Satisfaction

When you think about research, do you think about huge libraries filled with dusty books? I do—and I must confess, I love that image. But for my work in progress, that kind of research will only go so far.

Oh yes, for books on how cacao is grown and so on, the library is a great place. So is the Internet for that matter.

But my character Sasha’s back story is that she was a high-end call girl, of a sort, and even though she no longer works in the field and is struggling to start her life over again, it really is all that she knows.  What is it like to be paid thousands of dollars to sleep with someone? (Or whatever…) As a woman who has been married for twenty-plus years, and had never been paid for sex, it’s a difficult question to answer honestly.

Enter “Satisfaction” a Showtime series set in Australia at a high-class brothel. First of all, this is a delicious, well-written and produced series. There are no one-dimensional characters. I’ve been watching it and have gotten quite involved with the characters—even though I just wanted a glimpse of the kinkiness, which I’m happy to report IS there. But the characters lives are woven richly throughout the story—that happens with the best of erotic romance, as well.  Yes, there is sex, but there is story, too.

In any case, I started watching Satisfaction for the sex and it became more than that. As each character’s story unfolded, I better understood my character, Sasha. Her story is not theirs, specifically, but it does have similarities. It very much became a different kind of research for me. Here is a clip about it:

Starting a New Book

SAFFRON NIGHTS is currently with Kensington, my publisher. It’s been through one round of edits. In the mean time, I’ve finished the first draft of the third book in my mystery series. I want to leave it sit for awhile and approach the next draft the freshest of eyes.

So while I have this space in time, I started a new book—the second in the romance series. I’ve been thinking about it hard. Where to set it? How to begin?

The first book included a lot of traveling and so will this one. But the beginning section begins in Equador. I like the fact that big cities are just 30 to 45 minutes away from some of the biggest cacao plantations, which is exactly what I need for my story. I also needed it to be a port city. One of my characters is “on the run.” She is fleeing for her life. I don’t want to give too much away. But there it is. A port city is needed.

The two main characters in this book are Sanj and “Mary.”  (That’s not her real name, but she’s adopted it.) They were both secondary characters in SAFFRON NIGHTS. Sanj is from India, a physician who deep down wants to be a pastry chef. “Mary” is British, an ex-prostitute, and dominatrix, with a drug habit she’s trying to kick and a new life she is starting by scratch.

They meet in a restaurant/bar in Guayaquil, both new in town and of course, sparks fly.

So this morning, I wrote about 2000 words on this new book. It feel so good to start a new book. Like a world of possibilities just opens in your mind. I love the challenge of building suspense into a romance and keeping the balance just so. But I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to the sex scenes between Sanj and “Mary.” heh.

Pinterest Passion

One of my new passions (and distractions) is Pinterest. Some people call it a virtual scrapbooking site—others say to think of it as virtual pinboard. I sort of think of it as somewhere in between. In any case I love it. A new statistic suggests that I’m not the only one: it just reached 11.7 million unique users.

As you go around the web, reading websites or blogs and if you see a picture of something you like, you can pin it to your board on Pinterest. I think a lot of people are using it to keep track of things they like and want to get back to someday. But it can be a mine of creativity for writers, artists, and other creatives.

One of my boards is titled Inspirations for SAFFRON NIGHTS. Some of the items I have pinned are a saffron market, a lovely copy of the Kama Sutra, and a gorgeous pink Indian room. Another board I’ve started is titled Sexy Food, which will be great fun to fill. Here’s a link to my page: http://pinterest.com/lizeverly/

Some writers are using it for inspiration—or a board to help them out during the writing process.  Madeline Iva has a board called “Bridezilla—Grrr,” where she says “I’ve written an naughty little erotic romance called Be My Bridezilla. The inspiration for this heartfelt book is…everywhere!” If that doesn’t ignite your reader’s curiosity, what will?

Historical romance author Emery Lee has a board called “Historical Costumes, “which so fascinating to peruse. http://pinterest.com/authoremerylee/ And once again, it makes me want to look up her work.

Mary Burton, romantic suspense author, has a character board on which she imagines what actors would play her characters. http://pinterest.com/maryburtonbooks/characters/

Very cool. And I bet that’s a lot of fun for her. I might try that at  some point.

Pinterest opens up a whole new of way communicating with our readers. I think of it as just another one of those social media elements to use (or not) that help communicate with readers. We all have to pick and choose which ones work for us—or not. I can’t get into Google + for example, and I’m not going to sweat it. But Pinterest?  I love.  I’ve even heard of people having parties for their characters on Pinterest. I’m not sure how that would work—but you know me, I’m always ready for a party, providing that I can wear my red shoes, of course.

Have you explored Pinterest? What do you think?