One Thing I Fear --- Is Sex by Margo Hoornstra

I do fear sex.....in my writing.

However, I write romance. If you check out my website, I advise; Be Good To Yourself, Snuggle Up With A Little Romance. Or Sometimes sweet, sometimes sensual, always satisfying. That's another line I use to define my stories. Lofty promises, so I'd better deliver.

Though I constantly ask myself, how much is too much? What, exactly, is just enough? How detailed should I be in describing the love scenes? What are the logistics of it all? To paraphrase a presenter at a conference I attended, "We all know what goes where. So, it's a matter of how to get there."

I suppose the amount of sex used in any given work depends on the audience. Case in point.

 

A copy of my first book was on the end table one day. Enter my oldest daughter, who is well over the age of eighteen by the way, who decided to peek inside. Wouldn't you know, she opened to the one and only explicitly detailed love scene in the entire book. One, in my naiveté as a new author, I felt obligated to put there. As far as I know, to this day she has never read another word I've written. For good reason, I suppose. She later shared with a mutual friend her eyes were on fire for days.

 

I took that as a compliment.

 

As I wrote and sold more and more books, I found I preferred to, if not close the bedroom door behind my characters, at least keep some of the details in the shadows. Allow them a bit of privacy in their love scenes.

 

Or maybe I gained confidence my readers will be able to, shall we say, fill in the blanks.

 

A cherished snippet from one of my reviews reads: "Her love scenes are sensual and sexy, but full of sweet romance."

 

My latest work is part of the Dearly Beloved series from The Wild Rose Press. In Only If You Dare my heroine struggles with her own questions surrounding sex, romance and love--in that order.

 

When recently divorced Cynthia Buckingham meets well respected judge Jonah Colt their mutual attraction is immediate and strong. They both believe a one night stand will suffice. Which is so nice, they indulge in  another, then another, and another. Cynthia cares about Jonah, she really does, but isn't ready to share his existence with her only daughter. As their relationship inevitably progresses, neither Jonah or Cynthia is prepared for the quickly growing avalanche of emotions that threaten to sweep them away.

She had no business stoking a fire she never should have started in the first place.

This is an excerpt:

 

“Jonah. I was wrong, and I’m so very sorry.”

 

His hand froze on the gear shift. “About picking up your car? I can just give you a ride home then.”

 

He obviously wasn’t going to make this easy for her, but who could blame him? “You know, I always tell my patients they need to focus on reality, to believe in what is, and go from there.”

 

“I understand you care about your patients. I’m not one of them.”

 

What did he think? That she was creating notes for one of her counseling session? “I was wrong about—I should have admitted to myself how much you mean to me and let you know, too.”

 

“It might have been nice.” He didn’t respond with anything more, just put the car in gear and pulled away from the hospital.

 

The litany of confessions had already formed in her mind and, when she couldn’t contain them any longer, began to gush out. “I tried to pretend what we had together—” She paused when her voice cracked. “—wasn’t incredibly special. I wanted to believe I could enjoy a physical relationship and dismiss my emotions.” Her voice lowered. “As irrelevant.” She laid her hand on his arm, and a bicep muscle twitched then tensed. “And that was my biggest mistake of all.”

 

“You were only doing what was working for you, I suppose.”

 

Squaring up in her seat, she concentrated on the scenery passing by outside. He’d said very little as she went on and on. Because she hadn’t given him a chance to speak? Or because there was nothing he cared to share with her? Either way, she had to go for broke.

 

“I love you, Jonah.”

Only If You Dare comes out on Amazon October 28th. It will be free on their KDP Select December 10-14, 2013.

 

Before you go, I have another issue, sex related. Covers. Covers for my books have included beach scenes with a shadowed couple holding hands, head shots of a man and a woman kissing. A caricature of a knight in shining armor. A chin to waist shot of a very handsome, tuxedo clad hero. All in all though, they have been relatively tame.

Along comes an author friend who knows of such things. She suggests I may want to push the envelope a bit. Go for a tad sexier cover. Anxious to try new things, I took her advice. This is what my publisher and I came up with. What do you think?

 

 

 

My days to blog here are the 11th and 23rd. Information on me and my books, along with the link to Only If You Dare when it's available, can be found at:

 

www.margohoornstra.com  or www.margohoornstra.blogspot.com

 

 

Do Hot Covers Sell Books? by Jannine Gallant

Hot summer nights bring to mind a wealth of images. Some straight out of a romance novel... A couple standing in silhouette on a back lawn, hands clasped as they gaze up at  a star studded sky. Young lovers swimming beneath the moon in a secluded pool, just their heads visible as they look into each other's eyes. Tangled sheets revealing sweat dampened bare legs twined together... Three completely different images. I can picture them all on a book cover. But which one would sell the story?

Call me boring, but I tend to be attracted to scenery covers. A glimpse into the setting of the book. I may be boring, but I am versatile. I'm equally drawn to sweeping landscapes with dramatic mountains or a windswept, wide open plain or a homey scene featuring a back porch complete with a rocking chair. Yawn.

When my first few books were published, this is the type of cover I requested. The artists did add the inset of floating heads in several cases, apparently their attempt to liven things up. I was somewhat unnerved at first, but I got used to them. When my books released, I sat back and waited for my babies to sell. Okay, maybe I didn't just sit. I promoted. I blogged. I tweeted. I bored my friends on Facebook. Still, sales were dismal.

Then something happened that made me rethink my love affair with gorgeous scenery covers. For my cowboy book, Nothing But Trouble, I requested a barnyard scene complete with a bull in the background. The cover artist completely ignored me. When I got my first look at the cover, I nearly had a heart attack. No red barn. No fenced in bull. Instead, a hot cowboy with bulging muscles in an embrace with a very pretty girl. Yikes!

As hot covers go, this one is actually pretty tame. Remember what our mothers called books with bare chested heroes and women in undone dresses? Bodice Rippers. What would my friends and relatives think of this new book? They'd think I write smut, that's what! With trepidation, I boldly set out to promote this new book. And what do you know, it started selling! Okay, maybe not like Nora Roberts sells books, but sales for this one double all my others combined.

Is the story any better? I don't think so. Did I do more promotion? I'm not sure. Maybe. But a year and a half later, I still see a sale or two each week. Not great, but it's something. So, could it be that hot cowboy cover is selling the book? I'm not sure, but when the sequel comes out sometime next year, you can bet I'm going to ask for a good looking man on the front--hold the shirt!

Alright, ladies, let's hear it. Do your books with hot covers sell better? Or is my experience a fluke? What do you want to see on a book cover?

Find all my books with their tame covers on my website, and enjoy the rest of your hot summer nights reading a good book!