![]() ![]() Here is the rule I’ve set for myself with regard to writing sexual scenes: I won’t write a gratuitous sex scene any more than I would write a gratuitous violent scene. I allowed my own stepdaughter to read my books when she just turned fifteen and she had no problem with them at all then (even if I squirmed as she read them!). My books are definitely written for an adult audience, however I’ve found that most moms seem to pick age 14 to allow their daughters to start reading me. To me, 14 seems about a year too young. ![]() I had to chuckle over your concern, though, because my more recent books, such as the three you’ve read, are not nearly as sexually explicit as my early books. I really appreciate your taking the time to write, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying my books. Here is, in part, how I responded to my reader: The emailer thinks my books, with their themes of mothers and daughters, would be great for her own daughter - except for the occasional explicit sex scene, something that makes her daughter extremely uncomfortable. The writer wishes I would “soften” those scenes and makes a persuasive argument that doing so would open my books up to a whole new generation. She made it clear that as an adult, she has no problem with the scenes. She wishes she could share them with her thirteen-year-old daughter who, as an advanced reader, wants to move on to adult books. A few days ago, I received a sincere and thoughtful email from a woman who recently discovered my books and is really enjoying them. It’s time to revisit the topic of sensual scenes in fiction, but not for the usual “one of my readers is offended by graphic sex in my books” reason.
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