It's been almost two weeks since my last blog, and in that time I've been hard at work on my next novel. I'm excited to be back to doing what I love to do, even more so because I've changed gears somewhat for this next novel.
While the Exiled trilogy revolved around more modern times, and required quite a bit of research for some spots, my new novel is taking a different path, one of pure fantasy. So for those of you who loved playing Dungeons and Dragons, or just enjoy that type of fantasy setting, this next novel will be right up your alley.
I did take a break from it over the weekend however, to go back to the Exiled trilogy for a short while. For several days it was difficult to work on my new novel because I kept thinking back to the Exiled books, particularly Continuation and Infinity.
One comment I'd had from a reader of the first book, Exiled, had said they were hoping for a little more sensuality. In the second and final books of the trilogy, there were a few places where I expanded on a few particular places. It's been bugging me for a few days, and I finally realized why.
Sex sells, of that there is no doubt. There are quite a few movies out there today that intentionally toss in some kind of scene like that - it has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline, it's just thrown in there for no other reason than to have some kind of nudity or sex in it.
I came to the conclusion that certain parts in Continuation and Infinity had done that same thing, to a point. Sure, I could certainly keep it in there. Unlike some movies that toss a nude or sex scene in just to have it in there, the added scenes in the two books did make sense, they were part of the story. But ultimately, I decided that I felt more comfortable simply leaving an impression of the act, rather than detailing it.
The point of all of this is not simply focusing on the sensuality aspects, but an overall observation of the story in its entirety. I'm sure each of us can think of a book or a movie where afterwards there was a moment of 'why was that in there... it had NOTHING to do with the story!' Certainly there are times when a little more detail is needed to reinforce the reasoning something is done, but sometimes just leaving the impression without going into detail is enough.
I totally agree with you with regards to this subject matter. If you go into detail in your book of the 'event' then you become an erotic author. I know for my novel, my intentions were to only hint at things but never detailing anything. I just left it to the readers imagination as the what transpires after!
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