Wednesday 4 March 2015

Menage is not enough.

My readers may be aware I am currently working on the latest book in the Gemini Island Shifters series. As they may know as well, this one is a menage.



Believe it or not, it's not my first attempt at literary threesomes. In fact, would you believe Predator's Kiss and Predator's Serenade were originally plotted as a menage for Ryland, Soren and Lia? I'm glad Liquid Silver Books gave me some crucial feedback early on and I was able to redo those romances and create the books we know and love.

However, this next one is most definitely a menage and was always planned that way. Killian Moon from book 5 has two twin brothers Percy and Byron. From their inception, I just knew they needed to be the P and B in a yummy P&B sandwich, so to speak. And I can tell you I've been enjoying writing this one, establishing the relationships and seeing how they unfold.

Of course, menages can be very sexy romances, and if readers are to be believed, they are certainly popular. However, in writing this one, I am learning it's not enough to throw a bunch of arms and legs together and to add in a few well-placed thrusts. You need a plausible story, too.

I've always found menage romances can be a little slim on plot. After all, when you have three main characters, you need to explore three sets of motivations, wants and wounds. That's not easy to do when things are happening outside the love relationship. Not easy, but essential in my mind. I want my readers to remember this one for more than just the sex.

It's important to me as well that these twins not be cookie cutters. I want each of them to stand out, to the heroine Suzan and to the reader. And because my boys are twins, this is uppermost in mind as I write. Each man must have quirks and needs and mannerisms.

If anything, while there is hot sex involved, I don't think I've gone overboard. Like any of my romances, I am trying hard not to be gratuitous with the physical expression of love. Yes, Percy and Byron are focused on pleasing their woman, but they must do so while Gemini Island is threatened in the worst way possible.

So, there will be arms and legs...and hopefully a few penises too...but hopefully I've given you a whole lot more as well.

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