I’m working on Riding The Night. Been working on it for a while now. It’s a menage story (one of my Wild Riders stories–Pax and AJ’s story for those who follow the series), which means instead of two central characters, there are three. That means three points of view, three backgrounds, three heads I have to climb inside of, three sets of baggage and emotions and feelings and omigod this is hard.
I’ve written books with menage scenes in them before. I haven’t written a book where the dynamic is three characters as the main focus of the book throughout the entire book. So I’m treading through new territory. I’ve known for some time now that Pax and AJ’s story would be a menage story. That’s how they roll. What I hadn’t counted on was the woman who’d become part of their lives. Teresa is complicated. Heh….complicated is an understatement. Then again, Pax and AJ aren’t easy, either.
Because a menage story isn’t about the sex–not really. It’s an integral part of the relationship to be sure. But that’s not all there is to it. It’s about how the characters interact with each other–what one means to the other and how they relate, about what they each bring to the table of this not so common relationship. It’s about the pain and the trauma of their pasts, and how the dynamic of this relationship helps them heal. And it’s how they’re going to deal with the actual relationship once they make the decision to open that door. For one it’ll be a new beginning. For two it will be something they never expected to happen. Fun stuff. But also very difficult because I want to make it right.
And yeah…there’s also the sex because it is different than one man and one woman, and it’s much more complicated. And I’m not just talking about the scene choreography (thought that has its own holy shit moments too). It’s a delicate balance and I’m trying to do these characters justice by making it right for them. It’s all about the timing and that pesky baggage. You can’t just throw a threesome into a pile on the bed and say hey, go for it. Well…I can’t. It doesn’t work that way.
And beyond the menage relationship there’s also a suspense plotline that has to be dealt with and weaved within the framework of the three characters and what they’re going through.
So….yeah. That’s how I’m spending my summer. Writing this damn complicated book. Hopefully these characters won’t be the death of me. :chair:
Side Note: Go check out author Beth Kery’s post today over at Romance Novel TV. She talks about where authors get their ideas for books. I gave my input as well and so did several other authors. Be sure to check it out and say hi to Beth!