Lucy V. Morgan's Blog, page 7

Can't Stop The Hop: Why Genre Hopping Is Good For Authors

My name is Lucy, and I'm a genre-hopping addict.

There's a lot of pressure these days to stick to one little bracket of fiction. Your readers need to know what to expect, after all. It's all about building up a brand name. There's also a fair amount of pressure (especially in e-publishing) to publish a lot of work in a short space of time.

If I had to write in the same little genre for three or four titles in a row, I'd feel very trapped. I suspect I'd also end up doing what a lot of authors do: I'd write the same frickin' book, three times over. There are authors who manage to churn out fresh narrative after fresh narrative in the same area of fiction, and I have a lot of respect for them. They're brave and clever. But equally, some of my favourite authors have disappointed me more than once by selling me the same book in new packaging. Same conflict, same characters, same twists...when you get burned out or uninspired, it's all too easy for this to happen (and you just have to hope your editor is sharp enough to say, "why have you delivered this steaming heap?").

So...I genre-hop. It's like a palette cleanser. I have four confirmed releases this year: two are light-hearted romantic chick lit style books, and two are dark erotica. My current work in progress is science fiction; then I hope to move on to a thriller, then more erotica and more sci fi. (I don't expect to publish it all under the same name for marketing reasons, but it's still me that writes them).

I'm an eclectic reader. I love everything from thrillers to lit fic to filth. I'm lucky in that I have a lot of time to write, so there's a little flexibility in terms of getting things out there at a decent rate (though I'm hardly a fast writer). I currently publish with a small press, and self-publish; I guess I'm lucky there too in that I have a lot of freedom. If I were to land a bigger three-book contract, I'd probably need to stick with those three same-genre books and concentrate on just making them awesome. My next three books would probably be quite different, though. If I could pump out a novel a year in two different names/genres, I think that would be my ideal.

I used to worry about my genre-hopping. I thought it was a flaw; I could never label my books. Now I've realised instead of cramming about four genres into one novel, I need to write those separate novels, and so long as they're good, that's okay. I also used to worry that readers wouldn't know what to expect, but since the books will appear in different categories with descriptive blurbs, I suspect that's a rather patronising assumption. I've made peace with my genre-amorous self, and it's a nice place to be.

Some writers only feel competent or content in one genre. That's okay (and hell, some of them have no reason to switch). But more people--curious people-- should genre-hop, time and space permitting. Come on. You know you want to...

A Little Update On What I'm Working On Now

Hello and good evening (or indeed, happy Friday!)

I thought I'd update a little as to what I'm up to right now with writing, and when you can expect some new releases:

LATE MAY
Olly Harris: Wedding WreckerThis is a sequel/companion book to Beautiful Mess. It's going to be longer--I'm hoping to get it into short novel territory--and it's shaping up to be a lot more of a romantic comedy than an erotic book (Olly is good at a lot of things. Smut isn't one of them :P). There may also be a cameo from a certain ginger manwhore from Chairman of The Whored...

There will be a cover reveal, hopefully, in about two weeks, and I'll be posting the first chapter around the same time. So be sure to stop by for that! You can add Olly to your Goodreads list right here.


JUNE 4th
The Whored's Prayer (#2 in The Whored Series)If you'd like the chance to get your hands on it before everyone else, I'll be giving an advance copy away mid-May. Don't forget to add it on Goodreads right here :)

I also have some filthy/awesome extra scenes--a novella's worth, really--which take place after The Whored's Prayer (one includes Bailey's brother, Rhys, who you'll meet in Olly's book). I'll be posting them up weekly after the release, so once you've read it, pop back and find out what happens next! 


My television script is officially in development now. It could well be a long time before I have any more news on it, but it's definitely exciting territory :) I'm currently writing a young adult novel (which weirdly isn't that different from my erotic stuff. I just have to choose different words) and I'll be moving on to a collaborative YA straight after. When they're done, around July time, I'll be thinking about my next erotic novel (and jonesing to write some filth, probably!).

Anyway, in the meantime: thank you for reading. Thank you for visiting. You make it possible for me to write really cool stuff.

Write A Better Orgasm

An orgasm is an event, people. When it comes to women--who account for a large proportion of the romance and erotica audience--it's also often but a fantasy, during sex. That means we writers are, above all, offering a fantasy experience. The perfect sex. The perfect orgasm. The words used to describe it should hold visceral weight, and the build-up should match the pace of the participants' uneven breaths.
Sex scenes are, for the most part, written to arouse the reader. They should feel and follow; sensation should build. When that climax comes, the line should punch them in the face...not wimp out and fuck up their rhythm. Treat the reader like your lover. Warm them up, tease them a little and then shove them off the edge of the cliff.
Three common mistakes in the writing of female orgasms:
1) Now You See It, Now You Don't
Or "where the hell did that come from?" Lack of build-up denigrates the reader's experience. Foreplay, foreplay, foreplay--focus on the growing arousal of the participants as well as your he licked/she sucked stage directions. Pay attention to the small things: the flush that appears across the heroine's chest, or the way sweat sculpts the hero's hair into a bed-tousled mess. The growing weight of blood in their veins as it rushes to swell (because we're often told how pussy lips get puffy or cocks get hard, but not what comes beforehand); the pain-diffusing heat of adrenaline; the warm, wet scrape of teeth across a collar bone. The little shift of the heroine's hips as she moves to guide her lover's fingers. The way her sighs feel in her throat, how they grow shorter and coarser.
Think about pacing. Vary the sentence structure and word choice to reflect jerkier movements, frantic sheet-twisting and breathless words. If your narrator can't think straight because he or she is so damn close, that's almost as sexy as the orgasm to come. Show rather than tell the chemical and emotional subtexts of arousal. (There's a nice guide to the stages of female arousal here, and it's worth a look in terms of structuring your writing).
2) Baker's Dozen
So we're writing "fantasy" sex; more than one orgasm is apparently the order of the day. Except it's not when they all arrive one after the other: oh look, another one! Well, that's nice. And hmm...is that...aha! Another! Break for dull descriptor paragraph....yes, another and another...no, that didn't do much for me either.
Treat every orgasm like the first, from a writing perspective. The second, third and fourth might not need such a long build-up, but they do still need one. Furthermore, how are they different from the first? If they're harder, where does the heroine feel this most strongly, for example? What does each consecutive orgasm do to her?
Women can have several different types of orgasms (vaginal and clitoral are two kinds; scroll down here for some differences). Mix it up a bit. Know exactly what is happening to your character's body, and tell the reader as if it's their first time too. 
3) Damp Squib
A strong build-up is all well and good, but it's only going to disappoint if the orgasm itself is poorly described. You want to write the Chuck Norris of climaxes, not the Where's Waldo? 
Stereotypical ways orgasms are presented in romance/erotica:
Her orgasm hit herHer orgasm pulsed/coursed through herShe moaned/screamed (who actually screams?)/cried out as the orgasm...
Let us not forget the lovely vaginal descriptions:
Her pussy clenched (this happens just before orgasm, and it's only the bottom part of her pussy. The top actually gets bigger. Every day's a school day! During orgasm, you contract rather than clench).She milked his cock (like a Dutch maid?)Her sheath quivered (excuse me while I vomit quietly into a bucket)Her womb contracted (who actually feels their womb contract? It's an abdominal sensation, no? Ever cried out "oh God, my womb!" during sex...? Answers on a postcard to bullshitlandia).
Also, gushing. Much gushing going on. Gushing is not particularly commonplace; if it was, we'd all have to carry spare knickers. If you're going to write about gushing then keep it for the later stages of arousal, when it's more likely (and remember that vaginal lubrication is rarely so abundant that it actually gushes. It's more of a little rush, an ooze even. Make ooze sound sexy. Er, somehow). The same goes for squirting--even more so, in fact. They're having sex, people. Not going for a swim.
Here are a couple of my favourite fictional orgasms as examples:
"Threads of pleasure slid down my legs, into every toe...it suffused me, carried me and lifted me...I came on his tongue, and he held me close as my body bucked and jumped. I cried out, his name like candy on my lips...licorice and whiskey...Dan."   Dirty by Megan Hart
"No crashing waves, no ripples of ecstasy. A violent pleasure tore through me, a whiplash at my clit that bloomed and radiated through my belly and chest."   Curio by Cara McKenna
"She felt the flash of heat again, followed by another and another as he continued pressing the secret spot, and she could not stop the noise that rose in her throat from escaping as she dissolved into his hand."   Taming The Beast by Emily Maguire 
And a couple from my books (toot toot. Also, I can use longer quotes from these):
"God, I fell.
Down, down, from a floating precipice to the smack of a hard fuck. There were no tears but I sobbed again, seared with the heat of a convulsing world and the wet mess of contractions that piled up inside me like traffic." Chairman of the Whored

"The orgasm was so different to the one which had drenched his bed last night. For minutes, it grew deep inside me in jerky snaps, conducted by the rhythm of his tongue. It peaked beneath my clit over and over before he caught on to it and pulled...pulled...
It was different. Longer, somehow wetter--as if I needed more of myself to pour into this man's mouth. As I calmed, he lingered over the swell of me and licked all the way down to my inner thighs.

Above, the branches of silver birch swayed like velvety eyelashes, and they span in the mess of oxygen I sucked from the air." 

"I fell in on myself--smash, crumple, shuddershudder--and the second he realised my orgasm had hit…he stopped. God knows, it was obvious, the way I stiffened and moaned his name. I writhed beneath him until he moved again, and then it was a slow dance as he made me work for every breath-sucking contraction. Fear pricked the back of my neck, the terror that it would fall away and I'd lose everything…but he forced me to fight until the last wave ebbed. I did beg. I begged until my voice cracked and my throat was dry."  The Whored's Prayer

So there you have it: three steps to writing a better orgasm. Like a magic spell; no wand required (although a wand is nice sometimes, let's be honest).


 

Teaser: OLLY HARRIS, WEDDING WRECKER

If you've read Beautiful Mess, you'll be familiar with Olly, Bailey's lewd, crude and slightly hopeless room-mate. At the end of April, he'll be starring in his own book (details here). Here's a little bit of what you can expect:


I'm going to let you in on a little secret now: this is an Olly Harris speciality, perfected through years of practise. It's not often that I cook, but nobody does this better than me. It's important to get the choice of bread right for this recipe. Girls pretend they don't care about this stuff, but did you just hear that conversation? Castles and shoes that cost the same as cars? It's Valentine's, so roll out the good stuff. I've gone with a malt blend with pumpkin seeds because Chan loves healthy crap and I'm considerate like that. It's organic, so it might even cure cancer or give me a blow job. That's just how ace this bread is.The next step is equally important. You have to be really exacting with the temperature. You're aiming for a crisp, caramelised brown; about eighty five seconds should do it. While they tick away, you should be warming a bit of butter--cheat and do it in the microwave so long as you don't melt it to a pool of rancid crap. Then it's time to bring your two ingredients together in a slow-mo rugby tackle of carbs and lard. (Don't actually do that. I'm just trying to be entertaining and stuff, and repeatedly whacking a pat of butter like a retard will lead to a mess that your girlfriend then has to clean up).(Ha. I wouldn't really make her clean it up. Well. Maybe if she bent over and I was allowed to video the whole thing.)"Ol." Linc walks towards me in a clean shirt. "What you up to?"I hold the plate up. "Special Valentine's tea for Chan.""Dude." He glances between me and the food several times. "That's toast."I bring the plate back in defensively. "Toast just the way she likes it.""What, with a side order of roaring ineptitude?"

Cover Reveal: THE WHORED'S PRAYER

I've been so ridiculously excited about this:

[image error]
                                       Coming 4th June 2012
                 (click the above image to enlarge those lovely...fonts)

This is the sequel to Chairman of the Whored, and this fine young (ish) man would be Joseph. You can read more about The Whored's Prayer right here.

Squee! Manflesh! And deep insights into broken, dirty minds. Obviously. Ahem.

Interview

I'm interviewed today over at Urban Fantasy author Sonya Clark's website. I talk lots about the darker side of London, when heroes are not heroes, writing BDSM, cocktails and my rather eccentric taste in music.

Release Day!

[image error] Chairman of the Whored officially releases today!

It's been a bit weird waiting for this--I started writing this book back in 2009, finished in 2010, revised for ages and then didn't sell until 2011.  Now it's finally landed, I'm nervous, excited and above all, curious as to what readers will make of this rather dark, intense tale.

Read all about the book and find vendor links here, or buy direct from the publisher to take advantage of the 30% off new releases offer and to download a 25-page sample.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the cover reveal of The Whored's Prayer--it's even more gorgeous than this one (hint: manflesh).

I'm off for cocktails.

Well. Later. Hic!

Chairman of the Whored: Book One in the WHORED series

[image error]  Coming 20th Feb 2012
Leila Vaughn is a tax lawyer at a prestigious London law firm. And a whore. Leila didn't take the night job just to pay off her debts--an affair with an older man once stirred a pit of darker desires. Now her year as an escort is almost over, she's ready to lock up her alter-ego, Charlotte, and be normal once again.

What's bad is that her colleague, Matt, just caught her out.

What's worse is that their boss, Joseph, is with him.
Matt wants to rescue Leila. She should want what he does--monogamy and escape from the city--if she's going to be normal, right? But Joseph is as familiar with the slippery world of escorting as she is, and that makes him hard to resist. In London's tightest circles, they call him the Chairman of the Whored. Bold, sharp and ruthless, he's everything that Leila is trying not to be...so why can't she say no to him?  

Three jobs left before she pays off her debt. Two men playing games she can't handle. One alter-ego, banging against the mirror.  In a dark hotel room, the glass is about to break...

Warning: contains m/f/m, f/f/m, light bondage, anal, knife play, voyeurism, prostitution,  questionable morals and a bisexual manwhore with a disproportionate fear of his tax return.



READ THE FIRST 25 PAGES
(click to download for your e-reader)


READ THE REVIEWS

"... I was so engaged by the female lead I had to keep reading. The sex was off the charts erotic and the plot was so twisty I couldn't guess what would happen next."  Scorching Book Reviews
"... This book not only made the sex hot...the BDSM and torture sex was so well written that it flowed perfectly with the characters and how I pictured them to be...so striking that I found it hard to put down." The Forbidden Bookshelf
"...Chairman of the Whored wasn't what I expected yet I gained so much enjoyment reading about Leila's triangle and how she dealt with them." Just Erotic Romance Reviews
"Lucy Morgan has a way of painting with words, using metaphors and metonyms to describe how Charlotte is so much a part of Leila, and how Leila feels about the world around her...it's about a woman who wants more than she's supposed to want, more than "normal" people want. It's about a woman who has to make hard decisions in order to come to terms with herself." Goodreads

Click to read about Book Two

The Whored's Prayer: Book Two in the WHORED Series

[image error] Coming 4th June 2012 Cover reveal coming 21st Feb!
Branded. Back-stabbed. Bloodthirsty.Ready for one more kiss of the knife?
There are nicer ax murderers than Joseph Merchant--or so he'd have his law protegees think. Maybe that's why lawyer-turned-escort Leila can't say no to him: she's got a thing for men with knives.
Joseph bought Leila's services for the whole of their New York business trip. The more they explore their darker desires, the more Joseph pushes for something other than their paid arrangement...and Charlotte, Leila's dirty secret and escort alter-ego, is helpless to resist. Now Leila has a shot at an amazing career, a boyfriend as twisted as she is, and for the first time, she starts to accept her submissive, polyamorous self.
But somebody knows more about her escort work than she bargained for--someone who's not afraid to abuse her secrets to get what they want. And if their blackmail succeeds, Leila will lose everything...
Warning: contains non-consent role play that will make you check your locks, and a girl who's sold more than her body to a man who'll take it all--and then some.

Have a review blog? Want to receive an advance review copy of The Whored's Prayer? Contact Lucy at lucyvmorgan@gmail.com

"On a visceral level, women enjoy violence perpetrated against them."

Erm...no. No, we don't, OneSTDV. The clue in that quote is "perpetrated" because it does not acknowledge consent.

You do know what consent is, don't you, OneSTDV? It's that part where we say "this is okay." It's not implicit just because we are women who apparently like to be knocked around. Sometimes there might be rules; sometimes not. But never, ever is it okay to abuse a woman because "rape narratives appear in almost every romance novel and a moderated version currently drives the Twilight phenomenon in which vampire Edward wants to kill his lover Bella."

I try not to rise to this stuff--the article I'm quoting admits its misogynist roots--and yet if this made just one girl question her reasoning behind wanting a man to be rough in bed or made her hestitant to stand up for herself, it has done women in general a disservice. As someone who writes about rough sex and BDSM, I feel it responsible to point out what a great load of slimy batshit it is to suggest that women actually welcome domestic abuse; that it is somehow the natural way of things.

Do you know what a rape fantasy is? I've talked about it here:

"Rape fantasy: A scenario where a woman is 'forced' into sex but enjoys it on whatever level pleases her kink, and suffers no traumatising after-effects, under the pleasing insinuation that our "hero" wants the heroine so much, he can't take no for an answer. Intended to be erotic, but is sometimes miswritten as a vicious act that mentally scars our heroine for the often misguided purpose of pleasure through self-pity and flagellation."


Not everyone knows the difference between rape fantasy and real, life-devouring rape. In a rape fantasy, the "victim" is in control. A lot of novels confuse rape fantasy with actual rape--it's sad, and symptomatic of a world where admitting to the fantasy is still apparently wrong. This makes for a world where silly teenage girls can only express what is a quite natural BDSM curiosity by saying sensationalist things like "I'd let Chris Brown beat me," because they're not familiar with risk-aware frameworks or safety words. But it's also symptomatic of a time not so long ago when a lot of women didn't have the power of "consent."

Let me remind you again, "mostly academic" OneSTDV, what symptomatic means: it is not the root of a problem. It is an offshoot, a consequence of an innate problem. In this incidence, the innate problem is inequality between genders. Yes, it is a problem; we may have a little more or less flesh between our legs but the world sure sucks when we're continually pitted against each other. Ever wondered if maybe that's what sex is for, besides the obvious? An opportunity to even the playing field, to get these power kinks out of our system so we don't end up taking out the urges on those undeserving, those who have not said this is okay?

"Abused women appear oddly reticent to leave abusive men." I'm not going to go into the many reasons this is a twisted thing to say; I'm just going to point out the use of the word oddly. It implies something scathing and ignorant. Or perhaps OneSTDV was just amused by writing it. I suspect the latter.

"On a visceral level, women enjoy violence perpetrated against them." Do some women enjoy a little violence for sexual, physical pleasure? Yes, they do. So do some men. Are we saying it's okay to abuse men too? Apparently not. Why are we even equating sexual violence with domestic abuse? Cancel out adrenaline and they don't even deal with the same hormonal responses on a chemical level. Good sex, nomatter how brutal, leaves you with self-esteem intact, even if you get off on feeling like you don't deserve any. Domestic abuse does not.

Reader: please never feel that because you desire to submit to a man for kicks, you are somehow deserving of manipulation and abuse; that it exempts you from calling yourself a feminist; that because some writers do not know how to correctly relate a rape fantasy, all women somehow want to be raped. It's not true. It's an ignorant and uninformed perspective, and a poisonous one at that.

I know a couple of very nice men who would identify as alpha. Not one of them, despite his various kinks and desires, would ever think that raping or abusing a woman is okay. A proper alpha knows where to leave the power play and that's on that visceral level. He is never a perpetrator; he is a partner within an equal consent.

Consent. Got that? Consent.

Thanks to Erotic Romance Publishers for bringing this article to my attention.