Welcome Shauna Aura Knight

Why Do I Write Spicy and Erotic Romance?

Many folks ask me why I write romance, or more specifically, why I write spicy and erotic scenes. To be honest, it never occurred to me to close the door for the sex scenes. Sex is where a lot of interesting things happen.

I’m fascinated by myth and the process of the hero’s journey, and part of that journey is working through the issues of our past. Putting on my hat as a nonfiction author and as someone who facilitates workshops on personal growth, I’ve talked to a lot of people about sex. Sex isn’t something people talk about easily, and yet, it has a massive, tremendous impact on our lives.

Good sex, bad sex…we remember it. The truth is, there are a lot of reasons that sex with someone new might be challenging for a character in a story.

When two (or more) characters are attracted to each other and end up in the sack, sometimes those old issues are going to creep up. Our own fears, our insecurities, our shame…remembering that guy that dumped you, or that really bad lay, or the person who cheated, or how you’ve never been able to open up to anyone…I think all that often hits overdrive during sex. 

In some stories, those issues of trust or shame are central to the story. However, when characters in a story really connect, when they are falling for each other, many of those issues can be healed for perhaps the first time in that character’s life. I don’t like to suggest the “You complete me” scenario that someone needs a lover in order to be complete. But, it’s really difficult to heal from issues of the past around sex without trying things out live and in 360 degree surround sound, as it were.

I definitely hope the sex scenes turn people on. But I write it because sex is a hot button, a pressure cooker for my characters. I’ve often said that nothing changes when things are going on like they do every day, when everything is status quo. It’s when we face a challenge that things change.

And what grabs me about any story is what compels a character—a hero of their own story—to transform.

Below is an excerpt from A Winter Knight’s Vigil, my holiday romance. Very soon I’ll be releasing a free paranormal romance novella for everyone subscribed to my fiction newsletter, and you can join up here: http://www.shaunaauraknight.com/main/about/contact-me-2/

A Winter Knight’s Vigil by Shauna Aura Knight
Sexy, kilt-wearing Tristan has captured Amber’s attention on many occasions. But as members of the Kingsword coven, which has strict rules about intimate relationships inside the circle, dating him is out of the question. When the coven heads to a secluded woodland cabin to celebrate the Winter Solstice, Amber finds herself closer than ever to Tristan. As the Longest Night approaches and their group’s ritual workings intensify, the pair realizes that they can no longer hide from their feelings.

Just as King Arthur held vigil before being knighted, Tristan and Amber face their shadows—and the realization that one or both of them might have to leave the coven. Or can they be together without breaking their honor?

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/385164
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Knights-Vigil-Shauna-Knight-ebook/dp/B00H545RW0

Excerpt from A Winter Knight’s Vigil

Amber went back out to the clearing. It was a good place for a vigil; she’d found it absolutely magical. Peaceful. Quiet. Though, now that she was there, in the softly falling snow, she wished Tristan were with her. She sighed; she shouldn’t be thinking about him anyways, she was there to think about Knightly virtue and commitments, what she was making her vow to.

And what was she making a promise to? To stand in integrity, when she’d broken an oath? That didn’t feel right. Committing to the coven, when she’d broken one of their covenants? Not a lot of integrity there either. How could she commit to serving if she couldn’t stand in her own integrity? If she took her vow with a lie on her tongue?

Amber was starting to feel the cold when she heard footsteps in the snow. She stood, and Tristan was there, wrapped in the rabbit fur cloak he’d made years before. “Didn’t want to disturb you.”

“I had pretty much finished.”

“Are you cold?”

She nodded, and he strode forward to fold her in his embrace. “I missed you. I kept trying to meditate, and I kept thinking about you.”

“Me too.”

“Tell me you’re feeling as crazy under your skin as I am,” he looked into her eyes, finally nuzzling against her cheek with his. She gasped, her hands curling around his neck, and he groaned, kissing her deeply. She let out a ragged gasp and he hauled her up into his arms. “Here,” Tristan drew them under the boughs of the larger pine tree. The pine branches had bowed under the weight of the snow, making a small canopied room around the trunk of the tree. He leaned her against the tree trunk, kissing her hotly, and she growled, practically crawling up his body, her fingers trying to get at his flesh.

He unbuttoned his coat beneath the cloak, and they struggled together with the fastenings of his jeans until his length sprang free. She sighed, stroking him, and he growled, dragging her long velvet skirt up to her waist. He caressed her swollen pussy through her tights, finally tearing her tights open so he could tease her through her panties.

She bounced at the sound, and then he slipped his fingers inside her, teasing at her until she was whimpering, biting at his neck. Then he lifted her thigh up over his hip. He shoved her underwear to the side and began working his way inside her slick entrance. She moaned, trying to thrust back onto him with one leg supporting her, one leg around his waist. He growled, thrusting her hard against the tree.

“You drive me crazy,” he panted.

“More,” she gasped. ”I need it. Need you in me.”

Shauna Aura Knight

An artist, author, and presenter, Shauna’s work is inspired by stories that awaken mythic imagination. the mythic stories of heroes, of swords and magic, and of the darkness we each must overcome. She’s the author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy books including Werewolves in the Kitchen, Werewolves with Chocolate, A Winter Knight’s Vigil, and A Fading Amaranth. Her artwork graphic design is used for book covers and illustrations, and she travels nationally selling her artwork and offering workshops on community leadership, facilitation, and personal transformation. Shauna lives near Chicago.

Web Site: http://www.shaunaauraknight.com
Fiction Blog: https://shaunaknightauthorartist.wordpress.com
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