the hostgator coupon Pingates.com tumbas lek: Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway with Roni Loren

Monday, January 2, 2012

Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway with Roni Loren

WELCOME TO THE BLOG TOUR:


You all know how much of a sucker I am when it comes to stunning covers and well, Roni Loren's debut novel is no different. Look at the cover. Good golly Miss Molly, that's one sexy, sexy cover. Today, Roni is hanging out with us here at Romancing Rakes sharing all that goes into a sex scene. What?! We're all adults here. I find it fascinating how authors go about writing these scenes wondering if they have some sort of ritual or outline or what have you to get them through it. Let's give Roni a warm welcome:

HOWDY RONI!!!!

Meet Roni:
Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she’ll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rockstars, er, rock concerts. Yeah, that's it. Her debut novel, CRASH INTO YOU, will be published by Berkley Heat January 3, 2012.


Where To Find Roni: Author Site | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr(NSFW-seriously) 


"Anatomy of a Sex Scene" by Roni Loren
First, I want to thank Kati for inviting me over here! I don’t write historical romance, but I definitely write (and love) rakes, so I’m excited to be here. : ) [We don't discriminate here at Romancing Rakes. We'll take our hotties any way we can and in any position.]

As an erotic romance author, I get asked about sex way more than is socially acceptable. Thankfully, people (mostly) aren’t asking about my sex life, but I do often get the question—how do you write a love scene without it coming across as corny (or porn-y)?

Love scenes can be quite a challenge. I’ve read some that I’ve found myself skimming through because it started sounding like blah blah blah slot A tab B mechanics with no emotion. And I’ve read others that used so much euphemistic language that at the end I’m left wondering—wait, did they actually do it? Or were they just watering flowers and talking about swords?

So when I sit down to write the love scenes for my own books, I try to make sure that I have a few key components present.

  1. Tension
    This is the be-all-end-all for me. If adequate tension hasn’t been created between the couple and built up beforehand, the love scene won’t hold my interest. For instance, if a book opens up with the characters already in bed, why would I even care about them or what they’re doing? That’s not to say you can’t have a love scene in chapter one; I’ve seen it done well. But those authors built up tension quickly. I need to feel on the edge of my seat and be just dying for the two (or three—I do write erotic romance after all, lol) people to touch each other.

  2. Emotion
    Without this, the love scene will turn porn-y. I need to know that these people are being affected on a deeper level than just the physical. It doesn’t have to always be about love—though they are working towards that if it’s a romance—but they need to be emotionally invested in the act.

  3. Senses
    When I write a love scene, I try to imagine it as if it’s happening in slow motion. It’s not just about touch—all the senses are involved. So I try to press pause in my head and imagine what the hero or heroine would be experiencing in that snapshot in time—the scent of candles mixing with his aftershave, the sound of his breath, the taste of his skin. Those things help draw us into the book and forget that it’s just words on a page.

  4. Dialogue
    This may be a personal preference, but I like when there’s talking in a love scene. Not full out conversations necessarily but some dialogue can help add to it. The dialogue in a love scene can set the whole tone—Are they playful and teasing? Are they intense and focused? Are they into dirty talk? I write BDSM so dialogue often plays a big role because the Dom is issuing orders. It adds a level of intensity that wouldn’t be there if they were quiet.

  5. Change
    Every love scene should serve a purpose and move the story forward. The couple must be changed after each scene in some way—even if it’s minor. Maybe she now trusts him more. Or maybe it freaks one of them out because they feel themselves falling for the other and he/she backs away. Often the early love scenes make things worse for the couple. Sex always complicates things. And I think love scenes should be written such that IF you skipped them, you would miss important components of the story. If they weren’t necessary for the story, they shouldn’t be there. : )

So those are my big things I look for in a love scene. What are your favorite components? Have you ever found yourself skimming a love scene—why do you think it lost your interest? Which of your favorite authors are masters at writing great love scenes?

CRASH INTO YOU:
Brynn LeBreck has dedicated herself to helping women in crisis, but she never imagined how personal her work would get, or where it would take her. Her younger sister is missing, suspected to be hiding from cops and criminals alike at a highly secretive BDSM retreat—a place where the elite escape to play out their most extreme sexual fantasies. To find her Brynn must go undercover as a sexual submissive. Unfortunately, The Ranch is invitation only. And the one Master who can get her in is from the darkest corner of Brynn’s past.

Brynn knows what attorney Reid Jamison is like once stripped of his conservative suit and tie. Years ago she left herself vulnerable only to have him crush her heart. Now she needs him again. Back on top. And he’s all too willing to engage. But as their primal desires and old wounds are exposed, the sexual games escalate—and so does the danger. Their hearts aren’t the only things at risk. Someone else is watching, playing by his own rules. And his game could be murder.

Where To Buy: Amazon(pb) | Kindle | B&N(pb) | Nook | Book Depository | Powell's | IndieBound | Books-a-Million
Book Extras: Read Chapter 1 | Read an EXLUSIVE excerpt below:
*CRASH INTO YOU is told in chapters alternating between the present and ten years earlier. This is from a “past” chapter.*

“That’s one of the things I like about you. You don’t seem to give a damn about who my family is, so I can just relax around you.”

She laughed. “Yeah, once I found out you couldn’t fire me, you lost all shot of me kissing your ass.”

He slipped a hand onto her hip and pulled her closer, their bodies almost touching. “So what’s your stance on kissing other things?”

Every muscle in her body strained to move forward, to close the sliver of distance between them, but she held still. “Probably not a good idea since we work together.”

He smiled and shook his head. “See, you’re always such a half-empty kind of girl. Working together means we’ll get paid to hang out with each other.”

“And everybody in the office will think I’m hanging out with you for the wrong reasons.”

He shrugged. “That’s why we don’t tell. It’s none of their business anyway.”

She chewed her lip. “I like you, Reid, but I don’t know . . . it’s just complicated. I’ve got a lot—”

He put a finger over her mouth, hushing her. “Stop overthinking things, Brynn. It doesn’t have to be so complex. I know you don’t bullshit, so I’m not going to either. Since the first day I met you, I haven’t stopped thinking about what it would be like to touch you.” He cupped her chin and ran his thumb over her lips. “To taste you. I leave the office every day fighting a hard-on because just hearing your voice sets me off.”

She swallowed hard, the blunt words and his finger on her lips throwing gasoline on the flickering flame of longing she’d been fighting since they’d left the office.

“So in about three seconds, I’m going to kiss you. If you don’t want that, you tell me to stop, and I’ll never try again.” He curled his hand around the back of her neck, his gaze tattooing her. “One . . . two . . .”

Okay all you fabulous people, Roni is giving away a set of her CRASH INTO YOU romance trading cards at each and every stop of her blog tour AND one(1) lucky commenter during the blog tour will get a $25 Amazon GC.

Here's how to get your hands on the set of CRASH INTO YOU romance trading cards:
  • Leave a comment for Roni answering her question along with your email addy, ninja style: yourname at gmail dot com.
Here's how to get your hands on that fantabulous $25 Amazon GC:
Now I'm going to sweeten the giveaway pot... There's also a giveaway for blog tour hosts (like yours truly). For the blog tour host who has the most comments, Roni is giving away a set of CRASH INTO YOU romance trading cards AND a basket of romance novels. If you help me win, I'll send two(2) lucky commenters a copy of Roni's debut release CRASH INTO YOU. So spread the love and you'll get a free book. [That's right, I'm bribing for comments. But hey, we both win. Riiight?]

A huge thank you to Roni for hanging out at Romancing Rakes and sharing some sexiness as well as goodies. Also, thank you to Marianne at Goddess Fish Promotions for forwarding correspondence between Roni and I.

**A note regarding book giveaway:** I will be giving away 2 copies of Roni's book IF I win that goodie bag for tour hosts so help a girl out. Please? I might even be nice enough and just give the 2 books away because I love you all.

Fill out the rafflecopter form below to be entered into the book giveaway. It helps me keep track of how many comments I have at this stop.

Giveaway of CRASH INTO YOU book is not sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions or Roni Loren but by Romancing Rakes. Void where prohibited. Dance like no one is watching. Line dry only. NSFW-ish. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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