TITLE: Why I Write Sex
by Arley Cole and
Leigh Daley
I write under two pennames—Arley Cole for
my YA-friendly fantasy and Leigh Daley for my steamy romance. Arley Cole keeps
it out of the bedroom, but Leigh Daley gets into some seriously R-rated
territory.
This makes life difficult for me in my tiny
Alabama hamlet. When people ask about my latest release, I have to make a quick
judgment—do I tell them about the Leigh Daley stuff or will it scandalize them?
What would the little women in my church say about me if they read my Leigh
Daley stuff? Would they ask me to put a scarlet letter on my choir robe?
But the truth is sex has a hugely important
place in women’s lives. We think of men as being the sex-driven beings, but
human relationships are cemented together by the physical act of belonging to
one another. If we want stronger relationships, we need to be having frequent,
mutually beneficial, loving sex.
That is not to say that I am at all in
favor of the “jump in bed first, ask questions later” school of relationships.
From personal experience, that attitude leads to sleeping with frogs rather
than princes. My characters sometimes do sleep with each other before they
should – that’s one of the relationship minefields we have to navigate. When
they do, I am compelled as a story-teller to deal with their actions in the
most realistic way possible. Sex too soon causes trouble they have to work out
together.
But sex in the fullness of time in a
relationship binds two people together in ways very little else can. I truly
enjoy writing about a couple’s exploration of each other. In loving someone
else, we really do discover things about ourselves. The sex act opens up all
kinds of emotional territory for us, and I love to show my characters
discovering themselves through their physical loving of each other.
Our sexual experience affects us
profoundly, no matter our age, background, or gender. As an erotic writer, I
try to treat the subject with the respect and integrity it deserves. If my
readers sometimes find themselves inspired to jump their partners after
reading, I am glad of that. Anyone
fortunate enough to be in a loving, committed relationship owes it to that
relationship to invest in it physically as often and as jubilantly as possible.
In fact one of my personal goals as a romance author is to inspire my readers
to have more sex!
In my latest Leigh Daley release,
Storm Duty - Finally Ever After, a
natural disaster shakes up divorced couple Kyle and Jenna. In the midst of the
chaos, they both have to learn that all that really matters is who we love, and
their love scene is one of my favorites because of the healing that takes place
between them.
At this season, especially after the
devastation of Hurricane Sandy, I think we all need to remember to hold close
the ones we love. So I’m going to keep writing romance, and I hope you all will
keep reading. Now, go hold somebody!
Leigh Daley
Their careers drove them
apart--could disaster bring them back together?
BLURB:
In the aftermath of a series of tornadoes,
Kyle Mathis just wants to guide his linemen to restore power to the devastated
town of Milton. When reinforcements in the form of corporate deskjockeys come
to work storm duty, he's glad for the extra bodies to help serve food and
support the crews working eighteen hour days.
But Kyle is not prepared to face one of the
latest arrivals, his ex-wife Jenna. Jenna left him years ago, choosing her
career over their marriage. However, being back together in their home town
brings back memories and desire--for both Kyle and Jenna.
Can Kyle and Jenna find each other again in
the midst of the devastation? Or will their jobs pull them apart and leave not
only their homes but their hearts shattered?
EXCERPT:
The instant Jenna Harlow heard her
ex-husband’s voice, she wished she hadn’t agreed to come.
She certainly wanted to help and Cedar Hill
had been home once. But as she stood and saw Kyle face to face, she wished she
hadn’t. There were just too many memories.
“Yeah, I’ve got some made already,” she
answered him, aware that his eyes had widened at the sight of her. She covered
her own desire to stare by pouring him a cup. “Do you still take cream and
sugar?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light even though her heart pounded
so hard she could feel it in her fingertips.
“I’m drinking it black these days,” he
answered, his tone just as even.
As she passed him the cup, her hand
trembled. He took the coffee, but the hot liquid splashed out a little over the
side. His hands were shaking too.
He cursed under his breath as he sat the
cup down on the table and grabbed a napkin to mop up the spill.
“Don’t worry,” she insisted. “I’ll clean it
up.” She looked at his face in the dim light. His eyes that same dark green,
his hair the same light brown—still cut the same as she remembered from seven
years ago.
But his shoulders were broader, and he
stood taller, more muscular. His jaw had a strong, determined set, and little
sun crinkles had begun to frame his eyes. She’d always thought he was
good-looking, but now in the fullness of manhood, he was downright gorgeous...
To read more of Storm
Duty, please click HERE.
BUY LINKS
Leigh Daley lives with
her husband and kids in the wilds of West Alabama along with her dogs Bruno and
Jack. Now on her fourth career, she has spent most of her life writing for
other people, but these days she is writing for herself. She eats like a
cavewoman, posts crazy fanfic as Arcole, and tries to meet her creative needs
by writing romance as Leigh Daley and fantasy as
Arley Cole. She’s a really big fan of happily ever after.
7 comments:
Excellent bolg, Leigh!
Love has the power to work miracles, Leigh! Great post! Sounds like you'll touch a lot of hearts with this subject! Keep writing what you love! Cheers and best wishes!
Thanks, ladies! And thank you so much, Eleni, for having me on today!!! I'm going to keep writing what I love--and that's romance!
Wonderful post, Leigh! Hope you have a great writing week :)
I love that you're writing what you love, Arley/Leigh!
Great post Arley/Leigh
Thanks everyone for commenting.
Leigh/Arley - love that you can write what you love and you enjoy being able to write in two different styles.
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