Lisa Fox's Blog, page 215

In Honor of Fleet Week

It is Fleet Week in New York City and I gotta say I wish was there to help all those lovely sailors celebrate.

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Filed under: Hot Men Tagged: Fleet Week, Navy, New York City, Saliors, Sexy Men

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Published on May 27, 2011 13:13

A Sucker for Blue Eyes

I do love blue eyes and my latest future ex-husband Luke Guldan has other fine qualities as well…

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Filed under: Hot Men Tagged: Blue Eyes, Husband of the Week, Luke Guldan, Lust, Nearly Naked, Sexy Men

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Published on May 26, 2011 13:16

Erotica vs. Romance by Noelle Pierce

I am so very excited to have the very talented and witty and intelligent (she's a DOCTOR!) author Noelle Pierce here today!

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First, thanks so much for having me here, Lisa! I'm always terrible at coming up with blog posts for my own site, but for some reason, when Lisa invited me, I thought, "hey! She's an erotica writer, too. I could talk about that." So, um…here I am. *grin*

I'm actually a romance writer. By that I mean Regency-set, with a three-alarm heat rating at best. However, I've written an erotica short story that was hotter. Much hotter. And I probably won't ever do it again. Don't get me wrong–I love reading it. But it's damned hard to write, not in the least because it's not porn.

You see, I can write porn. Penthouse-worthy porn (well, better than Penthouse Letters, if I must say…so many freakin' adverbs and poor grammar in those! And I refuse–REFUSE–to use phrases like "rigid anaconda" to describe a cock. I just will not do it.). I can also write romance. The relationships feel real to me, anyway. But erotica puts the heat of porn into the emotion of romance. And that's tough.

Let's start with some definitions. The Romance Writers of America says:

"Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love." (http://www.rwa.org/cs/the_romance_genre)

Funny, erotica isn't listed on that site, so I looked elsewhere. Or started to. "Erotica definition" returned 4 MILLION hits on Google, and some of them were basic enough that they might as well be including "pornography" in their definitions. And I strongly disagree. Erotica is NOT porn. Therefore, you are stuck with my personal definitions.

Erotica includes images and descriptions depicting the act of sexual love–but involves a story with a beginning, middle, and end. And the story doesn't start with "I never thought I would be writing to you, but…" In the midst of sex scenes in erotica, there is more going on than just who placed which body part where and how gooooood it feels. There is more internalization. There is emotion.

Aha! The crux of my problem. That damned emotion gets me every time. For some reason, when I'm writing romance, the emotions are there, but when I get to a sex scene, my amygdala shuts down. (The amygdala is the emotion center of the brain, in case you wanted to know…I'm a psych professor by day). A sex scene is difficult because we have to write it without too many euphemisms, cheesy phrases, or a laundry list of body parts. The reader needs to connect with the character. While I wrote my erotica short story, which was a reimagining of Hansel and Gretel (they were 19 and unrelated in my version), I blushed like crazy. I used words I would never use in my romance novels. And it took me three weeks to write a first draft of ONE sex scene. Oh, the pressure.

I may try it again when I have some more stories under my belt, but for now, I'll leave the erotica to the pros, like Lisa, who make it seem effortless.

So, what I really want to know is: what euphemisms have you seen for body parts in books, stories, or anywhere else? Two lucky commenters will win DANCING IN THE DARK!!

Print edition giveaway limited to U.S. only, but the digital is open to international entrants!!

(Contest ends Sunday, May 29, 2011. Winners will be announced Monday, May 30, 2011)

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Delectable Deviations: An Erotic Adaptation of Hansel & Gretel is a short story in the anthology, Dancing in the Dark, published by PfoxChase Publishing. This anthology includes eight authors from around the globe, with a variety of stories and styles to fit most tastes. You can find more information on the anthology at the website (http://dancinginthedarkanthology.weebly.com). You can find more information about Noelle and her writing at her website www.noellepierce.com.

Filed under: Guest Blogger Tagged: Noelle Pierce

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Published on May 25, 2011 05:30

Moonlight and Merlot

The continuing saga of the lives, loves and heartbreaks of the residents of Dion Valley, CA.

As with all the best things in life, this is for adults only.

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Some magic is meant to assist or heal. It is benevolent energy that is in tune with the earth and nature. It demands not, it simply requests that the flow of energy be redirected for a greater good. This white magic, as it is often called, aids man, helps him find and commune with his place within the universe. It is a celebration of life and love and all things light and wonderful.

Some magic is dark, not black exactly, but a darker shade of gray. It is the magic of selfish desires that wish supersede the order of the world, to grants things that are truly not meant to be had. Love spells and binding rituals and money incantations often fall into this realm of magic. There is often a price to pay for being granted such things and sometimes the price is much higher than the reward.

And still other magic is black. Black as the blackest night. Magic meant to inflict pain, magic with malicious intent, magic meant to change the course of events for the express purpose of obtaining power, to feed greed, to inflame lust. Dangerous magic. Powerful magic. Magic that can change history. Magic that can alter the very nature of the universe.

To call a god, any god, requires focus, purpose, intent. Some gods are good, kind. Some are not. Good or bad, the power required to access such a deity is immense and there are often many very strict rules in the process. If those rules should be broken, if something should go awry, be done wrong…

When Phoebe stepped out the circle that night, breaking the spell, she tore a rip in the very fabric of space. So powerful was the tear, it threw them all, Lela, Nick, Zach and Phoebe herself, down to the ground with such a force none could breathe for many moments afterward. The gap opened up by the forceful destruction of the protective magical circle opened a gap wide enough for something to enter. Something that was not meant to be. And its arrival tore the universe around Dion Valley asunder.

[Until next Tuesday…]

Filed under: Moonlight and Merlot Tagged: Free Read, Moonlight and Merlot, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Soap Opera, Tuesday Serial

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Published on May 24, 2011 13:02

Hot Men Sheets Are the New Fig Leaf Edition

Seriously.

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Filed under: Hot Men Tagged: Bulge, Male Nude Art, Nearly Naked, Sexy Men, Sheets

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Published on May 23, 2011 13:27

Six Sentence Sunday

I am beginning to discover that I have commitment issues. I fully intended to make some headway with my pirate story this week, but another tale popped up in my head and wouldn't go away. So, this week you get a little taste of this new project.

His long, muscular legs took him quickly across the coffee shop and the subtle movement of his hard ass totally captivated her attention. Jessie let her eyes linger over that picture of perfection while he waited in line. It was a decadent pleasure to watch him order, to watch his full lips move as he spoke and then curl into a small smile in response to whatever the counter girl said. It was very easy for her to image other more inventive and interesting things for those lips to do. Jessie shivered as a tiny lick of heat flared in her belly.