Have any of you seen the picture of Lucy Lawless as Xena: Warrior Princess with her teeth bared in full snarl, the words I’M A DELICATE FEMININE FLOWER superimposed? Here’s a link to my Facebook page if you haven’t had the chance (https://www.facebook.com/letty.james.39) .
I laughed out loud when I saw it because I recognized that juxtaposition in myself. Damn right, I want to be a delicate feminine flower sometimes (not often, usually when I want a cup of tea brought to me in bed), but sometimes I need people to get out of my way because my warrior princess is on the warpath.
That’s how I feel about writing erotica and romance sex scenes. I’m on a writer’s warpath to bring sex out in the open. I don’t want to shut the door on the reader. Heck, when I starting reading romances (many, many moons ago), I would skim the book for the sex scenes then go back and read the rest to see how well the author built up the tension. When an author closes the door, she (or he) leaves out a very important aspect of a person’s life. One reason I started writing romances and erotica was because I wanted to show how characters would have a full life – one that included sex.
As a writer, it’s essential for me to know how my characters act in bed. How do they even feel being there? Awkward? Sexy? Powerful? Stupid? Sex changes people, so it has to change my characters.
And, it’s not just a change after the fact while the characters are having that post coital snuggle (or not), it’s during sex, too. Like all of us, true, believable characters will worry about their thighs, aging breasts, or, oh my lord, how amazing does that feel and why didn’t I ever do that before and I’m going to scream but I don’t want to embarrass myself.
How many of you scream during sex, or would like to? How many of you have had a pillow shoved over your face because your partner thought you were being too loud? I have. Did the relationship last much longer after the pillow muffling incident? No.
Sex changes relationships. And, I’m going to keep writing about relationships – and including the sex. How many of you warrior princesses are with me? Shall we open the door, or pound it down? Raise your swords and let’s storm the gates! Ha!
Blurb
Stranded in Paris, Nikki Sommers is desperate for a job, willing to sweep the floors of a local bakery. But Gérard Beauvais knows where Nikki needs to be – not in the bakery, but in his bed. Offering her a job as his personal assistant, Gérard introduces Nikki to the workings of international business, along with the romance and beauty of Paris.
Nikki falls under Gérard’s magnetic spell, only to get a nasty surprise when she discovers she is merely a pawn in an international scandal involving her own sister. Her heart is torn between family and a love she had only fantasized about.
Will she win Gérard’s heart or only be his Mistress for Hire?
Here’s an open-door excerpt from Mistress for Hire for you. Enjoy! Letty.
~~~~
Gérard led her upstairs, not carrying her, as she’d expected and half hoped. If she were carried, she couldn’t change her mind. His room was at the top of the stairs—the opposite end of the hall from hers. Her feet sank into the plush oriental carpet as she crossed the threshold.
Like her room, it was a suite, with a sitting area, whose wide windows overlooked the garden. A multitude of closed doors which she imagined led to closets and a bathroom. Dominating the space was a huge canopy bed with gold-fringed bed hangings. It made her feel overwhelmed and she was glad when he sat down on a large, red velvet wingback chair. With its gold swirls and brass tacks, it looked like a throne. Nikki had only a moment to appreciate the softly-lit reading nook, stacked with gardening books, before Gérard pulled her down onto his lap.
She’d never made love in a chair before, not being as adventurous as he might think.
He smiled as he turned her so she straddled him. Running his hands through her hair, he splayed it over her shoulders, the thick waves falling past her breasts. “Lady Godiva,” he murmured.
“The chocolate?”
He laughed, tugging her down until she lay snuggled in his arms. “No silly goose, the seductress. Like Lady Godiva’s husband, I find I would do anything to see you naked.”
“Anything?” She teased, but he stiffened underneath her and she wondered how many women would use this opportunity to make demands. Or how many had? He was probably a constant target for gold diggers. But where she was sitting now, how could any woman think beyond the warmth and strength of his embrace? She sat up to see a frown marring his sexy mouth. “You first,” was all she could think to say.
His face completely changed with his sudden laugh. Full and rich, it sounded like wood smoke and whiskey. His gaze met hers as he shrugged out of his shirt, tossing it behind her. His biceps bulged under the thin cotton of his tee shirt and she had a sudden urge to rip the material right down the middle. She grasped the arms of the chair instead, her fingers digging into the soft fabric.
“You next,” he demanded. Her robe felt as heavy as lead as she fumbled with the tie. Impatiently, he pushed her hands aside and swiftly undid the knot, then pushed the robe from her shoulders. The heat of his hands seared her skin.
They eyed each other, his gaze smoldering. Even fully dressed, she could feel his growing hardness underneath her bottom and her insides clenched with anticipation. A game of strip poker without the cards. And she’d thought she wasn’t a betting woman.
As a writer, it’s essential for me to know how my characters act in bed. How do they even feel being there? Awkward? Sexy? Powerful? Stupid? Sex changes people, so it has to change my characters.
And, it’s not just a change after the fact while the characters are having that post coital snuggle (or not), it’s during sex, too. Like all of us, true, believable characters will worry about their thighs, aging breasts, or, oh my lord, how amazing does that feel and why didn’t I ever do that before and I’m going to scream but I don’t want to embarrass myself.
How many of you scream during sex, or would like to? How many of you have had a pillow shoved over your face because your partner thought you were being too loud? I have. Did the relationship last much longer after the pillow muffling incident? No.
Sex changes relationships. And, I’m going to keep writing about relationships – and including the sex. How many of you warrior princesses are with me? Shall we open the door, or pound it down? Raise your swords and let’s storm the gates! Ha!
Stranded in Paris, Nikki Sommers is desperate for a job, willing to sweep the floors of a local bakery. But Gérard Beauvais knows where Nikki needs to be – not in the bakery, but in his bed. Offering her a job as his personal assistant, Gérard introduces Nikki to the workings of international business, along with the romance and beauty of Paris.
Nikki falls under Gérard’s magnetic spell, only to get a nasty surprise when she discovers she is merely a pawn in an international scandal involving her own sister. Her heart is torn between family and a love she had only fantasized about.
Will she win Gérard’s heart or only be his Mistress for Hire?
Here’s an open-door excerpt from Mistress for Hire for you. Enjoy! Letty.
~~~~
Gérard led her upstairs, not carrying her, as she’d expected and half hoped. If she were carried, she couldn’t change her mind. His room was at the top of the stairs—the opposite end of the hall from hers. Her feet sank into the plush oriental carpet as she crossed the threshold.
Like her room, it was a suite, with a sitting area, whose wide windows overlooked the garden. A multitude of closed doors which she imagined led to closets and a bathroom. Dominating the space was a huge canopy bed with gold-fringed bed hangings. It made her feel overwhelmed and she was glad when he sat down on a large, red velvet wingback chair. With its gold swirls and brass tacks, it looked like a throne. Nikki had only a moment to appreciate the softly-lit reading nook, stacked with gardening books, before Gérard pulled her down onto his lap.
She’d never made love in a chair before, not being as adventurous as he might think.
He smiled as he turned her so she straddled him. Running his hands through her hair, he splayed it over her shoulders, the thick waves falling past her breasts. “Lady Godiva,” he murmured.
“The chocolate?”
He laughed, tugging her down until she lay snuggled in his arms. “No silly goose, the seductress. Like Lady Godiva’s husband, I find I would do anything to see you naked.”
“Anything?” She teased, but he stiffened underneath her and she wondered how many women would use this opportunity to make demands. Or how many had? He was probably a constant target for gold diggers. But where she was sitting now, how could any woman think beyond the warmth and strength of his embrace? She sat up to see a frown marring his sexy mouth. “You first,” was all she could think to say.
His face completely changed with his sudden laugh. Full and rich, it sounded like wood smoke and whiskey. His gaze met hers as he shrugged out of his shirt, tossing it behind her. His biceps bulged under the thin cotton of his tee shirt and she had a sudden urge to rip the material right down the middle. She grasped the arms of the chair instead, her fingers digging into the soft fabric.
“You next,” he demanded. Her robe felt as heavy as lead as she fumbled with the tie. Impatiently, he pushed her hands aside and swiftly undid the knot, then pushed the robe from her shoulders. The heat of his hands seared her skin.
They eyed each other, his gaze smoldering. Even fully dressed, she could feel his growing hardness underneath her bottom and her insides clenched with anticipation. A game of strip poker without the cards. And she’d thought she wasn’t a betting woman.
~~~~~~~
Buy Link: Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/Mistress-Hire-Letty-James-ebook/dp/B00O2G04Q8/
About the Author:
Letty James has been devouring romance novels ever since she hid under the covers reading Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers. And, yes, searching for all the sexy parts. She completed her first novel participating in National Novel Writing Month in 2005 and has been writing furiously ever since, fueled by chocolate and multiple cups of tea.
Along with writing, she enjoys reading, painting, watching movies featuring studly men, and listening in on other people’s conversations.
Tour giveaway
$25 Amazon gift card
5 ebook copies of Mistress for Hire
Thanks for hosting Clare! Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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