AtoZChallenge 2015: E is for Erotica
So, we’re on day 5 already! Our theme this year is ‘why’, specifically, why have we, as authors, written the titles we have. And, each day, the book we’re talking about will be FREE.
It’s my turn again today, and the book I’m talking about today is An Amusement: The Vampire’s Concubine #1.
I write lots of different genres, and, given my background in slash fanfiction, male/male erotica is a genre I enjoy and have written for a long time. I also have a teensie weensie obsession with vampires (not quite as big as my sister’s, but still pretty prevalent). The Vampire’s Concubine is therefore not the first time I’ve combined erotica and my penchant for the toothy ones, but it is the first time that I decided to break a story into multiple short episodes, each of which has to have it’s own story within the story.
I was interested in the challenge of writing an episodic serial and I picked erotica since that is my most familiar genre – an area where I know the tricks of the trade as it were. So, I developed the outline of the story and designed the episodes. There are two available at the moment, An Amusement and Rage, An Amusement being the first part, in which I worked to introduce the characters and the mystery of Umi that will arc through all the episodes.
An Amusement is all-out erotica, the sexual element driving the plot. I created the story like this, because, in an erotica serial, chances are, readers will be looking for that spicy edge (and it’s fun to write too ;P). However, it’s not all about sex. I can’t write what is known in fanfic as PWPs, plot-what-plots, which are purely about sexual encounters. I need back story, motivation for my characters, and, most importantly, relationship material. This is starting slowly in An Amusement, because the characters don’t know each other, so it is pretty physical, but there is a mystery there, something that I want to use to draw my readers through the books – who is Umi and why has he made this bargain?
So, erotica, is it a genre you enjoy, or do you prefer fade to black?
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An Amusement (The Vampire’s Concubine #1) by Sophie Duncan
Code for FREE download at Smashwords*: YB77M
Hieron, vampire lord of Harkham, is unaccustomed to visitors in his private bedchamber unless he has expressly invited them. Such an unsolicited intrusion should mean the interloper’s death, but Hieron finds himself unusually fascinated by the stranger who appears before him unbidden. Offering no name and no explanation of his reasons, the young man offers ninety nine years of absolute service in exchange for the gift of vampire power.
Amused and aroused, Hieron agrees to the bargain, names his enigma, Umi and decides he will become his newest concubine. The only thing left is to seal the deal in a bond of sex and supernatural power.
An Amusement is episode one of a male/male erotic romance, short story serial, The Vampire’s Concubine, which is distributed as part of Fantasy Boys XXX.
*Click Smashwords to go to the book on their site. Click the buy option. Put the code in the Coupon Code box, click ‘apply coupon’ and the book will be free. Coupon is only guaranteed to be valid for 6th April so please use immediately.
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I’ve read a couple erotica stories and enjoyed them, but sometimes I like a break and enjoy the fade to black scenes. It depends on my mood. Highly doubt I’d ever write one. I like reading sex scenes as opposed to writing them.
I know what you mean, sometimes the romance is better than the actual sex scene, so fade to black works. It depends on the story for me, as well as whether I’m in the mood for erotica (writing or reading it).
I am awful at writing sex scenes so I don’t think I could write a whole erotica story! I definitely agree it’s good for them to have a plot and some extra layers, as it were. 🙂
A lot of famous authors are atrocious at writing sex, otherwise we wouldn’t have the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction award 😉
I can write a hot sex scene but writing erotic romance isn’t something I want to do. I have a few friends that write erotic romance. I’ll be honest and say it’s not my preferred reading choice, but one of my friends that write it, she tells the most compelling story and her characters are very real. It just so happens there is some explicit sex but it fits, emotionally, with the characters. Her stories would be excellent even if the explicit sex was toned down. If sex scenes get too much I just skim through the pages, lol! Of course, I tend to do that with some mainstream romance too. I’m more interested in the story and where it’s going than a ‘how to’ pit stop in the bedroom. Yah, I get teased on that especially since I do beta reading for a couple authors. But for that reading I can put on my analytical hat. 😉
Sia McKye Over Coffee
You make a good point, if a book is all about sex and there’s no plot, then it’s not a very good story, IMO. Also, though, I work on the principle of writing I was taught very early on, every scene has to have a point, if it doesn’t, get rid of it – that can be character development, plot point, relationships, whatever is useful, but if none of those are achieved, then there is no point in the scene, and I have taken out sex scenes because they didn’t serve a purpose. 🙂
Erotica is were the money is if Fifty Shades is anything to go by.
Yes, it does look that way, although you still have to have a good marketing team behind you to make the big bucks 🙂
Why hello fellow fanfic writer ^_^ Though my slash is very rare.
Hello 😀 I started writing Gen in Highlander fandom, then I kind of slid into slash thanks to my sis, Tasha – I blame her, it’s all her fault for unleashing my inner slasher 🙂
I’ve loved erotica since I first started reading it at sixteen. I first read Victorian-era erotica, then discovered BDSM erotica at seventeen, and now my preferred poison is doctor-themed erotica. One of my past blog posts is “How to avoid amateur writing mistakes (erotica version).” A lot of writers I see on sites like LitErotica don’t seem to understand erotica deserves good writing as much as any other genre, and that no one’s going to be turned on when a story consists of nothing but paragraphs of description.
Possibly my biggest pet peeve about erotica is when a writer perpetuates the myth that the hymen is located several inches into the body and is some unbroken factory seal!
LOL! That mental image of the hymen reminds of some of the awful descriptions of womanly bits that come along – it’s not as bad in m/m, I’ve found, although in LotR’s slash they did refer to the john thomas as elfhood and hobbithood sometimes, which made me giggle!
I think with erotica the writing has to be better than you’d get away with in other genres, simply because it is a genre that is, shall we say, looked down upon in certain circles, and yet, I’ve read some that are the best forms of writing I’ve ever read. Unfortunately, these aren’t the famous ones.
I like it if it’s written well. I find a lot of erotica to be cheesy or repetitive though, which is frustrating to read regardless of genre/topic.
Yes, if it’s constantly about peg ‘a’ (insert authors pet name for said part of the anatomy here), into slot ‘b’ (another pet name), then it can be very boring. Like any other genre, it is easy to write derivative fiction (although, some people like that, I have found, they want something fast, easy and something that doesn’t have too many surprises).