It guest blog day so join my in welcoming Anna Durand to The Roses of Prose...
Long before I ever wrote a romance, I began reading them
voraciously. Though I read all heat levels, I often gravitate toward the hotter
end of the spectrum, with stories that range from steamy (think Lynsay Sands)
to erotic (think Kresley Cole). When I wrote my first romance novel, Willpower, I kept the love scene sensual
but more euphemistic than graphic. I soon realized, though, that I longed to
write hotter—I just wasn't sure I'd be any good at it, and I felt a bit
self-conscious about the prospect.
Now, some writers worry their friends and family will
disapprove if they write hot love scenes, but my family was totally onboard
with the idea. I needed to silence that little voice in my head that kept
saying, "You can't do that, you've never written anything that sexy."
But when I looked back at the love scene in Willpower,
I realized I'd crafted a very sensual scene that I could easily have steamed
up. In fact, I'd wanted to but held back.
So I took a few workshops on writing hot, to gain some
confidence, but ultimately I just had to do it. (Pun intended, with a wink.)
The first truly hot love scene I wrote appeared in the novella Reborn to Burn—and yes, the title does
in part refer to the sensuality. Intuition,
the sequel to Willpower, was my next
published book to include steamy love scenes, as well as more sensuality
sprinkled throughout the book. But in the summer of 2015, I took the final step
in my steamy-writing journey. I wrote my first erotic romance, the short story Tempted by a Kiss.
The journey has culminated with my favorite of my books thus
far, the erotic romance novel Dangerous
in a Kilt. It includes several lengthy love scenes, very explicit but with
a playfulness I enjoy writing. From here on, some of my books will be hot, some
will be erotic, but always the romantic relationship takes center stage. The
journey to writing steamy took a while, but I have no regrets. And yes, I'll
admit it—I love writing hot!
Bio
Anna Durand is an award-winning writer specializing in
steamy romances populated with spunky heroines and hunky heroes, in settings as
diverse as modern Chicago and the fairy realm. Her romances have to date won
eight awards and her novel Intuition
was a 2016 RONE Award nominee, while her short story Tempted by a Kiss was a finalist in The Romance Reviews 2016
Readers' Choice Awards. Dangerous in a
Kilt won first place in the 2016 Great Beginnings contest, contemporary
romance category.
Website/Blog: http://www.annadurand.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAnnaDurand
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/annadurand
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Anna_Durand/
Dangerous in a Kilt
A feisty American. A
hot Scot. Passion ignites.
Good-girl Erica Teague is out on bail, charged with a crime
her ex-lover committed. Her desperate bid to experience one wild night of
sizzling sex, before her trial and certain conviction, lands her in the arms of
Lachlan MacTaggart, a hot Scot with a secret past. She can't resist his offer
to enjoy one month of sex and companionship with no strings. But when their hot
fling gets personal, can their passion free their imprisoned hearts?
Read the first three chapters and vote for it on Kindle
Scout:
11 comments:
Welcome, Anna. Thanks for sharing your journey to writing what your heart tells you to. Best of luck in the 'steamier' realm!
Thanks, Margo! Glad you could stop by.
I applaud your skill, Anna. We all struggle to put a fresh spin on our fiction love relationships; you have double duty in adding passionate, explicit sex scenes...that are titillating for both the writer and the reader. Heck, you're having twice as much fun as the rest of us writers. Proves you're one clever author. Good luck with Dangerous in a Kilt!
Thank you, Rolynn! What a wonderful compliment.
Sounds like you've found your niche. Heat level is always a tough one. I write to the main stream but often wish I could skip the sex altogether. I just started on my 19th book and feel like I'm running out of ways for my characters to be original in the bedroom. And I don't even write hot! Best of luck to you!
Jannine, it can be a challenge to stay fresh with love scenes. I don't worry so much about the actual sex being new and different, and instead focus on staying true to the characters and they interact with each other, in and out of bed.
Anna, thanks for visiting the Roses of Prose. I write next to erotic although my editor has told me my current project must be erotic. I think I can handle it. The step shouldn't be that big. More and more readers expect it. Good luck with your writing. I love a hawt read.
Hi, Anna - thanks for sharing your "heat" journey with us! Good advice on staying fresh with love scenes! I write pretty hot romance too, although I've struggled with "coming out" with it. (More than one friend has called it pornographic...which of course I don't agree with.) Wishing you much success!
Vonnie, good luck with your new project. Making the jump to erotic can be daunting, but you just have to go for it. I find the key is to have fun with it!
Leah, you know what Shakespeare said. "To thine own self be true." Be steamy and proud of it! :-)
Welcome, Anna. Glad you could join us. Some people can write sweet and others hot. We need both kinds. I'm sort of in the middle. Do what feels right for you. Best wishes.
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