Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

One of my favorite Christmas memories from childhood was being given the responsibility of taping all those lovely cards to strips of colored ribbon, which my parents then hung on the living room walls.

Note: There were cards. Lots and lots of cards. And we were a tiny family with almost no relatives. Second note: They were Christmas cards. Not “holiday” or “season’s greetings” cards.

Confession time: I grew up in a neighborhood that was completely white. Not only white, but we had only one church, which was a United Church. In my entire elementary school, I knew one girl who was Catholic (which made her incredibly exotic and a little weird). Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists? I don’t think I even knew they existed. (Yeah, doesn’t that say a lot for my education?)

(And is it any surprise, after an upbringing like that, and eventually discovering that the world is made up of lots of different and very interesting people, I often write multicultural books? As in, with either the hero or heroine being something other than plain vanilla. Nothing against vanilla, but a steady diet of it is pretty boring!)

Anyhow, to get back to cards. Who sends them these days? Communication is so easy, with email, text messages, cheap long distance phone rates. Do people even remember how to write? And, if they do, are they willing to spend the time to handwrite a message to a loved one, much less a casual acquaintance? Of course some people now do the Christmas letter, in which they type out everything that’s happened to them or their family in the last year, and perhaps even decorate it with photographs. They’re wonderfully informative, but not as personal as those old-fashioned handwritten notes.

Businesses often seem to feel it’s necessary to send holiday greeting cards – suitably generic and politically correct, of course. Do these cards really mean anything to anyone? Think of the money that gets spent on them. I guess they’re a quick and pretty way of saying, “We appreciate your business and hey, don’t forget about us when it comes to meeting your business needs in the new year.”

I’ve noticed an interesting trend when it comes to who makes the cards. In my childhood, they were Hallmarks or the equivalent. Then, they were often Unicef cards. Now, just to take the first five off my mantel, I find: BC Children’s Hospital, BC Cancer Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, and cards by two Canadian artists. So, we’re supporting charities and the arts, and I think that’s a great trend.
Incidentally, am I the only one who is getting “tree” cards this year? At least 2/3 of the cards I’ve received have one or more trees on them. I love trees, so I’m happy, but I have to wonder if there’s some cosmic significance to this.

And, speaking of trees, I know some people recycle cards, which is a great idea. And very kind to all of those trees . . .

Personally, I don’t send many cards, and the ones I send are handmade, using my own photographs. I don’t celebrate a religious holiday, and I’m not a big fan of cold winters, so my cards are along the lines of “and now for something completely different.” This year’s photo was taken on a beach in the Bahamas.

Do you send cards yourself, either personally or for business reasons? What kind and how do you choose them? Do you handwrite notes or enclose chatty newsletters? If you celebrate a religious or cultural holiday, do you send “Happy Hanukkah” or “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Kwanzaa” cards to others who you know celebrate the same holiday, or do you stick with the politically correct generic ones?

Do you like getting cards? What do you do with them? Did you have childhood traditions that you’ve maintained, or that have slipped away? Do you have new traditions you’ve started with your family?

Whatever holidays you do or don’t celebrate this month, I hope you share some lovely times with your families and friends.

On November 7, my Unwrap Me co-author Melissa MacNeal mentioned holiday themes, and how they can inspire you. Well, when Kensington asked me if I wanted to contribute a novella to the next Christmas anthology, I had my theme cut out for me, so to speak.

Hmm. What kind of sexy romance could I write that had something to do with Christmas? I brainstormed about all the things I associate with Christmas and ended up with a spicy mix indeed.
Lots of people love Christmas, right? Well, that would be my hero, Nick Buchanan (named after St. Nick). But others pretty much hate it. That would be my heroine, Jude Benedetto, who’s been abandoned on Christmas. Twice!

How would they meet? Well, how about a Secret Santa gift? Jude’s girlfriend rigs the Secret Santa draw so she can play matchmaker, and she gifts Jude with a hot firefighter (the girlfriend’s brother-in-law).

How’s a guy who loves Christmas going to persuade a Grinch to get in the holiday mood? Hmm. Remember the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (a.k.a. “A Partridge in a Pear Tree)? When Nick realizes he met Jude exactly 12 days before Christmas, he has the brilliant and sneaky idea of giving her a special gift each day, themed to match the song – but so cleverly that anti-Christmas Jude won’t catch on.

Day 1, the partridge in the pear tree is Nick himself, her Secret Santa gift. For Day 2 (two turtle doves), he gives her two orgasms that have her cooing (well, more like screeching ) her pleasure. I had so much fun thinking up gifts for each day. Some were pretty obvious, like five golden rings (specialty condoms, of course!). Others were more of a challenge, like seven swans a-swimming. (If you read my novella, see if you can pick out all 12 gifts.)

Anyhow, suffice it to say, much fun was had by my hero and heroine, and by me too, as we progressed through those very sexy 12 days. And as Nick slowly persuaded Jude to open her heart and trust in him, and rediscover the loving spirit of Christmas. And that, after all, is the most fundamental Christmas theme, isn’t it?

Do you have a favorite Christmas-themed book or movie (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa themed)? What kinds of lovely (or not so lovely) things do you associate with December holidays? To get us all in the holiday spirit, I’ll give away an autographed copy of Unwrap Me to one of the people who comments.

By the way, if you’d like to read an excerpt from my novella, “Unwrap Me,” check it out on my website at http://www.susanlyons.ca.

Hurray, I just finished “Too Hot to Handle,” my novella for Men on Fire, Aphrodisia’s second firefighter anthology. (For those who missed the first antho, it’s The Firefighter, and it’s fabulous!) Men on Fire won’t be out for a year (November 2009).

It’s always so strange, turning in a manuscript and then waiting to see it in print. I think we all wish that, magically, the books could appear on the shelves next month, but that’s not how it works. The fastest I’ve seen for my own books was Champagne Rules. I submitted it at the end of July 2005 and it was on the shelves in February 2006! (That’s because Kensington was launching Aphrodisia as a brand new line, and they were in a hurry, which worked just great for me.) The slowest was She’s on Top, submitted at the end of August 2006 and not on the shelves until April 2008. Yikes, that was quite the wait!

But of course, while I’m waiting, I’m writing. Having just finished one project, I’m diving into the next. They say there’s no rest for the wicked, and we Aphro authors are definitely wicked.

It’s interesting, having all these characters in my head. (Yes, I hear voices!) It’s like saying goodbye to one set of very good friends, and welcoming new folks who are still kind of strangers, but who are going to become a very big part of my life in the next few months.

I sort of know my next heroine, because she played a minor role in the book I turned in September 1 (Sex Drive, scheduled for December 2009). Sex Drive is the first in a 4-book Wild Ride series, in which four sisters embark on sexy “planes, trains, automobiles and a cruise ship” adventures. Sex Drive’s heroine, the oldest sister, had her adventures mostly on planes (with a stopover in Honolulu because, let’s face it, the poor girl deserved a bed and a beach). My next heroine, Kat, the second sister, will be exploring the sexy possibilities of trains. (By the way, if anyone has a brilliant idea for a sexy “trains” title, do let me know.) Now I’m all keen to get going on Kat’s book.

The truly lovely thing about being published is that all these heroines and their heroes get to see the light of day on bookstore shelves, and readers get to share their romantic journeys.

And, because I just got the news and have to share it, I’m thrilled to bits to announce that Touch Me, published in 2007, just won the Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice Awards, Erotica category, for 2008 (it also won the Desert Rose Golden Quill). The writer’s life really can be fun!

Writers, how do you deal with endings and beginnings, and what do you love about the writer’s life? Readers, are you now totally convinced that writers are eccentric, if not completely neurotic?

Every week, on Sunday evening, I make a “do list.” Yes, that’s pretty anal and obsessive for someone who’s a creator, but the truth is, I don’t know how I’d manage my life without that list.

Once upon a time I had a regular day job. A management one, with long hours (often I’d go into the office at 7:00 a.m. and not leave until 7:00 p.m.), and sometimes I’d bring work home. But there were boundaries. Work was work, and the rest of my time was my own.

Now, I’m a writer and the reality of my life is, very few boundaries and a heck of a lot of juggling. Whatever happened to simply watching TV? Now, while my favorite shows are on, I’m signing bookmarks, then running to check email during commercials.

There are always so many balls in the air, they’d come crashing down without the magic list to keep them in control. Or, at least, to give me the illusion that I’m exerting some control over my life.

I’m not whining, believe me. I’m thrilled to be a writer. And my life is way easier than so many authors’. There are writers with full-time jobs, huge family commitments, health issues, and all sorts of things that I don’t have. I’m healthy, and that’s a biggie. I have one pretty independent and supportive guy, three balconies full of plants, a couple of day job contracts, some minor family issues, volunteer work with some of my writing groups and . . . well, that’s about it.

Of course writing is a whole complicated career in itself. There’s the business end, and thankfully my wonderful agent Emily Sylvan Kim takes care of most of that, but of course we consult, and especially at contract time. And of course there’s the bookkeeping, which I do myself. And the website, with monthly updates. And the monthly contest and e-newsletter. The blogs, like this one. The conferences (I’m attending THREE in October: Moonlight & Magnolias, Emerald City, and NJ’s Put Your Heart in a Book) and workshops (including the monthly Romance Writing 101 sessions I organize for my local RWA Chapters). The ads, bookmarks, mailings and other promo activities. Especially when there’s a new book coming out, like UNWRAP ME at the end of this month.

And then – oh gosh, I almost forgot! – the actual writing, which is what it’s really all about. And it involves brainstorming, research, writing, discussing my drafts with my critique group, revising, revising, reading aloud and yet again revising. Submitting, then editing, proofing galleys, and so on. At this particular moment, I’ve just finished one book, am halfway into a novella that’s due October 15, and am researching the next book. I have – no, I don’t even want to count – a huge number of characters and plot points racing around in my head.

And, like I said, my writing life is straightforward compared to many authors’, even though on most days it seems pretty darned complicated to me. All the same, it’s way more fun than living a normal life, as far as I’m concerned!

Summertime, and the living is easy. Everyone’s at the beach, camping, sailing, drinking tall icy drinks by the pool (served by stunningly gorgeous pool boys).

Or, of course, some of us are slaving away meeting writing deadlines, as I’ve been doing. With a book due September 1 and a novella due October 15, it’s a busy time for me. All the same, there’s something about summer that seems to slow the pace of life. Maybe it’s the heat that melts your bones so that it seems impossible to do anything quickly.

I sure hope everyone is having a fabulous summer and, whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re consuming vast quantities of fabulous books (especially Aphrodisia titles!)

People often talk about “beach reads,” which implies that we read something different in summer (or when we’re on holiday) than we normally do. I was curious if this was true so last month, at my website opinion poll contest, I asked the question, “What’s your favorite summer reading?” The answers were interesting. The majority said they read the same things they normally do. A few go for something light and fun, and a few choose a heavier “read” that they wouldn’t otherwise have time for. Some people re-read old favorites and some try to clean up the huge “to be read” pile. My favorite response was the following one: “I love reading erotica in the summer since it makes a reader feel even warmer. I also like anthologies because after each short story I know it’s time to put on more sunscreen.” LOL.

For me, I tend to read pretty much the same things as usual, though my reading is always mood-related. Sometimes I feel like suspense, sometimes humor, sometimes sexy romance, sometimes women’s fiction. Mostly, I alternate them so I don’t overdose on one type of book. The book I just finished is a paranormal, “Dark Warrior Unleashed” by Alexis Morgan (she’s the author of the wonderful Paladin series, and this is the first in her new series starring the Tallions). Next up on my reading pile is a women’s fiction book by another of my favorite authors, Luanne Rice. It’s called “Last Kiss.” (Yes, now I have a song running through my head. You remember it, either the Ricky Nelson version and/or the Pearl Jam one. Just think, “Where oh where can my baby be?” And now the song’s stuck in your head, too, isn’t it? You can blame me.)

So, folks, what are you reading this summer? What’s your idea of a good “beach read”? Oh, and feel free to pop on over to my website at http://www.susanlyons.ca and enter my August contest. This time around, the question is, “What’s the best way to pamper YOU?” You could win some pampering goodies: an autographed copy of one of my books, a book of sexy coupons, love letter bath salts (a blend of rose, ylang and sandalwood), and a “someone special” heart pin.

Here’s a bit of good news for those of us who like to read the steamy stuff.

Did you know that Indiana passed a law (which was to take effect July 1, 2008) requiring sellers of “sexually explicit materials” to register with the secretary of state, pay a $250 fee, and provide details about the material they were selling? Hmm, can anyone say “censorship”?

Yes! On July 1 a U.S. District Judge (Sarah Evans Barker, bless her heart) struck down the law. Several bookstores, the Museum of Art, and the Indiana ACLU challenged the law in court, and they won.

The now-defunct law was supposedly targeted toward businesses that specialized in pornography (you know, that’s the stuff that no-one can define but you’ll supposedly recognize when you see it). However, the wording of the law was so general that it would arguably have included countless works of art as well as many romance novels – and no doubt every single title published in our Aphrodisia line.

For more information, check out stories in IndyStar.com (http://tinyurl.com/4nvage) and Publishers Weekly (http://tinyurl.com/5747tu).

The State is reportedly still trying to find a way to deal with “pornographic businesses.”

In this day and age, when so many romance novels (even ones in traditional lines) are sizzling hot, where heroines and heroes are having sex with vampires and werewolves, where ménages have expanded from trois to quatre and show no signs of stopping, where masturbation, sex toys, anal sex, nipple clamps, and bondage are increasingly the norm, where women are writing and reading male-male sex, I have to ask, What on earth is pornography, and what’s a pornographic business? Does the concept of “porn” have meaning any more?

Is there some kind of line that should be drawn somewhere? And if so, how?

I do notice that most publishers of erotica and erotic romance have drawn their own lines. Such as, no sex with a minor – even if it would be historically correct (like in the days when most girls were married by the time they reached the age of majority), and even if it’s perfectly acceptable in young adult fiction. Then there’s the issue of sex with shapeshifters. I’ve heard some people say, it’s fine as long as the shifter is in human form. Others say, a shapeshifter romance is kind of like Beauty and the Beast: the human has to accept “the beast” in beast form, which means making love with him/her in that form.

Is this complicated or what? Quite honestly, I don’t know what to think. The idea of kiddie porn appals me. But so does the slippery slope of censorship. What’s the solution? How do we protect the innocent but still honor freedom of expression?

Writers are neurotic. Don’t you think? I am, and it seems to me every other writer I’ve met – in person or by email – is as well. Often, we get swamped by self-doubt.

We ignore twenty great reviews and agonize over one bad one.

We check Amazon numbers even though everyone tells us they’re not a good indicator of anything at all. And when our ranking drops, we’re shattered.

With each book we write, we hit a point where we think our characters are stupid, our story is stupid and, most of all, we’re stupid and will never be able to turn this pile of c**p into a book.

How do we survive without slitting our wrists? [g]

That’s my question for today? What gets us through the bad times? (And hey, I won’t restrict the question to writers. If there’s anyone else out there who’s just as neurotic as we are, please feel free to answer.) Let’s share our tips, tell what keeps us motivated. Maybe we can learn something from each other.

Speaking for myself, there are a couple of things I try to remember when I’m wallowing in self-doubt:

1. I actually do know how to do what I do, and I can do it again [g].

2. I have good reasons for writing. I do it to bring the characters in my head to life, and to give readers something that entertains them, moves them, and maybe even makes them think.

I have a number of techniques that help me remember these things. One is to frame my book covers and hang them in my office, along with the awards my books have won. On my bookcase sits the vase of silk roses that my local RWA Chapters award for book sales. And something I plan to do is set up a scrapbook where I save little motivational items, so I can turn to them when I’m feeling down. Like, the contest judge who said, “Susan Lyons is one of my favorite writers.” Wow! The sailor who told me one of my characters reminded me of his wife, then shared the terrific story of how the two of them met. The readers who tell me that I gave them hope when I wrote about a plus-size woman finding a man who believes she’s truly beautiful. All these are reminders of why I do what I do – and that I do a halfway decent job of it too!

How about you? How do you keep yourself motivated, especially when you’re going through a period of self-doubt?

I know you’re not embarrassed to read spicy books or you wouldn’t be here at our site.

But are you embarrassed to buy them? Do you order online? Do you slink around the bookstore? Here in Canada, Aphrodisias are shelved under Erotica, not Romance, so you have to go into a whole different section and basically proclaim, “Hello, my name is Susan and I read erotica.” (Which, actually, I rarely do. Especially not literary erotica. I much prefer erotic/spicy romance. But here it’s shelved as erotica.) I admit, in the beginning I was nervous about browsing the erotica section – and partly it was because there were so few books and the covers were, uh, kind of freaky sometimes. But that was before we Aphrodisiacs, and our colleagues at Heat, Red, Spice and so on began to dominate the shelves with our pretty, shiny, sexy covers.

Do you pick up your erotic romance and hide it under another book, then linger near the cashiers until you see a friendly looking female who might – gasp! – even read this stuff herself?

How about reading spicy books in public? Do you read your erotic romances at home, as a private pleasure? Or do you proudly carry them around in public, cover visible, and read them on the bus? (And if you do, do you ever get comments?) Personally, I’m not big on reading sexy stuff in public. It’s not so much that I’m embarrassed to be seen with it, as that it’s hard to really get deeply into the story and enjoy it fully (if you get what I mean ).

As for you writers, are you embarrassed by what you write? I bet most of us will say no. If we were embarrassed about it, we wouldn’t do it. But what do you say when, after you’ve told someone you’re a writer, they ask you what you write? My answer is usually, “Spicy contemporary romance.” It’s not because I’m embarrassed but because I think the general public doesn’t really understand what “erotic romance” means. They think “porn”, and that’s definitely not what I or my fellow Aphrodisiacs write. I figure, “spicy contemporary romance” gives the normal reader a much more accurate picture. If they ask, “How spicy?”, I’ll grin and say, “Pretty darned spicy,” and they get the picture.

So, now it’s your turn to fess up. Are you embarrassed? Or proud and bold?

On Saturday I presented a craft workshop for my local RWA Chapter. It was on point of view and tense – i.e., do you write in first or third person, past or present tense, and which characters get a point of view? Sounds kind of ho-hum, but it got me thinking about how far romance novels have come.

Once upon a time (of course this was long before I was born, wink, wink), they were always written from the woman’s point of view, in third person past tense. “Nurse Wimpy gazed starry-eyed at the handsome Dr. Studly, and wondered if he’d ever deign to speak to her.”

But you know what? We women always want to know what guys are thinking – in our real lives, and in our romance novels. Or maybe the guys just wouldn’t settle for being silenced by women writers. However it happened, heroes started to get a point of view. But still, in the third person past tense. “Jason stared at Esmeralda, shocked that she’d rejected his gift. What the heck was wrong with the fancy food processor he’d given her for Valentine’s Day? It had all the latest gadgets.”

In the last few years, you may have noticed some different styles in romance. Chick lit made first person popular, and to some extent present tense as well. “I stare into the mirror and can’t believe that one little slice of death-by-chocolate cake has somehow morphed into five extra pounds around my waist. Note to self: give up food for at least 2 days.”

Now, more and more, first person and/or present tense are finding their way into romance. Aphrodisia is a great line for this. The editors pretty much trust to the authors to figure out the right voice(s) to tell the story.

And I think that’s what it comes down to. When I’m writing, it takes me a while to get to know my characters, but once I do they tend to speak in pretty clear voices. Sometimes it’s third person, sometimes first. Sometimes it’s past tense, sometimes present. Sometimes the heroine wants to talk and sometimes the hero does.

As a writer, or a reader, do you have a preference? Do some styles work better for you? Or do you even notice the craft stuff?