Aliens Do It With Tentacles! (Alien Sex)
AUTHOR: PC Cast and Gena Showalter

So you're writing a paranormal/fantasy with an alien -- a vampire -- a merman -- a werewolf -- a beast. The list goes on. Whatever species your character is, remember that the number one rule in writing fantasy is that you must suspend your reader's disbelief in order to write successfully. This is particularly important when you consider adding sex to an already fantasy-riddled plot. How do you do that?

Basically, the same way you do it in any fiction writing - you make your character live and breathe. You make him or her so real to your readers that it doesn't matter if he/she has wings, fins, fur or fangs - he/she is still real and is therefore able to evoke empathy in your audience. Otherwise, the love scene between alien/fantasy creature and human will be flat, unbelievable and laughable.

To begin, you must know your character intimately. Where was he/she born? Or how was he/she created? What motivates your character? Construct a detailed past for him/her. Whether you actually end up using such a detailed past in the actual plot of your novel matters little. You must understand the creature's history to build a believable present and future with him/her for your readers.

Then construct a sexual past for him/her, just as you would any human character. Does he/she prefer to be the aggressor in a sexual relationship? Or is he/she more passive? Why? Is he/she afraid of expressing his/her needs fully? Why? What is his/her secret fantasy? How many partners has he/she had? How was his/her last partner? Has he/she ever had an orgasm? Overall, what type of experience has he/she had in bed?

You need to know the answers to these questions because your character's sexual past (or lack thereof) influences how they will react in the present. For example: If your mermaid heroine has lived her entire life alone under the sea and has no idea about men and sex, her reaction to intimacy would be much different from a mermaid who once served as consort to the Mer King. Or perhaps in your mermaid's past she was captured by a ship of human sailors and raped repeatedly. Any of these histories would drastically change your heroine's reactions to your hero.

By knowing your characters, you help the READER know them. You know the emotional risks your hero and heroine are taking by being together, and that, in turn, enhances sensuality, building tension and adding emotional risk, as well as believability. What is emotional risk? To answer that question you must first decide what your characters have to lose and/or gain. By creating a complex history for your alien/fantasy character you will be able to discover his/her conflicts and needs, and ultimately understand what's at stake for him/her emotionally.

These questions keep the reader turning the pages, not the sex act itself. Like a well-written horror novel wherein it's not the violence itself that is so intriguing, but the building of tension that leads to the eventual explosion. It is the same with a well-written inter-species sex scene. You build sexual tension and intimacy well before the act itself, and then because you have created characters with whom the readers identify, they naturally want to know what happens to them next. Remember - the way characters respond to each other will change depending on the level of intimacy they have achieved. How well do they know each other? How much do they like/dislike/love each other? How close they are to each other? Remember, too, that a love scene is not the story in itself. It is not used to pad plot holes or bolster weak stories. Sex has to be used naturally, as an authentic next step in the relationship development between your hero and heroine.

Another aspect of your inter-species scene to keep in mind is character voice. To continue to suspend your reader's disbelief, you must have each character think, act and talk differently. Each individual character voice must be distinct. That means, even in the love scene, you must stay truthful to your character's personality, word choices, emotions, and their pasts.

It important in any love scene, but especially an interspecies love scene, to utilize the five senses. Your alien character needs to have a reaction to the differences between himself and his lover. The same holds true for the human character. She must have a reaction to the differences between herself and the alien. What are their different smells? Their different skin textures? What are their different tastes, flavors? Do they speak differently? Do the intimate parts of their bodies look different? Let the characters notice these differences and respond. This helps the reader picture the scene and creates a web of believability.

In Gena Showalter's September 2005 HQN release, HEART OF THE DRAGON, the hero is a dragon changling who has been unable to convert to his dragon form for three hundred years because he is so emotionally bankrupt. However, the first time he experiences orgasm with the human heroine, he begins to morph into his dragon form and his wings emerge from his back. The alien heroine in Showalter's forthcoming Pocket book, EDEN BLACK, ALIEN ASSASSIN, emits a honey sweet scent when she's aroused.

Once that is done, you must consider the problems their differences create. In P.C. Cast's book, GODDESS OF THE SEA (Berkley, Oct 03), the hero is a merman and the heroine is a human. The first problem is that the heroine can't stay underwater or she'll drown. How, then, can she make love to the merman? The hero needs access to her body outside of the water. Cast's solution was to create a magnificent underwater grotto that allows the hero to stay partially in the water, yet have full access to the heroine who is no longer in the water.

One of the wonderful things about writing inter-species sex is that you have an endless range of possibilities for the way you bring about the physical act of love between your characters. Use your imagination! Play with the possibilities. In another of P.C. Cast's novels, the cult classic, GODDESS BY MISTAKE (Hawk, Aug 01), her hero is a centaur shaman and the heroine is a human. Though the hero can shapeshift so that the two can make love, the act of changing forms leaves him physically drained, which limits their opportunities to make love. Cast solved this problem by having her centaur hero bring her human heroine to climax through discovering what pleases her human body with just the touch of his hands and mouth - without the need to change into his human form. Thereby satisfying his lover, bringing the characters emotionally closer together, as well as enticing readers with the intimacy and sexual tension that has been built within the hero, but not yet released.

So remember - when writing inter-species sex the differences between your characters are of the utmost importance because they help ground the reader in reality. Ask yourself a barrage of physically based questions. Are the creature's eyes sensitive to light? Does he prefer sweet or sour tastes? Does his hair curl at the end? Does he have hair on his body at all? If so, what does it feel like? Are his hands rough? Is his skin texture different than a human? Mix sensory details with an intimate knowledge of his past, and you will have a recipe that will create a being who will live and breathe, love and laugh, and, ultimately, entrance your readers.

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PC Cast began speaking professionally during her six years of active duty service in the United States Air Force. Ms Cast is a dynamic, entertaining orator and a gifted teacher whose workshops and classes consistently fill to capacity. Her first fantasy novel, GODDESS BY MISTAKE, won the Holt Medallion, the Prism, the Laurel Wreath, and finaled in the National Readers Choice Award. Following the success of her first novel, Berkley signed Cast to a three book contract, the first of which, GODDESS OF THE SEA, was released October 2003. Cast has also been contracted for three more novels by Harlequin's exciting new fantasy imprint, LUNA. Visit her website at www.pccast.net

Gena Showalter sold seven books before the first one ever hit the stands. Her first, a sexy paranormal romance from HQN titled THE STONE PRINCE will be released September 1st 2004, and features a sexy alien prince who is magically catapulted to earth where he must wait a thousand years until the perfect kiss sets him free. Following that is THE PLEASURE SLAVE and HEART OF A DRAGON. In June 2005, her Alien Huntress series from Pocket books will launch. Look for this star on the rise in bookstores everywhere. Visit her website at www.genashowalter.com