By E. Ayers (Guest Blogger)
Waving hello to all of Lisabet’s readers! It’s
great to be back here with Lisabet. She can write a steamy story.
Mine will never reduce your e-reader to charred embers like hers, but
people who read hot stories will also read cooler ones.
So why won’t the folks who read cooler stories read
the hotter ones? I’ve wondered about that so many times and I’ve
decided that people have different levels of taste. There are some
things I won’t read. Yet I have wonderful friends who write it. So
my personal conclusion is everyone should be free to read whatever
they choose. Now you’re wondering what the heck I write…
Something in the middle. I love a good sexy story. Why? Because when
we’re in love, sex is part of that whole package. You can’t take
it away!
I actually read a book where the heroine and the hero
did nothing more than hold hands, but she wound up pregnant from
that! Did I miss something? I re-read a few chapters trying to figure
out what the heck happened. So here’s my big warning: DO NOT HOLD
HANDS! It causes pregnancy!
I do write some pretty tame stuff and some not so tame
stuff; therefore, I try to warn my readers. My River City novels are
not tame! Someone gave me a wonderful review on a non-River City
novel and praised it for not having sex in it… Um, ah… Maybe she
skipped that page? It kinda happened right after her clothes fell to
the floor. Guess she didn’t remember reading that part? And what
were they doing in that scene behind the barn? They weren’t
counting the wooden siding and that was not sweet smooching! I’ll
admit they had their clothes on (as opposed to being removed) and it
was freezing cold, but I don’t think either one was paying much
attention to the temperature!
A fan told me she only reads the tamest of the tame
stories and she’s really into my River City books. But one night
while reading in bed, her husband leaned over and read probably the
hottest scene in my entire book, then turned to their dogs and said,
“Mommy is reading porn.”
She said she smacked him! (Give him one for me, too!)
But in an odd way, I thought it was a huge compliment because she
said if you take the scene out of the story, it seems extremely hot,
but in the story, the scene was “a beautiful outpouring of love.”
(Yay! I did my job!)
I love writing about true love. There’s something
about that kind of love that wraps us in a blanket. To climb into bed
and snuggle into that solid energy wrapped up in a warm body, where
kisses still make the earth move years later and you never tire of
running your hand over his chest, across his abdomen and then
lower…yeah, that kind of love. You know all those wonderful places
and what they do. Where the caress is probably as important as
anything else and yet, you can rock with total abandon because you’re
not two different people, you are truly one. You know every
move, what is happening, and you never tire of it.
That’s what I write. I keep saying it’s all body
parts. We know where they go and how they function. Maybe it’s my
words but to me, it’s the love and the emotion that really count.
The rest is just parts.
I also write about life. It not easy blending lives. He
works, she works, jobs – careers, money, cost of living, you want
to go out on Friday night but you’ve got to work or the boss asks
you to stay late to finish something. Or worse you get off from
“work” but you are facing another four hours on the computer to
catch something up or research. Jobs come home with us. You reach
into the refrigerator and discover that the milk is sour! Life sucks!
And trying to get off the gerbil wheel long enough to
smell the roses or the aftershave is darn hard. You’re going to bed
at eight p.m. and getting up at three-thirty for work. He doesn’t
have to be at work until nine a.m. You’re on call this week and
he’s never been that tied to a job. These are the things that make
life hard. Blending lives can be difficult, and finding the time for
a date can be even harder.
I write what is called slice of life. I just take the
romantic slice and follow along. Romance is often referred to as a
modern fairy tale. Maybe. But today’s Prince Charming doesn’t
live in a castle. He probably has a condo and owns a business. That
business is his mistress. Prince Charming still exists, I know
because I had one. Life is never easy, but somehow we manage, and
having a prince charming makes it worth it, even if he’s in a book.
June’s been busy. The Authors of Main Street released
their boxed set, Weddings
on Main Street. It’s a collection of eleven
wedding-themed novellas, all about 25K words, which are perfect for
reading in an evening or a lazy afternoon. My novella I
Thee Wed is the eleventh story in that box, and I also
released a second novel, With
This Ring, separately. With
This Ring is the story of Cody and DeeDee, and you can
follow that family in I
Thee Wed when Cody’s oldest stepdaughter
falls for Aaron. You’ll find all the stories in the boxed set
Weddings on Main Street
to range from somewhat tame to sexy, and both my stories are sexy!
My seventh River City novel, Campaign,
will be available any time now in the Amazon stores.
Blurb:
Campaign
Brad Shoemaker
often heard that love was blind, but he had no idea it could silent.
Katheryn “Ryn” Demary is mute. But when Mayor Bruno Giovanni is
forced into early retirement, he chooses Brad to run in his place.
Ryn is determined to campaign at Brad’s side, but instead of being
an asset, she just might be his biggest liability. Ryn finds herself
campaigning not just for Brad to become mayor but for his love and
acceptance. Politics can get dirty, and Ryn’s caught in the middle.
Blurb: With This Ring
DeeDee Drayden doesn’t
believe in a happily ever after, even though her passion is designing
wedding gowns. Cody Montgomery, heir to a fortune, is hiding in a
small town raising seven children after two failed marriages. With
his hands full, he’s sworn off women. But when Cody ends up being a
silent partner and CFO of DeeDee’s fledgling bridal business, his
eyes are on more than the bottom line. Do they dare mix business with
pleasure to find their own happily ever after?
Blurb: I Thee Wed
(Weddings on Main Street)
A product of broken
marriages, Julia never sees marriage for herself. She throws
everything she's got into her career with Main Street Bridal Salon,
until a crazy redhead with freckles named Aaron sweeps her off her
feet. But a family secret is about to change everything.
Watch my video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igzOzgpm9nM
Here’s a snippet from I
Thee Wed.
Up until meeting Aaron, she would have said that she
didn’t care for a freckled redhead. They just didn’t seem sexy,
but Aaron oozed sexy from every part of his body. She couldn’t just
walk away from him so she tiptoed over and dropped a light kiss on
his forehead. His hands found her and pulled her downward.
“Where are you going, my love?”
“Back to my room before I get caught.”
“I don’t want you to leave. I want you in my bed
every night for as long as I live.”
“Not going to happen.”
His lips crashed over hers, igniting another firestorm
within her. She pulled away and gasped for air. “I’ve got to go,
it’s almost dawn. You don’t want me caught out here with you.”
His hand traveled up her leg to her panties. “No you
don’t. These are mine.”
He rolled her over and slipped them off of her.
“You have some sort of fetish when it comes to
women’s underwear?”
He grinned down at her. “Only yours.”
Want to win a copy of With This Ring? Sign up for my newsletter (http://ow.ly/xel3e) then leave me a comment below letting me know!
****
Where to Find E. Ayers on the Web
Twitter
@ayersbooks
Website
Email
e.ayers [at] ayersbooks [dot] com
Shared Blog
Blog
Amazon Author Page
Authors of Main Street Newsletter
30 comments:
Hi everyone! I'll be in and out all day but I always try to comment back. Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter. One newsletter = 13 authors, we'll keep you up to date once a month without bugging you with special stuff for subscribers.
Someday I'll learn to use commas! I was trying to say we have special stuff for our subscribers.
Hello, E! Thanks for being my guest.
I don't know why people say my books are so hot. Compared to some of my colleagues, they're only moderate. I tend to have a lot of plot, which interrupts or at least spaces out the love scenes LOL.
Not that I'm complaining, exactly, but I wonder whether I have reputation that scares off some readers.
Love your covers for the weddings books, by the way. Traditional, but not at all stodgy.
Signed up for the newsletter. Looking forward to getting to know your books. Great post!
debby236 at gmail dot com
It's your subject matter but after the big 50, people are more open to such things. Yes, there's hotter and some of it... Remember when I said I won't read certain things? Oh, we could have a long discussion! Yes, you do write wonderful stories to go with all that heat. But without a good story, it's just body parts. :-)
Thanks on the covers. I fell in love with them! Those gowns are so pretty! Did you know that for most women, it's the most expensive dress she will wear in her lifetime?
Thanks, Debby. The newsletter is totally new, so we're trying hard to do something wonderful with it. Thanks so much for stopping by!
signed up for your newsletter. Thanks for the contest. As far as reading romances it depends on my mood sometimes I like steamy and others a little less so. I think some people may be embarrassed to read the really sexy novels even today. In the end I think it comes down to individual tastes and what mood your in.
Thanks!
Most everyone has a cut off someplace near the top and many at the bottom. I don't like too sugary sweet. It can get plain silly.
I'm with you. Mood has a lot to do with what I want to read. But mostly I want a really good story! I want a man that I can feel wrap his arms around me.
Enjoyable post, Elizabeth. I love a good romance too - the whole gamut - sweet to scorching. Of the latter, I am extremely picky. It must have a story, and love scenes need to make sense between the characters and the moment. I get turned off by novels loaded with gratuitous anything. Many a good plot is ruined by cramming blatant sex into every chapter. For one, where's the anticipation of love unfolding if it's on every other page? It fast becomes old news. I read for the story, not for the shock value of $100 naughty words.
Thanks for stopping, Rose. When you published Loving Leonardo, I was squeamish about reading it even though I loved your other books. It was one of those lines for me that I don't normally cross and read. What I found was a wonderful and a tender love story even if it did crisp the edges of my monitor.
:-)
If the scenes were pulled away from the story, they would have been much hotter, but mixed into the story they were perfect.
Wonderful post, E. and your covers are beautiful. I've had the pleasure of reading the last story in the Weddings on Main Street Box Set ~ thank you for a lovely story!
You are ahead of me in reading! But I'm trying to get CAMPAIGN published, so my reading for pleasure hits the back burner. The Authors of Main Street are awesome.Thanks so much for stopping by and for reading WEDDINGS ON MAIN STREET.
Signed up for newsletter
Interesting books
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks for stopping by and signing up for the newsletter! We're hoping to give our readers a little extra.
I think book heat levels are in the eye of the reader. I think of myself as medium on heat levels but some vendors put them in erotic romance, which just makes me laugh, because they so are not!! Hopefully the erotic romance readers aren't too disappointed.
Thanks for the fun post :) I'm all "read and let read" so whatever fits someone's comfort zone. But I'm always willing to at least "try" something new. Signed up for the newsletter!
Jill, I am so with you. I either get a reader who's upset because the characters are doing more than holding hands or the reader feels as though it isn't hot enough. I write what I write! I let my characters drive the heat levels.
It's the story that counts!
Thanks for signing up, Erin. It's read and let read, write and let write, love and let love! I have friends that can't imagine doing more than a chaste kiss unless they have a wedding band on their finger, and they won't read anything hotter. I have friends who write with so much heat that I worry about spontaneous combustion. I don't want a world that dictates what we can read or write, or who we can love.
I think it was Mae West who said try everything once, twice if you like it, and three times to be certain.
I think we should do the same thing with vegetables. I never forced my children to eat anything, but I wanted them to try it.
I think your books are great whether they are chaste or hot. Keep them coming.
ep them
You always involve me as a reader, even with your blogs.
Congrats on your upcoming release! The wedding series looks fab too! I do agree that people should read what they are comfortable with but some people never look at some books because they don't want to try something a little steamier. It may not be the full blown sex, but people get nervous that they will be labeled a porn reader. I like how you said that sex is a part of love and really an important part of it. :) I wish you much success with your books!
When I was about 13, we were on a family visit to my Auntie Jane. She told my mom on the way in the door that she had "discovered" a new booze, Galiano. She said you put it into a screwdriver and that makes it a Harvey Wallbanger. She made a couple each for her and my Mom, both of them letting me take sips out of their glasses. By the 3rd or 4th round, they were making me my own drinks. Auntie Jane kept us laughing all afternoon,telling us stories about how when she was dating, she used to think you got pregnant from kissing...not holding hands, like in your book! She laughed that some guy could have screwed her brains out and she wouldn't have thought anything of it, as long as he didn't kiss her!
Mom and her sisters and SILs used to trade romance paperbacks by the bagful. They all complained about the authors who only hinted at sex..."All that reading and no action?" they'd yell, outraged, while they drop-kicked the book across the room. "I'm never reading YOU again!" All but one of them are gone now, but I'm still writing the books they'd have loved to read. Sex is an integral part of falling in love. It's not porn, it's a normal human activity. The sooner we all realize that, the better.
Thank you so much, Mary. As a novelist, but as a writer first, that means the world to me.
Thank you. I love my readers! You make all my hard work worthwhile.
CAMPAIGN will be out next week, and none of the River City stories need to be read in order. So jump in!
Thanks so much, Melissa. I've read plenty of hot stuff because of friends who write it. I wind up content reading/editing, or buying their books to support them. On the flip side of that, there are those that I will not read. Certain content turns me off. I just won't read it - just as I won't read certain types of suspense no matter what the heat level. Fortunately my friends know that and understand.
I totally agree about trying something with a little heat to it. Just as my one fan loves my River City books now that she's read them. She started with my tame stuff but liked my books so she tried a River City. Or the gal who missed the fact that the characters did indulge in a little sex. When the story is great and the flow is there, it's natural. It's part of the story.
There are plenty of people who won't be caught dead reading a romance because they think it labels them as stupid. That's not true. Romance is that happy ending. Virtually every best seller in general fiction has a little romance woven into it! And what those characters do, depends on the story.
A couple of friends decided to clean out the bookcases and take their books to the nursing home nearby. They filled several boxes with regular/tame romances and then another box with the "hot" stuff, thinking maybe the nurses might want to read them. They wrote on the top of the one box: Warning Contains Sexually Explicit books. The next day they took another load to the nursing home. Guess which box of books was empty!
Apparently those little old ladies were fighting over the HOT books!
That kissing and hand holding is not really a joke. A friend's 13 YO daughter got pregnant and had no idea she could get pregnant doing what she was doing. And my great-grandmother used to tell about her days being a midwife, and the young girl who thought she was going to vomit the baby out of her body. When my great-grandmother told the women that the baby was coming out the same place that got her pregnant, the young woman went back to trying to vomit. It's really sad what young girls/women don't know!
If a ten year old picked up one of my River City books and read it word for word, the most mom would need to say is that's sex. I'm not recommending that! But I'm being truthful. There's probably nothing in any of my books that my girls didn't know at that age. But, I'll be honest, I wouldn't have wanted them reading it.
All signed up. A little spice is good for you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Life would be bland without it! Thanks so much, Mary!
Hi E, I'm extremely sensitive about calling erotic ROMANCE "porn" which a lot of people do. But I also realize readers have different comfort levels. I write very hot ROMANCE and had a review lately that said there wasn't enough sex in the book. I think that some readers believe that lots of sex equals good sex. It's not the amount, it's the quality. hmmm.
Looking forward to Campaign.
Many years ago there was a photographer who did nude photos. Anyone who has any art training knew the quality of his work. He didn't use filters or anything other than natural lighting. He had several cameras he used, and always said it was so-and-so and I had it set at... He didn't use a lot of models, if I remember correctly it was his girlfriend, and a couple of close friends. He got run off the web for for being pornographic. Today, I doubt anyone would blink over it compared to what you see now on the web. He'd been doing it for probably three years and suddenly, there was this witch hunt over his work. No one would host him.
I think there's a huge difference between what he was doing and porn, just as there is in books. I think quality has so much to do with it. When it's no longer beautiful, someone has crossed the line.
Keep writing, Jane. I know I tease you about singeing my monitor, but your books are lovely and I'm thrilled Ancient Ties has been sold! Wishing you many sales on a truly beautiful tale of love.
Post a Comment
Let me know your thoughts! (And if you're having trouble commenting, try enabling third-party cookies in your browser...)