I have been offered a contract by Aspen Mountain Press for my 30k word novella, 'Tease'. I have to go through it and sign my name to it, but it's official - I can now consider myself a professional author!
I was very excited and have to share the news - watch the blog for updates and excerpts - not to mention a link to buy the story when it's published!
This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of dreams. I am so proud of myself to have achieved this. Now back to the editing - oy!
~E~
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Friday 13 June 2008
Dirty Words...
I visited my mum and dad recently. They’ve just got a new addition to the family: a puppy. Personally I detect a distinct whiff of ‘empty nest syndrome,’ but that’s besides the point… The reason I bring this up is because I’ve never had much to do with a dog before, so I was experimenting with some basic training commands – ‘sit’, ‘come’, ‘drop’ etc – and I was amazed how quickly this tiny little scrap of fluff learned the words. Each time it obeyed I gave her a titbit of chicken and very soon she started sitting as soon as she saw me.
Maybe this is a roundabout introduction to the point I intended to make, but I was thinking about how certain words have an actual, physiological effect. Now, when I say ‘sit’ to the puppy, its bottom hits the ground before the word has even entered its consciousness. You can see its face going ‘hey – I just sat down’ while it tries to figure out why. Seeing the effect of words on an animal that only knows a few I started thinking about their effect on us – with our vocabulary or tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of words.
Let’s try a little exercise. I would say ‘close your eyes’, but that may make doing the rest of the exercise a little tricky, so just – concentrate really hard, OK? Now, think of a lemon. A really plump, rich, sunshine yellow lemon. The rind is firm and waxy, puckered with little dimples all over and exuding a faint aroma of Christmas and summer. Now imagine that you have a knife in your hand, sharp and shiny. Place it against the skin of the lemon, see the blade bend, then lacerate the rind. Swiftly the silver knife slices through the tender lemon flesh. Picture how it looks, lying sliced in half – the pale lemon flesh oozing acid juice, the air full of that tangy, piercing scent. You suck your fingers and your mouth puckers with the sour, fruity juices you taste…
I bet your mouth is watering something chronic!
Seriously though, it’s impossible to picture the above and not have your mouth fill with saliva – such is the power of words: words and imagination.
Because, when it comes down to it, that’s the whole point of writing, isn’t it, especially in an area as tactile and sensual as erotica. The author paints a picture with words and the reader responds to those words without even realising it, their mind creating an illusion based on the words without the conscious mind having very much to do with it.
So, if I can describe a juicy lemon and make your mouth water, what can I do to you if I described a soft kiss, lips sticking to each other slightly as they pull apart for a breath; the heavy, luscious weight of a woman’s breast in your hand; the pungent, musky scent of naked bodies as they fuck…? Can I turn you on? Can I make you come? More importantly, to me at any rate, can I make you buy my book when it’s published?!
x
Emelia Bell
Maybe this is a roundabout introduction to the point I intended to make, but I was thinking about how certain words have an actual, physiological effect. Now, when I say ‘sit’ to the puppy, its bottom hits the ground before the word has even entered its consciousness. You can see its face going ‘hey – I just sat down’ while it tries to figure out why. Seeing the effect of words on an animal that only knows a few I started thinking about their effect on us – with our vocabulary or tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of words.
Let’s try a little exercise. I would say ‘close your eyes’, but that may make doing the rest of the exercise a little tricky, so just – concentrate really hard, OK? Now, think of a lemon. A really plump, rich, sunshine yellow lemon. The rind is firm and waxy, puckered with little dimples all over and exuding a faint aroma of Christmas and summer. Now imagine that you have a knife in your hand, sharp and shiny. Place it against the skin of the lemon, see the blade bend, then lacerate the rind. Swiftly the silver knife slices through the tender lemon flesh. Picture how it looks, lying sliced in half – the pale lemon flesh oozing acid juice, the air full of that tangy, piercing scent. You suck your fingers and your mouth puckers with the sour, fruity juices you taste…
I bet your mouth is watering something chronic!
Seriously though, it’s impossible to picture the above and not have your mouth fill with saliva – such is the power of words: words and imagination.
Because, when it comes down to it, that’s the whole point of writing, isn’t it, especially in an area as tactile and sensual as erotica. The author paints a picture with words and the reader responds to those words without even realising it, their mind creating an illusion based on the words without the conscious mind having very much to do with it.
So, if I can describe a juicy lemon and make your mouth water, what can I do to you if I described a soft kiss, lips sticking to each other slightly as they pull apart for a breath; the heavy, luscious weight of a woman’s breast in your hand; the pungent, musky scent of naked bodies as they fuck…? Can I turn you on? Can I make you come? More importantly, to me at any rate, can I make you buy my book when it’s published?!
x
Emelia Bell
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