Star: Friends, the duck and I are back!
Duck: I do have a name you know, Star.
Star: Correction: Duck and I are back! He’s been supporting me while I pen a romance novel, and I’ve actually now finished the final draft. But yesterday, as I was listening to the audiobook of Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez—beautifully narrated by Julie Whelan and Zachary Webber—I’d a sudden burning urge to set Duck and my writing aside and pen a ducking blog post about sex scenes, duckdammit.
Duck: So that’s why you set me aside! I thought I was overly wiggling my flippers.
Star: Not possible. I love your flippers. ANYWAY, there I am, several chapters into the book—which, by the way, is super-ducking awesome—and the protagonists have had sex twice, yet we haven’t seen a beak-tickling ounce of it.
Duck: Wait. No ducking sex scenes in the opening chapters?
Star: Not a one! Yet the sex has apparently been amazing.
Duck: Well, Star, I’ve heard on the duck grapevine that Abby Jimenez is a little light on the spice in general.
Star: And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, some of my super-ducking fave romances have very little or no sex in them—for instance, Kris Ripper’s Book Boyfriend springs to mind. The thing is, when I know sex has happened twice near the start of a novel, as it has in Part of Your World, I prefer to be shown that sex, just so I can be, well, part of that world. But I come from a background in erotic romance, so that informs my reading—and it’s only one way of viewing romance. I don’t just see a sex scene as an opportunity to get steamy, although I do love steamy. No, for me, sex scenes help us tune into a character’s vulnerabilities and superpowers. They fast-track the connection and wildly raise the stakes, and often such scenes show characters at their most vulnerable. For many of us, getting naked means trusting so completely, so the stakes rocket—because emotionally speaking, wow.
Duck: Like when you hand a duck a pondweed burger. There’s no better way to see my vulnerable side.
Star: Exactly. So in a novel like Part of Your World, I, your duck-shaped human is feeling the lack of these sex scenes.
Duck: The lack or the quack?
Star: Lack, my ducky-doo. Anyquack, in Part of Your World, we have Alexis, a sophisticated doctor in the city, and Daniel, a down-to-earth carpenter with empathy and vision. These two are experiencing a powerful connection, yet I find myself feeling shut out because they’ve experienced sex that’s powerful enough to pull them back to each other again and again—in fact, for one of these central characters the sex is the main draw, right now—yet I’ve only been told about this sex. The full extent of the main characters’ erotic connection is, as yet, unshown.
Duck: Yet you say this novel is super-ducking awesome?
Star: It truly is! Jimenez’s writing is so alive. She’s funny and articulate. Her characters are both beautifully drawn—Daniel in particular is super-ducking lovely. I love the way this love affair is clearly going to help transform Alexis’ life, and how this romance will clearly change everything for Alexis. That’s nothing short of compelling. Make no mistake, this is an author who knows how to feel on the page. I certainly can’t slam her. She’s too good to be slammed. But I dofeel my difference as a reader and writer when it comes this lack of sex scenes.
Duck: Star, why do you think readers feel so differently about sex scenes?
Star: I suppose it’s because we all feel differently about reading them. Perhaps some readers prefer to have sex implied rather than seen. Perhaps some feel that one sex scene per book is enough time spent on a physical connection. Whereas for me, being shown this physical connection can create a closer romantic bond whilst also fueling the characters’ longings and/or magnetic need.
Duck: We’re never so naked as we are at twilight.
Star: Duck, that was gloriously poetic!
Duck: Well, twilight at the pond is burger time, so yes, Star, ‘poetic’ is the word.
Star: That’s a duck of a great reminder that different things work for different people.
Duck: And different ducks. But will you keep going with this book about almost-sex?
Star: That’s not even slightly the way I would put it, Duck old friend, but I am absolutely going to continue reading. Abby Jimenez’s writing is so alive! She goes deep and isn’t afraid to tackle intensity. I’m enjoying the main characters very much, and the audiobook, which is performed by Julie Whelan and Zachary Webber, makes for a delightful listen. The only reason for this post is that the main characters have had two very formative sexual experiences yet we’ve not been shown them. That doesn’t mean the book as a whole isn’t a brilliant read.
Duck: A brilliant reed? As in those tasty grass snacks that grow next to the water?
Star: Absolutely, ducky-doo: This book is also a brilliant reed.
Duck: SNACK O’CLOCK!
Star: And there Duck goes, storming across the apartment, his little flippers stirring up the dust bunnies. So for now, my friends, flippers up!
Love,
Star Tavares and Duck T.
Romancey Pants 