We erotica writers tread uneven ground on a regular basis. When it comes to sex, especially spicy, non vanilla nookie, everyone has his/her own unique personal preferences. Personally I can not stomach the thought of menage. Makes me retch. The whole sharing under mutual consent thing squicks me the hell out. I don't even like to lend out my clothes, never mind my man. What's mine is not yours, beeotch. I recently read a book with that particular spin on it, an otherwise awesome book and I did give it a five star review because the author is not responsible for my discomfort. What ever blows up your skirt, right?As an writer, I realize not all readers are going to view it quite the same way. I've had a hell of a time with one particular scene in No Limits, after the hero, Rhys, and heroine, Genevieve have been together for a while with no commitment between them, no promise of a future. After tasting their own mortality and the sheer amount of hopeless odds stacked against their relationship, he pushes her away. He's convinced he is going to die and doesn't want her to grieve for him or even worse, to die along side him. This is a spin that's been used many times over but the difference here? She does it.
I really have a love/hate relationship with this scene, considered pulling it out of the book several times over. I love it because it's a red hot scene and the other man is sex on a stick. I hate cheating in general and loath it in romance novels in particular. But is it cheating when no one is getting paid and no one is being betrayed? She's hurt, he's hurting, the adrenaline is running high and there are copious amounts of booze and a little empathic intoxication going on.
There is a double standard here because I would never, ever, EVER write the man as the possible cheater, regardless of the situation. For my heroes, it's the woman I wrote for him or nothing. Might as well castrate yourself now buddy boy because the old skin boat to tuna town has sailed.
In the end, I have to accept that this element will turn some readers off. In a couple of ways it turns me off too. But in the end, the story is called No Limits for a reason. I'd be cheating my readers if I held back, whitewashed over the scene out and fluffed up some other external conflict that wouldn't require the copious amounts of soul searching this one act inspires in all of the main characters. And that's a kind of cheating I simply won't tolerate.
Acceptable or way too much? What's your take?
11 comments:
'Skin boat to tuna town' ROFL and squick!
I don't have an issue with the scene, particularly as the characters had no commitment to each other previously.
If hero runs away, why not? If your sometimes boyfriend suddenly stops returning your calls or wants to see other people, you should be free to do so.
Scott was watching grumpy old men and it got stuck in my head. ;-) Yeah, I knew it was a risk but fortune favors the bold, right? RIGHT? Besides, if I just wrote stuff that would make everyone happy the story would never get written!
I love your posts. Really, I do! I really believe, as authors, we have the power to motivate pretty much anything in a way that is loving and believable. If anyone can make such a fictional encounter work, it's you. If I was stabbing at it, I'd do it in such a way that the act would be the only way she could save her hero from certain death.
Or something like that. :)
But this is your book and I can't wait to get to that scene!!!
I'm glad that you enjoy and that you get the chance to read them! Thank you for the vote of confidence. And I like that angle, I really do. "Shag me or the empath dies." Hehehehe
I'm very much a liberal when it come to sex. I don't have a problem with the scene. As you explain it, it doesn't even seem like cheating. Taking a queue from Friends it would fall into the "We were on a break." category.
Even if they were not on a break, I don't see where it's a problem. It's life. Shit happens. People cheat on one another. Sometimes they can work through it and sometimes they don't.
It's okay to show that love isn't always pretty or easy. You should show all the facets of a relationship.
Since I've read the scene in question, I understand your reservations about it. I still think if you give Rhys's powers enough page time there, that and the booze, the terrible odds stacked against him and Gen...if you really ramp that up I think it will be okay. Maybe readers won't love it, but at least you've justified it as best you can. Shaky ground, I know, but you can do it!
If there is no commitment between them or no understanding they will be monogamous, I don't think it's cheating.
I have no problem with threesome or moresome, although the choreography of a scene after four gets ridiculous in my opinion.
But I don't like cheating. Which is weird because one of my kinks is the chase of the forbidden. The more they aren't supposed to have it, the more I want them to.
It doesn't get any more forbidden than someone who is committed to someone else. But that ruins it for me because it shows the characters to be selfish and suddenly, I don't care what happens to them. But that's true for me in any book. If you show me a character who is completely selfish, if I know the book has an HEA, I stop reading. If it's something where it's possible he/she dies horribly or is maimed for life... I may keep picking at it.
We were on a break! LOL, blast from the past! Back when every third woman wanted Jennifer Aniston's haircut. Good point, Vivi.
Kaylea, I'm definitely going to take your advice on that. Right now the scene is sitting in the realm of could work. But I'm going to make it work, at least for me!
Saranna, I agree with you on that. The cheating, especially post real time commitment cheating is totally unacceptable to me. I write real people off for that, why wouldn't I dismiss fictional characters for the same behavior!
I'm firmly in the "It Depends" category. For me, cheating heroes and heroines is a bit like porn: I'll know it when I see it. In this case, I'll know whether I can stomach the author's take on it and she's done a good job of making me accept the motivations for it, after I've read the book. Not very helpful, huh? Sorry. But I reckon every writer needs to take chances, coz it's all about prodding a reaction from the reader, right? So you go, girl. I have every confidence this scene needed to be there.
As for things heroines shouldn't ever do, I direct you to this tongue-in-check post:
10 things your heroine should never do (if you want to win a RITA):
http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2009/02/heroine-no-nos.html
Get ready to snort your coffee, and vow to ignore "the rules" *VBG*
Maree - Thanks for the link! Those rules are just too funny.
And Jenn, I agree that scene in question doesn't involve "cheating," since Gen & Rhys had broken up at the time. Whether it's in character for Gen is the bigger issue in my mind. I'll let you know after I read it.
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