Understanding the Heat Levels in my books: I make no apologies for the sex in my books or the language I use. The rating system here, and a description of what/why I write further down is the best way I can help you decide if you’ll like a book.
Levels 1 and 2 — No sex scenes.
Level 2 — One tame sex scene and/or heavy petting scene.
Level 3 — One or two steamy sex scenes
Level 4 — Two or more hot sex scenes
Level 5 — Multiple sex scenes ranging from hot and raw to visceral, up-against-the-wall sex. My books average a Level 4.
The Sex I Write: I write open-door straight, male/female romantic sex with some fellatio and cunnilingus scenes. Regardless of your steam preferences, I wish to emphasize that my sex scenes are sensual, emotional, and romantic. I use minimal physical descriptions and focus on the emotions the characters are experiencing during the sex scene. The amount of sex in a book is dependent on the characters, not because I think I need to add sex as a selling point. If I did, I’d write under a different name. Some books have a lot of sex, others don’t. It’s truly a matter of the characters.
Language Use — My heroes use the word FUCK to demonstrate anger and frustration. It depends on the hero and what’s happening in the story as to how often it’s used. Fuck has been used by men since before the time of Shakespeare, and only until recently, it was never used in a lady’s presence. But despite some readers’ wishful thinking, men of all levels of society use it within their male bastions of socializing. It doesn’t matter whether he was Mr. Darcy, Edward Rochester, or other favorite classic heroes, even those men would have used the word fuck among their male friends in a club or elsewhere. They most likely would have used it while with the women they bedded in brothels too. Sorry to disappoint you.
It is highly unlikely you will ever see the word sh*t or sh*te in my historicals (I avoid saying never because there could always be that one moment…). The word is far more offensive to me as it brings to mind images of raw sewage, pit toilets, and the worst, stopped-up toilets. I don’t want images of those things popping into my head when I’m reading (and it does when authors I read use the word). That’s NOT romantic in my book. At least with the word fuck, the worst you’ll think of is sex, or maybe that saying fuck a duck.
In my paranormals, which are ancient Roman historical contemporaries, I have used the Latin word, Cak. However, that word usage was limited to once or twice. I use the word fuck because it’s raw, visceral, and the guttural sound makes it perfect for harsh emotions. I use other words too, so it’s not fuck this, and fuck that. But in my opinion, the word for excrement doesn’t sound harsh or raw at any time it’s used and cannot begin to emphasize a deep frustration. So, you have been warned. *grin*
What I do not write is menage, anal sex, LBGQT, reverse harem, or dark romance. I write what I enjoy reading. Since those topics don’t interest me, I’ve no desire to write that content. I don’t clutch my pearls if someone else enjoys writing or reading books with content I don’t care for. After all, many readers of historicals won’t even consider reading my paranormal series. Different strokes for different folks.
I have two BDSM books (His Mistress and His To Command). In truth, in almost every romance there is a small aspect of the BDSM genre in terms of a dominant character and a submissive character. If you’ve read Fifty Shades of Grey and loved it, great. A lot of readers did. However, please understand that series DOESN’T even remotely resemble what BDSM is. In fact, the BDSM community was deeply outraged by the lack of research the author did for her trilogy, and subsequently, the media frenzy that made the lifestyle sound obscene. BDSM has nothing to do with sex. It’s about a character’s need to surrender to someone more powerful and capable of taking on some of their burdens. If you want to read BDSM, I recommend you read Joey Hill.Â
