jungle heat
Sex Scenes
This topic recently came up as a prompt during the February Instagram challenge I participated in. The first place I went was to my blog archives to see what I’d said about this before. Turns out the last time I’d written about it was almost eight years ago. Not surprisingly, my thoughts have changed a little.
So, here we go!
Writing sex is an interesting subject to me since it’s one I’ve struggled with throughout the years. My first novel was a sweet contemporary romance, so I skipped the sex altogether. The pressure of writing sex intimidated me. Plus, the book’s content was pretty sweet, so sex didn’t feel necessary. I’d also written a novella with sex in it (Jungle Heat), so I was good with writing it. It had a mainstream heat, not too hot and not too sweet.
My first publisher specialized in erotic romance, so the heat level needed to be ramped up. Sex scenes needed to be plentiful. Needing to write so many caused me to majorly burn out on them. That’s why the Cry Wolf series and Beneath the Broken Moon doesn’t have as much sex as some of my books.
After the hiatus I took this past year, the charred bits have begun to flake off. Along with my passion to write, I’m beginning to enjoy writing sex again. Hooray for small victories!
One thing that hasn’t changed for me is needing to be in a certain mindset to write sex. I used to try to muscle through them because they were next, and I’m not crazy about writing scenes out of order. However, I’ve found that if I try to just write them regardless, they need a lot of editing. If the scene doesn’t excite you, chances are it won’t excite the reader either.
What I do with love scenes sometimes is type **insert sex scene here** and move on. The scene will be there when I’m ready, even if that happens to be during the editing process.
A funny story is one time I turned in a book to my editor with **insert sex scene here** still in. I was really tired, and my eyes must have glazed over it. My editor was confused, but I wrote the scene and turned it in for her to look it over. After that, I try to be more careful!
Until next week,
Sarah
Jungle Heat is on Pre-order
Jungle Heat (Amazon Chronicles, Book 1)
Sarah Mäkelä
Genre: Shifter Romance
Publisher: Kissa Press LLC
Date of Publication: September 17, 2014
On preorder now for only 99 cents!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Heat-Paranormal-Shifter-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00NA2P8PC/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jungle-Heat-Paranormal-Shifter-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00NA2P8PC/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940046260106
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id915948423
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=sa5sBAAAQBAJ
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/jungle-heat-4
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-jungleheat-1612811-344.html?referrer=516335fe9df93
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23158564-jungle-heat
Book Description:
An Amazon Princess and a weretiger must find love enough to heal their peoples’ painful history.
The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few secrets. One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is filled with the horror of conquering men.
Adara Rukan, princess of the Amazons, ventures away from her village to find something waiting for her. Andrei “Rei” Makarov is a weretiger and a biologist on assignment. Can Rei and Adara find love enough to bridge their two separate worlds?
Excerpt:
Adara raced over the dense forest floor, trying to escape the shadow closing on her heels. Fear pumped adrenaline through her body as she ran toward her village through the darkness. Panic tangled with the sheer need to survive. If only I’d listened. What was I thinking, coming out alone?
She shot a glance over her shoulder. Her foot smacked against a tree root in the moment of distraction, pitching her body forward. The fall came in slow motion.
Cursing under her breath, she rolled onto her back. Dry leaves clung to her blonde hair. The subtle, musty scent of slow rot rose from the rich soil, mixed with something coming from behind her. The dark shadow loomed. Her gaze rose to take in her pursuer, wondering if the beast would be her doom.
The tall, broad-shouldered creature towered over her. Watching. It wasn’t human or animal. The village wise woman had warned her of beings like this, but they’d seemed like fables. How could something so fantastical be real?
Even as she trembled with fear, this creature captivated her. The black and orange stripes covering his shoulders and arms evoked a distant memory, yet the design was uncommon in the Amazon.
His hair hung in straight, black strands like a human’s, but his face had the nose, mouth, and eyes of a feline. His muscular, naked body reflected a splendid combination of both species. Sweat-shiny skin glistened through the inch-long fur that covered him. His white chest intrigued her, all the way to the patch of fur barely covering his groin. Leaves and branches framed his face with a lush green background. He crouched over her. His piercing golden eyes focused solely on her. His stare reminded her of a cat from her village staring at a small rodent before pouncing.
As he leaned down, she grabbed her kris from the garter on her thigh and pushed it against his stomach. She didn’t want today to be the day she died. Her people needed her. She wouldn’t let this beast deny them their princess.
The animal cocked his head at her. He brushed his lips over her throat, whiskers tickling her chin.
Her body stiffened. What is he doing? Bewilderment spread through her as his feline lips touched her neck. Instead of biting her, his canines grazed lightly, gently, from just below her ear down to her shoulder, almost as if exploring her flesh, instead of seeking to rip open her throat.
She tensed. Even with her weapon pressed against the beast’s stomach, she still feared for her life. As an Amazon princess, she wasn’t easily scared. But this feline made her heart pound. If only she had brought Rubia with her. She wouldn’t be in this situation and could’ve stood a better chance against this feline.
Why does he persist in toying with me? Adara swallowed as a low burn started in the pit of her stomach. These feelings confused her.
A soft sniffing sounded in her ear right before his tongue scraped rough caresses on her skin. Other jungle cats marked their territory. Did this animal believe she was his? She didn’t want to find out.
Without waiting for the feline’s next move, Adara drove the kris deep into his stomach, meeting resistance as it plunged through flesh and muscle. She forced it further as his blood flowed onto her hands, making the hilt of the kris slick, weakening her grip.
He roared and leapt back with her kris still embedded in his abdomen.
She scrambled to her feet. His scream so near the side of her face made her ear ring. Bringing up a hand to her ear, Adara felt a trail of his wet blood drip along her cheek.
He straightened his spine and strode back to her, her kris still buried in him. It seemed as if it were nothing more than a minor annoyance to him. She clenched her hands into fists and dropped them to her sides.
The reality of what she saw struck her. She froze. How could he act so unaffected? He shouldn’t have been able to move around so casually. It wasn’t possible. How can I outrun something like that? This can’t be happening. Her mother had always warned her to be careful when traveling through the forest. Why hadn’t she listened? And how could she feel so drawn to this animal when he intimidated her?
“Who are you?” Gritting her teeth, she forced her voice to resonate with the commanding tones of an Amazon huntress, and fervently hoped it didn’t betray the panic racing through her veins. Her people’s beliefs restricted them from showing fear in front of strangers. Not that they saw many. But her tribeswomen were survivors in dangerous times. Their history brimmed with reminders.
The feline bared pointed white teeth. “Call me Rei.” His husky voice reverberated like a deep growl.
He launched into the air and, before she could react, flattened her to the ground. Air whooshed out of her lungs. Her eyes widened and locked onto his.
He pinned her arms next to her head and pressed his feline lips to hers. His tongue scraped across her lower lip, causing nips of pain to cut through the alluring sensation.
She shook her head hard, breaking the kiss. Her breath rushed out short and quick. Never before had she kissed anyone. His mouth on hers created fiery stirrings within her body that felt almost too good. Her racing pulse only spread the warmth throughout her body that much faster.
Twice a year, her tribeswomen associated with Indian men. The younger girls were forced to stay in a hut during those visits, although Adara had snuck out once with Rubia in a fit of rebellion. She’d spotted one of her kin pressing her mouth against an Indian male’s. Could this be what happens?
But men weren’t to be trusted. Her kin had learned that the hard way many, many years ago.
Her mind flashed to the tales she’d heard from the wise woman. Horrible reminders assaulted her, memories of the men from long ago, enslaving her kind, killing them ruthlessly with diseases and swords.
She could imagine the cruelty of the conquering, pillaging men as vividly as if she had been there herself, so strongly had the wise woman spoken. It had taken weeks for her to sleep soundly after listening to that story.
Sudden panic swept away the lust that burned inside her. This creature could do the same. He’s chased me, after all.
“What do you want from me?” Adara asked, trying to sound forceful, but instead her voice came out husky. She cleared her throat and returned his gaze.
Talking with an animal! Rubia would be jealous. Her tribeswomen would never believe this story… if she survived the encounter.
Rei smiled, warmth emanating from him. “You.” His chest rumbled, and he rolled the word off his tongue like an exotic purr.
Shameless Summer Giveäwäy – Winner Announced
News Bytes
Hey everyone! I hope you’re having an awesome Thursday. I have some very cool news to share.
First of all… wow, Jungle Heat is up for Preditors & Editor’s Readers’ Poll for Romance Short Story in 2011! I’d love your vote!
I’m also excited to share that Techno Crazed, the first book in the Hacked Investigations series, is now available for Nook at Barnes & Noble! Get your copy here.
Also, I have the tagline and blurb for my February 2012 release, Captive Moonlight, part of the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series, but can be read as a standalone. The tagline and blurb might still change a little, but I figured I’d give all you a sneak peek!
Tagline: A gentlewoman will do whatever it takes to rescue her captive werewolf betrothed.
Pretty simple, but I think it sums the story up well. I can’t wait to see the cover, and I’ll definitely share when I get it!
Jungle Heat, Now Available at All Romance eBooks!
Hey everyone! I have some awesome news to share. Jungle Heat is now available at All Romance eBooks. Also, as I mentioned before there’s a sale going on at ARe on Changeling Press books, except I have a correction to make… All Changeling Press titles are 25% off until October 3rd! Woohoo! What’s extra cool about that, is when ARe mentioned the sale in their newsletter, they posted Techno Crazed‘s cover as one of three Changeling Press titles. Squeee!
Blurb:
An Amazon Princess and a weretiger must find love enough to heal their peoples’ painful history.
The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few secrets. One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is filled with the horror of conquering men.
Adara Rukan, princess of the Amazons, ventures away from her village to find something waiting for her. Andrei “Rei” Makarov is a weretiger and a biologist on assignment. Can Rei and Adara find love enough to bridge their two separate worlds?
Six Sentence Sunday 3
Hi there everyone! Thanks for the wonderful comments the past two weeks. I very much appreciate them. Here’s a continuation from last week’s Six Sentence Sunday. Click here to view the previous entries.
Quick note to set it up. Adara is an Amazon warrior princess, and Rei is a weretiger biologist on assignment in the Amazon Rainforest.
All she’d known of the world had flipped upside down since meeting him.
Rei cocked an eyebrow, watching her. His gaze brushed over her, stoking the strange warmth in her belly.
Adara couldn’t stop the unfamiliar heat rushing up her neck, reaching her cheeks. Her eyes lingered on his naked human form. His tan skin captured the moonlight that filtered through the very old trees.
Jungle Heat available from Changeling Press.
Six Sentence Sunday 2
I really enjoyed Six Sentence Sunday last week, so I’m back for more! This is my heroine Adara, Amazon warrior princess, contemplating Rei, the hero, in his human form. She met him when he was in his weretiger form. It follows shortly after last week’s Six Sentence Sunday post.
Even naked, he had a sophisticated, intelligent aura about him. He was much more handsome than the local Indians. They didn’t have the air of confidence and grace he possessed. They bore a more savage image of life, like her people.
She shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts. For if they were right, she had no business associating with him.
Jungle Heat available from Changeling Press.
Six Sentence Sunday 1
Hey everyone! I’ve decided to try out something new. So, here’s goes! These six sentences are when Adara see Rei in human form for the first time.
Her words and anger stuck in her throat as she realized a tiger no longer stood before her. The beast had been replaced by a man. A man with dark brown eyes and a sensual mouth. His large build shocked her. Her kind was tall, yet he towered over her. The sight of him stole her breath.
Excerpt for Jungle Heat
Woo! I have the official excerpt for Jungle Heat. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! It comes out tomorrow.
Amazon Chronicles: Jungle Heat
Sarah Mäkelä
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2011 Sarah Mäkelä
This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.
Adara raced over the dense forest floor, trying to escape the shadow closing on her heels. Fear pumped adrenaline through her body as she ran toward her village through the darkness. Panic tangled with the sheer need to survive. If only I’d listened. What was I thinking, coming out alone?
She shot a glance over her shoulder. Her foot smacked against a tree root in the moment of distraction, pitching her body forward. The fall came in slow motion.
Cursing under her breath, she rolled onto her back. Dry leaves clung to her blonde hair. The subtle, musty scent of slow rot rose from the rich soil, mixed with something coming from behind her. The dark shadow loomed. Her gaze rose to take in her pursuer, wondering if the beast would be her doom.
The tall, broad-shouldered creature towered over her. Watching. It wasn’t human or animal. The village wise woman had warned her of beings like this, but they’d seemed like fables. How could something so fantastical be real?
Even as she trembled with fear, this creature captivated her. The black and orange stripes covering his shoulders and arms evoked a distant memory, yet the design was uncommon in the Amazon.
His hair hung in straight, black strands like a human’s, but his face had the nose, mouth, and eyes of a feline. His muscular, naked body reflected a splendid combination of both species. Sweat-shiny skin glistened through the inch-long fur that covered him. His white chest intrigued her, all the way to the patch of fur barely covering his groin. Leaves and branches framed his face with a lush green background. He crouched over her. His piercing golden eyes focused solely on her. His stare reminded her of a cat from her village staring at a small rodent before pouncing.
As he leaned down, she grabbed her kris from the garter on her thigh and pushed it against his stomach. She didn’t want today to be the day she died. Her people needed her. She wouldn’t let this beast deny them their princess.
The animal cocked his head at her. He brushed his lips over her throat, whiskers tickling her chin.
Her body stiffened. What is he doing? Bewilderment spread through her as his feline lips touched her neck. Instead of biting her, his canines grazed lightly, gently, from just below her ear down to her shoulder, almost as if exploring her flesh, instead of seeking to rip open her throat.
She tensed. Even with her weapon pressed against the beast’s stomach, she still feared for her life. As an Amazon princess, she wasn’t easily scared. But this feline made her heart pound. If only she had brought Rubia with her. She wouldn’t be in this situation and could’ve stood a better chance against this feline.
Why does he persist in toying with me? Adara swallowed as a low burn started in the pit of her stomach. These feelings confused her.
A soft sniffing sounded in her ear right before his tongue scraped rough caresses on her skin. Other jungle cats marked their territory. Did this animal believe she was his? She didn’t want to find out.
Without waiting for the feline’s next move, Adara drove the kris deep into his stomach, meeting resistance as it plunged through flesh and muscle. She forced it further as his blood flowed onto her hands, making the hilt of the kris slick, weakening her grip.
He roared and leapt back with her kris still embedded in his abdomen.
She scrambled to her feet. His scream so near the side of her face made her ear ring. Bringing up a hand to her ear, Adara felt a trail of his wet blood drip along her cheek.
He straightened his spine and strode back to her, her kris still buried in him. It seemed as if it were nothing more than a minor annoyance to him. She clenched her hands into fists and dropped them to her sides.
The reality of what she saw struck her. She froze. How could he act so unaffected? He shouldn’t have been able to move around so casually. It wasn’t possible. How can I outrun something like that? This can’t be happening. Her mother had always warned her to be careful when traveling through the forest. Why hadn’t she listened? And how could she feel so drawn to this animal when he intimidated her?
“Who are you?” Gritting her teeth, she forced her voice to resonate with the commanding tones of an Amazon huntress, and fervently hoped it didn’t betray the panic racing through her veins. Her people’s beliefs restricted them from showing fear in front of strangers. Not that they saw many. But her tribeswomen were survivors in dangerous times. Their history brimmed with reminders.
The feline bared pointed white teeth. “Call me Rei.” His husky voice reverberated like a deep growl.
He launched into the air and, before she could react, flattened her to the ground. Air whooshed out of her lungs. Her eyes widened and locked onto his.
He pinned her arms next to her head and pressed his feline lips to hers. His tongue scraped across her lower lip, causing nips of pain to cut through the alluring sensation.
She shook her head hard, breaking the kiss. Her breath rushed out short and quick. Never before had she kissed anyone. His mouth on hers created fiery stirrings within her body that felt almost too good. Her racing pulse only spread the warmth throughout her body that much faster.
Twice a year, her tribeswomen associated with Indian men. The younger girls were forced to stay in a hut during those visits, although Adara had snuck out once with Rubia in a fit of rebellion. She’d spotted one of her kin pressing her mouth against an Indian male’s. Could this be what happens?
But men weren’t to be trusted. Her kin had learned that the hard way many, many years ago.
Her mind flashed to the tales she’d heard from the wise woman. Horrible reminders assaulted her, memories of the men from long ago, enslaving her kind, killing them ruthlessly with diseases and swords.
She could imagine the cruelty of the conquering, pillaging men as vividly as if she had been there herself, so strongly had the wise woman spoken. It had taken weeks for her to sleep soundly after listening to that story.
Sudden panic swept away the lust that burned inside her. This creature could do the same. He’s chased me, after all.
“What do you want from me?” Adara asked, trying to sound forceful, but instead her voice came out husky. She cleared her throat and returned his gaze.
Talking with an animal! Rubia would be jealous. Her tribeswomen would never believe this story… if she survived the encounter.
Rei smiled, warmth emanating from him. “You.” His chest rumbled, and he rolled the word off his tongue like an exotic purr.
Weekly Wrap Up
I hope everyone has had an awesome week! It’s been great for me. I’ve been able to get some work done on my upcoming releases as well as spend quality time with my husband, especially since yesterday was our anniversary! Woo!
Next Thursday, Jungle Heat will be released, so I’ll be sending out a newsletter on Friday with one lucky subscriber winning a copy of my new book! Want to be that subscriber? Sign up for my mailing list, if you haven’t already. If you’re already signed up, you don’t have to do anything.
I should be seeing the official excerpt for Jungle Heat within a day or two, and I’ll post it here for you guys when I do. I’m very excited for this book to come out since it’s one of the first I’d written several year ago. It has a special place in my heart. I’m thankful to critique partner extraordinaire Kinley Baker for encouraging me and loving it too!
If you have the chance, stop by Goodreads and add Jungle Heat and Techno Crazed to your TBR list!
Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you Monday with a writing topic post!