Even though we have this idea of people buying risqué novels in a light brown wrapper, there has to be more to it than just sex. Any novel needs plots and subplots, as well as a variety of characters. Granted, many of the characters will be obsessed with sex. However, this must be played sensitively, otherwise it can be monotonous.
These books tend to revolve around the female lead or heroine, but almost anything can happen to her. Well, she can’t be abducted by aliens, or win a Nobel Prize (well, maybe she can, who’s to say?)
It does help to follow the plots of romantic fiction, there is usually an eternal triangle; Which of the two lovers will like the girl? There must be a variety of friends or colleagues who offer useless advice (and perhaps talk about their failed or strange romantic experiences).
There seems to be a formula to follow, so it helps to read several romance and sex novels. It’s better not just to read the obvious, but to branch out. Any book can teach you something about writing, not just these types of books, but as said above, you should follow the same pattern.
Like all novels, the characters need their flaws, not just the evil scapegoats, which obviously a novel should have, but also the main heroine. Is she a bad cook? Does she make strange faces? Do men find it difficult to tell her what she is thinking? Either way, women have to identify with her.
The characters must be differentiated from each other, there must be different turns of phrases. Maybe the clothes, the tattoos, the hair, etc. should be described in great detail. Character can also be described by the house or apartment itself and perhaps by the pets it owns.
Children don’t usually appear in these types of novels, perhaps because it seems too much like real life. There doesn’t tend to be much about the job as such either, it should probably be described in general terms.
A location abroad can help, maybe a little research in tropical locations can help. Try to choose a place where people want to be and in style, the Azores instead of Ibiza. If you went on vacation and found that the hotel wasn’t built and the toilets were just a hole in the ground, I’m sorry, but these things don’t often happen in daring reads.
Good luck writing your racy read, and may you live life as well as your heroines, or possibly better.