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Monthly Archives: May 2013
My adventures in Erotica
My first exposure to anything erotic came from a mainstream source. In the early 90s my mother was reading Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. It was a story about a spy during WWII. It was written in 1978 and a movie version was released in the early 80s.
Unrelated: it’s a great read, and you should totally check it out if you like spy novels or adventure novels or even romance novels with a healthy dose of suspense/action/danger. You can download it from a few different places, and probably find it almost any used bookstore or library if you’re looking for something to carry this summer on a vacation. The movie isn’t bad either as far as movies made from books go, although it doesn’t hold a candle to the book. It was streaming on Netflix for a while, and it pops up on tv once in a while.
I was probably ten or eleven years old, and we saw the movie on cable one night while she was reading the book. I was already a voracious reader, and while I still read things aimed at my age regularly, I also read a lot of the mystery and thriller novels that my mother read. I sometimes didn’t understand everything in them, and I often had to read with a dictionary nearby, but I was more than happy to read above my age level. I asked to read Eye of the Needle, when she was finished and she promised to make it available. A few days later she gave it to me, and made me promise not to take it to school, and showed me two pages where she had dog-eared the corners. She made me agree that I wouldn’t read those pages. She told me the story would still make sense, but I just would have to skip those pages. Of course those were the first pages I read. It was a pretty graphic sex scene, even though there weren’t any dirty words. I knew what sex was, of course. But I had never encountered the concepts of orgasms or oral sex. I knew what they were, but hadn’t given the actual concepts much thought. The idea that a climax wasn’t just something to do with sex, but something that was caused by what another person DID to you was mind boggling. Ditto for the idea of the spy using his tongue between her legs, or wanting her to put her mouth on his penis.
My mother had been right, the story made sense without those two pages. She would have died if she knew that I probably read those two pages 300 times that week, and probably another 100 times in the coming months. I didn’t understand them completely, but I LOVED them.
A few years later I found a dirty novel in my parents dresser. I remember it vividly. It was called FREE FOR ALL WIVES (and you can find it at a site called NEATOPOTATO if you’re so inclined). It wasn’t well written really, and the story is nothing more than an excuse for a bunch of sex scenes.
It didn’t speak to me the same way the earlier book had, but I read it lots that summer.
In fact it was reading FREE FOR ALL WIVES that inspired me to do a bit of self exploration. I was reading it the first time I had an orgasm.
As I got older I became a bit of an expert on sex scenes in the written form. Some were so good that reading them was like foreplay. Others were explicit, but if the grammar and spelling weren’t working I’d be too busy being critical to get any sort of enjoyment out of the words.
I’ve been writing my own stories since I was old enough to write. And after the summer reading from my parents dresser I began writing my own sex scenes. My reasoning was selfish. Since I wanted to read something that turned me on, I reckoned the characters should at least be smart and use proper grammar. Besides I could make them do anything I wanted if I was the author.
I never worried about anyone finding the sex stories. My mom respected my privacy, and even though my dad would snoop if he was worried about my dating life (which started about ninety seconds after he realized that I had breasts, and lasted until my third wedding anniversary), he wouldn’t dare read something kept in a folder marked ‘my changing feelings and growing into a woman’.
I used to write poetry that was pretty awful (don’t judge me), and I think my father would have rather put his eyes out than read some of my stuff, so he’d quickly skip anything he thought would be remotely similar.
I continued to write in college, with dreams of writing a mainstream mystery. But I always enjoyed writing out a sex scene. As an adult I’ve been blessed with a great imagination, and as a result my sex life has never been boring, either with my Dear Husband, or by myself.
It just seemed natural to keep writing things that turned me on, and I started keeping them all in one place. My love of writing erotica has prospered ever since.
I hope to get something published soon, (MY FIRST BOOK, THANKSGETTING IS COMING SOON!!!!!!) and look forward to writing for a long time to cum. (See what I did there? I’m usually more clever than that. I promise.)
Hope you stick around and read more of me!
Love, Isabella
Coming soon! Thanksgetting by Isabella Emily Marks
Lisa’s alone in her country home over the long holiday weekend. With an ice storm raging outside she’s examining the truth about her love life and the state of her heart. As she dreams of the future and reminisces about the past, she discovers depths of physical pleasure and heart truths that will put her life in perspective.
The 1st review is good.
“OH
MY
GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD……………….”
Quote from someone who just finished the first six chapters of Thanksgetting.
Glad you liked it! Granted it was merely a tease, and not really enough of the story to get a sense of where it’s going, but maybe someone besides me will enjoy reading about Lisa!
Watch this space, because I’m thinking I might tease out a chapter today for a few hours, just to see if I can get some feedback. I’m not fishing for praise (although by all means don’t hold back if that’s what you’ve got!), I’m fishing for honest reactions.
Help Wanted. See perky girl in corner.
I need a proofreading volunteer. Or two.
I shared the first half of what I have completed with a friend from Twitter yesterday, and she was very kind with her words. She read yesterday for story, and promised to read it again with a sharp eye towards grammar, punctuation, lost words. I’m HORRIBLE at leaving a word of a sentence and NOT realizing it, no matter how many times I read it back through. See what I did there? I did it on purpose! That time. Too often it’s on accident. Maybe I could do a contest and promise a free copy of my next book to whoever spots the most errors in this one. Not that I want people ignoring the story in favor of finding errors.
I know authors who say don’t worry about an error. Or even two. If your story is strong enough the readers will forgive you. I know this is true, because I’ve FOUND errors in books and liked the story so much that I’d read another story from that author as quick as they can get it published. I forgive the errors.
But I don’t forget
I remember who had typos, or used the wrong tense, or who used too instead of to. I KNOW that just about everybody who writes, short of maybe those who don’t care and are looking for a quick buck because they think writing is sooooo easy, knows how to use grammar and what the rules are for words. But we all make mistakes. It’s the correcting them before others see them that counts the most. I don’t want people to remember my story as the one where I left out an adverb, added one too many letters to a word, changing it’s meaning.
I want people to remember me based on how much they liked or disliked my story.
So I need someone to proofread. Volunteers. I can’t pay you, except for my undying gratitude. And of course a free copy of what I’ve written. And of course I’m willing to return the favor free of charge! Despite what this blog has left you thinking, I’m good at writing, and know what I’m doing.
I already have one. But I’d like a few more. I’m each of you will catch something different.
So to sum up, I need:
- A proofreader, or two
- More coffee
- A skanky thesaurus
- A new magic wand
I’m willing to offer, in exchange:
- Proofreading YOUR story
- I’ll review your book right here on this someday soon to be highly trafficked blog
- I’ll make you cookies (delivery in Columbus, Ohio only, otherwise you’ve gotta pick ’em up)
- I’ll say nice things about you on Twitter. Or nasty things. Or bad things. Whatever you want.
- You get to read my new book ahead of the rush (which I’m sure there will be when I figure out how to create one!).
I’m going downstairs to refill my coffee. THAT one I can do on my own.
It’s after midnight so I have an announcement!
Today, Friday, May 31, 2013, is being declared IZZY DAY, by me.
The day will include writing, coffee, 80s metal, underwear dancing, writing, online magic wand replacement shopping, coffee, pepsi, tweets, coffee, more underwear dancing, and even more writing.
If the mood strikes me I may share a few of the naughtiest bits of my new novel with you for a few hours, so you can take my friend Lisa for a test drive.
Prepare yourselves ladies and gentlemen. IZZY DAY is here, and in the morning WE WRITE!
What do you need to write?
If I’ve got a good idea I can write almost anywhere. I’ve written on napkins in a bathroom stall at work so as not to lose an idea, and my husband knows that any nonsensical texts or voicemails he gets are probably story ideas that I didn’t want to risk forgetting.
As a kid I used to write everywhere, and always had a notebook with me in school, from third grade on. I used to keep all my stories in three big hand me down Trapper Keepers that I bought at a garage sale in fourth or fifth grade. I still have all the stories, in a file box in the closet. I’d probably grab that during a fire before I’d think about clothes or car keys. I’ve also got them scanned into the computer and archived, so in case of a fire I’d still have them. But I’d hate to lose the actual paper. Sometimes I pull them out and reread them, remembering vividly where I was at when I wrote those stories; kitchen table, laying on my bed, sitting in our camper at a campground, study hall, and even one about mean girls (way before the Lindsay Lohan movie) that I wrote at a sleep over while the other girls made fun of me for not fitting in.
But when I seriously write, when I assemble my texts, napkins, receipts, and my red composition book that I carry almost everywhere (not in the shower….although I have screamed at my husband to write something down if inspiration hits), I’m in the big bedroom of our townhouse. We use the smaller bedroom to sleep in, and the big one is my ‘writing room’.
I play music, often 80s metal, which was popular when I was in kindergarten, but what can I say? I’m hooked. But sometimes country, classical, dance, pop, rap, or oldies like the Beatles or Elvis.
I have a fan, not just to move air, but for white noise. I usually have something to drink nearby: pepsi, hot tea, coffee, Gatorade, or water with ice and lemon. I keep my phone with me so I can time my writing, sometimes shutting out social media or the internet entirely and writing for 60 minutes straight according to the timer on the phone. (No one ever calls except my parents once a week or so. My mom seems to be able to sense when I’m in the middle of particularly hot sex scene, and picks that time to dial. A few weeks ago my heroine was on all fours with a vibrator in her mouth and I had to leave her hanging for 90 minutes so my mom could fill me in on what the neighbors are doing to irritate her. Talk about mood assassination!) My husband sends me several dirty text messages a day, often making suggestions or laying out his plans for what I can expect that evening. A girl at work got a dirty text from her boyfriend once, timid, tame, and PG-13 compared to the smut my husband comes up with, and remarked about how annoying it was that he would tell her how horny he was. Her and I are very different people. Very different.
I keep a scented candle in the room, just because I like them, and it’s not a visual distraction. I absolutely can’t write with a tv playing near me.
Ready for another TMI? I keep a towel to sit on, for those occasions where I’m writing something particularly naughty, or for when I’m reading something that really connects with me in a physical way.
I have a pencil holder on my desk that I made in fifth grade art class, when we fired clay in the kiln. It’s supposed to be Edgar Allen Poe, but my teacher assumed it was Tom Selleck and I was too shy to correct her. Not that there’s anything wrong Tom Selleck. He’s no Poe, but who is?
I have a cheap ottoman that I bought at work that I keep a throw blanket in, and use it to keep my feet propped up under the desk.
I also keep a flashlight on the desk. When I write late, and go to bed long after my husband, I use the light to get in bed so as not to wake him. Or for when I get up early, I use it to get outside for my morning walk without having to turn on any lights.
What’s in your writing room? What do you need to set the mood? Do you have any good luck charms (my Edgar Allen Poe pencil holder is NOT for sale)?
Want to get to know me? Here’s TMI about my sex life
TMI sex survey
You know those will surveys that were popular a few years ago? Or maybe they were just popular with the people who forward things to me. Or maybe they’re still popular but not with anyone who’s inclined to forward things to me.
Well I’ve always thought I’d use this one if I ever got this far in my writing, as a kind of intro/practice/get to know me sort of deal. So here it is.
Feel free to share your thoughts, and by all means steal this if you’re moved to fill it out yourself (but no fair not sharing your answers with me!).
This is NOT a complete look at my life, so please keep looking if you’re looking for someone to hook up with, or have phone sex with, or watch me on my cam.
Here goes:
Do you like it rough or sensual? I guess it depends entirely on my mood. I do both, and often enough that it’s impossible to say one is favored over the other, although I think sensual edges out rough. Sometimes I do both within a few minutes of each other. The other night I was on the receiving end of what might have been the roughest round of doggy style that I can ever remember, followed by about 30 minutes of the slowest missionary.
Do you prefer to be with the opposite sex or the same sex? Or both? I’m straight. Oddly enough whenever I see porn I tend to watch the woman.
How often do you like to have sex? How cliché is answering ‘as often as I can’? It’s true though. I’m not a once a month with the lights off type of person, and I’m a big believer in ‘fake it till you make it’, so I’ll power through even if I’m not in the mood sometimes.
Is sex a top priority for you? It DOESN’T rank higher than breathing, coffee, or food. Depends on the food though. And there are other sources of caffeine. So it’s not breathing, but it’s in the top four, and possibly the top three or even two.
Do you have sex face-to-face with your partner? Is this about position? Because that answer is SOMETIMES. Does it mean like phone sex, or skype, or thru the mail? Then I’ll say no, although I reserve the right to change my answer based on what MIGHT happen in the future, and to lie about the past.
How often do you get drunk and have wild, crazy sex with a complete stranger?Never have, even in my wild days, and I certainly don’t now. But I OFTEN have wild and crazy sex with my man and even by myself. And we’re both more fun than strangers.
How do you feel about one-night stands?Do what you’ve got to do I guess, but own your choices and their consequences. If you get your heart broke every time you do it, then you’re responsible for your own heartache if you keep doing it. And if you catch a disease or make a baby or break someone’s heart those are the outcomes of the choice. Live with it.
How many one-night stands have you had? None. With strangers.
What’s your favorite position? Standing at the ATM watching my hefty bag overflow with $50s. (A person’s as only as good as their dreams right?). Sex wise it depends on my mood. Whatever creates orgasms.
Where’s your favorite place to have sex? Earth. So far……
Do you prefer to make love or fuck? I prefer to get naked(ish) and let the mood do the driving. Label it whatever you want, just get some noise canceling headphones if you’re in the next room.
Have you ever watched porn while having sex? Yes. And we usually lose interest about halfway through (sometimes sooner) and it ends up being background noise.
How long do you usually foreplay before doing the deed? The deed? Are we in a Porkys movie? I’ve stopped keeping track of this sort of thing. It’s all the same event, so what’s the difference when one part ends and the other starts, as long as everyone ends happy?
Do you get off first or do they? My man is a champion. Any questions? And first implies that there aren’t any follow ups. That implication would be mistaken.
Do you like kissing during sex? Duh. Sex without kissing is like an ice cream cone with no ice cream in it. What’s the point?
Do you moan? If so, are you loud or quiet? In for a dime, in for a dollar. No sense being quiet. Although I have bitten some pillows in my time.
Do you prefer your partner to be loud or quiet? I have no objections to some noise, but it’s not necessary.
Does size matter? Not an issue for me, since I get all I can handle. I’ve never been put off or turned on solely by size though. I think a lot of guys worry about it a lot, but they’d be further ahead to think about size less and technique more, since they can only control one.
How old were you when you lost your virginity? 18, the summer after graduation. In a camper out by the lake. It’s not like it sounds; it was a nice camper, a great guy, a bunch of my friends were camping with us (but in their own tents/campers/etc!), and a rainy night added to the perfectness of it. Sure I’m probably remembering through rose colored glasses, but it really was nice.
Have you ever had a 3-some? 4-some? 5-some? Are we counting in-the-room or active-participation here?
What does your favorite foreplay include? Everything. Kissing, oral, rubbing, touching, licking, holding, and everything else I can think of. And I’m a good thinker.
Do you ever play with yourself during the act? During. Before. After. As a show. Instead of.
Do you prefer to sleep with random hookups or one person? One. But my world is rocked enough that I don’t feel bummed about this. Besides I have an active fantasy life, and I can write myself any experience I want.
Have you ever done anal? If so, did you like it? I’ve tried it, and it didn’t change my life or anything like that, but it wasn’t the worst thing either.
When and where was your wildest sex ever? I may have to think about this one….maybe a separate entry….
What’s your ultimate sexual fantasy?Buy my book!
Have you ever done porn? Homemade, yup.
Have you ever had sex for money? No. Maybe a new career choice? Just kidding. Although I am willing to write about it for money.
Have you ever had sex for drugs/alcohol? No. We mostly do it because there’s nothing good on tv. And there’s NEVER anything good on tv. Not in our house anyway.
Have you ever bribed someone to sleep with you? I trade sex for favors all the time. But I guess it doesn’t count since the sex would still be offered even without the favors.
Is the sex still good when you’re cheating? Cheating is never good. In fact it’s cancer to a relationship. Fantasy is one thing, but real life lies like this are toxic.
During sex… what are you thinking about? Taxes and stuff. Seriously? I think about sex. My mind can wander of course, and adulthood gives us a never-ending conveyor belt of bills, appointments, deadlines, etc, but I don’t dwell on those thoughts. Sex is one of my escapes from life. Why spoil it?
Do you prefer the top or the bottom at first? I think mostly my preferences are dictated by the energy of the moment.
How many positions do you like to do during one episode? It depends. If it’s morning or some other time where the clock is an issue we stick to one or two. Otherwise the sky is the limit.
Do you ever worry about how you’re pleasing your partner? I make an effort to, but I don’t worry about it. We do a pretty good job at taking care of each other. Usually I come at least twice, often more, and frequently much, much more, but sometimes not at all. Rarely he’ll be the one who just can’t get there. We communicate pretty good, and we’re both okay to tell the other ‘it’s not working for me tonight, so let’s get you where you need to be.’
Could you live without sex? I could, but you can’t hold me to this answer.
How often do you find sex boring? Trick question, right?
Have you ever had sex with someone of the same gender? Nope.
How long does a typical sexual episode last for you? Do people watch the clock? Seriously?
Do you like to perform oral sex? I sure do.
Do you like to receive oral sex? Another trick question I’m sure. I mean DUH.
Have you ever taped yourself in the act? Yes. But we always erase them. I have a super paranoid fear of them ending up in the wrong hands and then on the internet. And with my luck that would be the week my parents figure out how to work the interwebs.
Have you ever had interracial sex? Yes. But not because it was a chance to have interracial sex. Because he was smart, funny, and awesome, and we got along really well and had fun dating each other.
Have you ever been caught in the act? If so, by whom? Buy my book! Or ask nice enough and I’ll write about it here.
Have you ever had sex while at work? No. But is the place that lets this happen taking applications? I guess if you worked at Holiday Inn it would technically be possible to do this without repercussions. Or if you worked from home. Wait a minute….one summer I worked from home. So I guess my answer is yes!
Have you ever had sex while at school? Not actually in a classroom or anything.
What is something that you would never consider doing? Bestiality.
Have you ever had sex on drugs? Does Tylenol count?
Would you ever have sex in public? Yes, but the real event wasn’t super awesome. However I’ve written a highly fictionalized version, that you’ll enjoy reading about much much more.
What’s your biggest turn-on? Being tied up and worked over with my favorite toys while I struggle to hold in all noise and not change my facial expression. .
Do you spit or swallow? When I was five my mother told me that ladies don’t spit. She might not have been talking about sex, but I’m definitely a lady.
How many times have you gotten off in one night? I’m lucky enough that it really happened, and unlucky enough that you’d call me a liar.
Would you let other people watch you have sex live? If I couldn’t see them and they really wanted to, why not? I can’t imagine anyone wanting to, but if I didn’t have to see them while I was doing it, sure.
Have you have ever sex in front of your best friend? I’ve had sex WITH my best friend… how’s that? Of course it’s a cliché, but to make it up to you I’ll share this with you; my college roommate and I, very young, very inexperienced, and very curious about sex, once set up the guys we were dating (ONE AT A TIME!!! ON SEPARATE NIGHTS!!!) to do it while the other pretended to sleep 10 feet away. This wasn’t for kink purposes, as much as a sort of note-comparing/information gathering experience. The guys knew nothing about this, and still don’t.
Have you ever had sex with your best friend’s b/f or g/f? No. Besides, don’t you stop being friends the moment you put your business anywhere near their significant others genitals?
Do you ever have sex in the shower? Yep. Of course it usually starts there and ends in the bed, or starts/finishes in the bed and starts again in the shower.
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever done it? A deserted pier overlooking the water on a vacation. We were sharing a room with friends for economic reasons, so we sought other late night accommodations. Three nights in a row.
What was the biggest age difference with a partner? The biggest I cared about was six years when I was twenty two and he was twenty eight. There have been others, but I stopped seeing age as a difference at some point.
Do you feel you are up to par in bed? Above par! At least that’s what the guy who makes me coffee every morning tells me!
Are you still gonna have sex when your 70? I hope so! Imagine how far Viagra and stuff will have evolved in the next 37 years?
What was your most embarrassing sexual moment? Mostly just the ordinary occasional body sounds where you look at each other and say, “did you seriously just fart?”
How old is “too young” to have sex your in opinion? Who wrote that question? Under the age of 18 is too young in my opinion simply because they’re not equipped to deal with any of the possible consequences. I’m not on a moral high horse or anything, and totally realize that each individual is unique in their maturity and grasp of emotions. And since everyone matures differently, some 17/18 year olds have enough maturity to handle a real adult relationship with adult emotions, while some who are almost 30 (or older) still haven’t figured out how to balance it.
Do you like to be completely naked or half-assed? Naked is great because there’s nothing in the way. Partially dressed is great for those quickies or dress-up moments.
Have you ever done it at your grandparent’s? No.
Have you ever done it on a boat/yacht? In a canoe once. And once in a rubber raft in a swimming pool. If anyone wants to loan me a yacht let me know.
Do you like having sex in cars? If so, driver seat, passenger, or back? No. I suppose I wouldn’t be totally against it, but there are so many better places.
Do you use protection as often as you should? Yes.
Have any of your one-night stands resulted in a child that you know of? I’m a nerd. I just corrected the grammar in this sentence. I’ve answered these questions quickly and without using complete sentences, but the grammar in this sentence bugged me so much I fixed it. And the answer is no.
If you’re over 18, have you ever had sex with someone under 18? No. Ick.
Do you prefer to sleep with someone older or younger than you?Once you’re past twenty five or so does it really matter?
What’s the perfect size? Since orgasms and fun are the desired result; whatever causes orgasms and fun.
Have you ever done bondage sex (chains, whips, etc.)? If not, would you? No chains or whips, but hands tied, yes.
Have you ever slept with someone out of pity? No
If you could sleep with ANYONE, who would it be? I’m a writer. I can write myself having sex with anyone I want.
My review of Your Favorite Girl
My review of Your Favorite Girl, by Steph Sweeney.
Let me get a few things stated right up front.
Like anything else I review this will be spoiler free. The author put time into creating this story, and I don’t think any reviewer has a right to devalue that time by letting any cats out of any bags.
I don’t expect everyone to like everything I like or to dislike everything I dislike.
And lastly; I read erotic literature with a closed mind.
Yes you read that right.
I have a pretty narrow set of expectations, and if it doesn’t meet them, I don’t enjoy it. I think we’re all that way about the things we’re passionate about.
I’m also close minded about coffee, pasta, scented candles, dogs, and foot rubs. I love these things, and maintain a closed mind about what makes one good. There might be a lot of variables once one is deemed ‘good’, but I can tell pretty quickly if my expectations are being met.
I’m passionate about erotica, since when it’s good it engages my senses and can stir my emotions and arouse my passions. When it’s great it can be literary foreplay.
I’ve been reading erotic literature since I was way too young to understand it. I happened (snooped) upon a book in a brown paper bag in the back of the dresser in my parent’s room, and was fascinated by how those words painted a picture so vividly.
So my expectations are simple and narrow when it comes to erotic fiction.
- It’s got to entertain me. Merely reading about Jane running from place to place to have sexual encounters doesn’t make a good read in my opinion. Even if the sexual encounters are well written. (See Jane Screw would be a good title though!)
- It’s got to be descriptive. I’ve had sex. I’ve thought about sex. I’ve read about sex. I’ve talked about sex. There’s more to sex than an erection, a vagina, and an orgasm. Details, just like in real life, make or break the moment.
- The characters have got to be real. If every female is merely a vagina with a different name, and all the men are merely there to carry their erections from one location to the next I’ll be pretty bored pretty fast.
So with my narrow mind I set about reading Your Favorite Girl, by Steph Sweeney.
I came across Steph on Twitter, and more than one of her tweets made me laugh. We share a sense of humor, and that lead me to her blog. On her blog she had this description of Your Favorite Girl.
When Melissa Reed, a twenty-two-year-old housewife, discovers her millionaire husband Ted has been cheating on her with a recent high school graduate from down the street, she begins to investigate his private life. In his little black book, she finds a single address and phone number: that of Your Favorite Girl, Inc.
Accompanying this blurb was a free sample. I consumed the entire free sample in one sitting, without realizing how quickly I was tearing through the pages. Okay scrolling. And for the record I like books too much to tear the pages.
So I got the whole book.
And loved it. I read it in three sittings, and like any interesting media, the time in between was spent looking forward to the next interaction I’d have with it.
A lot of books can keep you interested while you’re reading them. It’s a gift to be able to read something that pops in and out of your thoughts when you’re not reading it.
My narrow minded critique applied to YFG breaks down like this:
It’s got to entertain me.
It does.
The idea behind the story is fascinating, and with some reworking of the sexual content you’d have a story that would still work as a science fiction piece, with a healthy dose of intrigue and suspense.
If science fiction isn’t your thing don’t bail out yet, because it’s not my favorite thing either, and I still enjoyed every moment of it.
It’s got to be descriptive.
It is.
Sense is a big part of the story, and it’s hard to read without imagining the smells, tastes, and sounds as described by the author. And just to clarify, the descriptions don’t overpower the story, they enhance it. Ever read three pages describing a meal, or a blue couch, or a bedspread? That overuse (abuse) of descriptive language doesn’t happen here, like it does with lots of young authors.
It’s obvious that the author likes the world she’s writing about, so instead of going through the motions in order to keep feeding us plot points or another sexual encounter, she wants to take the time to make sure we like this world as well. But unlike that coworker at the office who can’t stop talking about their stamp collection, Sweeney doesn’t spend so much time describing that I felt like she was trying to force me to like her fictional universe.
The characters have got to be real.
There’s an adage floating around creative writing circles that your characters HAVE TO BE likeable. I think that’s garbage personally. I’d rather read about an interesting bitch than a dull nice girl.
Melissa, the main character in YFG, is very likeable, but she’s not perfect, and that makes for an interesting read. At one point early in the story I actually got mad at her, and would have slapped her had she been real. (Or more likely given her a dirty look and then backed down if she challenged me!)
She does meet some unlikeable folks. You won’t be in love with everyone Melissa encounters. But you won’t be bored by them.
And for the main reason why many of us are drawn to erotic fiction: SEX.
It doesn’t disappoint in this area. Lovemaking is not alluded to. No one’s ‘womanhood yearns for his physical self’. There’s fucking, and plenty of it.
There’s a fine line in erotic fiction, and Steph Sweeney seems to know where it is.
On one side there’s flowery language that gives impressions rather than descriptions. Nothing wrong with that, because done well that can be a beautiful way to describe what happens when two people are intimate. Done poorly it makes the author seem afraid to embrace the way real people think and talk. Even people who wouldn’t curse if they hit their thumb with a hammer don’t think about sex with their husband or wife in flowery allusions. They think about fucking, even if they don’t call it that.
On the other side are authors who liberally embrace words that my fourth grade teacher called ‘street words’ like fuck, cunt, cum, slut, throb, spasm, pussy, and….well you get the idea. If not, you’re reading the wrong blog review of the wrong book. Used poorly ‘street words’ end up sounding like a seventeen year old boy trying to impress his friends. Done well ‘street words’ keep the sex in the story real and convey what’s happening. Sometimes telling us that two people are fucking accomplishes something that telling us those same two people are engaging in sexual intercourse just can’t.
Steph Sweeney might have the vocabulary of a 17 year old boy, but she knows how and where to use those words. The sex scenes vibrate as true, even within the more fictional realms of the story.
Very early in the story there’s a girl/girl encounter and it’s handled very well. It doesn’t seem like it’s there just to impress any male readers (although they certainly won’t find it boring!), and it doesn’t feel like it’s there to fulfill the checklist. You know what I’m referring to here? I’ve read too much erotic fiction where the authors seem to use a checklist to tell their story. Masturbation: check. Male/female: check. Female/male: check. Female/female: check. Female/male/female: check. Blowjob: check. Mention erect nipples: check. Finger in anus: check.
Steph doesn’t seem to be writing off of a checklist, she’s telling a story, and the sexual couplings in the book advance that story and serve the plot.
As an added bonus they’re hot, and left me with one moment where I actually cursed out loud. Recently my magic wand died a noble death after years of solid service. As I put Your Favorite Girl aside to change laundry, start dinner, and answer some emails I realized that the emails could wait until after dinner since the story had physically inspired me to have a pre-dinner-prep ‘moment’. I suddenly remembered that my wand was no more. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement!
If you enjoy erotic fiction give this story a chance. You’ll do two good things for the world of erotic fiction.
- You’ll be treating yourself to a story that’s blazing hot and a plot that carries the sex, which doesn’t happen as often as it should in this genre.
- You’ll be encouraging an author with some obvious talent to keep writing. And when she’s famous you can say you read her way back when.
Your Favorite Girl can be found on Steph’s website:
Steph Sweeney can be found at:
You can contact her directly at:
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter Handle: @StephErotica
What Is The Best Way To Write?
I’ve been writing since I was a child. Since I learned to write. My favorite time in any class, at any age, was the chance to write a story. I loved being in control of an entire world, and I could do that when I wrote. I could even be the creator of that world.
I’ve always enjoyed reading as well (you name the genre, and I can name something in it I’ve read and LOVED).
So I’ve always been fascinated with words, and how they work, and how the people who work them, work.
I’ve read that some authors limit themselves to writing for a set amount of time each day, and then pack it in at the end of that time, regardless of how much they’ve gotten done. Others set a page goal, and work until that number of pages have been completed, no matter how long (or quick) it takes.
I’m not fortunate enough to be able to write as my only source of income. So I work a crazy schedule and write whenever I can, while trying to lead my life, and maintain my sanity.
What works best for me is to just write in marathon sessions when I have time. If I have four hours, dedicate myself to writing for all four of them. If it’s less than an hour I spend it proofreading and adding those dreaded missing words. (I’m bad at typing fast, and skipping a word, something small like the, and, at, is, or it. And then when I reread my brain KNOWS the word is supposed to be there, and tricks my eyes into seeing it. So something I’ve read five or six times will all of the sudden on the seventh or eighth pass have A MISSING WORD. I have no scientific proof of this of course, it’s just my theory about what happens. Hang around this blog for a bit. I have lots of theories. Lots and lots.)
What works best for you?
Love, Isabella 