. Because many years ago another secretary stayed late at night to type her book. <br />
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She’s a client now: A NY Times Best Seller, with numerous films made of her books starring the crème de la crème of Hollywood talent. <br />
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And here at my job, the attorneys for whom I work, and others in the office, all insist they’ll be buying my book the moment it is released, even though they know full well that they’ll be needing those asbestos gloves when they do.<br />
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I’m very fortunate that my endeavors need not be hidden. And more fortunate indeed, that my employers are cheering me on.<br />
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With good luck, perhaps the success of our genre will make it a respectable pursuit and fewer and fewer authors will have to hide the fruits of their passionate labors from co-workers, friends and family. <br />
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For now, I simply thank my lucky stars that I’m already there.<br />
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Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13315265091119634416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2507067435601081638.post-56593534963276849662012-11-15T09:58:00.000-08:002012-11-15T09:58:33.198-08:00A Muse Of Fire: The Magic of Words <br />
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<i>“Mind your speech a little lest you should mar your fortunes.” </i>William Shakespeare<br />
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Words are the wondrous tools that can make or break a writer’s fortune. Shakespeare was an alchemist with words. He created magic for his audiences and readers alike. No emotion stymied him. No description stumped him. His characters’ names were perfection, his titles resonant.<br />
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He is acknowledged to have altered words to suit his purposes, and to create words when none in his repertoire suited his purposes. <br />
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Words. Such a little name for such varied things. You begin each story you tell with a single word. And then you build upon it, creating sentences, paragraphs, and ultimately collect them in groupings of thousands, which you bind together with your creativity, and present to your readers in the hope that this collection enthralls and entrances.<br />
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Words are, literally, everywhere around you, so there is vast opportunity to discover and hoard them. Entire books are devoted to nothing but words: Dictionaries and thesauri abound, each one different than the next. There are specialty books about words: Cultural words, slang words, dirty words, curse words, sex words. There are books by and about word lovers, like Ammon Shea Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages. There are linguistic tomes, and studies of etymology.<br />
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I grew up in a home where my mother kept her dictionary beside her chair. She never failed to use it on a daily basis, and I adopted the habit. Whether to look up a word I may have stumbled upon but did not know, to check the spelling, determine the correct usage, or find out the etymological origins of the word, I am a dictionary and word lover. Every time I open one of these books I discover another golden nugget of literary goodness to add to my word coffers. At the moment I am especially enamored of ilk, sepulcher, crapulous, dogsbody, Machiavellian and loathsome. <br />
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I’ve wondered how many words I know? Hundreds? Thousands? Could it be possible to know a million words? <br />
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What words amuse and beguile you? As writers words are our basic stock in trade. We can create nothing without them. They are like amazing puzzles –waiting to be arranged in any one of countless combinations to express your imaginative story. Some words are mundane, some are illuminating. Writing romance fiction we have some unique challenges, as well as some typical writing challenges. We must not be purple prosey. So finding alternative words and phrases to express the heaving bosom or the throbbing manhood or to describe yet again a heroine’s tresses or a hero’s eyes, can require a Sherlockian level of linguistic skill.<br />
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Overuse of a word, as Isabo Kelly showed us, a verbal tic, can deaden your writing. Pedestrian or repetitive word choices can lead to flat writing, a failure to communicate crisply, and will stifle your power to sweep your reader along into the world of your story.<br />
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Wordsmith and wag, Mark Twain (his own pseudonymous name a word play, as “mark twain” was the cry used by riverboat men when measuring the depth of the water) said: “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”<br />
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And Anton Chekhov, dramatist and short story writer extraordinaire admonishes writers to value and use their words thusly: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”<br />
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Word choices are the difference between creating characters with unique voices, or caricatures of humanity; the difference between clarity and confusion, boring or electrifying tales, hilarious or dull writing, magical or mundane stories. Word choices enable you to create the perfect title, the perfect character name, and a vast fictional world. Would the iconic southern belle have captured our imagination as well if she had been named “Pansy”, as Margaret Mitchell originally intended? Would Harry’s Hogwarts School of Wizardry be as whimsical were it named Eton? Word choices set our stories – they help conjure time and place and mood and tempo. Words can be alliterative or rhyming. They can create the tintinnabulation of the bells. Or enhance the character of Severus Snape with use of a sibilant name. Unfortunate word choices can make a reader laugh as well. A malapropism when words are confused – the character joke embodied in Richard Sheridan’s Mrs. Malaprop. Mistaken word choices can appall an editor. Unnecessary verbosity when a single brilliant word will do can turn off both editor and reader. Hackneyed choices, uninspired choices - when there are so many words to choose among, why ever settle for second best?<br />
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Ah, but when the words are chosen with love and care? They are like the mixing of the perfect love potion – one that intoxicates your reader.<br />
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Lisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13315265091119634416noreply@blogger.com0