I know. I said I wasn't going to do another blog post until I had finally hit that self-publish button. What can I say? The government site responsible for ISBN codes must be enjoying a last grab at summer.
Plus, this is a topic that truly needs its moment. When I started writing Mac, I had no idea where it was going to go. Did I want to do a straight romantic suspense thriller or hit some erotica buttons? Did I want to go all in on the violent scenes, or did I want to let the reader come up with their own visuals? I took a crack at both. When my friendly critique readers took a gander, they quickly threw up a yellow flag. You see, the overall tone didn't fit the graphic nature of certain scenes. As a new author, these are things I need to learn and adjust to.
It is preferable for most people to drink a bottle of Dom Perignon rather than see it used it as a weapon in a violent sex scene. And sometimes, the sexually deviant assassins do not have to reveal all of their freaky foibles beside the body they have just mutilated. Let's face it...that is not very romantic. It was too tricky of a balancing act to include the violent visuals while maintaining the essence of humour and romance throughout. Bottom line - these scenes were not necessary in this book.
This is not to say I shied away from sex scenes entirely. Although, it is going to be tricky for me to narrate certain lines for the audiobook without chuckling. The line, “She then took him into her mouth and clamped down, hard,” comes to mind. (One angry female). There's another chapter where a nipple almost doesn't survive thanks to a piranha-like bite...I might hit soprano notes narrating that one.
They say sex sells. I'm not about to argue that one. But violence is an entirely different beast and should always be handled with care - especially if the book has a romantic slant. There is an audience for both - but it takes a real pro to walk that tightrope.
Now, if everyone could start doing a "come on ISBN codes" dance, I would really appreciate it. It's high time you met Mac...