You know, like Neapolitan’s chocolate, vanilla and strawberry? Or, how about the combination of fries, burger and a drink of a Happy Meal?
There’s a reason why combinations of three fascinate many. Historically, people point to the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and probably one of the most well-known combination of three comes from Dante Aligheri and his three volumes of the Divine Comedy, which include Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. (And if you’re an English major or literature geek, you probably know how many combinations of three the Italian master included. If you don’t, a quick search of Wikipedia provides an overview.)
Ready for a jump in discussion?
When it comes to erotic romance, the ménage adds a varied bit of flavor to the relationship, which may explain the reason that the threesome appeals to many readers. If one lover is good, two has to be better, right? According to various editors, the combination of two males and one female continues to be the most popular.
When my publisher Ravenous Romance approached me with writing a paranormal erotic threesome, my mind instantly went to my favorite Other, the vampire. Growing up with a reading history rich with Anne Rice and her Vampire Chronicles, and a collection of anthologies relating to the sexy, alluring creature of the night, he became my first choice.
Usually, with a threesome, a couple welcomes a third into their existing relationship. In “The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf,” Lawrence Justice paired up with the werewolf Trevor Pack, and readers will get a glimpse into how the two first met. With two long-living species, I wanted my female character to stand on her own. The dynamic of the relationship would shift if she was either a vampire or a werewolf, and there may be that tendency to pair up and “split” the couple. (Of course, an author can reason anything they want, correct?) That brings Lily Anima to New Orleans, in order to find the answers about her heritage, and her building powers as she approaches the age of 30. Although readers don’t quite know what Lily “is” until later in the novel, hopefully the title itself provides enough foreshadowing.
Like any romance, if personalities clash when two characters come together, the conflict potentially builds exponentially when a third gets introduced. And, yet, in an erotic romance, the love scenes can get even hotter.
Currently, I’m working on the sequel to “The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf,” which focuses on Trevor’s sister Silver, who was adopted at birth. As Silver turns 18, and starts to look into her birth family, she’s going to be in for a surprise with her paranormal ties. And, the stakes increase since her love interest, Nick, hunts vampires for kicks.
From the paranormal standpoint: What three types of characters can you see coming together? Do they have some inherent characteristic that draws them together or clashes? Why do you think so many items are combined into threes?
Thank you to FF&P (another three) for letting me rant a bit on the magic of three. It’s been a delight.
For more thrills, check out Bacio’s f/f contemporary erotic Sex University: All-Girls Academy, which features another threesome scene. Her story “Two’s Company” can be found in I Kissed a Girl: A Virgin Lesbian Anthology. For a short erotic paranormal tryst, “The Wait” can be found in Rekindled Fire: An Anthology of Reunited Lovers.
In addition to writing and editing, Bacio teaches college courses in English, journalism, film studies and popular culture.
Drop in for a visit:
http://louisabacio.blogspot.com/
Interested in learning more about writing threesome? Bacio will teach “De-Mystifying Ménage” for FF&P in May 2012. (http://www.romance-ffp.com/event.cfm?EventID=379)
The Vampire, the Witch & the Werewolf: Threesome in New Orleans
Haunted by paranormal abilities that she can’t control, and plagued by nightmares about a demon that seeks her soul, Lily Anima travels to New Orleans in search of salvation.
In the French Quarter, Lily dives into the paranormal world and enlists the help of an unlikely couple: a vampire, Lawrence Justice, and a werewolf, Trevor Pack.
As the trio encounters ghosts, voodoo and unspeakable evil, will Trevor and Lawrence be able to help Lily turn her powers into a gift rather than a curse? And when Lily discovers that she needs to lose her virginity in order to embrace her powers and get the demon off her back, will the twosome be able to survive as a threesome?
The Vampire, the Witch & the Werewolf: Threesome in New Orleans is available through Ravenous Romance, Amazon Kindle and ARe.
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2 comments:
I don't thinks I've read more than a couple menage stories. The tricky part, in my mind, is having that dynamic result in satisfying relationship without someone feeling left out.
As for a paranormal trio...Elementals who either intensify each others' abilities or cancel them out.
Oooh, Cathy, I like that very much! Nice twist with the canceling out of abilities!
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