The More The Merrier!

The More the Merrier!
By N.J. Walters

Ménage a trois…how exactly does it work?

Hello! Remember me?

I think I lost you all for a moment as your mind wandered off, no doubt engrossed in the possibilities. All that naked flesh coming together, hard chests, broad shoulders, sculpted muscles, lips touching, hands stroking, limbs entwining, soft moans…

Ahem! Sorry about that. Where was I?

What I really meant was how does an author make us suspend disbelief enough to make a ménage a trois acceptable, even believable to the reader, who might otherwise have a hard time with the concept of a threesome?

The author can do this in various ways depending on if the book is an erotic romance or a straight work of erotic fiction. In erotic fiction the act itself is the goal, in an erotic romance the ménage a trois must be an integral part of the plot, ultimately leading to a happily-ever-after. That takes some work. The last thing you want is for one character to feel shut out—hurt by the lack of emotional or physical connection with the other two in the ménage.

I’ve written a few ménage a trois books. The best-known ones are probably the books in my Tapestries series. The basis of the series is a magical tapestry, which takes women from different places and times and whisks them to Javara, a world that resembles Medieval Earth. In Javara women are scarce and brothers must compete sexually for the honor of claiming the woman as wife. Only one man can marry the woman and all children from the union are his, but he must share his wife one night a week with his brother(s).

When the heroine of Christina’s Tapestry, Christina Beaumont, finds herself in this strange world, she is overwhelmed by the ardent attention of the two brothers, Jarek and Marc, as they each seduce her. What would be unthinkable in her world is, the norm in theirs. The warriors hold Christina in high regard and treat her with honor at all times. The longer she is there, the more normal the situation becomes to her.

Zarina is a warrior from a desert tribe in my fantasy/ménage a trois Three Swords, One Heart. She is a strong woman and a capable one, who is exiled from her tribe when her father dies. Alone, she battles to survive in a brutal world. Malik and Kalis, the two heroes, believe that she is the warrior woman who can break the curse that has plagued their family for generations. To do so, they both need to bond with her and gain her love. Zarina needs to be strong enough to stand side-by-side with these warriors if they are to have a chance at a life together, but her insecurities might be their downfall.

My latest ménage a trois is Amethyst Moon. Archaeologist, Olivia Fifield, finds herself transported to the world of T’ar Tal after she makes an exciting discovery in an Egyptian mastaba. The future of this world is uncertain, but Olivia and her amethyst bracelets are the key that might save them all.

In each case, I’ve taken the heroine outside the norm, to another world where the rules of normal society no longer apply. That is probably the easiest way to handle the societal problems that being part of a ménage might present. We may live in modern times, but this is not the kind of relationship that would be readily acceptable by the bulk of the population.

But some authors do set their ménage a trois books in contemporary times. This takes a lot of skill, especially if there is to be a satisfying happily-ever-after at the end. Many writers will use brothers or best friends as the basis for the ménage. In the end, the reader has to accept that the unusual arrangement works for this group.

As a writer, it’s a challenge to pen a ménage a trois, whether you do the more conventional two males and one female, the less common two females and one male, or even take it one step further with four or more participants. Not only is it much tougher to keep track of all those body parts, it’s a challenge to make the emotional connection between all the parties involved deep, meaningful and very real. Because, in the end, that is what any good relationship is all about. Without that, no book will satisfy, but if it’s done right, the results can be a highly erotic read that will make your pulse pound, your body ache, and your heart soar.

Emotional~Sensual~Satisfying Reads!
http://www.njwalters.com/
http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awakeningdesires/ (newsletter group)
The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke—Samhain Publishing
Amethyst Moon—Ellora’s Cave