Daren

Sassy Lusty Character Takes Over Erotic Dreams!

March 6, 2013 by scarletdarkwood

I’m sure I’m not alone in this experience, and that would be one where a writer has dreams about one of their characters. Let’s face it, our dreams are usually symbolic and people, real or created, can represent things in your life when you dream. In Dance of Desire, one of the main characters is Daren, my red-headed sexy attendant who works at The House. One night, after I’d been writing about him, creating him in my mind, I fell asleep and began dreaming about him–about us. When I woke up, I had to laugh, and then I wondered, do any other writers do this? Apparently it’s not that all uncommon for writers to have night-time experiences with their characters, especially if you write romance or erotica. After all, these characters are real to us. We conjur them up in our minds, and as we write out their scripts in our novels, they begin to take on what feels like a real walking, talking person.

Sometimes when I hear certain songs, I wonder how Daren, in his day and age–the 20’s-30’s–would react to the song. Would he like it? Would it make him want to sing or dance? How would he look in modern day clothing? After all, in my novels, he’s wearing nothing but a loincloth–or nothing! I can hear his voice in my mind when I write dialogue sentences for him. I can see his smile, his teeth, feel his touch. I wonder what he likes to eat. In my novels, he likes fruit, probably because it’s erotic and can be used/eaten in may ways! I think Daren would describe himself as a vegan or a health nut. He cares for his body very much.

Now for the big question as it relates to dreaming about your characters. Since Daren engages in lots of sex, have Daren and I had sex in a dream? Well . . . all I can say is It was good for me, and I’m hoping it was for him too. Oh, wait, he’s only a fictitious character, and I was just dreaming. Anyway, it’s an interesting concept as we writers breath life into each one of our characters, creating the way they walk, talk, dress, swagger . . . and fulfil our naughty desires.

What about everyone else–readers or writers? Do you ever dream about characters in novel? If you have, and you’re not too shy, tell me about it. I’d love to hear your experience.

The Erotica Genre: What’s In A Name?

February 25, 2013 by scarletdarkwood

I’ve posted my thoughts on some of the different camps of thought when it comes to the Erotica category. Other genres, no doubt, face similar issues. But what I’m learning is the ingredients that make up genres to start with. When you look at mysteries, you see certain elements, such as solving puzzling questions, going through due diligence to see if facts line up or not, using deduction to determine the killer. In romance you see the relationship between two characters and how it grows into love. In Steampunk you’ll see elements of a Victorian timeframe, engines and gears, and how characters in a past timeframe might view their world with futuristic eyes.

A well-known author noted in one of her writing courses that if a genre element takes up at least 50% of the novel, then the novel fits that particular genre. As I noted above, mystery, romance, and steampunk will need to have their particular elements fit at least half the novel to be true to its genre. So what about Erotica? I know for sure that sex and the issues of sex take up at least 50% of my erotic pieces–some will argue it takes up more than that. I tend to think I’m at a 50/50 split, with 50% being sex and the other 50% addressing the relationship between characters or a character’s sexual experiences, which help them grow into more powerful, self-assured individuals. It’s true, the romance element may play a lesser part, and the plot will only weave itself in and out and around sexual issues. Some readers won’t mind that, but those searching for more character connection and plot won’t like higher heat erotica much.

As for me, I’ve discovered that when I read Erotica, I want lots of spicy sex scenes and a story where I can just kick back, relax, and give my inner voyeur some exercise.

Take Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, for example. What I remember specifically about her novels is Beauty’s sexual adventures as she served out her training period. The story focused on the sexual aspect of this, and plots and relationships between characters did take more of a back seat. This was my first (accidental) foray into Erotica. I had no idea what I was purchasing when I bought the packaged set in the book store many years ago. However, her work made an indelible impression on me. You didn’t see much of a connection between Beauty and Tristan, until the end. I personally think their relationship seemed a little vague and in the end, a little hurried, but cute nonetheless.

In Louisa Burton’s Hidden Grotto series (my favorite of all Erotica) she seems to manage her stories in short story format, but woven cohesively into the chapters she creates. All throughout the book, sex is either active or insinuated, without too much connection between the characters like we may see in romance. Here’s the deal, though. In the Hidden Grotto series, the Follets are not supposed to fall in love with the guests who come to the castle to enjoy lusty time away from home. The goal of the immortal Follets is to propagate their seed to create beings who are “gifted” or merely satisfy their own carnal appetite. The big goal for all of them is to endure, and the goal of the one who owns the castle is to protect the Follets and give them a safe have so they can endure. He provides the guests as their sexual food for survival.

Pleasure House and House Tales From The Archives are in the same boat as the Hidden Grotto series: The attendants are not supposed to fall in love with the admits (patients). The goal of the attendants is to teach their admits empowerment through sexual liberation. Sometimes the attendants may present lessons for their admits, such as in Dance of Desire. Though I hint at Serena falling in love with Daren, I stop this (i.e. don’t explore it much) because I don’t need Daren falling in love. He needs to help Serena find her heart’s desire, even while she’s “imprisoned” at The House. I don’t go much into detail about Serena and her lover because she only has one shot at wooing him. I wanted the stakes to be high and for there to be some sense of urgency, a “get it right the first time” kind of thing.

What about you as the reader who has read my work or the authors I mentioned above? What do you like about what we write? What do you not like? Do you think our writing fits the Erotica genre the way it’s supposed to? Do you get your personal reading goals met when you read our work?

Dance Of Desire Is Published!

February 1, 2013 by scarletdarkwood

Dance of Desire Is Published!!

Dance of Desire

Oh, I’m so excited about this one! This latest work is the first from my new series: House Tales From The Archives. These stories will feature characters (actual or mentioned) from the first novel, Pleasure House. In this particular story, Daren, the sexy, red-headed attendant finds Serena, an admit from the other side of The House, dancing alone in a clearing one night. Smitten by her beauty, he continues to go to the clearing hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

When he sees her do something rather unusual one night, he vows to have her with him on his naughty side of The House. During an afternoon outing, Serena’s questioning of Daren make him fear the worst: Is she falling in love with him?

He soon discovers, however, that she really has her heart set on someone else in the community. A crafty teacher, Daren provides her only one opportunity to win the love of her heart, or else remain a resident at The House, forever abandoned by her family and society.

Can she do it? When she’s put to the test, her resolve nearly crumbles, endangering her only hope for freedom and to the one she loves.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To . . . Work!

August 25, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

Okay, a funny thing happened on the way to the day job–I’ll call it work. I happened to be stopped at a traffic light and looked over to the car on my left–when what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a good living example of two of my characters in Pleasure House! I was stunned, not to mention smitten at the same time. You see, in this black car (failed to catch the make or model, but it looked nice and neat) sat a young man and woman. I couldn’t see their faces, but the backs of their heads left a lot to my immagination. They looked like they were in their twenties, and the guy had bright red hair, and his girlfriend had long blonde hair falling over her shoulders.

I sat back and chuckled to myself. Just think, Rose and Daren personified. Of course in Pleasure House, these two didn’t drive cars, but they spent time together during a few chapters in the book. In one of my posts, Getty Images Has Nothing On Me! I mentioned how difficult it was to even find good pictures of models who even remotely resembled your characters. Now, in living flesh, were two living, breathing specimens! Perhaps if I’d seen their faces I might have felt differently, but I didn’t; so I can always carry the experience with me that I saw two people who could have been my novel characters.

Just imagine what those two would have thought if they’d been told what their character likenesses did in a book such as mine! Oh, the blushes–not to mention some squirming, I believe. I wonder who dominates who between the two? Do they practice the kinky stuff behind closed doors? What’s the kinkiest or naughtiest stuff they’ve ever done? Believe it or not, I have not obsessed over those last questions. I only thought of them now as I write this post.

What about you other writers out there? Have you ever seen who could have been your characters in your writings? If so, I’d like to hear about it. What was it like to experience that? Was it good for you too? Well, that question was uncalled for, but I couldn’t resist! As far as how it was for me–it made me smile. I still think about that couple, wondering where they were headed off to, what they had planned for the day. Were they dating, married? What part of town were they from? In this modern day and age, what did the female do for a living? Were they both going to a college?

The modern gentleman and his lady–whatever she is to him–were different from the couple in my book. The young girl is now living in an age where she has choices, rights, and cannot be hauled off to the local insane asylum just because she wants to exert her rights or explore her sexuality or sex in general. She won’t be called a hussy or slut because she’s with a male unchaperoned. Heck, she could be living with her flaming red-headed companion for all we know.

The bottom line is, those two beautiful, real creatures live a totally different lifestyle this day and age than Rose and Daren did in my novel. And as for me, I’m glad I caught a brief glimpse of them, even for just a few seconds before we all three headed of into the morning sun.

Let’s Hear It For The Red-Heads!

August 16, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to death of people bashing red-heads for not being attractive. Talk about feeling like the “red-headed stepchild!” Even Patty Stanger on Millionaire Matchmaker said on an interview one time that she didn’t invite red-heads to her mixers because nobody ever picked them. I have two words to say to that . . . *rolling eyes* . . . no that’s not what I’m thinking, so don’t be ugly. I have two words to say to that: SO WHAT! Patty, you need to invite those girls (or guys) anyway! Personally, I think most people I’ve met who have red hair are quite attractive. So why all the rant about all those guys and dolls with flaming locks? Because one of my male characters in Pleasure House is one of those people Patty Stanger said she’d never invite to a mixer. Too bad, because this guy is one who knows how to fire you up and make you beg (though I must admit, he does have a slightly weird side).

Most erotica tales seem to feature men who are the typical tall, dark, and handsome types. Yes, I have those, too, in Pleasure House, but when I was in the middle of creating my scenes and developing the characters to go in them, I found myself growing rather weary of those tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed hunks. Surely there had to be something different out there, something that stood apart from the rest. Enter Daren! Now, I know that name is not a common one for the time period the book is supposed to have taken place, but no matter, I like it anyway. I like him a lot! As a matter of fact, I think I love him!

When I created Daren, I racked my brain trying to figure out how to make him special and unique. And then it hit me–make him a red-head. Make his skin flawless and his eyes golden–“the color of rich ale.” Make his face incredibly handsome, and try to make his character show a way about him, one that makes him not only irresistible to the admits at The House, but irresistible to the reader as well.

The thing I like about Daren is that he is a meticulous lover, one who puts thought into every detail. He’s one who will spend lots of time on how to make an event special. Once you meet him, he’s one of those people you just want to please, or at least not make angry or cross. So there he is, mamma’s red-haired, golden-eyed beauty!

There, there, now. No more bashing those with fiery tresses, for they have their own special steamy brand, even if they aren’t exactly like Daren. And the next time you host a party or mixer, invite some red-heads to spice it up a bit.