Please Welcome Holden Granger to For the Love of Books. Holden is going to talk to us a bit about writing Erotica and then we are going to do a giveaway of the book The Strength To Submit.
Take it away Holden:
1. Why I Write Erotica
I love writing about sex for the pure challenge of it. I look at writing as a means of transporting the reader into another life, and using that vantage point to allow them to look back at their own. As such, I believe the foundation of any story needs to be a universal experience. The best stories allow us to identify with the characters though one of these experiences. Thrillers do this with fear; a very strong and primitive emotion. I write about lust, an emotion perhaps as strong as fear and just as primitive. A love story may require a full novel to explore its depths, while lust can be delightfully simple.
While lust can be simple, writing about sex is not. There are only a few experiences we almost all face. Death is one, but returning eye-witnesses are rare. Sex, on the other hand, impacts virtually every life. Even the celibate are reacting to this powerful, instinctive drive. In writing about sex, the author walks a narrow wire. On the one hand, it must be exciting and arousing (no one wants a boring sex scene). On the other, even as a fantasy it has to approximate realism. The reader must be able to “buy in” to the moment and any wildly unrealistic details will distract the reader.
I thought writing erotica would be easy. Instead it has consistently challenged me as a writer. Taking an experience universally experienced and fantasized about, while introducing strong characters and plots, has been a tremendous opportunity. I am deeply grateful to Breathless Press for giving me that chance, and I hope that my readers enjoy my efforts!
2. The Strength to Submit – The Author’s View
One of the first lessons I learned in researching Bondage and Discipline was that it is the “submissive” or “sub” that needs to have the greater strength of character in many ways. Think for a moment of the strength required to strip away every instinctive desire for power in a relationship. At the same time there seems to be a great freedom that comes with letting go and placing oneself completely into the power of another.
I was also intrigued with the fact that it is often those who are very powerful individuals in their public lives that crave the release of control involved in placing themselves under the power of another. This gave me the launching point for my story, The Strength to Submit. For me, stories come from answering a “What if?” question. In this case the question was; what if a powerful woman executive opened herself up to experiencing discipline from a competitor?
I wanted to explore how that might happen, especially if she had to overcome her own fears and doubts along the way. The motives and internal struggles are what made this story interesting to write, and I hope, interesting to read. The steamy conclusion had to spring from triumphs over these obstacles, as well as providing satisfying growth for the character. The Strength to Submit is my attempt to explore light bondage and discipline from the point of view of a strong heroine. I hope you all enjoy it!
Giveaway Time!!!!!
Excerpt
She arrived at the morning session and scanned the room, surprising herself when she felt a twinge of disappointment that Cade was nowhere to be seen. She was early enough to get a seat in the back row, grabbing a glass of orange juice and skipping the offered muffins as she went. She noticed a black leather portfolio on the seat next to hers. The hotel had gone all-out for this conference: each table was wrapped across the front and top with white cloth, giving her a chance to ease off her heels and stretch her toes on the carpet. She studied the day’s agenda in front of her while the speaker began to settle the crowd.
“It must be destiny!” a voice said from beside her.
Cade was sliding into the seat next to her. The notebook was his. Caitlyn felt her face flush slightly. She moved to get up but found her feet clumsy as she tried to get her shoes on again.
“I don’t think so…” she started.
“Oh, relax. I’m not going to bother you,” Cade said with a chuckle. “Besides, we’re starting.”
With that, the graying and pudgy speaker began his presentation on the estimated impact of the economic environment on government defense purchasing. Five seconds in and already she was bored. She heard Cade scratching on his notebook. A moment later, he stopped and tapped his pen on it.
Caitlyn sat staring straight ahead. Again the tapping came from beside her; it sounded impatient this time. She glanced over. Cade looked at her and inclined his head to the page in front of him.
Have you thought about what I said last night? he had written.
This might relieve the boredom. She took out her own pen and wrote on the agenda in front of her. A little, she wrote.
Are you scared? he asked on the page.
Caitlyn suppressed a snort. Nothing you can do would scare me, she added to the running dialogue, tapping the page for emphasis.
Really? Perhaps a challenge, then?
She looked at him; his smile was mocking her. She paused and he wrote again.
Sure you’re not scared?
What the hell? Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.
Good, we’ll talk at lunch.
For the rest of the morning meeting her thoughts raced. She wondered what she’d gotten herself into and decided to bail and changed her mind a dozen times. She couldn’t deny the tingle between her legs. It was all harmless fun, she finally decided; besides, she could turn the tables and have him in the palm of her hand. It was a challenge she found she couldn’t res
ist.
To enter to win an e-copy of The Strength to Submit Please leave a comment below along with you email address.
Giveaway will be open until July 7th
Winner will be announce on July 8th
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Thank you for posting this Kelly. Good luck to all that enter in the giveaway.
Marissa
Marketing Director with Breathless Press
Thanks for the chance to read the book 🙂
mistybluehour@yahoo.com
I would definately love to read the book. I love a book with a little dom/sub and BDSM–YUMMY!
THank you for the opportunity to win a copy of this book.
GFC Follower: June M.
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Thanks for the chance to read the book and i would definately love to read the book. thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of this book.
gfc folower: roro
rogcaprino@hotmail.com
What an awesome excerpt!! It sooo makes me want to download!! Sounds awesome!!
Thank you for this great opportunity!
tatiana_lwg(at) yahoo.com
Thanks for sharing an excerpt,sounds like a great book.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Great Excerpt it left me wanting more…
hgamergirlATgmailDOTcom
Oooh! WOW! THis bood sounds DELISH!! Where do you find these books and authors at?
Rennel (dot) Lyon (at) Gmail (dot) com
Wow, I loved your blog (so dead on about the BDSM lifestyle) and can't wait to read the book! I also love writing about BDSM (heavy on BD–although I do have one master in my RESCUE ME series coming up who is a bit of a sadist ).
Thanks for sharing!
Kally
kallypsomasters@gmail.com
Thank you so much for giving us the chance to hear Holden's words and give us a chance to win.
sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com
WOW, I soooo want to read this!! Sounds like a great read, thanks for the chance to win
june111(at)att(dot)net
Oh my I want the book now…i mean right NOW. * fans self* after reading Holden & the excerpt i have a feeling i will place the fan on TURBO.
maria mercedes
I have been to conferences like that but no one nearly as exciting as Cade has sat next to me…. great writing!
mmm hmmm….yummy!
yogidabear76(at)gmail
This book sound very good. 🙂
rosemary_f(@)msn.com
Hot! Hot! Hot!
not only was the excerpt HAWT!!! but the character spells Caitlyn the same way i do and i never get the chance to see it spelled like that. crazy i know…
cc848@yahoo.com
This sound very saucy. I like it! I would love to win a copy of this 🙂
legallycaz@yahoo.co.uk