So thank you for sharing the 'why' on writing sex. Great job!
TITLE: Why I Write Sex
by Arley Cole and Leigh
Daley
I write under two pennames—Arley Cole for my YA-friendly
fantasy and Leigh Daley for my steamy romance. Arley Cole keeps it out of the
bedroom, but Leigh Daley gets into some seriously R-rated territory.
This makes life difficult for me in my tiny Alabama hamlet.
When people ask about my latest release, I have to make a quick judgment—do I
tell them about the Leigh Daley stuff or will it scandalize them? What would
the little women in my church say about me if they read my Leigh Daley stuff?
Would they ask me to put a scarlet letter on my choir robe?
But the truth is sex has a hugely important place in women’s
lives. We think of men as being the sex-driven beings, but human relationships
are cemented together by the physical act of belonging to one another. If we
want stronger relationships, we need to be having frequent, mutually
beneficial, loving sex.
That is not to say that I am at all in favor of the “jump in
bed first, ask questions later” school of relationships. From personal
experience, that attitude leads to sleeping with frogs rather than princes. My
characters sometimes do sleep with each other before they should – that’s one
of the relationship minefields we have to navigate. When they do, I am
compelled as a story-teller to deal with their actions in the most realistic
way possible. Sex too soon causes trouble they have to work out together.
But sex in the fullness of time in a relationship binds two
people together in ways very little else can. I truly enjoy writing about a
couple’s exploration of each other. In loving someone else, we really do
discover things about ourselves. The sex act opens up all kinds of emotional
territory for us, and I love to show my characters discovering themselves
through their physical loving of each other.
Our sexual experience affects us profoundly, no matter our
age, background, or gender. As an erotic writer, I try to treat the subject
with the respect and integrity it deserves. If my readers sometimes find
themselves inspired to jump their partners after reading, I am glad of
that. Anyone fortunate enough to be in a
loving, committed relationship owes it to that relationship to invest in it
physically as often and as jubilantly as possible. In fact one of my personal
goals as a romance author is to inspire my readers to have more sex!
In my latest Leigh Daley release, Storm
Duty - Finally Ever After, a natural disaster shakes up
divorced couple Kyle and Jenna. In the midst of the chaos, they both have to
learn that all that really matters is who we love, and their love scene is one
of my favorites because of the healing that takes place between them.
At this season, especially after the devastation of
Hurricane Sandy, I think we all need to remember to hold close the ones we
love. So I’m going to keep writing romance, and I hope you all will keep
reading. Now, go hold somebody!
Leigh Daley
Their careers drove them apart--could disaster
bring them back together?
In the aftermath of a series of tornadoes, Kyle Mathis just
wants to guide his linemen to restore power to the devastated town of Milton.
When reinforcements in the form of corporate deskjockeys come to work storm
duty, he's glad for the extra bodies to help serve food and support the crews
working eighteen hour days.
But Kyle is not prepared to face one of the latest arrivals,
his ex-wife Jenna. Jenna left him years ago, choosing her career over their
marriage. However, being back together in their home town brings back memories
and desire--for both Kyle and Jenna.
Can Kyle and Jenna find each other again in the midst of the
devastation? Or will their jobs pull them apart and leave not only their homes
but their hearts shattered?
The instant Jenna Harlow heard her ex-husband’s voice, she
wished she hadn’t agreed to come.
“Yeah, I’ve got some made already,” she answered him, aware
that his eyes had widened at the sight of her. She covered her own desire to
stare by pouring him a cup. “Do you still take cream and sugar?” she asked,
trying to keep her tone light even though her heart pounded so hard she could
feel it in her fingertips.
“I’m drinking it black these days,” he answered, his tone just as even.
As she passed him the cup, her hand trembled. He took the
coffee, but the hot liquid splashed out a little over the side. His hands were
shaking too.
He cursed under his breath as he sat the cup down on the
table and grabbed a napkin to mop up the spill.
“Don’t worry,” she insisted. “I’ll clean it up.” She looked
at his face in the dim light. His eyes that same dark green, his hair the same
light brown—still cut the same as she remembered from seven years ago.
But his shoulders were broader, and he stood taller, more
muscular. His jaw had a strong, determined set, and little sun crinkles had
begun to frame his eyes. She’d always thought he was good-looking, but now in
the fullness of manhood, he was downright gorgeous...
To read more of Storm
Duty, please click HERE.
BUY LINKS
7 comments:
I'm all for stories that have ex-loves reunited and healing. It's definitely on the Wench list. :)
Arley, I love your philosophy. Congrats on a fantastic book. Storm Duty will sell thousands.
Boy, you're a woman of many talents! Especially when it comes to juggling genres! Cheers and best wishes for all your publishing ventures!
I love a good reunion story. Your multi-genre, double pen name writing career inspires me.
Thanks so much, ladies! I've been in internet hell today and unable to go online except on the phone. Writing multiple genres is fun but makes me nuts too!! Thanks for the encouragement!
Thanks for sharing your reasons. Whether or not to have a sex scene and then how graphic it should be are questions I always wrestle with. For me, the sex scene has to serve a purpose (other than just to be there) for it to work. Thanks for sharing your thoughs.
Living in Utah, I'm surrounded by pretty conservative neighbors, so I can totally relate. While I've made sure my sex scenes do add to the story, they're also super steamy (and in my current release, pre-marital). Unfortunately, I don't have pen name #2 as a go-to for them. My book doesn't come out until May, and I know I need to let some of them know it's R-rated, I just haven't quite figured out how to break it to them since they really really want to support me.
I loved your comment about how women are sexual too. Great point!
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