Hello and welcome back for another six sentences from Hog Wild, my contemporary erotic short story. My big news is that Hog Wild will release on Friday, May 20 in conjunction with the launch of New Dawning International Bookfair e-publishers. (Great excitement as this is my first publication!)
At this point in the story Lula, desperately searching for 1) a fast bike and 2) sexual satisfaction, has moved on from Beau to his older brother Rob, who rides a Sportster. She has just arrived at Rob’s place and asked if she can help him remove his leather chaps.
Sight of her black hair, cut longer on one side, started a twitch down in his groin. Lips so full and red if she stuck her tongue out she would look like the model for the Rolling Stones logo. God, I hope she sticks her tongue out. The chaps were not the only thing heated now.
“You offering, honey?” Rob gave her his best Paul Newmancome-on stare. Sadie down at El Ranchito told him once he looked kind of like Paul Newman, but Sadie’d say anything to get laid.
That’s all of my six for this week. Enjoy other snippets at Six Sentence Sunday.
And come by all this week to help celebrate the release of Hog Wild and other Fractured Fairy Tales. On Friday, May 20 you could win free copies!
Today’s six are again from my WIP Only Scandal Will Do. Duncan has bought Katarina at the auction and convinced her that he believes the story of her kidnapping. His kind, soothing words persuade Kat to let down her guard and when he kisses her, she cannot resist.
All she wanted was to feel his hands on her, his tongue in her. Of its own accord, her tongue thrust into him, bringing a growl of approval that encouraged her to frenzied explorations of his warm, wet mouth. His hand slid down to rest on the swell of her breast, an impudent finger nudging inside the gown’s low décolletage to brush against her aching nipple.
Blue fire shot directly from his finger throughher breast, causing Kat to gasp and arch against him. With a chuckle the man released her lips, but before she could protest, lowered his head and seized her nipple through the sheer white cloth. Another streak of fire leapt deep into her, straight to the vulnerable corebetween her thighs and Kat moaned louder at the unexpected bloom of heat.
Hope you enjoyed. Enjoy other fantastic snippets at Six Sentence Sunday. Or join in the fun next week. Thanks again to all who visit each week. I truly appreciate it!
Not long ago a couple of my crit partners wrote that they found it hard to write dialogue. I have worked in theatre and taught playwriting classes, so I shared a few tips and exercises I use in my classes. Then I decided “Why not share with everyone?”
1. Develop Your Ear. One of the easiest ways to get a good feel for the ebb and flow of conversation is to listen. Forget what your mother told you and eavesdrop on conversations of perfect strangers. At the mall, in the grocery check-out line, take note of how people talk. I mean really—take notes. Write down conversations word for word if you can (it’s great cover for what you’re actually doing). Take your little scenes back home, read them over. Remember the people’s voices. Create characters out of them. Now take their conversation and make it into a scene. Who knows where this may lead?
2. Be a Watcher. Watch television programs and movies with great dialogue. I recommend Gray’s Anatomy, The West Wing, and Frazier for TV. For movies, Notting Hill, Sleepless in Seattle, and From Hell (the development of Johnny Depp’s character through his dialogue is truly stunning). Listen for the rhythm, the imagery, the nuances the actors bring out in the dialogue.
3. Everybody’s Different. As you craft your dialogue, remember that each character should have his/her own unique voice. Think what subtle characteristics the characters have that can be brought out through dialogue. Do they curse? (Less is more where that’s concerned.) Do they use one particular word mostly? Do they use euphemisms? Do they speak in flowery phrases? Is there a certain phrase that they tack onto almost every sentence? In one of my WIPs, the sister of the hero, who I see as a bit scatterbrained, tags most of her sentences with “don’t you think?” Not often enough to be annoying, but enough to make that part of her character. People do these things in real life—make your characters real by using them.
BIGGEST TIP COMING UP!
4. Workshop. Playwrights do this to make sure their words will work in the actor’s mouths. Most sites with dialogue tips suggest you read your work aloud (which is a good tip, granted). Take it one step further. Host a Reading Party. Invite family, friends—they don’t have to be actors, just as long as they can read out loud. Then listen carefully as others read your work. Close your eyes if possible. Listen not only to how the dialogue sounds, but listen to how easily the words can be read. If the readers are stumbling over structure or difficult words it’s likely your silent readers will stumble too, in their heads. Do your words sound like the give and take of conversation? Words that look wonderful on the page sometimes sound clunky when read out loud. But if they ring true to your ear, you’ve achieved your goal.
5. Feedback. Let your readers help! At your party ask for feedback. Let them be crit partners of a different sort. Ask if anything felt stilted as they said the lines, or if they have any suggestions. You don’t have to take their advice, but you’ll have it if you need it.
These two websites have some of the same tips as above, but they have additional ones as well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back for another Six Sentence Sunday. And thank you to all who have been coming to read my snippets. I do appreciate your time and comments.
This week I am returning to my WIP that is out with agents right now, Only Scandal Will Do, set in 18th century England. This scene occurs in the House of Pleasure, an exclusive brothel in London, run by Duncan’s ex-mistress. Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam has been kidnapped and put up for auction in a tableau scene depicting a Roman senator and a Christian slave girl. This is Duncan’s first look at Katarina.
The slave was dressed in an almost transparent white gown, in the popular, flowing Grecian style, its folds torn in places and streaked with dirt. A daringly low bodice displayed full, enticing breasts, with a hint of dark nipples showing through the gauzy fabric.
Duncan’s labored breathing sounded harsh in his ears, and when he tried to swallow, his mouth was so dry he had to peel his tongue from the roof.
The scenario itself did not appeal to him, but that girl. . . that girl with the incredible hair. The mass flowed shiny clean, obviously well tended, and would fall well below her waist. But the most alluring attribute was the fiery, bright auburn color of the long tresses, like molten flame spilling down the slave girl’s back and around her breasts—temptation incarnate.
That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed my snippet. To take a look at the other fantastic sixes click on
Well, not really. But I must confess I learned a lot about writing from seasons 1 & 2 of the award winning television show, Grey’s Anatomy. Not about script writing, either. But about how to hook an audience, how to reveal character, how to write memorable dialogue, and how to leave an audience wanting more.
How to hook an audience:
Introduce your main characters not at their best. The series begins with the heroine, Meredith Grey, waking up after a wild night out on the town. ( The first minute of this video, until Meredith disappears upstairs, illustrates this point, but if you watch a little more you will see how several characters are revealed beautifully and succinctly.)
Then, about ten minutes into the episode, we find out Derek is her boss. She wants to maintain a professional relationship, he wants to keep it personal. Now we’ve got to continue to watch to find out if she sucuumbs or if she resists. Same principle applies in writing novels–grab the reader with a great hook on the first page. Jump into the middle of a situation, reveal a character’s weakness, start with an embarrassing situation that just gets worse.
Revealing character is another skill vital to the writer and one that I learned from watching Grey’s. If you watched the whole of the video above, you have solid character concepts for all four interns and Dr. Bailey. Her nickname, “the Nazi,” sums her up beautifully! What these five characters do and say in a miminal amount of time creates their characters vividly in the audience’s mind. I strive to pack that much info into concise dialogue or description.
Even though I have an ear for dialogue (having worked in the theatre most of my life), Grey’s showed me that dialogue isn’t just words the characters say–it is an art form. The following scene is my very favorite in the whole of the Grey’s Anatomy series, because the use of language and dialogue is mesmerizing:
I can watch that scene over and over. The rhythm of the language almost makes it poetry. People don’t talk like that nowadays–but they should. And when they do, it reveals so much about their characters. That is what dialogue is supposed to do–reveal the characters to the audience. When we craft those words so that the reader can hear the intonation, the inflection, the way the character’s brow arches when he says a certain phrase, then we have done our job.
What you also need to do as a writer is to always leave the reader wanting more. Make the hook at the end of each chapter so tantalizing that the reader has to turn that page NOW to see what happens. Grey’s Anatomy did that in spades at the end of Season 1.
Just when you thought the HEA was in sight–everything changes. And you CANNOT put that book down until you know everything’s going to be all right.
I’ve enjoyed sharing my favorite and most inspirational clips from Grey’s Anatomy. In my opinion, the writing in Seasons 1 & 2 was stellar and I go back from time to time for a refresher course. We can learn the craft of writing from any number of sources. Keep your eyes open; you never know when or where the your next best tip on writing will come from.
Do you have television shows or movies whose writing has inspired you? Changed your style? Made the light bulb go off about something you never really got before? If so, please share a comment!
Welcome back for six more this Easter Sunday. This week’s sentences are again from my new work Hog Wild. Not exactly Easter fare, but hopefully a fun way to wake up this morning. This six begins almost exactly after last week’s sentences. Enjoy!
“I want to measure you.”
“I think there’s a tape measure in my toolbox.” Beau couldn’t help his proud grin.
Lula’s gaze rested on his long rod, standing like a lone pine tree. “I have a much better way to measure such things.” She reached out and pushed his shoulders back onto the mattress, then dropped to her knees.
That’s it for this week! Go have fun and check out other snippets at http//sixsunday.blogspot.com. See you next week!
My six this week are from my Erotic Contemporary Romance, Hog Wild. It’s a fractured retelling of The Three Little Pigs (who are now Harley riders or HOGs). But my big news is that Hog Wild just got accepted for publication by New Dawning International Bookseller!
In this six, Lula Wolfendale is seducing her first victim, Beau Hogue, in order to steal his motorcycle after hers leaves her stranded in the desert. Hope you enjoy!
Beau’s jaw hit the ground for a second time that morning when the bathroom door opened and Lula strutted into his bedroom, naked except for her tall black boots and onyx navel ring. His cock had calmed down after her statement about just wanting to wash up; now it sprang to attention with such enthusiasm he expected it to unzip his jeans. Her red mouth curled into a feral smile that made him wonder if this was some retroactive pipe dream from the last time he smoked weed. If so, he was gonna make Jesse get him some more of that shit.
Well, that’s my six for this week. Hope you liked it–if so please leave a comment and let me know. And be sure to check out other fantastic snippets at Six Sentence Sunday: http//sixsunday.blogspot.com. See you next week.
Recently, I have found one question beginning to consume me almost as much as writing itself does: do I hold out for traditional print publishing via an agent, or do I go with an epublisher first to try and get my name out there with a couple of books under my belt before querying more agents?
This question has been much on my mind due in part to Amanda Hocking, but due also to my own tendency to always be behind the times. I’ve always been the one who assumes a fashion or trend just as it’s morphing into something else. If the fashion is bell-bottom jeans this year you can bet I’ll be wearing them–next year.
With more at stake here than just a raid by the fashion police, I am very antsy about putting off the pursuit of epublishing. As I told someone recently, “If epublishing is the wave of the future, I’d much rather ride the wave than drown.”
I am not usually an impatient person. You will probably laugh in my face at that statement when I say that I have only been aggressively querying my historical romance to agents since early February. And I have had several requests for partials and fulls. Responses have been fairly good, but there’s been no offer of representation. And even if I get an offer, that’s only hurdle no. 1. The agent still has to sell the manuscript. Which could take years in the current economy and climate of publishing.
So as I sit teetering on the fence, along comes an article from Kristine Katherine Rusch’s blog that pushed me over the edge.
Granted this article is about promotion. But it also encouraged me to think that if I can get my work published via epublishers, whose turn-around is much quicker than traditional publishers, then by the time I do break into traditional publishing (ever the optimist, I believe I will eventually), I will be able to use the model Kristin suggests because I will have built up a readership via the ebook.
Does it matter whether my first book is published traditionally or by an epublisher? I’m beginning to think the answer is still yes. But the preference will be for the epublisher. A statement I never thought I would make. Just like my husband thought I would never request a Kindle.
There is one other big upside to the model Kristin outlines in her article. My job as writer becomes streamlined. I don’t have to get a Facebook or Twitter account and spend hours a week on them. I don’t have to write a blog (but I will because I do enjoy this type of writing). I do, however, have to write. I have to keep producing novels, and novellas, and short stories. Which is a fantastic task for a writer! Permission to write like the devil was on my heels has been granted.
You won’t have to tell me twice!
If you have ever asked yourself the “traditional or epublisher” question, please share your answers with me. Which wave will you ride? Or are you already cresting on one or the other?
Welcome back for six more sentences this Sunday. I decided to continue this week with another six from my Victorian era historical romance As Long As You’re Mine. Rafael has just reminded Lady Samantha Easterling about their passionate encounter the evening before.
He ran his tongue lightly over her closed lips and felt her shudder in his embrace. Encouraged, he teased along the seam, but she pushed strenuously against his chest, so he concentrated instead on seducing her lips, teasing them with gentle tugs, nibbling here and there. She went deathly still. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to find ice picks of gray steel staring back at him from less than an inch away. Reflexes made him straighten abruptly, then. . .
Wham! Pain exploded along his left cheek.
Well, there’s my six for this week. If you enjoyed this snippet with Rafe and Samantha, please leave me a comment and let me know! And check out other great sixes at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/ or share your six with us by joining Six Sentence Sunday.
Next week I’ll be posting six sentences from my newest WIP Hog Wild, an erotic contemporary twisted fairy tale, based on The Three Little Pigs. See you then!
This must have ben the shortest week on record! I can’t believe it is Sunday again so soon. But I have my six for the week, this time from my current WIP As Long As You’re Mine.
Set in London and Richmond, Va in 1892, the story follows Lady Samantha Easterling who, when her plan to force a marriage her father disapproves of backfires, ends up betrothed to a perfect stranger, American Rafael Beauregard. In this scene, Rafael is trying to talk to Samantha about the wedding, but ends up reminding her of their first meeting:
Rafael smiled, a slow, dangerous smile. “Let us revisit what you dared to do last night, Lady Samantha, before either of us becomes indignant. Let us remember that I was awakened by a most insistent hand on my shoulder and then. . . .”
“Don’t you dare continue, sir!”
“We certainly continued last night.” Rafael’s mind burned with the memory of her hot mouth, her smooth, silken body, the tight, moist sheath, and unconsciously stepped toward her.
That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed my six. If so, you might want to read more snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/ or join in the fun next week with your own six.
Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know if you liked my six.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 