One of the things I love most about writing on the spicier side of the romance genre is showing how the relationship evolves between the hero and the heroine via love scenes. I like writing sex scenes anyway, and I love the depth of emotion they can show between the main characters.
I see a lot of criticism of sex scenes out there, especially explicit sex scenes. People say they’re not needed, are gratuitous or vulgar. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. I’m absolutely not offended when people say they don’t enjoy the hotter love scenes, but I do think that sometimes people overlook the ways in which sex scenes add to the emotional content of a story.
In Witch Fire I attempt to raise the emotional stakes every time the hero and heroine come together. I wanted them both to risk something during each sexual encounter and for those risks to grow exponentially. Jack risks the destruction of the safe emotional barrier he’s built around himself. Mira perceives that she risks her independence and power every time she succumbs to Jack, only to find independence and power in ways she never thought imaginable.
The emotional growth of the relationship as illustrated through sex scenes is important for me to try and achieve because sex scenes aren’t just about body parts and the physical act of intercourse. Let’s face it, they likely aren’t just about the physical act in reality either, (well, this is likely true for most people, anyway), and so why should they be treated as such for characters in romantic fiction? Love scenes should be about the physical act and more — the psychological push and pull between the hero and heroine, the emotional give and take, the laying bare (pardon the pun) of what each character holds private and concealed.
They shouldn’t just be about titillation (though I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that once in a while. Whatever floats your boat). Ideally, they should be about trust, the giving and receiving of pleasure and, above all, love.
Hope you all have a great Friday!
i couldn’t put the book down Anya – it was fabulous. You know i’m a total fangirl already but this is definitely one of your best books to date.
by Rhian April 22nd, 2007 at 7:59 pmYour love scenes are some of the best I’ve read. Very hot, and I definitely felt the connection between the hero and heroine growing and becoming more meaningful. When an author friend pondered expanding her repertoire to include more erotic content, I told her, “Read Anya’s work!”
by Cathy in AK April 23rd, 2007 at 2:48 amRhian — Oh, I’m so gald you liked it! Yay!
Cathy — Awww, thank you so much, sweets!
by anyabastblog April 23rd, 2007 at 2:42 pm