Thursday, September 25, 2008

S-s-s-sizzle!

Wow!

Talk about fun in the sun!

I just returned from the International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas. The weather was hot, the evenings sultry, the excitement palpable, the energy level high, the food abundant and delicious. Excitement and expectation were everywhere. The atmosphere sizzled.

There were beautiful young women, and some hunky men!, modeling for various lines. The highlight of the event was a fashion show on Monday evening. Drinks flowed from an open bar (what’s better than a glass of Merlot, but a free glass of Merlot?!). The music was techno, so it had a great, energetic beat. The choreography, staging, and lighting made the package complete.

The whole event started me thinking about fantasy, about creativity. Every piece of lingerie on the models (and some of the pieces were itty-bitty!) had been designed by someone. Then there’s color and fabric. In its way, creating an event like the International Lingerie Show is not terribly different from writing a book.

You begin with nothing, other than an idea. Then you craft characters to sweep away the reader and create a fantasy. Words become a writer’s canvas. Plot provides the nuance of color, dialogue, the music. Conflict is the fabric, be it sheer and daring or sturdy and opaque. Pacing is the backdrop, the staging.

If a writer has done her job well, then we’ve been entertained. We’ve been swept away into an alternate reality that allows us to forget our problems and concerns. We’ve escaped to a place that is real, but doesn’t really exist.

Our senses have been fed. We’ve laughed or cried. We’ve rooted for some characters and shouted boo-hiss at others. We’ve been moved emotionally, turned-on in an elemental and thrilling way. Maybe we’ve been provoked to think about our own lives in a new or different way. We’re excited, as if a techno beat had provided a staccato to energize us.

Writers have created a sizzle that satisfies. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
Love,
Sizzlin' Sierra
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered from Total-E-Bound Books
Coming Soon: Danger Zone from Loose Id www.loose-id.com

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