More on sex scenes and why they are the opposite of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.

There seems to be a rubric for writing sex in novels. I remember an obituary for Barbara Cartland. It said her heroines didn't have sex until the end of the novel - the glorious union, on her wedding night. I'm sorry but when has losing your first sexual experience been a glorious union? Two hapless virgins fumbling about like they're working out what the buttons do on a new toy. Men need to sow their oats a bit and read a few books, get some practice in before settling down to monogamy. And Alan isn't exactly Casanova. His lack of sexual prowess and experience is something my editor baulked at.

When I got my first sex scene back from the editor I wanted to puke. It came back full of slush, the two become one scenario, Alan filling her with his body and loving. The couple are pretty disconnected. He's rusty to say the least and is more shocked and bewildered by the invitation than about to become the next Casanova.

A lot of people say they like my book because the characters are real. I sacrifice the archetypical hero for realism, so the sex is also real. Not gimmicky, and there to give the reader a bit of sensationalism. It's there to reveal very human characters, who have their flaws, and crack up when under too much pressure.

Sex is something my characters have to work at. It's very lust driven but that doesn't mean it hits the spot every time. Over time they get better at it and learn how to become connected. A strong personal connection doesn't necessarily result in it being manifest in the physical side of the relationship. My characters move towards this as part of their journey.

Sex scenes - by no means Fifty Shades of Grey

When I started writing 'Beneath the Perfect World' I was in a bit of a quandary about how much sex I should put in it. How explicit should I make it? The advice on the net was don't overload it. Making a book too erotic limits your target audience. You might be decimating your potential readership. No sex pleases everybody, and a bit of sex won't offend too many, but loads of sex might put people off. Then 'Fifty Shades of Grey' came out. For everyone of the 100 million who bought fifty-shades, think of how many would have bought it had it contained no sex. I can see that's a bit flawed, really.

In the end, I didn't conform to any rubric when I put the sex in. The reader needed to know that the characters had a sexual relationship, and how far it enhanced the emotional bond between them, but there is this thing called too much information. Sex in my novel goes beyond the physical act. It impinges strongly on the psyche of my main character, but probably not far enough for the novel to be a psycho-sexual thriller. It does form part of the psychological elements.

My protagonist is by no means a Christian Grey; in fact he's the opposite. He's self-abnegating when it comes to sex, if not baffled when his partner's response indicates he has some sexual prowess. He doesn't know his ability to satisfy a woman and watches, kind of metaphorically scratching his head while she wanders of into the realm of the orgasm.

There is a detachment between them. He ponders over her gratification while she appears to be somewhere else. There is a disunity between the two characters during sexual engagement, which is more orientated towards achieving a goal rather than sharing a journey.

It confirms, however, that the relationship between the two is based on a genuine bond of affection rather than lust.