Thursday, October 11, 2007

Warming The Engine...(Or The Model T)

Hi everyone. I'm Bonnie Edwards and I write for Aphrodisia from Kensington. When the beautiful and talented Lacy Danes asked me to do this guest blog I jumped at the opportunity! So, thanks Lacy and all the other crumpet strumpets!

In my first efforts writing in the historical realm I created a bordello: Perdition House. Built in 1911 by a madame raised in the Free Love Movement of the late 1800s, the house provided the best of everything. The wine, the women, the experiences!
I love the early 1900s, particularly the years before the Great War. Life was good, advancements in technology abounded. Telephones were installed, electricity came into homes. Luxury steamships cruised the world and a race was on to build bigger and better ships. The world got smaller with the Panama and Suez canal constructions.

Society was still restrictive and women had issues. Some worked for the vote, while others believed in the occult. Still others worked hard for Prohibition.

MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS is set in this bordello. But, it's no longer the gorgeous mansion it once was. My heroine, Faye Grantham inherits the place and discovers that the hookers who used to work there, are still there, anxious to tell their stories of love lost and found. Every time she falls asleep, she dreams another story. So, the book is a blend of contemporary and historical.

I followed up with MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS II in July and a novella in BUILT (Rock Solid) in August. Next up is THIGH HIGH my single title anthology in February.

With all these heroines from the past, their heroes and Faye trying to decide between three men in her life...I had a great time writing the sex scenes.

Every time I write a sex scene I have to put myself in my characters' places. Particularly the first time... I wonder about the sex. Will it be fast? Slow? Loving or even angry. Over the course of this series, I had to juggle a lot of characters, their moods, their conflicts, their attitudes about sex. Their attitudes about prostitutes!

Sometimes I know how the sex will be without thinking.

But other times, it's a conundrum because each character is different, and comes at sex from a different place. I write happy endings, so romance plays a major role in any sex scene I write.
I know what I think is sexy, and it's a sense of developing love between the characters. They don't have to be in love the first time they have sex, but they need to be on the road. For me, that works. Turns my crank. To my mind, there's nothing sexier than those first heady days of falling in love.

I always ask myself what it is that my hero has noticed about this woman in particular? What small thing keeps his attention? The one thing that calls to him. It's usually something emotional, some part of her personality he admires, or just plain likes. The great body is often beside the point. (Remember, I'm writing erotic romance...heavy on the romance)

But what about for readers? Is it exotic locales or other worlds? Group sex? Or something far removed from their real world. Maybe it's a glimpse into another lifestyle they're too shy to explore for themselves?

What creates that warm glow that means your engines (ok, maybe even your Model T) are revved and ready to rock and roll?

Bonnie Edwards
http://www.bonnieedwards.com/

9 comments:

Sharon Page said...

Welcome Bonnie! Great to see you here. I loved your point about the fact that sometimes you just know how the sex will be (between characters :))and other times it takes a lot of thought. On my current WIP, I'm finding I'm skipping the sex scenes to write later, because I need to get deeper into my characters' emotional states before I can write them. Now I feel a little more relieved about why I've been waiting :-)

I've got to head off to the office for a bit, but again, it's great to see you here.

Lucinda Betts said...

Hey Bonnie, I absolutely loved MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS. I can't wait to read the second installment. And this looks like a great blog site! I'm going to have to hang out here some more!

Bonnie Edwards said...

Hi Sharon, Lucinda! Nice to meet you here.

Aw, shucks, Lucinda. I'm blushing...

Sharon, yes, sometimes that's exactly what I need to do...know them better. But once I'm set I run with it. Just sort of close my eyes and go! (much like the real thing - LOL)

Pam Rosenthal said...

I love the idea of MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS, Bonnie. Mixing contemporary and historical Excellent. Must get my hands on it.

Celia May Hart said...

Hey Bonnie! Thanks for joining us at the Tea Party!

JRMullany said...

Hi Bonnie,
thanks for coming to blog with us today. I love the idea of your structure, the stories within a story, for Midnight Confessions--great idea!

Bonnie Edwards said...

Thanks so much ladies!

this is such a cool place and I love your posts...

Bonnie

Unknown said...

Hi Bonnie and welcome!
Hmm...interesting post.
I think I just have to know my characters well enough to write the sex scenes.Sex is all about the real person underneath the clothes and the mannerisms and the pretense, isn't it?-I don't usually think about each individual until they show me what they like-they kind of just evolve along with the book!

Red Garnier said...

Bonnie I only recently found you and you're a keeper!!! ;) And this was a very insightful post, thank you.