E is for Euphemisms

I'm not particularly fond of euphemisms in fiction, especially to name body parts and sexual interactions. Romance novels are notorious for doing this. The hotter the romance, the more bizarre the colloquialisms become, and sometimes I wonder if the writers even understand the functions of human anatomy.

I've written some fairly steamy scenes for my own characters, and can't bring myself to be anything but straightforward in my descriptions, although I admit the conversations can sometimes seem a little clinical. I think I've found a way around that using some humor.

First I created a main character that is intentionally formal in speech and manners - J. Lindsay Calhoun. It works for him, given his upbringing and career as a high-society attorney.  He hates anything vulgar. That is until he meets the love of his life, who is a bit more relaxed in action and language. To put it mildly. It doesn't take long for them to start debating the best expressions to use in various public and private circumstances. Here's an example:

Lindsay shuddered. "Breasts, Megan, can we call them breasts? I cringe when you talk like that. They are breasts." His tongue lingered for a second on the fluttering pulse at her throat, then continued its downward journey. "Lovely, soft, perfect breasts."

"What's really so bad about tits?" She loved teasing him about his starched manners. Megan suspected his language was a kind of personal armor. It was a way to keep others at arm's length, but that hadn't worked with her from the beginning.

Do you think that works, injecting a bit of humor into a bedroom scene? These two seem to spend a lot of time laughing when they're making love. That's not a bad thing.

I'm not sure how to deal with some of the other characters, though, or even if I'll show their more intimate sides to readers. I've considered an ethnic couple who use foreign words. Or maybe even more exotic concepts like a tantric love scene. Yes. That could work. Worshiping the lingus.

Or does that sound like yet another euphemism? Am I cheating? What do you think?

B is for Babies

Beautiful Megan MacGregor (played by Deborah Ann Woll in my film fantasies) is the heroine in my novel, News From Nowhere. Married to the protagonist, J. Lindsay Calhoun, her focus in life is having their baby.

But it wasn't always so. How quickly life can change! When Megan met Lindsay less than a year earlier, she was a happily single child psychologist with a flourishing career - actually several careers. She worked at a Denver hospital counseling at-risk adolescents, served as a highly respected material witness to legal firms across the country, and had just published her first children's book.

Because her own mother risked her life to have Megan due to a genetic disorder called Marfan Syndrome, Megan decided early on not to have children for fear of passing the gene to her own children, even though it skipped a generation in her.

That is, until she falls in love and marries, and embarks on a shared life and mission with her new husband. Lindsay is building a kingdom for himself and his farm partners, and Megan is clearly his queen. As surely as he understands his role in this story, so, too, does Megan. She is to bear the heir to their dreams.

Unfortunately, she'll suffer a great deal of heartbreak trying, as she is a chronic mis-carrier. I understand these things very well, having lived through the heartache of Marfan Syndrome and multiples miscarriages myself. In the book, the situation will allow me to explore other parallel issues pertinent to the story lines, which will often illustrate social justice issues, ecology, sustainability, and personal growth. Megan's dilemma will touch on themes such as these:

• Over-population burdens
• Natural healing remedies related to infertility
• Adoption
• Self-worth issues
• Envy
• Patience
• And so much more!

But after all is said and done, the main issue for Megan will be her inability to bring a child into the world to share with Lindsay.

I've come to a curious conclusion late in life, especially curious coming from a devout feminist like me. No matter what our professed focus early in life - education or career - on a primal level we're mostly focused on breeding and regenerating the race. It's all about sex, at least before age 40 when we're in our primes. My characters will discover that and other aspects of themselves they really didn't know.

What do you think? 

A-Z Blogging Challenge Begins Today

Awesome is my starting word for this year's challenge, and I offer special thanks to the A-Z Team for creating this calendar for us! Truly, you are all totally AWESOME! Thank you.

And I'm an APRIL FOOL for taking on the challenge the same month that I'm also participating in Camp NaNoWriMo. Daily blog posts, and 50,000 words. Can I do it? There's only one way to find out! Wish me luck.

Working Book Cover

I've been a member of National Novel Writing Month for six years, and manage to get more writing done in November than any other time of year. This year, NaNoWriMo mentioned that having a novel cover greatly increased the chances of completing the contest. So I made a temporary one on PicMonkey, the easiest photo-editing site on the planet. This should inspire me to keep writing. Bring on the pipers!

Wordless Wednesday

Tweeting the Challenges

#Goal: By #Christmas Day, significant part in mainstream #hollywood film. Standby. #BosleySoon #CrushIt #NothingWillStopMe #DieTrying
— Jeff Bosley (@welcometoboz) July 26, 2014

. @welcometoboz I accept that #challenge and will finish rough draft for book #1 in the mystery series by #Christmas.
— Blog Book Tours (@blogbooktours) July 26, 2014

April Fool!

You thought there'd be a new post for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, didn't you? First thing at the crack of sparrow's fart. Well, ha ha! April Fool's Day.

So I'm off to a rough start, but that's okay. The key is that we get out of the gate and start the ride. This month, I'll be blogging about all the themes related to my romantic suspense trilogy, which begins with a prequel I'm finishing up this month. Right now, that novella is too hot for readers to handle. My male protagonist took over and likes sex with his heroine. Imagine that! If I don't wrap this book up soon, they'll have to grow new body parts and this will become an erotic sci-fi story. I'll leave it to your imagination.

An interesting twist in this book, and one that was completely unanticipated, is the inclusion of musical themes. I'm not a musician, and never have been, but this year I'm particularly drawn to powerful music and unleashed passion in the voice. So here's an A+ singer - A is for Amanda - who exemplifies exactly what I mean. My heroine can belt out a tune like this. Someday, maybe I'll be able to unleash my inner singer the same way. I think I just need to believe in me.

Today's word count:

Move Those Hips

Now that it's snowing in the mountains (yes, snowing!) I can get in some more vigorous exercise!

Tabby Tuesday

The Cat of Cats

I am the cat of cats. I am
The everlasting cat!
Cunning, and old, and sleek as jam,
The everlasting cat!
I hunt vermin in the night-
The everlasting cat!
For I see best without the light-
The everlasting cat!

William Brighty Rands

Beautiful and Good Things

“Luxury is not a necessity to me, but beautiful and good things are.” ~ Anaïs Nin