My first science fiction novel was a young adult, and, while
it was far from a romance, it did include the main character kissing a girl.
The aliens form four-way relationships (or sometimes three-way ones) that do
involve significant same-sex interaction. This was a key feature in my
world-building in the initial novel, which was written in first person. My main
character became interested in an alien girl, and they kissed (on stage) and
held hands, so I didn't face any major decisions on how much to show.
In the third novel, also a YA, my main character is gay and
develops an attraction to another boy a couple of years older. They kiss -- the
first for both -- and I describe it. Later in the novel, I imply they do more,
but it takes place off-stage. The kiss is a big deal, a turning point for my
main character in terms of his feelings about himself, and thus it was
important for me to describe. What is important about the other is the attitude
of the adults to what is happening, and not whatever the boys are doing (or
not). If I had written a different novel, it might have turned out that the
activity was important.
The next novel, however, was an adult novel, and thus I
looked the question of how much to show squarely in the face. Complicating things was the fact that I
wanted to write about two four-way relationships, one involving adults and the
other involving teens. The relationship among the adults was complicated,
involving initially my main character and another (alien) man, and later on his
two former partners, a man and a woman, also.
Some people like reading about explicit sex in novels, but I
am not one of them, and this affects how much I want to describe. If the
interaction is of significance to the plot, then I'll open the door as much as
necessary; otherwise, no. If the scene
would end up something I'd skip over if it were in a novel I was reading, then
I don't want to include it. If I wouldn't enjoy reading about it, I really
don't want to write about it either.
Colonel Rob Walker always does his duty, even when it means
risking shaky relationship with his family. When he's ordered to bring
the treaty negotiations between the Terran Federation and the Aleyni to a
successful conclusion, he's determined to do just that, even when both sides
would rather he fail. How can Rob pull off a miracle and avoid a war, one where
both sides could be destroyed?
Rob's Rebellion on Amazon:
Rob's Rebellion on publisher's website:
Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been
around art and music all her life. Her poems and stories have appeared in
journals such as Turbulence Magazine, Front Range Review, and All Rights
Reserved. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology,
Lifelines, was published by Inkspotter Publishing in November, 2011. She
is the author of Relocated, Geek Games, Broken Bonds, and Rob's
Rebellion published by MuseItUp Publishing , and of Sand in the Desert, a
collection of science fiction persona poems. A chapter book is due out later
this year.
My Website:
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Nice to meet you, Margaret. I understand what you're saying about putting explicit sex in books. Some of my books have very explicit sex and others have very little with the lovemaking behind closed doors. As you say, it depends on the story. Also, I get tired of writing love scenes.
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed your post and agree that if I would skip over a scene, it doesn't belong in the book. An interesting story will hold my attention whether the door is open or closed. Rob's Rebellion sounds like a very interesting story. Love the cover!
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret. I do feel like you do that sex just for sex's sake isn't something I put into a story. But if it moves the story, then I do... It's funny (ironic) that in my books involving married characters, they are more likely to have sex than my non-married characters. :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best with your books!
Sex either is important to the book's plot, or it's not. If it is I include, but the degree of heat varies. Personally, I like a certain amount of sex in a book, as long as there is no cruelty involved.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all who stopped by. Melissa, perhaps it's a matter of your married characters having greater opportunity {smile}. Jean, I find that sometimes it's important to go deeper into a sex scene than others. I don't want to say more without giving away too much of the plot of my novels.
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