Friday, July 06, 2012

Ghostly Hanky-Panky

Happy Friday, everyone! Today I am pleased to welcome fellow romantic novelist Linda Gillard to the blog, writing about some of the, er, issues with ghostly sex. 

Take it away, Linda!

When I set out to write THE GLASS GUARDIAN, a supernatural love story with a ghost hero, I didn’t realise how hard it would be. I don’t plan my novels much and tend to let the characters dictate the story (which in this case gave a new meaning to the phrase “ghost-written”.) 

The problem was spectre sex. Vampires are (apparently) solid flesh and blood and very fit. Ghosts? Well, ghosts aren’t. So how could I give an insubstantial ghost lover an erotic power and a physical presence without cheating? Could something traditionally thought of as cold, ever be hot?... 

I hit upon the idea of water. Water can be sensuous and sexy; cold, but invigorating. Maybe my ghost’s element could be water… 

“He grabbed my hand, pressed the palm to his cold face and closed his eyes. His flesh yielded, but my hand didn’t penetrate his form. There was an uncanny resistance. Had he felt more solid, I suppose I might have thought of a corpse, but Hector was no more corporeal than a waterfall, or a river in spate. I could sense that energy, that force in him.” 

Well, it worked for me in a weird sort of way… 

“I took his chill, long-fingered hand and slid it inside my dress so that his palm lay on the curve of my breast. The sensation was one of cold, silky water trickling over my body, then he pulled me toward him and pressed his mouth on mine. For a second I panicked. Inundated by the cool liquidity of Hector’s form, I felt as if I was drowning, until I realised I didn’t need to hold my breath or prevent him from entering my mouth. I was quite safe...” 

Water in its various forms actually became a theme in the book. A snow-bound Isle of Skye provides the wintry setting. The dramatic climax takes place in a glacial world where ice can be a killer. And of course my watery ghost melts Ruth’s frozen heart. 
If you like your love scenes aquatic rather than athletic, he might melt yours too.

Love, loss and loneliness… Ruth Travers knows all about them. She’s lost a lover, both parents and her job. Now she thinks she might be losing her mind. For Ruth’s falling in love again – with a man who died almost a hundred years ago...  THE GLASS GUARDIAN (£1,90/$2.99) Amazon UK; Amazon.com

Thank you, Linda! And for anyone who hasn't yet read my novel Build A Man, there's  a chance to win it over on I Heart... Chick Lit. Have a great weekend, everyone!

38 comments:

  1. The setting sounds great - beautiful area. Good luck, Linda!

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  2. It sounds great - I've just bought a Kindle copy! If it has cool/cold themes, then perhaps I ought to delay reading it until summer's here. (Oh, it is - I couldn't tell!)

    I love how you approach sensing Hector's 'non-physical' aspects. It reminds me of the challenges I have in my own books for one of the characters who is not physically present.

    I'm really looking forward to reading this. :-)

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  3. Using an element of nature to provide your spectral hero with an erotic quality is a very good idea, especially well demonstrated in the excerpts.

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  4. Hmm? Ghosts don't seem so scary to me now. The Glass Guardian sounds awesome.

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  5. A fun blog! I had a different problem with my 'Spy Girl' teen crime novels - Usborne, who are a 'family' publisher' cut all the sex bits! And the guns!!! Good luck with the book. Sounds a fascinating read!

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  6. The water idea was brilliant! DEfinitely adds a unique element to the story - love it! :)

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  7. This sounds every bit as good, and sensual, as your other great books, Linda - all the best with this!

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  8. Spectre sex!! How fabulous is that!! Hello Linda, hello Talli!!! Spectre sex!! My oh my! take care
    x

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  9. Thanks everyone for your kind comments. It's great to have feedback. I nearly gave up on this novel several times because I thought I'd just painted myself into a corner with a ghost hero.

    I started writing TGG as a NaNoWriMo project, rattled off 25k words, then hit a wall. I thought, "This can't be done. Where's the sensuality? And how on earth are they going to have sex?!"

    In the end what I did worked for me, but by then I'd fallen in love with my sad, dead soldier hero and would have forgiven him any amount of clamminess. But what about reader expectations?... It's been a nerve-wracking wait, but to judge from the 20 Amazon reviews it has so far, TGG works for readers too. :-)

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  10. This sounds like a delicious, cool drink of water. Ha, I made a punny! I'll definitely be checking it out. I love ghostly stories, and romance...well, let's just say, I'm taking the plunge and attempting to finish a sexy story I began a while back. I could use some (tons) inspiration. :))

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  11. Talli, I wonder how many interesting google searches will traffic this post...hee, hee! My latest post, "I see London, I see France" got me an interesting comment that Blogger, fortunately blocked for me. :)) Hail to the mighty Blogspot!

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  12. Who knew water could be sensual? Very clever way of solving the ghostly problem.

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  13. Oh, what an interesting problem to have to deal with! I think your water solution is brilliant. Much better than the alternative, which would be about as satisfying as phone sex. Water is definitely sensual and can do the trick!

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  14. I love Linda's books and have already read The Glass Guardian another great book from this lovely author.

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  15. Love this post, Linda! Water is an incredibly creative way to sidestep what I've always thought to be quite the insurmountable problem :-) Thanks for having her here, Talli!

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  16. Aquatic love scenes make the world go round.

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  17. Sounds like a really COOL story :)
    Happy Weekend!

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  18. What a clever story element. With all the heat, water sounds lovely right now.

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    1. Susan, I'm smiling at your reference to heat. I live in the Scottish Highlands on a latitude north of Moscow & we've only just turned our central heating off. Admittedly it's been a very cold and wet summer so far. We're hoping for better soon.

      But if you need cooling down, you'll enjoy reading about Ruth being snowed in with Hector the Spectre. ;-)

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  19. I'm sure many fans will need a cold shower after reading this! This sounds like a great story! Julie

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  20. That is brilliant. I love the water elements in this story. He melts her frozen heart. That's so awesome.

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  21. Talli, I really can't get into all this ghost stuff - hopefully it will go out of fashion soon.
    Nhave a great weekend

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  22. A sexy ghost story set in Scotland? That's basically my ideal book in a nutshell. Just downloaded it only my kindle to read on my beach vacation. Thanks for sharing about Linda's book, Talli - otherwise, I might never have discovered it. :)

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    1. Thanks for downloading, Ranae Rose. :-) Most of my books are set in Scotland & have gorgeous heroes, but this is my first attempt at a ghost story.

      If you enjoy THE GLASS GUARDIAN, you might like to try STAR GAZING, also set on the Isle of Skye. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Gazing-ebook/dp/B00550O0S8/ref=pd_sim_kinc_3
      The hero, Keir came out tops when I did a fun reader poll on my Facebook author page.

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  23. Ghostly sex! I don't write romance, or indeed read much romance, but I couldn't resist reading this blog post, it's such an original idea.

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  24. I bought The Glass Guardian after reading Lins Healy's review. Can't wait to read!

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    1. Thanks, Sharon. Lindsay wrote a cracking review, didn't she? I hope TGG doesn't disappoint.

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  25. LOL! That's kinky in a fun way.

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  26. My first book had water as a scary element too... I found it fascinating doing the research and used the motif ( symbolism) when ever I could in the book. Not sex though... Still some great ideas... great post and very best of luck with the book.

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  27. It's reassuring to know that I'll still be having sex when I'm a ghost.

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  28. Wow, what an amazing solution. This one's going on my wishlist!

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  29. A cool solution to the problem - no pun intended :)

    Hope you're having a fab weekend, Talli!

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  30. Hi there Talli. You may already have seen that July's Books You Loved is now up and open for entries. Here is the link Books You Loved July Edition if you would like to contribute something.

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  32. Wow, I didn't know a ghost scene could be so sexy! Good luck, Linda!

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  33. Ah, Linda struggled with the same concept I'm working through. I'm writing a ghost love story to sub to Enchanted Publishing. There's a lot to think about. Strangely, water figures a lot in my story too. Thanks for a great post.

    And I'm thoroughly enjoying Construct a Couple Talli. I've had not internet for 5 days so have certainly caught up on some reading and writing.

    Denise

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  34. That sounds like a completely different take, Linda, and a refreshing one!

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Coffee and wine for all!