Erotic Romance Author PG Forte Returns to talk Love, From A to Z

Erotic Romance author, PG Forte returns to The Book Connection during her October Virtual Book Tour. PG's novel, Love, From A to Z, came out this summer from Liquid Silver Books. This is the second book in her LA Love Lesson series. Today, I have given PG the floor to talk about what is on her mind.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Cheryl



Rules to Write By
(Or: Can’t We All Just Get Along?)

By PG Forte

First the disclaimer. I’ve never been a big fan of rules—especially on the subject of writing. Show me a rule, and I’ll probably want to find a way to break it. I don’t think it’s a control issue, though, or even a matter of being a contrarian. I think it’s just a case of psychological claustrophobia: I work better in the wide-open spaces and blank canvases of my mind. Not even my own personal writing rules are sacrosanct. Take, for example, the amnesia sub-theme in Love From A to Z. As I’ve mentioned several times now, I’d previously sworn I’d never write a character with amnesia. And we all know how that turned out.

So, with an attitude like mine, you ‘re probably not surprised to learn that I ended up living in Berkeley, CA, home of the Free Speech movement. I must really fit in here. Right?

Well, you’d think. But Free Speech, Berkeley-style, has its own set of rules and they’re all very, very PC. Not that I think political correctness is all bad—in fact, I think it’s better than most of the alternatives. But too much of even a good thing is still too much. Unless we’re talking chocolate.

So while it’s cool, by Berkeley standards, that I write erotica—‘cause, you know, real womyn like sex as much as anyone else—it would be so much better if I wrote GLBT erotica. And the fact that I write erotic romance...well, that’s just a whole lot less cool.

I do get a few environmental brownie points for writing ebooks and sparing trees, but romance? The perpetuation of outdated societal myths and sexist stereotypes? It’s the Barbie Doll of literature.

Well, whatever. I’m not out to change the world with fiction, I’m just trying to entertain people. Not as easy as you might think, however, because—on the other end of the spectrum—I’m also faced with all the ‘rules of romance’; words and acts which are strictly verboten. Even in erotica.

As a lapsed Catholic, I have to admit I was surprised. There are rules to writing smut? Which my sister-in-law assures me is what I’m doing. Well, apparently there are.

So, to get (at long last) to my point, here is my own list of rules which I call:



The PC Girl’s Guide to Trashy Novels
AKA How to Write Smut without Offending Anyone

Rule # 1: Be Kind to Your Four Footed Friends. Companion animals (or what many speciesists still refer to as ‘pets’) are a common staple in many contemporary romance novels. They’re right up there with ‘the best friend’ as a plot device. Animals in romances should never be harmed in any way—especially not the cute, cuddly ones. Kill off the odd hero, if you have to but, by all means, spare his pet cat.

I learned about this rule the hard way when I let a character put her aging, injured dog to sleep. Talk about hate crimes! Wow.

Your characters should love their companion animals...but not too much. They should think of them as family. See rule #4 for details.

Some exceptions are possible where non-cuddly creatures are concerned. Spiders, for example, might be exempt and scorpions almost certainly are. Rodents fall into a very, very gray area. Especially gerbils. Fishing may be allowed but, just to be on the safe side, please catch and release. Hunting, on the other hand, probably falls into the same category as most other violent crimes. In other words, acceptable only when done by the villain and best restricted to ‘off-screen’ references.

Again, except in the case of your villain, your characters should eschew the wearing of fur and leather. Exemptions may apply in the case of Harley riders, characters of Native American descent, or Time Travelers. If you’re writing BDSM, why not choose neoprene? It’s probably more hygienic anyway.

Rule #2: Watch Your Language! A very important rule, number two. Although, of course, it is not generally appropriate to use the term number two, due to its slang, scatological reference.

Scatological references are generally frowned upon, anyway, unless your characters are werewolves or werecats or members of some other subspecies/culture for whom scatological references may be the norm.

When in doubt as to the acceptability of a word or term, it is occasionally useful to employ the middle-school-aged-boy test. If it’s something that would cause a middle-school-aged-boy to blush or giggle, avoid it. Then again, the middle-school-aged-boy test is considered suspect, in some circles, due to the ageist and sexist aspects of its name. So never mind.

If you’re writing non-erotic romance your publisher will likely provide a list of words that are not to be used under any circumstances due to their crude, obscene or overly clinical natures. If, on the other hand, you’re writing erotic romance, your publisher will likely employ a ‘heat index’ which will require you to use the very same words if you wish to receive anything above a ‘lukewarm’ rating.

Apparently, it’s not so much what your characters do that determines how hot you are, it’s what they say while they’re doing it.

Words that are demeaning, degrading, or misogynistic are safest in the mouths of villains or Dominants. Doms can, of course, say whatever they please and everyone else in their stories can say whatever they’ve been given permission to say.

The PC girl, as a member of an historically repressed class, is also mostly exempt from this rule and is allowed to use whatever words she wants when it comes to sex. Other than ‘girl’, actually, since this word should only be used to refer to an immature female and she’d better not be doing anything sexual, anyway. Again, see rule #4 for further clarification of this point.

Rule #3: OMG Be extremely careful when employing any references to religions, religious beliefs or deities since it’s almost impossible to use these without upsetting someone. The sole exception to this prohibition is, of course, when your characters are caught in the throes of passion. Pretty much anything goes at that point, other than egregious, gratuitous violations of rule #2.

Rule #4: We Are Family. Okay, here’s the thing. My grandfather, who died before I was even born, worked as a blacksmith while he was a young man in Ireland. My sole historical erotic romance novel (still in the works) features a hero who is a blacksmith in Ireland. Coincidence? Uh, yes, thank you, it is, because writing erotica involving blood relatives—even ones I never knew—would score a little too high on even my Ick scale.

Sex between fictional family members is also tres outre, for obvious reasons. Sex with a minor—uh-uh. No good. Sex between minors—yeah, that can also get you in trouble. I should know. Sigh.

Actually, there are those who will argue that even exposing your fictional minor to sexual relations between other (presumably consenting adult) fictional characters counts as child abuse. Personally, I think that’s taking things a little far.

First of all, I’m not altogether certain that would count as child abuse if we were talking about actual people—although I grant that it would probably depend on the circumstances. But to apply the concept of child abuse to fictional characters? Can book burning be far behind?

Moving on...let’s discuss the exemptions to this rule. Ghosts, as long as they’re not members of your immediate family, are probably okay. Time travelers are all but required to sleep with any familiar-seeming stranger they cross paths with because of the whole paradox thing: seriously, if you don’t impregnate your own great-great-grandmother, who will?

As with rule #2, restrictions may be eased in cases where the characters in question are from alternative species/cultures/time periods/planets/etc. The key word to keep in mind here is sentience. Sex with sentient-shifters is super—albeit a little hard to pronounce—just as long as they’re mature, consenting adults of their respective species. Sex with non-sentient, non-human, non-shifting, terrestrial creatures is not PC.

And, as noted in rule #1, even though you and I might consider our companion animals to be more sentient (not to mention intelligent, lovable, affectionate and attractive) than some humans we’ve met, they’re family. So treat ‘em like they are.

Don’t tell me how old Spot or Fido is in dog years, just leave him/her alone. To be on the safe side, you might also want to do the same with your houseplants...unless, of course, they’re alien or non-native species. In that case, all bets are off. Little Shop of Horrors, anyone?

Rule # 5: In the Closet, Under the Rug, Behind Closed Doors. Or, in other words, there are just some places you don’t want to go.

There are some things people just don’t want to read about. There are some things other people don’t want you to read about as well. Of course, I personally have a problem with other people making those decisions for me, but those would be other people’s rules—so we won’t go there, either.

As I mentioned in the opening, it really surprised me when I started to learn about all the things I couldn’t write about. I kinda thought the ideas of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press actually meant something. I also thought the whole concept of Book Banning had been discarded once James Joyce was raised to the rank of Literary Genius. However, as the following, fascinating web page shows, that ain’t the case.

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html

It appears there are still plenty of things you can’t write about, if you wish to both get published and stay un-incarcerated. Unfortunately, the PC girl can’t really enumerate these acts here. That’s not because to do so may, conceivably, offend someone but because (contrary to what you might read on a particular publisher’s website) in many cases they seem to be more a matter of personal preference, on the part of the publisher or editor in question, than actual law.

Some of the laws regarding sexual practices still on the books in some places would probably put 90% of the world’s population in jail, if they were ever enforced. Most editors aren’t nearly as repressed as that! On the other hand, I guess everyone’s entitled to their own levels of squeamishness.

So, anyway, there you have it. Adhere to these five rules and you’ll probably mange to write something that will avoid offending most of the erotic-romance reading public. Whether you write something that enthralls, captivates, entertains and arouses them—well, I guess that’s up to you now, isn’t it?

To find out more about PG Forte and her work, visit her on the web at http://www.pgforte.com/


This Virtual Book Tour has been brought to you by:

Waiting for the Big One by PG Forte

The temperature is about to get hotter in here because today PG (it’s a name, not a rating) Forte is going to chat about her latest release, Waiting for the Big One which was published by Liquid Silver Books. This is PG’s first virtual book tour and I am thrilled to have her stop by.

Welcome to The Book Connection PG. It’s great to have you with us.

Thank you, Cheryl. It's great to be here.

Let’s find out a bit more about you before we chat about the book. When did you decide to become a writer? Did anyone inspire you to travel along this career path?

I'd say it was more of a challenge than an inspiration. I was working in a re-touching studio in Manhattan when I got to talking about books with a co-worker. It turned out we both had written short stories and poetry, etc. He was really the first person to challenge me to do something with that.

This is the one question I ask everybody because I am so curious about how other writers work. What is your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you are more productive than others?

I do try to write every day--other than when I'm between series. There's a certain amount of switching gears that takes place when I'm starting a new project, so sometimes there's a little downtime then. But, if I'm in the middle of a book, I have to write on a regular basis. I get cranky if I don't. I even took my laptop with me when we took a cruise to Hawaii a few years ago. I wrote on the deck. Every day. It was lovely.

I also tweak and edit and re-write as I go, so my 'first draft' is usually not very different from my final version. I know some people just write to get something down and then go back and re-write and re-write but that doesn't work for me. Also, I like to plot things out in detail ahead of time. That's very important.

I definitely am more productive at some points of the day than others. When I first started--back when my kids were in school full time and I was driving them back and forth, getting up early, etc, I found my most productive time was during the day. When that changed, I began to stay up later and later. For several years I did all my best work late at night--after everyone else was asleep. Lately things have changed again and now I find I'm doing more work during the day.

I read an article in the April 2007 issue of Writer’s Digest (The Power of Titillation) which spoke of the sometimes blurry line between romance and erotica. Where do your books fit in? Are you happy with that?

Well I'd be thrilled if they'd throw out all the categories and just called it all fiction! Since that's not likely to happen...the books I'm writing right now fit pretty squarely into the erotic romance category. Meaning that it's a romance story first and foremost but the characters sexual relationship is a key component to the story. Of course, I suppose you could read them strictly as erotica, if you wanted.

And yes, I'm very happy about that. My previous series 'didn't quite fit' into several categories at once--as a result they were much harder to sell.

Are you ever asked why you choose to write the books that you do? Has anyone ever questioned why you don’t write something a little less…controversial?

Yeah, my father wishes I'd write something with less sex in it. And my brother once complained that he thought my romantic-suspense would have been better without the romance. I disagree. I tend to let my characters dictate the story and this is how they want it.

My goal is to write stories that I would want to read--and then hope other people share my tastes.

Let’s move on to Waiting for the Big One. Tell us a bit about this book.

This book was so much fun to write! It was my first 'erotic romance' and I wrote it at my critique partner's urging. It's the story of Gabby Browne, her search for true love and ultimate pleasure, and the two men who help her find it.

Based upon the synopsis, Gabby seems to be looking for love in all the wrong places. Is it hard to create a character like Gabby who might seem superficial to some people? How do you make the reader care about her?

I fall in love with all my characters--I think that's the secret to creating characters that readers really respond to. Gabby is young and somewhat silly but she's also sweet and vulnerable. Even though she makes mistakes, she tries hard to be a good friend. What's not to like about that? Well, other than her penchant to relate everything to Astrology, I guess. Some people have found that tiresome. Unfortunately, that's a character trait she has in common with me--ack! I might have to shut up and never again mention that I'm also a Pisces and my husband is a Scorpio...and our son's a Pisces too.

And, no, despite all that, the book is not autobiographical. lol!

Tell us about Derek, the man who Gabby is friends with. Is she even aware of his attraction to her? By the synopsis he seems kind of possessive. Is he really?

Oh, thank you for asking about Derek--I think he's just so cool. He plays a key role in the book I just finished writing (the third in this series) and he's just a darling.

Yes, Gabby knows he's attracted to her. She's attracted to him as well. But they were both seeing other people when they first met and he made it very clear that they could be friends or they could stay away from each other. They opted to become friends and that friendship came to mean a great deal to Gabby. Now that they're both single, she's not willing to risk losing Derek as a friend by crossing boundaries that he set.

Sure, now he's all of a sudden saying that they can have sex and still be friends but Gabby's viewpoint is that guys in lust will say anything to get laid! It's not that she distrusts him, it's just that she feels she's protecting their friendship.

No, I really wouldn't characterize Derek as possessive. He wants Gabby but he's been willing to wait her out, let her figure things out on her own--until Zach enters the picture. And, yes, at that point, Derek does what he can to sabotage things--but mostly because he's afraid he'll lose her forever if he doesn't step in and do something.

Waiting for the Big One is written from Gabby’s point of view. Why did you choose first person? Could the story have been written from a third person point of view?

I'm so glad you asked! I never intended to write this book in first person. But once I heard Gabby's voice in my head, I knew I had to. She makes the story, in my opinion. I don't think I could have shown her personality anywhere near as well in third person. In fact I tried to re-write it in third person and I was completely dissatisfied with it.

And that's another reason I love Derek so much. Somehow, his personality manages to come across very, very clearly despite the fact that we're never in his point of view.

In Chapter One the reader meets Gabby and Derek. Gabby is late for her workout and Derek is majorly ticked. Gabby describes Derek to us as she sees him--his dark-chocolate voice, his classically perfect nose, and his lovely muscles. Right from the get go you’ve brought sexiness and physical attraction into the story. Is that important in a book like Waiting for the Big One?

I think so. I think it adds to the sexual tension between the main characters. I wanted it to be clear right away that these two were both very attracted to each other. They've both been waiting--for a sign, for the right time, for the other person to make the first move. And I wanted the readers to feel like they were waiting right along with them.

I’m going to move away from your book to talk about something that I feel very strongly about. There are groups out there who would seek to ban books like yours. How do you feel about that? Do you think censorship is ever justified?

I'm totally opposed to censorship of any kind. Not just because of what I write but because I think it's dangerous and just plain wrong for any group of people to decide that they should determine what someone else should or shouldn't be allowed to write or read or think or say.

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are pretty damn important. Frankly, I'm appalled at all the recent attempts to dismantle the Constitution--for whatever reason. As Voltaire supposedly said, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”

I think the idea of censorship only serves to point out the extraordinary power inherent in writing. It's the whole 'the pen is mightier than the sword' kind of thing. Not that I'm writing the kind of thing that could topple empires--I'm absolutely not. I'm writing entertainment, pure and simple. But I believe everyone should have the freedom to decide--for themselves--what they're going to read or write or say or think.

Whew. Long answer, huh? What can I say? I live in Berkeley--we're all about the politics here.

Have you ever been approached by someone opposed to what you’ve written? How did you handle it? Do you have any advice for writers who might find themselves in the same boat as you?

I really haven't had that happen...unless you count rejections? lol! I've had plenty of those. But, you know, no one's ever going to write something that everyone's going to like, so I won't be surprised if it happens.

And, I hope that's something other writers will realize too. I mean, there are people who don't like Shakespeare! Or Hemingway, Faulkner, Dickens, Whitman--anyone. From the moment you put pen to paper, there are going to be people who won't like what you're writing. Who cares? You're not writing for those people anyway. Just don't let them stop you!

So, now that we’ve got all the fun stuff out of the way, how can people get their hands on a copy of Waiting for the Big One?

Well, I hope people will find that fun too. lol! Here's the very long URL:

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&product_name=Waiting+For+The+Big+One&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

People can also find links on my website http://www.pgforte.com/ Or by going to Liquid Silver's website at: http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/

What’s up next for you? There are lots of works in progress listed on your website. Do you have any exciting news you would like to share with us?

Too many works in progress I sometimes think. I feel a little like the proverbial ditched centipede. At the moment I'm between books and not quite sure what I'm going to work on next. I think the most exciting news I have to share is that I've recently finished Let Me Count the Ways--which is the third book in the LA Love Lessons series. So readers who love Derek and want to see more of him can look forward to that.

I also want to let anyone interested in my Oberon series to know that I'm hoping to have them available again soon.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Well, I suppose I might mention that, for anyone who's enjoyed Waiting for the Big One and wants to read more about Zach, Love, From A to Z is also available now from Liquid Silver Books. I didn't really talk about him today, but he's another sweetheart.

Thanks for joining us today, PG. It’s been a great pleasure to chat with you. I wish you and your career all the best.

Thank you so much for having me! It's been great fun chatting with you. These were some fabulous questions.

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