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I wrote this story for an RWA critique session.  My chapter does “hot nights” when the authors bring their sex scenes.  I was feeling pretty cocky, because whatever I decided to bring, people always loved my sex scenes, right?  Then I noticed that the fine print said, “BRING TEN PAGES.”  Turned out that all my sex scenes ran twenty to forty pages. Oops.

So I wrote Dezyrah’s Talk Dirty To Me.

I did it in all-dialogue for two reasons: one, I’d read some Terry Bisson short stories in all-dialogue which blew my mind, and I wanted to try that.

 And two, it was the only way I could think of to get all the sex in in ten pages.  I just didn’t have room for all the other stuff you have to have in a good romance sex scene:  setting, emotional context (did they just have a fight? is this their wedding night?), what they’re both wearing and doing and feeling and thinking, plot movement, character growth, oh lordy you need all that and more.  Plus good sex.

So I thought, I can imply 90% of all that if I just do the dialogue, right?  If I’m good.

Read it, please, and let me know if I’m that good.

King Dave Flaherty was despicable. That’s what Nadine Fisher would say to him if he ever dared to make an advance to her. King Dave, she would say, looking down her nose, You have a nerve coming on to me after everything I’ve heard about you! You’re despicable!

She took the empty coffeepots back to the Bunn machine near the Café les Auteurs restrooms and rinsed them out one at a time, watching out the window. Across the grimy alley outside, two roadies on dinner break came out of the stage door of the Auditorium theatre and walked up the alley toward the nearest bar.

Nadine swirled water into the carafes over the sink.

Nope, he wouldn’t get very far with her. King Dave was lucky he was Mister Somebody in a big city, boy. Back in Goreville, he’d have to answer for his misbehavior before the entire congregation. And Nadine would take great pleasure in paying him a visit to administer spiritual correction.

Imagining it, she allowed herself a moment of satisfaction, running her hands under the warm water.

(more…)

I’m so excited!  I recently hired Julie Ortolon to do some new covers for my stagehand romantic comedy Fools Paradise, and for my other stagehand romcom King of Hearts.  Just to confuse everybody, I released Fools Paradise first, and planned to release King of Hearts in late October 2010, even though the King comes before the Fools.

The King of Hearts cover is done now, and the Fools Paradise cover is coming next.   But I wanna gloat TODAY!  So here you go:

Releasing late October 2010