This article was inspired by my new release DEEP UNDER – available in print and ebook today!
I feel as if this is a common worry, measurement and/or strategy in romance books these days. How much sex is there? How graphic? Etc. etc. And I always tell my readers this – sex is measured in very different terms to different people. However, intimacy is a common denominator. It’s something every relationship needs, and something I WANT for my characters. The sex is good, and hot, and enticing, for sure, and it IS a big element in a lot of my books. But my characters never have sex for the hell of it. It has to be the right time, the right place, and with a purpose. Which might sound funny and more clinical than a reader would like, but the purpose is often very emotional and very human.
With that thought in mind this was a very big hurdle for me to jump in my latest book, DEEP UNDER (available today!). The “right” time for my characters came (pun intended) later in this book than is has in my other books. But it made me nervous. Would readers not like it that they waited? But I had to have faith in my characters and in my writing. I went back and re-read the book up until that point to see if there was a missed opportunity and there just wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like they wait an obscene amount of time, and once they finally get it on, it’s enough to melt even my fire-resistant sheets. It was just longer than I’m used to with my characters. But Kyle and Myla were different from the get-go. They had so much pent up emotion and sexual frustration that once they got going I couldn’t stop them. But there is a depth and an intimacy to this couple that was new for me. And I really hope readers enjoy exploring this romance right along with me, because now that the book is out I can only hope my readers think I did right by my Tall, Dark and Deadly series.
So I think in the end, intimacy rules this book, but it is surely not lacking in sex. It may be swayed one way or the other depending on what part you’re reading, but Kyle and Myla have an equal parts relationship and I think that’s how it should be, given the circumstances. The emotional side to their relationship is very reminiscent of how they act as a team together throughout. While I can’t speak for readers on which is more important, sex or intimacy, I believe that the best and orgasmic sex is only built up from a foundation of intimacy. But either way, this book has it in spades and so much more!
I hope you’ll take a moment and check out the book and let me know what you think! You can find all buy links and more information here.
XOXO,
Lisa Renee Jones
DEEP UNDER can be purchased in trade paperback format for/from: