Where’s the Kink? By Katie Porter

Nate and Kyle from Came Upon a Midnight Clear  are successful, angsty, built, alpha, gorgeous, and gay. They are not, however, kinky. Although every love scene is absolutely smokin’ hot, they are vanilla partners. No whips, chains, bondage, roleplaying…

…Basically, they’re not into any of the kink or BDSM themes we explored (and will continue to explore) in our “Vegas Top Guns” series.

What we didn’t realize when beginning to write Midnight Clear was that the lack of an erotic plotline would prove challenging. For example, in Hold ’Em, the third in the “Vegas Top Guns” series, we dealt the four plotlines: Mike’s acceptance of female fighter pilots, Leah’s journey toward sobriety, their romance, and the exploration of their BDSM sex life. Sure they could’ve fallen in love without that honest exploration, but could they really live happily ever after without addressing how Leah came into her own as Mike’s Dominant? Not really. That aspect of their lives was too important to ignore.

Nate and Kyle? Nope. They like fabulous, dirty, hardcore sex, but they completely agree on the hows and whys. There was no sexual issue that needed to be addressed before their happy ending. In fact, they got along best when their bodies did the talking!

That left us with three arcs: the big ol’ chip on Nate’s shoulder, Kyle’s struggle to come out of the closet, and their romance. Um…what to do with the rest of the story?

Turns out, writing a super sexy contemporary and writing a contemporary erotic romance are different for that very reason. Is there a sexual hang-up keeping a couple from a happy ending? Then it’s erotic romance. Is it just…HOT?

By this definition, Came Upon a Midnight Clear is a super sexy contemporary. And it needed a fourth arc. Something…intimidating. Something…strange and new. Something called…an external plot!

Granted, we’d encountered these so-called “plots” in our solo work. After all, historical and paranormal romances are rife with them! But as Katie Porter, we’d never written a contemporary that required significantly more external events.

Our individual experience in writing romance served us well. We managed to conquer all, imbuing our intrepid heroes’ lives with daredevil stunts, a pain-in-the-ass boss intent on outing them, two fledgling business on the verge of boom or bust, and a Maserati that has a little run in with a patch of ice. Oh no!

I hope those two crazy kids make it out alive! Whips and chains may be pretty harsh, but the hazards of real life are even more likely to keep two lovers apart. But these reunited lovers are stubborn as all get out, which means they won’t let anything—not even a flying Maserati—keep them apart. Cue happy ending.

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What the critics are saying: Came Upon a Midnight Clear has been described as “masterful,” (Publisher’s Weekly), “a complex gift,” (Library Journal), and “the perfect piece of erotica: nuanced, complex, dirty, loving, and intimate (RT BookReviews). Not only did the folks at RT make Came Upon a Midnight Clear a 4½ Star Top Pick, they’ve selected it as a Reviewers’ Choice nominee for Best Erotic Romance Ebook of 2012—the first gay romance to receive that honor!

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For more about Katie Porter, the co-writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown:

Don’t forget about our “Amazing Race to a Kindle” contest, which is going on now. Review Double Down on Amazon for your chance to win a gift certificate or even a Kindle Fire!

In January, Lead and Follow will launch the five-part “Club Devant” series of erotic romances set in a glitzy New York City burlesque club. RT BookReviews gave Lead and Follow 4 Stars and raved, “Fans of erotica will be left breathless as they cha-cha straight into a cold shower.”

Where to find us:

http://KatiePorterBooks.com

Twitter: @MsKatiePorter

Or individually: @carrielofty and @LorelieBrown

We’d like to give away a copy of CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR in any digital format. Just answer: What makes a romance erotic to you, as opposed to super sexy?

Thanks again to Smexy Books for featuring Katie Porter and Came Upon a Midnight Clear!

Contest open to everyone through December 8.