Liz Strange

The wonderfully talented Michele Hauf is here to discuss a very interesting topic...one best left to her own words.

Werewolf Sex

That subject line will either make you cringe or smile.  There's a certain squick factor involved when those two words get together, depending on how the scenario is handled.  I just landed on Chapter Twenty-Three in my current work in progress, FOREVER WILD (Trystan Hawkes' story).  I've typed in brackets [werewolf sex].  That page will remain blank for a while, days maybe, while I contemplate the scene, what it should involve, and how far I should push it.

One of the greatest challenges I have as a writer of paranormal romance fiction is the sex scenes between various 'creatures'.  Vampires, I have mastered.  Their sex can be pretty straight-forward, with an added bite.  But werewolves?  That's a touchy subject.  While I usually rate my sex scenes on the medium scale, never too erotic, but not too tame, either, I always sit back andshake my head when a werewolf is involved. Why did I do this to myself? I wonder. 

Because it is all my fault. I created my world.  And in my world, the werewolf bonds during sex only when he's in werewolf form.  That's the half man, half wolf form.  For a pretty close approximation of my idea of what a werewolf looks like see the Underworld series (though I imagine them with more wolfie heads).  And for a female werewolf to procreate she has to be in werewolf form.  Makes it kind of a sticky situation if the werewolf is having sex with a mortal or other creature.  I can only go so far on the page.  I only want to go so far.  You can step over boundaries easily.  And I never want to upset the reader, or offend.  On the other hand, to raise strong emotions in the reader is a writer's goal.  So what to do? 

I don't ever want to tread the lines of beastiality.  But it's difficult when both hero and heroine are werewolves.  So I think I've found a happy medium by alluding to what is about to occur and then slamming that bedroom door firmly shut.  I want to get readers started on imagining what could happen, and then I'll leave it to them to continue on with the fantasy, or stop it when they get uncomfortable.  But still, it's never easy for me to write that scene.  And I don't think it ever will be easy, which is probably a good thing.

Now, I'd love to hear from you.  How far is too far?  Do werewolf sex scenes freak you out?  Do you feel they are necessary to show the romance between the characters?

Visit Michele's website at: www.michelehauf.com

For more information about the characters in her Beautiful Creatures world: www.clubscarlet.michelehauf.com