Blushing At My Computer Screen

Romance and erotic romance authors have a rare opportunity to live out fantasies we may never dreamed possible.  In our minds we can make love to a werewolf, or travel in time for a romantic rendezvous.  It really is an amazing job for someone who likes to live in his or her head!

However, along with this type of writing fun come certain situations where even I have blushed at my computer screen:

Here are my top five blushable moments:

1.      The first time I wrote the word nipples -  Not peaks, not tight apex, but nipples.  It was my first foray into learning how not to use euphemisms for everything.  I actually turned away from my monitor as I typed the word, but I also crossed over the threshold into being a real author who doesn't use purple prose.

2.     Dealing with the condom -  Unless we are writing historical or paranormal, safe sex is important, and many publishing houses require it.  Somehow putting the condom on gives me no trouble, but the whole disposing of it seems to perplex me.  It is not something that you want to spend a lot of time talking about, or at least I don't.   I finally resorted to researching proper condom etiquette.  FYI the rule is that the man is responsible or dealing with his own…disposal.  For my story that was just released, Hands On Me, I managed to turn this once awkward scene, into something that helped move the plot along.

3.     Shaving and grooming – I never really discussed this at length, but then I had a critique that asked me to describe my hero's "situation." Every generation seems to have their own standards for handling their grooming.  Right now the trend is for little to no pubic hair.  I now use this to show something about my character.  Is my hero male a metrosexual who keeps everything perfect?  Or do I have a man who doesn't care about following the crowd?  In an upcoming story I actually used this, not only as comic relief, but to show how my hero changes once he's in love.

4.     Double Penetration – Anyone who writes sex scenes knows that it has to be more than an instruction sheet, but somehow my first double penetration scene gave me tons of trouble and lots of deep blushes.  There were just so many parts and pieces to fit together correctly, and I had to make sure my readers would understand what I meant.  I wrote the scene first as an outline making sure I had everything in the right place, and then came back and added in the plot, etc.  However, in a ménage romance, this scene can be one of the most emotional points in the story.

5.     Pushing My Own Limits –There have been many times where I have been laying in bed thinking about a sexy scene. It may push the boundaries, or sound a little left of center, but I have found that one hundred percent of the time when I go with my gut, push past my own boundaries and write the scene as I envisioned, it turns out much better.  For my upcoming story,. 

One thing I have learned from writing erotic romance is that if it turns me on, it has a better chance of doing the same to my readers.  At the end of the day, isn't that what we all want? 

I wish you all happy and sexy reading!

Kim Carmichael

Kim Carmichael began writing nine years ago when her love of happy endings inspired her to create her own.

A Southern California native, Kim's contemporary romance combines Hollywood magic with pop culture to create quirky characters set against some of most unique and colorful settings in the world.

With a weakness for designer purses, bad boys and techno geeks, Kim married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running and finally admitted handbags were an investment.

Kim is a PAN member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as some small specialty chapters.  A multi-published author, Kim's books can be found on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble.

When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.

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