# Sex in books



## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

I have two older sisters that are against any type of sex in the books they read. That eliminates a lot of books since books today do seem to have sex in them.

I don't mind sex in books if it is part of the story. My favorite writer is Larry McMurtry and he includes a lot of sex in his books, but he makes it part of the story and it seems to fit.

I don't care for books though where the main emphasis is on sex, rather than the story line.

So do you mind sex in your books?


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I don't mind it at all, in fact I think too much of our entertainment is sanitized.  I am an adult, I would like to read and watch movies/tv made for adults.

But, I am not one to read erotica.  Too much sex just gets boring.  And the emphasis on BDSM that seems so dominate in some series really bores me.


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## Trophywife007 (Aug 31, 2009)

I like sex... 

When you realize you're skimming those parts, or you start thinking, "This again? Ho hum." then the author has not done his/her job well.

I understand it might be offensive to some and it might be difficult to find stories that don't emphasize it, but they are out there.


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

I like it all as long as it is well written; books without sex, books with sex and books that are all sex


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

I don't mind. I was in elementary when I....stumbled upon my mother's romance novels and since then read a lot of her old romance novels.

I have read Anne Rice's "Claiming of Sleeping Beauty"...wow that was just too much.


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## Nebula7 (Apr 21, 2011)

I guess I'm marching to the beat of a different drummer. I don't like it in my books. And the type I read I don't deal with it. The only nudity I want to see is my wifes and if I want to talk or hear about sex I talk to her about it. Our brains are like computers - you put in a corrupted program, it'll eventually crash. I have enough stuff to deal with in life and reading about sex isn't going to help it one bit.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I've moved this to the Book Corner as it is, after all, a discussion of books!

My vote is I don't miss it if it's not there, but if it's there I want it to be well written and not gratuitous.  I had to stop reading Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series as it just became all about the sex....

Betsy


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

KindleChickie said:


> I don't mind it at all, in fact I think too much of our entertainment is sanitized. I am an adult, I would like to read and watch movies/tv made for adults.
> 
> But, I am not one to read erotica. Too much sex just gets boring. And the emphasis on BDSM that seems so dominate in some series really bores me.


I agree with this.


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## RichardDR (Jul 8, 2010)

To all prior posters...exactly which books have to much explicit/graphic sex? (Please provide plenty of detail)


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## StephanieJ (Nov 11, 2010)

Good question!  For me personally I enjoy the sex scenes when it involves characters (or a character) that I "care" about.  Random sex scenes just don't do it for me.  As for too much - well not if it is marketed or advertised in a way that is fairly upfront that it's a highly sexual book.  I really enjoyed Jean Auel's books but finally quit reading them because of the sex scenes.  When you have to skip five pages and you are still reading about his "man tool" ... that's a bit much!


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## felicityheaton (Aug 31, 2010)

I like a little sex in my books. I read and write paranormal romance novels, and they're often heavy on the desire / passion / UST side of things. If I'm reading something that is chocked full of UST, I don't want to get to the point where the characters finally surrender to their desire only to have a door slammed in my face in the form of the end of the chapter.

I think these days it's a fairly accepted norm to have sex in romance novels, and I think it's something that readers expect, and I've seen plenty of readers vent their frustration about the behind closed doors type of author.

I'm not saying that I want to read something purely erotic. What I like in a book is a love scene that is full of passion and emotion, and a deep connection between the hero and heroine. That's the sort of scene that I write in my books. It's not mechanical or over the top. It's just a natural progression in the relationship and part of the story.

Felicity Heaton


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Meh, I can do without it in the books I read, 99.9% seems to be from the woman's POV which does nothing for me ,lol.


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## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

I don't mind it depending on the genre as long as it's written well and doesn't take away from the overall story.    And I like what was said earlier about Lonesome Dove.  That's one of my favorite novels, and I thought the way he wrote about it was hilarious and actually added to the story.


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## Ender Chadwick (Apr 18, 2011)

If a sex scene happens in a book I think it's absolutely fine. If it doesn't and thus isn't part of the story that's fine too. 

What bothers me is when it's part of the story and the author shy's away from it. As a show versus tell thing, if the other scenes are showing the action: violence, conversation, intrigue, etc. and all of a sudden it drops to off-screen just for the sake of NOT showing the sex, it makes me feel like the author was taking the easy way out. That drives me nuts.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I often feel that it's just "filler". I feel the same way when I am watching a TV show, the story gets shoved to the side to make room for a sex scene. Of course, a book doesn't have the time constraints of a TV show, in a TV show, a sex scene just means less time for something else. If I want a sex scene, I will read erotica. And in that case, I don't want the story to get in the way too much.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Ender Chadwick said:


> If a sex scene happens in a book I think it's absolutely fine. If it doesn't and thus isn't part of the story that's fine too.
> 
> What bothers me is when it's part of the story and the author shy's away from it. As a show versus tell thing, if the other scenes are showing the action: violence, conversation, intrigue, etc. and all of a sudden it drops to off-screen just for the sake of NOT showing the sex, it makes me feel like the author was taking the easy way out. That drives me nuts.


See I actually don't mind that. Implying that sex was happening is good enough for me, my mind has no problem filling in all the details, lol.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I do not generally read things like erotica (although I have been told I could write it pretty well).  I don't mind sex within a story.  I have never been a particular fan of exploitation and that goes for movies as well as books.


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## dharts (Feb 15, 2011)

I've been peeved this week about a book I recently bought that's riddled with gratuitous and fairly graphic sex scenes. I'm no prude but as others have pointed out, it's boring and as far as I'm concerned it's nothing but cheesy formula writing.

What really annoyed me was I downloaded a sample of this book and there was not one word of the sex scenes. Bought the book and within a couple of pages, the sex garbage started.


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

dharts, you should have called Amazon and asked for a refund.  Amazon has a 7 day return policy for any reason so could have gotten a refund and deleted the book.

So any time you don't like a book, regardless of the reason, just call them and ask for a refund.

I have done it for a couple of books and had no problems.  The people I have talked to at Amazon didn't even ask me why I didn't want the book.

Obviously you weren't aware of their return policy.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Sam Rivers said:


> Obviously you weren't aware of their return policy.


Or maybe it had been more than 7 days since she'd bought it. . .  I know a lot of times I'll buy a book but not get a chance to read it in the first week. . . .but, yeah, the 7 day return policy is great.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

It depends on the sex. I will even read erotica IF it has a good story to tell and some do. Of course, a lot of stories with gay protagonists are labeled as erotica even though they have no more sex than most "mainstream" novels.

It depends on the author. I like Ann Somerville, for example who has a lot of sex in her stories, but it's always a part of the plot. 

I rarely resist reading something I buy long enough to miss the 7 day deadline, but I'd absolutely return one if I felt the sample didn't give a good idea of what the story was like. It may not have been deliberate, of course. I never gave much thought to how far into one of my novels the sample goes. It probably is something that authors need to think about. I would be upset if a reader felt that way, as though I'd deceived them.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I don't think I'm typically _offended_ by sex in books, but I have no interest in reading "how to" manuals, so to speak, when reading novels. I'm no more interested in knowing the graphic details of how the characters wash the dishes, cut their toenails, or eat their breakfast -- _unless it has some bearing on the plot or character development_. Just let me know that they engaged in sexual intercourse and how doing so affected the story and the characters. If you're going to go into graphic detail about it, you better do it really well both in terms of the writing and the believability, or you are going to either bore me or make me feel embarrassed for you, the author, for spending so much time on something so uselessly gratuitous (or possibly unintentionally humorous).


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## kb7uen Gene (Mar 13, 2009)

I don't mind sex in the story as long as it is well written and comes across as realistic.  So now that I have said that, it would be fun to read that a charactor, male or female, is a dud in bed on occasion.

Gene


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

The language bothers sometimes.  I read one author where her euphemisms bother me.  If you cant call it by what it is, why write about it?  But I think I will be in the minority on this one.  I guess the reason they use "core" and "manhood" is because that is what most readers want.


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

KindleChickie, I am familiar with the word _manhood_ so know what that means. However, I have never heard the word _core_ as a sexual word. So what does it refer to?


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

Manhood and core go together like a key and a lock.


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

KindleChickie, well done you with the explanation. 

My own yardstick, as both writer and reader: Can you skip the scene and miss nothing about the plot or characters? Then it doesn't belong there. That's true even in an erotica-heavy book like mine (more akin to Jacqueline Carey than "A.N. Roquelaure," which I believe was Anne Rice's pen name for the "Beauty" series). When I edited it down from a webserial I cut a ton of the sex; it was simply fan service and did nothing for the story.

I agree about the Anita Blake books. It's like OKAY ALREADY EVERYONE'S HOT FOR ANITA, WE GET IT. sheesh.


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## CoolMom1960 (Mar 16, 2009)

kb7uen Gene said:


> I don't mind sex in the story as long as it is well written and comes across as realistic. So now that I have said that, it would be fun to read that a charactor, male or female, is a dud in bed on occasion.
> 
> Gene


Thank you Gene for the best laugh I have had in a long time! But I agree with you. Why can't we hear about the duds?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

CoolMom1960 said:


> Thank you Gene for the best laugh I have had in a long time! But I agree with you. Why can't we hear about the duds?


Probably for the same reasons we tend not to read stories about CPA's who go to work, do their jobs, come home, and do _*not*_ stumble upon any dismembered bodies, CIA agents, ET's, or sparkly vampires.


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## tecwritr (Oct 28, 2008)

I know this won't sit right with some of you, but, I'd rather have a few sex scenes in my mysteries than pages and pages of the characters who found God when someone shot at them.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

Sex in books, if done well is just fine. I think it should be "lighter" and not so descriptive or absent in the YA genre...IMHO~lol!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I prefer that the sex in a book be implied rather than have it described in graphic detail.


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## Fireheart223 (Oct 3, 2010)

KindleChickie said:


> I don't mind it at all, in fact I think too much of our entertainment is sanitized. I am an adult, I would like to read and watch movies/tv made for adults.


I agree. Like I tell my DH, he likes to watch his porn, I like to read it, nothing wrong with that as we're both adults 

To each his own, I think. If you don't like it or it bothers you, just don't read it. But for those of us who do, let us have our fun


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I've moved this to the Book Corner as it is, after all, a discussion of books!
> 
> My vote is I don't miss it if it's not there, but if it's there I want it to be well written and not gratuitous. I had to stop reading Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series as it just became all about the sex....
> 
> Betsy


have to agree with you about the Anita Blake series. Though I have found in the last couple of books Laurell K Hamilton has toned down the sex and got on with the story. Still miss the vibe of pre-smutty anita blake


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## EliRey (Sep 8, 2010)

Always drawn to these discussions since I've been so nervous about my coming release. Never thought I'd be in the situation where the characters NEED a love scene. In my case it just wouldn't feel like I stayed true to the characters if I left it out. So yes I agree with those that say don't mind as long as it's not overdone to the point where it gets boring and it's more about the plot than the sex.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I have been thinking about this topic since I commmented on it yesterday (I guess you can see where my mind is at).  I was thinking about it as a writer.  I have included sex in my books.  Most of the time, however, I am one of those people who cuts away.  I got fairly graphic (for me) in my novel Gone.  For some reason, because of the situation the characters were in, it seemed appropriate there.  However, in an upcoming novel I have written a first draft of, I have explicit violence and blood, but cut away when a sex scene started.  I cannot explain to you why.  It just felt like the thing to do.

I feel, as a writer, that sometimes the story tells itself to us.  Not to get TOO weird, but sometimes it seems like the story unfolds in my mind, without me consciously guiding it.  There have been times I got to the end of the chapter, and been surprised by where it ended up.  So, sometimes the scene just seems to work out a certain way...


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

Just PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not use the term "manroot." Just...don't.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I don't believe in "sanitizing" or censorship. I just don't think that descriptive sex scenes add anything. Who cares whether he touched her and where?

But if you enjoy it, keep reading it. I appreciated it when I was 18 when I read Jacqueline Susann's _Valley of the Dolls_.


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## Alex Sinclair (May 5, 2011)

It comes down to the readers. I mean, Five Days Notice, has sex scenes but they are handled in a more sensual and loving way. They are a tool to move the story along and unlock key character arcs, but the reader fills in a lot of the blanks. On the flip side one of my other books is gothic erotica and the fans of that book don't want any punches pulled. Different audiences want different things. I am happy writing both. I don't think it changes a story. My gothic book is a very clever story and one of my best, but it has sex. The erotic aspect doesn't add or subtract from the plot, but it does tap into a different audience entirely.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

Vegas_Asian said:


> I have read Anne Rice's "Claiming of Sleeping Beauty"...wow that was just too much.


That book was DISTURBING. I haven't thought about it in years! I was going to say that it all depends on the story, but that one was a bit too much... Now I'm having a hard time remembering what was so creepy about it, but I don't think I'm going to hunt it down to find out. 



MeiLinMiranda said:


> Just PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not use the term "manroot." Just...don't.


LOL! I'll have to remember that! Did you actually read a book that had that word? That is too funny!


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

WriterGurl1, MORE THAN ONCE. BY DIFFERENT AUTHORS. I'm scarred for life.


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## India Drummond (Nov 1, 2010)

WriterGurl1 said:


> That book [Claiming of Sleeping Beauty] was DISTURBING.


I have to agree! I love erotica from time to time, but that one honestly made my stomach hurt a little. I didn't read the sequels, even though I bought all three at once. They're just collecting dust, because I don't even want to give the books away in case someone else feels the same way.

My books have varying degrees of heat. Ordinary Angels has some saucy scenes, but Blood Faerie only contains a sweet-romance sub-sub-sub-plot. I just did what I thought was right for the characters and the tone of that specific book. I DO make sure I label the descriptions (or in the case of Ordinary Angels, that my publisher did), so readers are never surprised. It can bother some folks to get more than they bargained for with sex scenes, but I figure if it's in the description, they were warned. My upcoming third book, Haywire Witch, will be more subtle in tones than OA, even though the romance element is more a part of the story.

I think that's the key, at least for me: making sure the sex is relevant, necessary, and consistent with the tone of the story. And if it's got any heat to it, I think it's a good idea to warn the readers even if it's just something like: [Content warning: This book contains a bit of sizzle.]


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

It really doesn't bother me, even if it's not important to the plot/characters. I don't exactly want it overrunning the whole book and I don't necessarily go looking for books with lots of it - but I'm not going to complain about one or two sex scenes, no matter how explicit or pointless.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Trophywife007 said:


> I like sex...














Trophywife007 said:


> When you realize you're skimming those parts, or you start thinking, "This again? Ho hum." then the author has not done his/her job well.


When its in context and the language matches the scene, then I'm all for a little slap and tickle in books. There is, unfortunately, quite a bit of poorly written sex out there - but then there's a lot of poorly written everything out there.  But I don't mind and even like it when it's done right.


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## m&amp;m (Mar 14, 2009)

WriterGurl1 said:


> That book was DISTURBING. I haven't thought about it in years! I was going to say that it all depends on the story, but that one was a bit too much... Now I'm having a hard time remembering what was so creepy about it, but I don't think I'm going to hunt it down to find out.
> 
> LOL! I'll have to remember that! Did you actually read a book that had that word? That is too funny!


Disturbing is a good word. Please don't hunt it down. No one needs to read that more than once. Once was more than enough.


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## herocious (May 20, 2011)

Less is more, but it's good to have at least that.


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## elakkljakldf (May 15, 2011)

If it's implied, i don't really care. If it's graphic, however, i close the book. Or whatever you do to a book on the Kindle.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

Sex and violence both have their place in books but I've had enough of each that I don't need to read page after page of someone's sexual activity or their suffering. That might be why I prefer authors from before 1975. I just finished a Ross MacDonald mystery and it's almost surprising that they don't include the mandator sex scene of modern books. I'm sure for people who are inexperienced with either sex or violence, it's exciting in a book.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

My husband and I have talked about this a few times during his writing of delicate matters. Usually I just tell him to write what he feels comfortable with. Otherwise the reader will feel the unease of the writer. 

Personally I have no problem with sex but it really depends on the kind of story it is and if I feel that it is a part of the plot. Same goes for cursing, something frowned on by some. I just want to read something that sounds plausible, whether it is or not isn't really the point. About the only time when I'm a little iffy on is in YA. For me there really has to be a reason then. Not to be all parental but they are kids and that's when I usually feel more comfortable with a cut away.


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## Marcin Wrona (Apr 28, 2011)

I'm all for it if it's tastefully handled. And tastefully is, of course, broad and open to interpretation. 

Gratuitous sex - especially of the KGB-are-closing-in-but-hey-as-good-a-time-as-any variety - is usually just dumb. It doesn't offend me or put me off, but it makes me laugh (at, not with).


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I actually prefer sex in a bed. I've done books but they have sharp corners and tend to move at inconvenient times.

I am old and have had enough experience with both sex and violence that I don't need to read about it. Of course, people have sex but I don't need to know how hard or how wet anything is. And, a mystery would be a mystery without a bit of violence but I don't need a lengthy description of how it felt when the bone broke or their intestines spilled out.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

I read mostly fast-paced books (mysteries, thrillers, crime fiction), so sex is rarely important to the plot in those stories, and when it's included can seem gratuitous. But like I do with long descriptions, I just skip sex scenes if they slow the story down. On the other hand, I've read some books just for the sex.
L.J.


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## Lisa J. Yarde (Jul 15, 2010)

Have no problem with sex in books at all. Perhaps it's because I cut my teeth on historical romance in the 90's or because I include sex in my own stories. I understand people who don't like / want it because they've literally "been there, done that" but if there are any pairings where the author has built up great sexual tension, I'd feel cheated if I didn't get some inkling that the chemistry extended to the bedroom as well. To each his own.


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## luvmykindle3 (Dec 5, 2010)

I don't mind sex in books, as long as its not overdone. I don't really care for erotica. I will read books on the line of the Harlequin Sillouette/Desire, from time to time. Just depends on my mood. I also read a few mystery/suspense novels and they usually contain very little sex. 

I just don't need a whole lot of exaggerated details....


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## AlisonM (Jul 30, 2010)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> Just PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not use the term "manroot." Just...don't.


Now this terminology just confuses me.  My assumption is that this is another word for the 'manhood', yes?? Well in Australia the second syllable is a crude word for sex so put together it just sounds wrong. 

This thread is very funny, I don't mind sex in books but it needs to be appropriate for the book.


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## Michelle Muto (Feb 1, 2011)

This thread is both interesting and hilarious. 

Manroot. HA!

Um, I write young adult, so sex is OUT. LOL! Anyone watch Friends? Phoebe had a date with an author who wrote erotica for children. Said it was wildly unpopular. You think?  

I'm in the camp of non-gratuitous sex. It's not that I'm a prude, but there are some things I don't need to know about certain characters. I think that even if I wrote an adult book, I'd feel... odd 'watching' my characters and would probably prefer to give them space.


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## MichelleStimpson (May 29, 2011)

I generally don't read books with a lot of sex in them. If I'm reading something with a friend or a book club, I'll kind of skim through the sex scenes.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> WriterGurl1, MORE THAN ONCE. BY DIFFERENT AUTHORS. I'm scarred for life.


That is too funny! In fact, was it categorized as Humorous Erotica? I think I'd be laughing too hard to enjoy the scene .


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## Julia Kavan (Feb 6, 2011)

patrickt said:


> I actually prefer sex in a bed. I've done books but they have sharp corners and tend to move at inconvenient times.


Love this! 

Interesting thread! I've appreciated reading everyone's opinions, esp as my first short story to be published was about the darker side of sex and fantasy... nothing like leaping in at the deep end without a life jacket! (it's a horror story)

When it comes to _reading _novels, I expect any sex to provide some insight into the characters and their relationships.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

The sex has to be integral to the story. Even in a romance, the characters need to be devloped and a relationship created, rather than just writing gratuitous sex scenes in. I read some erotica recently (for a book club read LOL) and the lack of caring about the characters made the obligatory sex in every sentence made it seem like an instruction manual rather than a good read.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I don't want to know the sexual details of my friends or relatives' lives, so why would I want to read about it in book characters' lives?


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

WriterGurl1, always dead serious. Deadly, dead dead serious. *headdesk*


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Papercuts!


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## Guest (May 30, 2011)

Sexual themes are good. Porn is just boring.


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I think a lot of time, an authors "issues" come out in the sex scenes. Not using the word issues in a negative. Writing is an art and artists reflect what is going on in their lives with their work. Picassos blue period. Meshell Ndegeocellos Bitter album. Anne Rices Beauty series (which I havent read). We are people and we all evolve, change and go thru different periods in our lives. It is actually what makes life more interesting.

But, some authors get stuck and never resolve issues. Laurell K Hammilton is one of them for me. I am so not trying to offend anyone, but I believe she is acting out childhood trauma in her writing. I know, I know, I am a keyboard psychiatrist. But if you just look at her work it is all there. The sex is always forced or coerced in some way or another much like a child feels when they are molested. The ardure (sp), the were-ghost mommen (sp again), and even vampire politics. There are also a lot of child vampires and childlike adults (that one snake gobblin comes to mind). The sex in her novels are about power, not love or desire. LKH bothers me. A lot. She is stuck in this cycle and cant seem to find a way to get beyond it.

I think the first time I ever got completely fed up with LKHs issues was when Anita Blake went to Tennessee


Spoiler



and was chased by werewolves wanting to rape her. So she "yipes" continually and runs to Richard to have sex with him for the first time to stave off the rapists.


 Lord how disfunctional can it get? It got worse.


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## Dolorous Edd Tollett (May 29, 2011)

If it is part of the story then it is fine.


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

Phil Stern said:


> Sexual themes are good. Porn is just boring.


This is exactly where I stand. Sex and sexual themes are fine. There's sex in my writing (though no real detail, I'm afraid) and I read books with sex scenes in them.

But if the main focus is sex? Then I'm totally uninterested. To me, sex is like... a seasoning. I like it sprinkled conservatively throughout a book and only if it makes sense. None of those random sex scenes that take up a whole chapter and add nothing in the end!


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## Amia Lacey (Jun 1, 2011)

Like anything else, I like it to be available when I'm in the mood for it!


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

I like sex in my books, but it doesn't have to be there, certainly not if it starts getting in the way of the story. However, I have to agree with being annoyed if the sexual tension is built up for chapters and then the door slammed in my face. Especially if the book is clearly adult (showing violence and disturbing scenes). So you're going to show me all of the negative and none of the positive? Bleh.


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2011)

Sex is fine in books. There are too many prudes in this country.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

KindleChickie said:


> I don't mind it at all, in fact I think too much of our entertainment is sanitized. I am an adult, I would like to read and watch movies/tv made for adults.


I agree. However, I don't necessarily think explicit sex, violence, and swearing should be the gage to judge entertainment for adults. Richard K. Morgan is a science fiction author who gleefully overloads on all three, but his maturity is stuck on the 13 year old boy level a lot of the time. True entertainment for adults would likely have a complexity of thought and emotion that wouldn't be interesting to children.


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## Jimmie Hammel (Apr 11, 2011)

I like stories where sex is central to the plot but isn't pornographic. Great characters have issues and people with issues often have sexual issues. Characters who never have sex are unrealistic. I think there's a perfect middle area between not enough and too much. A scene has too much if the writer starts looking for synonyms for private parts. Words like manhood and rod are silly, not sexy. I want the scene implied but I don't want the door closed. My brain can fill in the details, just paint me a fuzzy water color. 

L. K. H.'s Anita Blake series was awesome, then it slowly devolved into creepiness. It's good to hear that she's trying to cut some of that out. I might pick it up again.


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

For me, sex in a book is like anything else in a book.  If it works, I like it.  If it doesn't work, I don't like it.


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## Retired (May 6, 2011)

I'm all for fantastic sex in books. :-D  But I like books that have no sex, too. And poorly written sex is just as bad as, well, bad sex. Anything in a work of fiction should be well written or not be included at all.

Sex is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. 

Great thread.


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## RiddleMeThis (Sep 15, 2009)

I enjoy sex in my books and I completely agree that I HATE when authors choose to cut away from it.


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

Fascinating post, and fascinating replies--I admire the frankness and honesty of some. 

Three of my books, WHAT WE ALL NEED, THE REVISED KAMA SUTRA, and THE UNCENSORED MASSAGE NO BOOM BOOM have sexual content (though it is only part of the larger story), and there is most often wit associated with it, and no one has yet told me the sexual parts were badly written.

Though it could still happen.


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## HeadshotHeather (Jan 7, 2010)

I guess I would say I am right in that middle ground. I don't seek out sex in my daily reading material, but if it is there I don't shun it either. It needs to be well placed and relevant. However, if I am feeling a bit randy then I might seek out a bit of erotica to read, but, again, not something I seek out in everyday reading. 

Oh and for goodness sake, call body parts what they are. No flowering petals etc!


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## Ray Rhamey author (Jan 6, 2011)

Gratuitous sex bothers me, but not sexual activity that is needed for either the story or to define character. In two of my novels, there is no sex at all. In another, one brief scene that I think is tastefully hot. One that's coming out explores a teen's first sexual experience, so is semi-graphic in order to show the discovery.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

Sam Rivers said:


> I have two older sisters that are against any type of sex in the books they read. That eliminates a lot of books since books today do seem to have sex in them.
> 
> I don't mind sex in books if it is part of the story. My favorite writer is Larry McMurtry and he includes a lot of sex in his books, but he makes it part of the story and it seems to fit.
> 
> ...


I can't mind, I have lots of sex in my book  It does fit the storyline, though; my protagonist is a cheating, addicted rockstar. He has to have sex with lots of people lol.


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## wm ollie (Aug 9, 2010)

i find it to be boring, no matter how well written


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

I think it really boils down to how well the sex scene are written.  If the characters are well developed and use love making to enhance the story then that is good.  

However, the story could be about sex.  I wrote a novel called Sex and the Barbarian, which was about a spaceship photographer, that comes to Earth 10,000 in the future.  Sex with humans has died out since everyone uses a device to take care of their sexual needs.  Since he is from a recently colonized planet that is a long distance away, he has skills the normal man doesn't have.

So sex is an interesting topic and fun to both read and write about.


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## Colette Duke (Mar 14, 2011)

tkkenyon said:


> Personally, I think sex is an important drive in humans. After all, it's highly evolutionarily conserved.
> 
> Therefore, I think ignoring sex and its ramifications makes a book less than realistic. It's like a character not eating for 3 days and having no ill effects. Or shooting 29 shots from a revolver. The machine doesn't work that way.
> 
> ...


Or like characters never, ever using the washroom. (Oh dear. I just realized mine are guilty of that.) I can't recall an exact scene, but I have a distinct feeling that Diana Gabaldon's characters relieve themselves on the pages. You know what I mean. And they're real people to me. Maybe because Gabaldon goes so deeply into every facet of their lives?


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

Colette Duke said:


> Or like characters never, ever using the washroom. (Oh dear. I just realized mine are guilty of that.) I can't recall an exact scene, but I have a distinct feeling that Diana Gabaldon's characters relieve themselves on the pages. You know what I mean. And they're real people to me. Maybe because Gabaldon goes so deeply into every facet of their lives?


Hehe mine spend quite a lot of time in there, come to think of it. One's either relieving himself in the loo after drinking or having sex in there, another's vomiting up after meals, and a third is doing drugs in stalls all the time. LOL I never realised until now how prominently trips to the loo featured.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Colette Duke said:


> I have a distinct feeling that Diana Gabaldon's characters relieve themselves on the pages.


Call me an eight year old, but that made me chuckle.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

RJ Keller said:


> Call me an eight year old, but that made me chuckle.


LOL


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Sex is a normal part of life, so why not write about it? Often it is one of the strongest motivating drives of a person.
That being said I don't think it should be overemphasized.
I try to make the sex scenes show you aspects of the personality of the characters you would otherwise not be able to see. For me sex scenes only become interesting if I _know_ the characters involved, if I can empathize with them _and_ if they complement the story. If there is no story, it's just porn, and while I don't look down on that and I admit it has it uses, it's not what I like to write or read.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Sex is a normal part of life, so why not write about it? Often it is one of the strongest motivating drives of a person.
> That being said I don't think it should be overemphasized.
> *I try to make the sex scenes show you aspects of the personality of the characters you would otherwise not be able to see*. For me sex scenes only become interesting if I _know_ the characters involved, if I can empathize with them _and_ if they complement the story. If there is no story, it's just porn, and while I don't look down on that and I admit it has it uses, it's not what I like to write or read.


YES.


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## Chloista (Jun 27, 2009)

I don't mind sex in books at all.  But I gotta say, Diana Galbadon's books just creep me out.  Too much sado-masochism in them.  And then all that boring stuff about Scotland's history.  Just not my cup of tea, I guess.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I think the topic here is about whether or not you want to read the sexual details, not whether or not the characters have sex at all.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding the original question?


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

My thoughts on this are more or less in this blog post:

http://richardcrasta.blogspot.com/2011/06/do-indians-do-it.html

The full essay is in my book "WHAT WE ALL NEED" (click on the image with the panties below).

Without sex, how would we exist?

And as books are a reflection on life, why not?

Richard Crasta


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

Sometimes when I proofing a book, I enhance sex scenes or tone them down depending on my mood. My novels can suffer either way.

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## Colette Duke (Mar 14, 2011)

mlewis78 said:


> I think the topic here is about whether or not you want to read the sexual details, not whether or not the characters have sex at all.


I think so too, and there's never going to be a consensus because everybody's tastes are different. For some people sexual details in books are a moral issue, and there can be no right or wrong there.

My favorite sex scenes are the ones that deepen or complicate the relationship between the characters. The kind of scenes that change the course of the story-as should all scenes.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Again, for me, it all comes down to story.  Sex is fine, even if it's graphic, but does the writer still have skill in writing and tell a good story?  Without that, it's just porn.  However, everyone knows sex can be very beautiful and, done well, enhance a story and characters.


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## JodyMorse (Jun 7, 2011)

No, I don't mind it, as long as it serves a purpose. There needs to be a good story, as well as sex.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I'm currently reading The Paris Wife, a novel about the first Mrs. Hemingway.  It gives one paragraph to the couple's first time and something like that at another time -- just enough info for me and not porn, IMHO.  I'm half-way through the book.


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## WFMeyer (Apr 14, 2011)

I don't at all mind sex scenes in a story, but they must be done well. Like any action scene they have to elicit a visceral response and feed the mind-movie imagination.


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## jennyt82 (Jun 8, 2011)

I think as long as it's used to advance the story and develop the relationship between the characters then there's nothing wrong with a sex scene. A well written one, i hasten to add. In the genre i write in, paranormal romance, you can't really get away from it. Mythical creatures tend to be very sexually charged...


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## JCF (Feb 16, 2011)

Readers tend to supply their own details when reading.  When it comes to sex if you're spare on the details, we'll give it the amount of spice we're comfortable with.  For the sake of plot, most of the time all we to know is that sex between characters occurred.  Some of the time, we need to know how it occurred.  And personally, when I get to a scene that plays out like two gymnasts in zero gravity, it totally ruins my suspension of disbelief in the rest of the book.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

JCF said:


> Readers tend to supply their own details when reading. When it comes to sex if you're spare on the details, we'll give it the amount of spice we're comfortable with. For the sake of plot, most of the time all we to know is that sex between characters occurred. Some of the time, we need to know how it occurred. And personally, when I get to a scene that plays out like two gymnasts in zero gravity, it totally ruins my suspension of disbelief in the rest of the book.


I feel like that about most things in the book  For example, some writers tell me I need more 'Show', but readers have never expressed that. I like my readers to exercise their imaginations and give them enough details to run with. Readers should be given more credit.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Sex in a book is fine so long as it is graphic and totally gratuitous.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

QuantumIguana said:


> Sex in a book is fine so long as it is graphic and totally gratuitous.


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## JCF (Feb 16, 2011)

ilyria_moon said:


> Readers should be given more credit.


Amen to that. I've been thanked more than once for doing just that. Smart folks, those readers are.


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