My reading of what 'noir is' suggests that sex should be, short immediate and not loving, shall we say. I think you get this right by having a longish scene early, Ensorceled.
I've kind of taken a different approach, there are lots of short sharp sex scenes in mine as my hero (well heroine - and additionally hero is probably the wrong word in noir,) gets into the plot. But having got to 10,000 words, I'm in edit mode and the savings if I have to add to the plot will come, so to speak, in the sex.
My bigger challenge is reflected in this quote by Michael Robotham: “My UK publisher said he’d rather it be set in the UK or the US - anywhere but Australia because no Australian crime novel had ever become a big international hit” Lol, did that stop me, hell no.
I will be intrigued what readers think of a modern Australian sexy noir; there is a lot of 'truth' in my story, not 'my truth' I should point out, but real things in Australia's recent history and culture. Like 'Vagina Whisperer' looks at first sight like me having a clever naming idea, but in reality the deputy head of Queensland police resigned for using that term earlier in the year. For me that adds verisimilitude to my story, which I love, and always try to do.
I have only read three so far (loved them all- this is shaping up as such a fun competition) and am looking forward to reading more, when I get mine done. Me too WW, so looking forward to yours; and Rachel and Jake too who I've heard are writing.
Quote by WannabeWordsmith
Plenty of time left: remember that the 10k word count is a limit not a target, so don't feel intimidated by the length.
Lol, that's news to me, I always get to or very close to the word limit, something about feeling I've left plot on the table if I have words to spare.
Hope to see more stories, have fun writing.