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Friday, January 25, 2013

Amy Andrews: The Vibrator – does it have a place in category romance?




So, I’m thinking of doing something wild and out there in my next book and I think I need to be talked off the ledge.

I’m thinking of writing a scene where the hero walks in on the heroine whilst she’s….enjoying herself with a little mechanical aid. Then it becomes this whole loaded situation where he just stands and watches her torn between the urge to join in and the illicit thrill of a private show and she knows he’s watching her and she knows he knows she knows. So it becomes sexy and raunchy instead of brief and squalid.

But is that just too, too much? Does that cross a line? I mean, I’m generally known as an author who writes the hotter end of the spectrum and I have in my earlier writing days even written and sold erotica but still – I haven’t gone this far in a category romance before.

Is that too far for category?

Would/should a hero be okay with that? I’ve been weaned on (and loved) romances where it’s only the hero who can ring the heroine’s bell. Where other men pale into insignificance in the face of his mastery of the female body. And, I have to admit, I love that whole only one guy for me thing. But I am rather titillated by the hero being turned on by a woman having a little private time and even more so by the heroine knowing the hero is watching her, knowing the hero is turned on.

Hmm, maybe that says more about my kinks than I’d like….

I’ve written scenes where heroines have threatened to use their vibrator.  Thrown a vibrator’s prowess in the hero’s face. The Devil and the Deep is a good example! I’ve even written a scene where the heroine had bought one and taken it home with the express purpose of putting that twelve inch baby to good use.
I’ve just never followed through. I’ve always chickened out.

So, the question remains - should I or shouldn’t I?

Would that shock you in a category romance? Would it turn you off? Would it be a wallbanger if the heroine is seeking sexual pleasure with something big and hard that is not the hero? Or would it, in this day and age of BDSM and about a hundred other kinks, be pretty damn vanilla? Would it not even raise an eyebrow?
Because, I gotta tell you, inside my head, that scene just won’t let up :-/

Talk me off the ledge people, I beg you….
And for your troubles I will be giving away a signed copy of my #dirtysexypirate aka The Devil and the Deep (complete with vibrator talk) to one lucky person who takes the time to comment!


Amy Andrews is an award-winning author who has written thirty +romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon in both the Medical and RIVA/Presents lines. To date she's sold over a million books and been translated into over a dozen different languages. In 2010 she took out the sexy category in the prestigious Romantic Book of the Year Award affectionately known as the Ruby and this year she is a finalist in three categories of the Australian Romance Reader Awards.
She's recently launched a couple of separate writing ventures with the release of Sister Pact a contemporary women's fiction novel that she co-wrote under her real name Ali with her sister Ros and was published by Harper Collins Australia in May 2012, as well as the very exciting release of her first category romance, Taming the Tycoon, with Entangled Publishing. This was followed by her anthology contribution in Baby, It’s Cold Outside, also by Entangled.
In what she euphemistically likes to call her spare time, Amy works part time as a paediatric intensive care nurse and was on the national executive for Romance Writers Of Australia for six years during which time she organised two national conferences and undertook a two year term as president.  She's been married for twenty-two years and has two teenagers She lives on acreage on the outskirts of Brisbane with a gorgeous mountain view but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of Tuscany.

***Amy's winner is Erin!  Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing information!***

28 comments:

Lory Lee said...

I uhm, don't know what to say at first. But honestly I think that whatever pleases you, do it. There is always the "trial and error" thing, and if it doesn't work then at least you gave it a try. Their are readers that aren't narrow minded. As long as, it's beautifully written and has sense. I think it's also the right time to bring something new to the world of romance.



Amy Andrews said...

LOL, sorry Lory but I did get a giggle out of whatever pleases me :-)
I'm also wondering now if it is a first - surely not?
I think it could be a great scene full of tension - if I can pull it off!

Abbi said...

Okay, I say, why not? Wouldn't it show/reveal some of the backgrounds of the characters? It's not something that could never happen IMHO. It's all in the execution, right?

Think outside the box as they say in my acting class . . .

Abbi :-)

Amy Andrews said...

Thanks Abbi! Yes, I think its going to reveal a lot about both the characters, a turning point in their relationship....

Unknown said...

I say do it! Give the hero a challenge to prove he can do better :-)

BTW don't enter me in the giveaway as I'm in the UK. I will be buying it though.

Fiona Marsden said...

I'm gonna be up front and say. "Please tell me which book it is so I can avoid it like the plague." I don't care if it's funny. I don't care if it's a turn on for the characters. I don't care if it as beautifully written as your work usually is. I shudder every time it's mentioned (and yes I know both instances you mention). If she used it either time I would have put the book down. I'll go further. I have put books down and one I did actually finish is on my never read again even though I usually love the author pile. That being said. If you want to write it go ahead. Your book, your choice. I'm sure you will do it well.

Laney4 said...

Would it shock me in a category romance? Hmmmm. I would say as long as it's written tastefully (that's the key phrasing) without all of the erotica quality/quantity type of details, it should be fine. (Otherwise, it would be an erotica romance, wouldn't it?)

I think vibrators are more commonly used these days than many of the items in eroticas. They wouldn't be commonplace back in the seventies in books, mind you, but I think today they would be more readily accepted.

Please don't include me in your draw. I have this book in my TBR pile.

Oh. I really am perverted. Grinned when I read Amy's response of "if I can pull it off", then grinned when reading "think outside the box", and finally grinned when reading "I say do it!" OMG.... And I haven't had my breakfast yet (grin).

Amy Andrews said...

Well that will be one of the objectives of the scene :-)Re the giveaway - its worldwide Tracey! I dont mind mailing to the UK if you win :-)

Amy Andrews said...

lol, Fiona - I will advise well ahead of time! :-)
It's not going to be a funny scene at all (unlike the other two). It's going to be hot and intimate and erotic
... I hope.....
Thats the plan anyway.
Can I ask why its such a hot button for you (and aren't the euphemisms flying thick and fast!)

Kaelee said...

Amy ~ I have The Devil and the Deep in my TBR so leave my name out of the draw. I think I may have to move it to the top of the pile.

Personally I see nothing wrong with a vibrator scene in a book. I don't read erotica but this would be pretty mild as far as I'm concerned. A bondage scene would bother me more but I have read them in category romance. Done right, which I have every confidence you would execute, I think it could add to the story.

Amy Andrews said...

lol Laney- I added the hot button one just for you :-)

Whilst I'm hoping the scene will be "erotic" it wont be erotica. I'm going for an intimate discovery between two people who have known each other forever!

Amy Andrews said...

Hi Kaelee. The scene is going to be failry vanilla as far as the description goes. It's the intimacy and trust hopefully implicit in the scene I'm after more.

Fiona Marsden said...

I think it ties in with my obsession with fidelity. There are probably other deep seated reasons. Technically I don't care if they do it off the page. I know in reality men do it all the time. But please, please don't tell me about it. I like to be able to pretend to myself and if you put it right out there my extremely visual brain will go right there and pull me totally out of my happy place.

Amy Andrews said...

Yowsers! I feel like I need a degree in captcha tonight! Are they getting more complicated or is that just me?

Amy Andrews said...

Cool. Good to know....
Jury still out. Will warn in advance though :-)

Fiona Marsden said...

It took me two goes this time.

And again.

Amy Andrews said...

I hear ya! I even contmeplated not writing a reply because of the damn captcha hoops!

Pat Cochran said...

I've read books where self-fulfillment is
mentioned or alluded to, so it's not a new-
to-me subject. I must be honest in that it
is not a favorite subject, which I would
bypass if possible. Your books are yours
to write as you wish, just as my choice of
books is as I wish. Good Luck!

Amy Andrews said...

Hi Pat,
Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Leni said...

I say go for it. After the editing process, if this scene doesn't make it into the book and you still feel that you want to go back to writing more on the erotic side you can do that with other books.
Looking forward to finding out what you decide.

erin said...

LOL! What a fun post! I say write what comes naturally to you and fits the story/character. I'm in it for the ride and you're the driver! So I say bring it! In this day and age, pretty much nothing is taboo or "scintillating" really and this is what real"ish" women do! (I say real"ish" b/c while a lot of women are comfortable using and talking about it, there is still a good size population of women still in the vibrator "closet")

Amy Andrews said...

Thanks Leni. I think in the end the muse will win out.
She's a determined little hussy! :-)

Amy Andrews said...

Hey Erin. You sound like my kind of reader. I know when I read a book I am totally open to how the author chooses to tell the story. I call it the lazy reader. Or maybe, in this conversation it should be "easy" :-)
But if it doesn't work....wall banger!
Love real"ish". Cos you're right, there's a lot of closet dwellers amongst us :-)

Kimberlyindy said...

I don't think that it would shock me as long it wasn't just done for shock value.....meaning that it was just thrown in for no reason other to shock the reader and never a part of the characters.

Eli Yanti said...

I think without trying we will not knowing the result, so I think just go ahead :)

Amy Andrews said...

Thats a good point Kimberly. It's pushing a boundary for sure....might have to examine my motives. Do muses have motives?

Amy Andrews said...

LOL Eli - another good point :-)

Di said...

well - maybe at the beginning of the story before the couple gets together, but I hope not after.