In the Mind of a Medieval Warrior

Greetings unto the readers of The Naughty Girls Next Door!

When I began to write Seeking Truth, I knew there would be at least one sword fight and that fight would take place between an honorable knight and baron (my hero, Eaduin) who is in service to King Stephen and a rogue knight with no honor and everything to lose – in short – a villain.

I fretted and worried about this. How could a man of honor fight someone treacherous and not get himself killed due to his sense of chivalry. As I grew closer to the end of the book, I still had no clue how to make this a realistic fight where my villain fights dirty but my hero survives - which is as it should be. This is a romance novel after all.

In order to figure out how to handle this, I went to a group of people I was sure could help me – fighters in the SCA. What’s the SCA you ask? Let me explain.

The acronym SCA stands for Society for Creative Anachronism. The organization has been around since the 1960s and I’ve been a member for about twelve years. I am not a fighter, but I know quite a few. Some are men-at-arms, some are members of fighting orders, while some are knights. Granted these gentles are modern “knights” but part of their fascination with the Middle Ages is their interest in historical fighting styles, fealty, and the rules of chivalry. I decided if anyone could help me with this dilemma, it was them. So I sent out a call to the group email list of my local barony (a group within the SCA) and I asked them this:

“I'm writing a critical wager of battel/trial by combat between my hero and the villain. The setting is England in 1146 during the reign of King Stephen. I'd like to write this pivotal scene at the climax of the book from the point of view of my hero. This means being inside his helm, but I've never put on armor in my life. I can write this scene from my imagination, but I'd prefer to have insights from fighters.

In the midst of a fight, do you focus only on the other fighter? Do stray thoughts about why you're fighting float through? Are you conscious of the weight of your armor and weapons, or is the adrenaline rush so high you don't notice? Is there anything I haven't asked about that I should know?

This is a fight to the death between a man with nothing to lose (the villain) and everything to lose (the hero). The villain has no honor and will be fighting dirty. My hero must counter the dirty fighting and survive."

With no more information than this, I began to receive private emails from fighters. I can never thank them enough for the wisdom they shared. I appreciate their aid so very much. To get into specifics, they told me how they viewed their opponents, dealt with their armor and so on. I received some very useful information. I learned that a trained fighter doesn’t feel the weight of his armor and weapons. It is a part of him and he’s trained to the weight.

I also learned that if a fighter is tired or wounded you see it in his shield, not his sword. His shield drops below the “proper” location. The more tired he is or the more blood he loses, the more the shield falls, leaving an opening for his opponent to kill him. Blocks get slower and footwork gets sloppy. Fine motor skills for throwing controlled shots is lost and fighters begin to try for powerful simple shots to end things quickly. I read all of this and thought…WOW. I can use this! Until it was explained to me, I didn’t really get it or understand how combat worked. Because of these sage words, I was able to use this in the fight scene I wrote to make it more authentic.

Absolutely everything I learned from the fighters helped me write a stronger scene, but most of the responses addressed the logistics of the fighting. I was still stymied about how a man of honor could face a man without honor. Other than the typical, kill or be killed thing, I didn’t know how to handle this. I needed to hear about a knight’s “world view,” so I genuinely understood how Eaduin would behave. One SCA gentle, Sir Angus, addressed exactly what I needed to hear in a way that I could really understand in his missive to me. He said:

“A knight swears to defend the innocent and protect the defenseless. We do not swear to be kind and merciful to our foe. At least during the fight when he is armed and dangerous. When he is helpless and injured that would be different. The sword has two edges. One delivers the kings justice, one edge cuts to the truth of the matter. The scabbard counsels mercy. Counsels, not requires or demands, or even promises. In other words, if the dog must be killed, a knight is the man to put it down. So when the fighting gets dirty, your hero should feel free to end the fight as quickly and as deadly as possible. Depending on what you are planning on having as a dirty technique, my responses might differ. If you want to run some of the techniques by me, I would love to ponder how I would honorably deal with them.”

I thanked him for his words of wisdom via email and when I next had the chance to see him in person I thanked him again. Finally I got it. I understood how Eaduin would view this critical fight. I felt my mind fit with his. It’s the knight’s job to put down a rabid animal and Eaduin was the knight for the job. Sir Angus, your words made such a difference. I was able to employ what I learned from your fellows to make the fight feel “real” but what I learned from YOU allowed me to make my hero real, not only to me but to my readers. In modern parlance, you totally rock!

So if you, my fellow writers, need to get into the mind of your hero then look for others who can help get you there. Books are great, but talking to real people is even better.

If you write historical romance set during the Middle Ages or Renaissance, seek out your local SCA. They can help you get inside the time period. But for those of you who focus your work on other time periods, you aren’t out of luck. By all means, use books but there are many groups of real people out there who re-create the past. Civil War re-enactors are enthusiastic about their time period and devoted to detail. To learn about living on the prairie, find a group known as The Buckskinners who can help you bring the Prairie to life. Visit “Living History” museums like Colonial Williamsburg. Visit battlefields like Gettysburg. Want to bring the World War I or World War II era to life in your books? There are re-enactors for those time periods too.

Anything you can do to make your characters more real to you will make your writing stronger. If your characters are real to you, they’ll live for your readers too.

Useful Links:

Society for Creative Anachronism: http://www.sca.org/

Re-enactors.net – a clearinghouse of information – all time periods: http://www.reenactor.net/

*****

I'm running a contest today. All commenters will be put into a drawing to win a copy of my book, Seeking Truth. To titillate all of you to encourage you to comment, here's a blurb...

Baron Eaduin Kempe, a man of intense passions, seeks a healer at a nearby abbey. When the abbess introduces convent-raised Lady Vérité de Sauigni, he knows he’s hellbound for desiring her. He wants to tie her to his bed until she sobs with the pleasure of his touch.

Eaduin offers Vérité marriage in exchange for easing the pain of his dying foster mother. Years ago, Vérité secretly watched Baron Eaduin arouse a lover and has dreamed of his touch ever since. She desires him enough to risk exchanging the imprisonment of convent life for that of marriage. On their wedding night, Eaduin craves dominance and Vérité submits with enthusiasm. Each heated encounter thereafter binds them closer together.

When Vérité’s father accuses her of witchcraft because she won’t use her psychic gift of seeing truth to aid him, she begs Eaduin to kill her so she doesn’t suffer. Instead, Eaduin challenges her father to trial by combat, determined to save the woman who owns both his passion and his heart.

Chains of Desire Winner

Thanks for everyone who took the time to comment the other day. I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of a free download of Chains of Desire is....
Mallory!!!

Congratulations! Send me an e-mail at natasha@natashamoore.com and let me know what format you would like and I'll send it on to you :)

And for all you disappointed commenters, you can buy your very own copy here:

Thanks again to those Naughty Girls for inviting me this week!

Natasha
Romance with more...sizzle
www.natashamoore.com

Workin' It!

When I was a teenager, I was something of a goody two shoes. One of those perfect attendance, straight A, President of the French club type girls. All I did was study, study and occasionally study really hard. Then one day I decided I needed to see what things were like in the real world.

I decided I needed to get a job.

I realize this is not groundbreaking. Lots of people had jobs as teenagers. And my plan would have probably worked out well if I hadn't chosen to work at a well known chicken joint.

Now I like chicken as much as the next girl. I didn't even mind the ugly uniform. What I did mind were the horrible customers. From the harried woman with the gaggle of kids who decided to pay entirely in nickels to the mean older man who yelled at me because I couldn't keep his ridiculously long order straight. I hated working there and didn't feel even an ounce of regret when I quit a week later.

Needless to say after that experience I appreciate a great work environment. But I've never had a job anyplace like the setting of my newest series...

Desire Incorporated - The Temp debuts TODAY!

Ava Kincaid took the temporary job at Desire Incorporated because she desperately needed the money, not because she was secretly hoping to see her ex-boyfriend Gavin Sloan again. She’s already been there, done that and gotten kicked in the teeth. She just wants to do her job and go home.

But when they meet up in the halls of Desire, the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. Suddenly she’s doing way more than filing…

Temping has never been this good and Ava finds herself wondering if perhaps this position could lead to something more…permanent?

Read an Excerpt

If only going to work could be this much fun for the rest of us! Stop by my website to check out more about this exciting new series. If you sign up for my newsletter you'll be entered to win a copy of the book and other great prizes!

And just for kicks - I'm going to host a special contest here that's exclusive to the Naughty Girls blog. Everyone who follows this blog by June 15th will be entered to win a copy of The Temp. So hit that follow button and join the Naughty Girls for regular updates about the mischief we get into :)

Minx
www.minxmalone.com
www.desireincorporated.com

Menage is the Word

First of all, I want to thank Minx and the other Naughty Girls for inviting me to talk about one of my favorite subjects – writing sex scenes. More specifically today – writing ménage.

Chains of Desire, a futuristic BDSM novel, which will be released by Ellora’s Cave this Friday, the 29th, includes my first ménage. I admit I was a little nervous about my first time, but in the end I was pretty darn satisfied.

I’ve heard many writers say they’ve gotten ideas for stories from dreams and I always though that would be so cool to have happen. But I never had until a year or so ago, when I woke up with the image of a petite blonde, bound and on her knees between two large hunks, servicing them front and rear. That image stuck with me and I was finally able to give life to those people in Chains of Desire.

There are certain challenges to write a ménage – and not just keeping track of all the limbs. There are all those extra sensations and emotions to deal with when three people come together intimately. That’s really important. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the choreography that you can forget about the people, forget about their desires and fears, their actions and reactions to everything that’s going on.

I admit my favorite part of writing (and reading) a ménage scene is experiencing with the heroine the intense sensations she feels when two men focus all their attention on her. Two pairs of hands on her body, coaxing the tingles and quivers and throbs from her that can be nearly overwhelming. Two mouths on her, teasing her with lips and tongues and teeth in two places at once. Two cocks filling her, driving her arousal even higher. I want to give myself over to the sensations as well.

Sensations began to overwhelm her. The sharp pain in her nipples alternated with the spears of pleasure shooting between her legs. She had to remember to breathe when Micah pulled back from her throat, before he thrust again. His moans gave her pleasure. Jarrod’s fingers and cock continued to slide in and out of her body, making her nearly spiral out of control. His groans of pleasure sang to her. Her body rocked wildly between them.

But then there are the emotions – and they can often be confusing to the characters dealing with a threesome. Some ménages are a one-time thing, but that still doesn’t mean there can’t be jealousy as the hero shares the woman he feels strongly about with someone else. And the woman may feel conflicted if the second man arouses her as much as the hero does. And if this is a committed threesome, or you have some male on male action going on too, don’t neglect the realistic emotions the characters may try to ignore, because sooner or later they have to deal with those emotions if the readers are going to believe in your happy ending.

Micah had circled around behind her and was clearly admiring her ass. A stab of jealousy pierced Jarrod’s chest. He knew he had to get over it this time. If this didn’t work, he’d spend the rest of his life haunted by the images of hundreds of men enjoying her body. The thought burned his stomach like acid.

When you get right down to it, writing a ménage scene is really no different that writing any other sex scene. The choreography is the minor detail, the sensations and emotions your characters are feeling is what really matters. With ménage there’s just a little bit more.



I will be giving away a free download of Chains of Desire to one lucky commenter. I’ll be soon working on another ménage, an erotic short for Red Sage, so I’ll ask this question of all the readers today. What do you look for in a ménage? Why do you enjoy reading them? I'll hold the contest open until the end of the month. Be sure to stop back to here on May 31st to find out if you're the winner!

Natasha
Romance with more…sizzle
www.natashamoore.com

Making characters come alive

Thanks for letting me have the opportunity to blog here girls!

So, how to create characters that aren't just cardboard cutouts? Well it's different for every author of course, but for me it comes down to two things. Get them right and the rest follows.

Those two things are character assets that are also flaws, and fear.

We all have them. That part of us that is an asset sometimes but also a serious flaw at other times. For me it's impulsiveness. If I decide to do something I have a burning need to do it NOW! Now, impulsiveness can be good - I get things done lickety split, I love trying new things and I'm always up for spontaneity. In my writing it comes out as plot twists that just turn up in my head and I go with them. This trait of mine has led to some great things in my life - the time I just took off and spent a year working in the Mediterranean, the day I woke up and decided wouldn't it be fun to have a motorbike? It also led me to the Old Man, but that's another story :D

But it constantly gets me into trouble too. I've never learned to think before I speak for example. My Old Man calls it my Foot In Mouth disease. I open my mouth and the words just fall out. Normally the wrong ones, or at the wrong time. It causes my friends no end of amusement when I unintentionally offend random people. And this post for example. I was going to post something quite different. I saw Crystal's post and thought 'Ah, I could type mine up and schedule it to post on the proper day. Do it NOW!' So I typed it all out and popped in the proper date for posting. Only I didn't, not quite. No, I posted the bloody thing straight on the blog ( because I didn't waste time checking did I? No, that wouldn't be impulsive enough for me!) MORTIFICATION! I've just posted right over Crystal! I've usurped her blog. Nooooooo! And somehow I couldn't get to edit / delete it. It took twenty minutes of logging in and out, swearing all the while, till I managed to delete it. Phew.

So an asset that is also a flaw. For every positive aspect of any trait, if you take it far enough ( and in fiction, the best characters never do things by halves do they?) it can become an equal and opposite flaw.

And secondly - fear. This, as far as I'm concerned, can often be the biggest thing to think about for a character and, most importantly, one that drives the plot. What is your character afraid of most? What is the worst possible thing that could happen to them? It's often linked the asset / flaw. For instance, at very formal do's I clam up - afraid of looking like a complete idiot when I say the wrong thing ( and I will). Your character might be afraid of falling in love, of failing someone they are close to, of breaking a promise.

And once you know what it is that makes them wake up sweaty and screaming in the small hours, then you have it. Conflict. And quite often a whole plot. Because then you can make that thing happen to them, or threaten it. Yes, I love to put my characters through the wringer. Bless.

That fear drives what happens in my stories. The events that would be nothing to any other character become momentous purely because of who they are and what drives them. And once that fear is there on the page, either overtly or disguised, once you know what is driving them even if it's only hinted at in your prose, then that's when they come alive on the page.


Win an ebook and jewellery! See the contest on Julia's website.
Julia Knight's first book, Ilfayne's Bane, is published with Samhain Publishing. You can find out more about her at juliaknight.co.uk

Smut - Why I Don’t Like The Word

Hello Naughty Girls Next Door ~ thanks for inviting me to your blog. At the risk of inflaming other authors, I’ll gently explain why I don’t like the word smut.

I’m an erotic romance writer. I write titillating fiction designed to thrill and excite and make you sweat, and always with a happy ending. But don’t call what I write smut, because I won’t stand for it. And here’s why:

The dictionary’s description of “Smut” as a noun is
-A particle of dirt. (Okay)
-A smudge made by soot, smoke, or dirt. (Still acceptable.)
-Obscenity in speech or writing. (Whoa. Stop right there.)
-Pornography. (Now that’s just clueless)

And also describes “Obscene” as
Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty (Accepted standards? Bite me.)
Inciting lustful feelings; lewd (How are lustful feelings obscene?)
Repulsive or disgusting (Excuse me?)
So large in amount as to be objectionable or outrageous. (Hmmm....)

Okay folks, none of these describes erotic romance fiction. Sex is not dirty! Human genitalia is not repulsive or disgusting. (Though in my books, it might be so large as to be objectionable or outrageous :] )

Some writers, such as the wonderful Morgan Hawke who is much more established and experienced than I, proudly boast they write smut. I say, power to them. These writers stand up against common, narrow-minded preconceptions with greater courage than I. But when it comes to my own books, I strongly declare, romantic erotic fiction is not pornography. It is not dirty. It is not repulsive or disgusting. So don’t call it smut.

The reading of a book is a very private thing. You could say it’s as private as masturbation. You read a book by yourself, silently, in your own head. A reader’s experience with my books is singular and intimate. Calling romantic erotic fiction smut, is, in my opinion, as arrogant as someone else passing judgment on another person’s bedroom activity. Simply said; if you don’t like it, get outta my bedroom. But don’t criticize me for it.

My goal is to write heroines you want to be. My goal is to write heroes you want to be with. My goal is to write happy endings that make you tingle. And my goal is to write engaging sex scenes that make you hot. And hopefully, for my readers’ sakes, I succeed.

Crystal Kauffman recently celebrated the debut of her very first -not smutty- book with Loose-Id. The Combat is the first in a trilogy about gargoyles who protect humankind from vampires. If you haven’t read it, you still have a chance to win a free copy at the Get Hooked On A New Series contest, drawing held June 1. Or download a copy today and enter Crystal’s personal contest running through May 31st, to win a brand new Sony eBook reader.

Alpha or Asshole?

One of the most popular heros in romance novels today seems to be the Alpha male. Whether it's the literal alpha of a werewolf pack or the laird of a Scottish clan, this particular hero crosses all genres. I'm willing to admit that I love them. There's something about a take charge, confident, warrior hero that makes my inner damsel in distress swoon.

Now I'm not pointing fingers or overanalyzing here but I've started to notice a disturbing trend. Some of these heros aren't so much alphas as they are assholes. Even worse the heroine seems to just go along with it and responds as if his attitude is sexy instead of insulting. I'm not sure what annoys me more, the hero being a butthead or the heroine not putting him in his place. Then I started to wonder - What if it's just me? Maybe no one else sees this as irritating and you're just reading too much into it?

So where do we draw the line? When does confidence turn into arrogance? How far can a guy go before dominant becomes domineering?

Thoughts?


Minx

Things Better Left Unsaid...

With texting and twitter so popular, there are a lot of messages floating in cyberspace that people probably wish they could take back. I just heard about a site called "Texts from Last Night" which is hilarious. Here's a peek:


(570): why did i make a hit list last night containing only McDonalds?
(1-570): you tried to order a magarita mcflurry and when they said they didnt make those you tried to call 911


(617): yo I sort of want to f**k rachel maddow. but I'm not a lesbian. actually I reaally want to so maybe I am a lesbian. at least on weekdays at 9.

(510): I got a call from 999 999 9999. I didn't answer it because I was too busy freaking out about the number.
(1-510): It was probably Jesus.
(510): I feel like he would have left a message.


(206): She punched me in the face after i pulled it out and grabbed my cell phone. Ill be the one hiding in the bushes with one shoe.


(207): using no condom is gross. my vagina has a dress code.


(609): ive been sending my husband naked pics of my whole body from my phone..its a work phone. do you think our boss can see? if so, im either getting fired, or a raise.


(305): He's not gay. He just has bad gaydar and he gaydared himself and was wrong.



This is why some people shouldn't drink. This is also why some people shouldn't use twitter. And there are some people who really shouldn't do them at the same time!

Minx

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the hardworking mother's out there take this day to rest. To those who aren't - take a rest too! Believe me, it's best to get all the rest you can while you can.

I plan to take some time today and just do something completely frivolous. Shop for something I don't really need. Read a book, paint my toenails or SOMETHING that isn't laundry, work or childcare. Sometimes I have to remind myself that even though I'm a mom, I'm also a woman too. I cherish the quiet times when I can renew that part of me as well.

Minx

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Optimist that I am I love any excuse to celebrate so I find myself saying "Happy this" or "Merry that" for holidays that I don't even normally celebrate. Even so it's hard not to get infected with Cinco de Mayo fever since everyone around me is having a fiesta!

What is Cinco de Mayo? If you ask the average person they would probably say it's a great excuse to drink Corona but the proper definition is:

Cinco de Mayo
A national celebration in Mexico, commemorating the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

So that's a shot of history to go with your beer.

Salud!

Minx