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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Are Ménage Romances Books Here to Stay


The latest hot genre in erotic romance is Menage a Trois. It is so hot, one e publisher has even created an entire line of ménage books called Menage Amour and releases two to three new ebooks a week. This line now numbers in excess of a hundred books.

Last November I wrote a blog entitled ‘Menage. Is this your fantasy?’ that generated a lot of interest. This is sort of an update on that blog. At the time I’d written the blog I’d dabbled in what I call a man’s ménage—two women and a man. Now ten months later, I’ve penned several women’s ménages and have more in progress.

Here is a short sample ménage excerpt from my upcoming Playtime with Sera. Though it doesn’t show the steamy parts, you get the idea.

I knew before we did a thing that I would love it. I tried not to show how pleased I was when I took their hands and walked hand and hand with them into the bedroom. We sat on the edge of our California king, Marc on my left and Jack on my right.

Starting with my blouse, Marc unbuttoned and took it off.

Next. Jack’s clever fingers unhooked my bra. “Here let me help you take this hot, cumbersome bra off.” Jack removed my bra and my breasts were bare. For a brief few seconds the air-conditioning hardened my nipples, before two warm mouths enveloped them and I melted. As I’d always suspected, lips on both nipples felt divine. Their sucking sent tickly currents of need racing through me, terminating in my core.

Marc’s hands pushed my lacy panties down to my knees. “Let’s get these panties off before they get all wet.” He dragged the panties down and over my sweat socks. He removed my socks and I was naked. A thrill ran through me as I realized. It’s going to happen. I’m going to have sex—with both of them!

Writing a woman’s ménage as a romance is a little bit of a challenge in that you don’t want the heroine to come off as a tramp. In the erotic stories, the woman can be normal, a slut or worse, but in the romances the woman should be as normal as possible.

I’ll tell you a secret. Since I started writing women’s ménages I don’t think about the other kind much. It seems more natural for a woman to receive the affections of multiple partners then men, and of course women are better equipped. Also let’s not forget if a woman has an orgasm, she can keep going, while men are usually out of action for awhile. LOL.

So, why is this relatively new sub genre so popular? I believe women readers love to fantasize about having two or more lovers. They live vicariously through their daring heroines, enjoying all the fruits that could possibly be enjoyed by multiple coupling. Lips, tongues, hands fingers and let’s not forget cocks.

I think women also like the idea of throwing convention out the window. From chastity belts to burkas the little box of sexuality women have confined to has been the work of men. Now that sexual freedom is upon us, some women are testing the limits.

As for the women that experience a ménage, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an element of exhibitionist involved. You certainly wouldn’t invite two or more men in your bed and then turn the lights out.

I once talked with a woman who fantasized about being gang banged. I asked her how many and she didn’t know, just more then two. When I pressed it by asking ten, she thought and said, maybe.

How about you? How big is your kink—real and imaginary?

And what about woman’s ménages? Do you think they’re immoral or overdue. Do you dream of them? Would you invite multiple men into your bed?

And what about the books? Are you a fan of mfm romance novels? If so, do you think you could get tired of them? Will the demand for them continue to grow, go flat or dry up with time?

Think about it and comment if you like.

33 comments:

Collette Thomas said...

I haven't yet written a menage. After reading this latest post I'm quite inspired. What a great excerpt. I agree many women's fantasies probably does encompass two lovers for many reasons. And one being that staying power...if one rolls over and goes to sleep, there's another.

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Collete, I'm glad you liked my post and feel inspired by it. As I see it one of the bigger problems about writing a woman's menage coming up with a viable plot. Something new and fresh.

I read one book that was a rehash of an old 1950's movie plot where a bad guy takes over a town and wants the heroine's spread.

Other writers wind up using brothers as the heroes a lot. I'll bet three quarters of the non paranormal menages use two, three or more brothers all just sitting at home waiting for the love of their life to show up for them to share. To me it's unreal.

Nina Pierce said...

Having just finished my first menage, (...writing that is >wink<) I am curious about this as well Dee. I'm wondering if readers want the men focused just on the lady or do they like a little interaction between the guys as well? I'm just wondering how far I can push the boundaries.

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Nina, Apparently there are readers for both, though I don't know how many go both ways, so to speak.

Angelia Sparrow said...

I've written a few menage a trois pieces.

One is my worst seller ever. I thought cyberpunk menage a trois with identical twins would do nicely.

The second performed well enough.

The other three aren't out yet. They include a steampunk Robin Hood/Maid Marian/Will Scarlet threesome (and Will has made Marian a specal steamy toy), a pair of roaring 20's adventurers enjoying a cancan girl together and a man making love to conjoined twin sisters.

Group sex has been a fantasy of mine since I was 14. Never managed the reality of it, but I like reading it and writing it.

Susan said...

I'm a big fan of women's menage or more stories myself. I especially love them if they have a paranormal, sci-fi or futuristic edge. I am definitely in the camp that wants to see the men "interact" with each other. I have read many many such stories and have several favorite authors who write them: Morgan Hawke, Jet Mykles, Jory Strong, to name a few. (They write other genres as well.) I don't anticipate ever growing bored with such romances. I will proudly admit what I like to read but I believe some women would rather not have anyone know their reading tastes if they lean towards the kinkier side of things. Just my opinion.

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Angelia, It sounds as if you've been busy. I like the can can girl idea, but I'm not so sure about the conjoined sisters. That must have been a challenge to write. LOL

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Susan, On the mmf stories you read, do both men have sex with the heroine or only one of them.

Susan said...

Hi, Dee, In all of the ones I have read all three have sex with each other. Check out Morgan Hawke's Victorious Star or Fallen Star, or Jet Mykles' Leashed series and you will see what I mean. Morgan's site is www.darkerotica.net and Jets is www.jetmykles.com or www.computerotika.com They both have excerpts on their sites that should give a good idea of what appeals to me. (Morgan often posts a whole first chapter and both authors seem to have a very large following.) Jet also does computer art and you can see images inspired by some of her characters, including m/m/f images, in her gallery. Hmmm talking about all of this makes me want to go read a m/m/f story. lol

Dee Dawning said...

Thanks Susan, I checked the sites and what they write is not my cup of tea. I write contemporary stories, I wrote a story last year called Hollywood Witches and got bogged down. I just gave up on a sequel, getting bogged down again.

Susan said...

Ahhh ok I understand. There are contemporaries with the same m/m/f theme though. Passionate Realities is one http://208.109.165.210/books/passionate/ It's from Ellora's Cave. The men in the book aren't into each other until after they both become involved with the heroine. A lot of m/m/f contemporaries seem to be themed that way, though there are some with two men together who fall in love with a woman. Hope this helps give a better idea than the other books. We all have such diverse tastes that its good there is so much out there for everyone. Just my opinion.

Honoria Ravena said...

I like reading menage (I'm also a Morgan Hawke fan). I've never written one, though I do have an idea for one stashed somewhere on my hard drive. It was originally created for a submission call I never followed through on. I'll probably write some eventually. I think they're here to stay.

Dee Dawning said...

Thanks Susan, I;m not that keen on the mm aspect but I'll take a gander.

Dee Dawning said...

Hey Honoria, Well dig it out and write it. Pubs are taking menages and they're selling good

Honoria Ravena said...

Dee - I'll do that next. Right now I'm in the middle of a short story that's going to be a free read, and then after that I have to go back to the novel I was working on. Maybe after that I will write some menages.

Athena 101 said...

I do have to say that a gang bang frightens me a little. I still can't grasp the idea of being with several men at once and not feel overpowered. I think my max would be 4. As for books... It's funny how it progressed for me... I started out reading m/f/m, and I loved it. Is demand going to go down? I really don't think so, especially since I believe they are still not popular enough (believe me, they are not, I am with the younger crowd, and you wouldn't believe how many of the kids out there have never come across a menage book...). So, since I believe they haven't reached a peak yet, demand will go up still. Now, I do have to say that I progressed from loving m/f/m to loving m/m/f. Once I read m/m/f, I can't see it any other way. It's just not as realistic to me as it once was that two guys would enjoy sharing a woman and not feel an attraction between each other... I don't know, if the three are not actively participants with each other (I mean all three equally), then it's not as complete to me anymore...

Dee Dawning said...

Well Athena, I hope you're right since I'm working on so many of them. I do hope the crowd you're referring to is not under eighteen though. As for mmf, many books heros are related and can't go there. Other than that the only way I can see it being viable is if neither of the men were straight. Either both would have to be bi or one bi and the other gay. The fact that you think it's a natural evolution of such an arrangement makes me wonder if you have bi leanings yourself.

Emma Hillman said...

Hey Dee, great blog!

I must admit I've been amazed lately at the number of ménage books published every week. It really seems to be the thing of the moment, doesn't it?

My latest novella was just accepted for publication and it's, you guessed it, a ménage (mfm). The funny thing is I started the book fully intending it to be a fun contemporary (mf), nothing complicated. Then another man popped up. No idea where he came from but he took over (I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something!).

I do agree with you though: ending up with a romance was a bit tricky. I wanted that first couple to remain a couple, ie. the new man leaves at the end. So I had to purposefully refrain from writing them doing things that I thought they might regret afterwards. It became a fine balancing act of making it hot and intense, whilst managing the couple's sensitivities :)

Annette Gisby said...

Interesting article, but it still doesn't make me want to read m/f/m, it's just not my cup of tea. Mind you, I don't read m/f erotica either, I go more for m/m myself. Now a menage with m/m/m, that would be all right ;)

I read m/f romance, but I haven't really got into the erotica. I can read m/m erotica but m/f erotica for some reason is just not for me.

Nothing against anyone who reads and writes it, having written some myself in the past, but it's not something I actively seek out at the moment. Maybe my taste will change again, who knows?

take care,
Annette

Natalie Acres said...

Hi Dee,

Super post! I hope there’s staying power in ménage romances and believe there is. I have several ménage novels under contract and a lot of interest generated for others. This must be the beginning because readers are scooping them up in all genres. ;)

I’ll visit again soon.

Cowboy Love,
Natalie Acres

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Emma, Funny how that happens, people just forcing their way into your story. Downright rude. Anyway welcome to the menage club.

Dee Dawning said...

Hi, Annette, Well since you don't like explicit mf but like mm, maybe you could ease into it with mmf. Many women including a couple that posted here prefer that.

Dee Dawning said...

Good for you Natalie. Looks like you got on the bandwagon early. Are all your contracts with SirenBookstrand?

loves2read said...

I love reading menages. Although I don't know if I could ever invite multiple men in my own bed I love to read about it.

Dee Dawning said...

Hi Loves, That's exactly like I thought, living vicariously through the heroines.

Thanks for the comment

Kris_Cook said...

Just got around to your posting yesterday! I so agree with everything you wrote. Fantastic and insightful!

Dee Dawning said...

Thank you Kris, How are sales of your fantastic book?

rm2h said...

I enjoy menages where all the people are involved with each other. It is something that will never happen to me but it is an escape from the real world like shapeshifters, mm, dragons and believe it or not also regency. Just like it is not reality that most of the partners have college eductions and good jobs. Fiction is Fiction an escape from a world that sometimes does not make sense or is painful. When I started reading romance, I had a horrendous family life and was not acting at appropriate age. (there is a long laundry list about this that I will not go into) My neighbor saved my sanity by getting me into reading romance. The only thing I regret with that neighbor is that I probably did not tell her what a blessing she was in my life.

Dee Dawning said...

Sorry to hear about your family life. Unfortunately there are all to many in that position. Child and spousal abuse is a flash point of mine and I have even touched on it in some of my books. Now that I think about it I should write a blog about it, too.

Anyway, I'm very glad, you saved your sanity with the help of a neighbor. Good for her.

I enjoyed your comment.

TeresaNoelleRoberts said...

I have a menage paranormal coming out on 9/22 (Lions' Pride from Samhain), so obviously I hope the subgenre continues to do well.

I'll admit that art imitates life in my case. I'm poly and have been lucky enough to have a few mfm (and ffm, for that matter) threesomes in my time--a bit of choreography involved but FUN. My favorite stories, though, involve mmf so everyone gets equal attention.

Was that oversharing?

Dee Dawning said...

Ah Hah, You write from experience. That's great Teresa. Good luck on you book. Is it your first menage?

Kelly Jamieson said...

Dee, like you I started with the f/f/m menage and wrote a couple of those, then moved to a m/f/m and most recently wrote a m/m/f menage. From what I see at one of my publishers, there's a pretty big readership of those stories where the men interact (also just plain m/m romances). I think it is a fantasy for a lot of women which is why they love them.

Dee Dawning said...

Thanks Kelly, I know mm and mmf are popular, but as a straight man, I just can't psyche myself up to male same sex interaction. You know what's interesting, is where you make four threesomes out of mfmf. I did that in my very first book, Fortune Cookies.