Erotic ROMANCE defined by Melissa Lopez

Something caught my interest at the recent Romantic Times convention in Pittsburg. An NY editor (who shall remain nameless) didn’t have a firm grasp on what exactly erotic ROMANCE is. The terms erotica and erotic ROMANCE kept being interchanged from their lips.

Strange how even today, some have trouble defining erotic ROMANCE. Erotic ROMANCE is a heat level in which an author tells a happy-ever-after story.

First, the most important factor in erotic ROMANCE is a ROMANCE that has two basic plot elements:

1. A central LOVE story.

2. An emotionally, satisfying, and optimistic ending.

In other words, the main emotionally engaged characters (however many there may be or whatever they might be) must have a happy-ever-after or a happy-for-now ending.

On to the deciding factor that earns an erotic ROMANCE that smoking hot heat level.

There are a few heat levels in ROMANCE genres:

Sweet romance is a chaste romance story. There may be some romantic tension but the couples do not go beyond a kiss or two. This heat level is very popular in Young Adult and Inspirational genres.

Sensuous romance is comfortable in its sexuality and open to new experiences.

Spicy romance has an edge, takes risks, and can be a little naughtier.

Are you feeling the flame of the heat level going up?

Erotic ROMANCE contains long, hot, in your face, explicit love scenes.

Like with the chaste kiss in the sweet romances and the love scenes in the sensual and spicy tales…Erotic ROMANCE is not just a story where sex has been inserted. Nor is erotic ROMANCE a story containing a string of sex scenes. The love scenes, like the characters and drama, must drive the plot forward.

There’s room for different definitions of erotic ROMANCE and I don’t think anything is set in stone as to what it is and not. But erotic ROMANCE is explicit enough and hot enough to excite a reader. The erotic heat level is meant to arouse. The ROMANCE is meant to satisfy.

Melissa Lopez
www.melissa-lopez.com
JOURNEYS OF LOVE every woman needs to take.

Kiss me or kill me?

Yesterday, Rachel raised a very interesting point that caught my attention. Why is it okay to portray the most horrid and gruesome side of human nature in all things artistic, but the most beautiful thing in the world is apparently taboo? How come when I turn on TV I can find "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" playing on several stations, but anything with "Nudity and Adult Situations" is relegated to late night viewing? Why - to condense the question - is bloodshed okay and lovemaking out of bounds?

Taking this into the world of novels - why is Agatha Christie considered a classic by many, yet Anais Nin considered porn by even more? Exactly who is it that said "Sure, go ahead. Slice his dick off. Just don't touch it lovingly." And even more importantly, WHY did they say it?

It's something I've never quite understood. I do know that every living organism on the face of our planet has two goals - to survive and to reproduce. To survive, occasionally it must kill. And to reproduce - yep...it's gotta have some sort of sexual interaction. For humans, one is pleasant, the other fatal. So where did the notion come from that the pleasant one is "dirty" and the fatal one "acceptable"?

I have a theory about all this. It goes back a very long time, all the way back to when our species was gaining sentience. (Sorry creationists. You might want to skip this discussion.) Back then, early man watched the females growing large with child. Watched them give birth in a process which was bloody, painful and completely miraculous. And got totally scared out of their wits. That fear of women and their apparently indescribable abilities became lodged in the male psyche. After all, in the immortal words of South Park's Mr. Garrity - "how the hell can you trust something that bleeds for five days a month and doesn't die?"

Several early civilizations were pretty gender-equal. The Sumerians are a good example. Women could own land and divorce if they were so inclined. But it didn't take long for men to begin suppressing that notion. No way were they going to permit these scary creatures that kind of power. No, let's tell them how precious they are and how we're going to protect them. And then along came organized religion to lock down the process.

That was back then. Now? Sexuality has become a matter of whispers, innuendos and dirty jokes. The human body is still regarded as "naughty" and those who display it as "immoral". Sex is taught to be something done for procreation, not recreation. We hand out weapons with less concern than we hand out condoms. Yes, that fear of the entire sexual experience is still with us, even though it's metamorphosed into the twenty first century version.

"Dexter" is a serial killer with a series on network television - edited, but there nonetheless. "Criminal Minds" doesn't hold back on the bloodletting. VERY occasionally, one or two bedroom scenes sneak in. But where does one go for the no-holds-barred sex? Cable networks...FX... "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me". After ten o'clock of course.

And when it comes to erotic romance novels - well hell. We're sluts, "prostituting our integrity" according to one writer. (Who doesn't apparently sell well in her genre.) No matter the hours of research we put in, the background we've acquired in our chosen field or the popularity of our titles. We're tramps, whores, loose women with looser morals in our professional AND private lives, corrupting the innocent minds of our readers. And teaching them - what??? That sex is wonderful? That two naked people can share something beyond fabulous? That love encompasses more than hand-holding at sunset?

I refuse to even make the effort to defend what I write any more. I will staunchly defend my ability TO write, but not WHAT. I will not bow down before that moralistically unreal notion which says sex is dirty, but I will change the channel when something or someone gets dismembered. I will try to remember that the "Moral Majority" is NEITHER moral nor a majority. And I will ignore those petty enough to jab sharp sticks of jealousy into my chosen literary genre. Writing good sex is as complex and challenging as writing a good murder. I've done both and hope to do so again. If that gets your knickers in a twist, then tough nookies. Go watch the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

I'm gonna find myself something that says LOVE is what it's all about.

Sex is Natural, Sex is Fun...

and sex has been getting writers into trouble for a very long time.

Did you know that 25-30 years ago, romance writers faced the exact same challenges and prejudices that erotic romance authors face today?

In 1988, Duke University Press published a book by Jan Cohn titled "Romance and the Erotics of Property: Mass-Market Fiction."
In this book, Ms. Cohn wrote that reading romance provides a complex set of gratifications for a multitude of women in our society and claimed that romance responds to the conflicting demands of desire and authority in its mix of social conservatism and social aggression. That it creates a structure where readers can identify with the heroine, experience her emotions (emotions that might be negatively sanctioned) or the play out tabooed rules. In short, the reader can enjoy the vicarious experience of the forbidden.

Later in the book Cohn says that publishers of romance have found sexuality to be not only a popular but a profitable subject. They have taken what popular literature for women at one time treated in an artfully coded system of evasions and allusions and have turned it into the essential material of the literature. Sexuality, she wrote, has become the discourse of popular romance.

She goes on to write that sexuality is "the stuff out of which the story is made," and that if you eliminate the sexual material, the story line that remains is rudimentary.

Interestingly, during the 80's Harlequin romances came under attack by many. In one such attack ("Soft-Porn Culture," The New Republic [30 August 1980];25-29) they were labeled as "soft porn" and called an example of mass culture specializing in dominance, games and fantasies. The author of this article, Ann Douglas stated that Harlequin novels were "porn softened to fit the needs of the female emotionality."

In 1983 Ann Barr Snitow wrote the Harlequin romances were indeed pornographic but that they had developed a type of pornography that was keyed to the needs of women living in late capitalism and they appealed to an infantile narcissism. ("Mass Market Romance Pornography for Women is Different",Powers of Desire,ed. Ann Barr Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson [New York: New Feminist Library, Monthly Review Press, 1982, pp 345-63)

When I think about it I can't help but laugh. It's all too familiar. Since the birth of erotic romance as a sub-genre of romance, its writers have come under attack by members of the "mother" of their genre, romance itself. How it is that a parent who has suffered the stings and arrows of such prejudice as what I mentioned above, can now turn to its offspring and accuse it of being it pornographic or cast a negative light on it.

Why are we not collectively reminding those who would snub their nose at the genre of Romance at large, that while we may be writing stories that appeal to the sexual nature of women, we're still crafting stories. Stories with plot and character development, stories with danger or intrigue, joy and grief and humor.

We're not just writing sex people. Let's face it, that would be B O R I N G. Women want tales with some meat (no pun intended). Tales that stir their senses on a variety of levels. We want to be frightened, puzzled, intrigued, tempted, seduced, bewitched and bemused.

When I first heard that we erotic romance writers were being condemned for what we write by some in our parent genre, it made me stop and take a close look at my own books. Do I craft tales that depend upon sex to carry the story, or is sex simply part of the natural course of the tale, something that enables readers to get a more intimate look at what's going on in the hearts and minds of the characters?

Naturally, I'd like to think so. But an artist is never the best judge of his own work. So I went back through reviews. Was sex mentioned more than the plot or the characters? Thankfully no.

Truthfully, I don't think readers would put up with "Sex for the sake of sex alone." Readers are far more intelligent and demanding than that. They want a story that pulls them in, takes them on a ride and pays off with an ending that either satisfies, shocks or astounds them.

But that's my opinion and hey, everyone has one. There are two things I'd really like:

(1) To say to anyone in the romance industry who has a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to erotic romance... Please remember that writing is an artistic expression. And art comes in a wide array of color, shape, form and material. Why would any artist want to deny another the freedom of artistic expression? What makes the writers of any genre superior to another? Are we all not just artists, painting our visions in words rather than paint? Isn't there room for all of us? Certainly other genres have found their homes and readers. Science fiction and mystery and fantasy all have their place in the market.

And so does erotic romance. It's found a loyal following, as did romance, despite the negative light it was cast in at one time. There are bestselling authors who emerged from erotic romance. Jaid Black, Cheyenne McCray and Kate Douglas just to name a few. Best sellers on lists such as USA Today and the New York Times.

I'd like to propose a peace treaty. We're here and not likely to disappear. Wouldn't it be easier to be friends than enemies? You don't have to read us. Just don't throw rocks.

(2) And I'd like to hear from readers. Exactly what is it about erotic romance that appeals to you, and do you feel that writers in the genre are doing justice to the romance aspect? Do we deserve to be flogged for "leaving the bedroom door open" or applauded for progressing the genre in accord with the times and the independence and strength of today's woman?

My inquiring mind would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a glorious Sunday!

Ci

Close the Bathroom Door, Please!

I left home at seventeen to join the army. I spoke only French, most of the business is done in English, and the vast majority of its members are anglophone. That’s because England and France have always fought over everything, including new colonies like the one that would become Canada. When the goings got too rough for France, instead of defending its assets in Quebec, they decided to abandon us to the English. Instead, France chose to keep Guadeloupe. I wonder how that worked for them...

Back to the story. So, yes, the first few years learning English in the army were fun...

But. Do I have stories to tell now! I thought I could start your weekend with a fun anecdote about a (then) seventeen year old chick surrounded by army dudes with nothing better to do than teach her all kinds of bad English words. The badder the better (that’s an oxymoron if I ever saw one). Without further ado, let me tell you about..

The Tale of the Bathroom Sign

Yes, my lovelies, back in, ohhh what the late 80s, I was in charge of giving the out-transfer briefings to groups of soldiers about to move on to new bases or assignments. My boss would set up the times, locations, etc, then I’d make my way there. I’ve given those briefings in all kinds of locales and weather, in front of 2, 7 or 168 soldiers in various states of dress, stress and preparedness. Sometimes, I’d show up at airfields and give my briefing in hangars amidst the sound of power tools and engine testing. Or they’d have a tent set up for me somewhere in the field between artillery practice exercises. Or even on ships about to deploy for 9 months. I never knew what to expect. Except for one thing: they knew I was coming, and they knew I was a girl.

And military guys, they like to play pranks, they do.

When my boss set up a briefing with the guys from the bomb squad who’d graduated from a course and were going back home, I got my stuff, jumped into an Iltis (old Volkswagen-made military jeeps that have since then been retired from the Canadian military...death traps but so much fun to drive) and drove to what was called the “ammo school”. Once I got there, I noticed the school seemed deserted. Parked the car, entered the building (fancy name for a collection of second world war-era, wooden sheds) and started looking around for the conference room. In other words, the cafeteria. No one. Silence. Damn, I told myself. Did I have the wrong place?

But then I spotted the ladies’ bathroom sign hanging above the door. Not knowing when I'd be able to use it again, I set my stuff down, hiked up my jacket and started to loosen my webbed belt as I opened the door with the other hand. Inside was not a ladies’ bathroom.

It was the conference room I'd been looking for. Filled with about 60 guys from young privates-who-didn't-know-any-better to mature warrant-officers-who-should've-known-better, sitting in perfect silence. Waiting.

They'd switched the signs above the doors. Ladies room and conference room. Funny. Har har.

Apparently, I said “Oh, shit.” Then proceeded to speak lots of French really fast, to general laughter. They had way too much fun with this. I hated these guys for a good two months afterward. Any time a group of them would graduate from the ammo school, my boss would get someone else to do their briefings because he knew I’d arrange for them to be shipped to Siberia with their tropical kits. Pricks.

But damn, it was funny.

Hope your day is a good one. Remember to laugh. Even if someone messes with the bathroom signs.

This Ain't Your Grandma's Star-Crossed Lovers Fiction!

Forget about grandma's version of this modern day Star-Cross pair. That kind of story is long gone! Hopefully. I'm talking about ROMANCE STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. Not those old stories of sappy, boohoo, I don't wanna live without you love stories, where weak-kneed equaled weak-minded wimps of love. In other words just too damn stupid to even live. So when they finally offed themselves because life was just too tough I was cheering their decision to end my agony right along with them.

BUT, when it comes to our 21st century romance fiction, I'm all for the SCL !(VBG) Okay, not all of the Hussies are in agreement about using star-crossed lovers and that’s cool because our definition of a Hussy is an independent woman who certainly can think for herself and has no problem expressing her opinions. No sheep in this Hussy Herd for sure.

But I'm not going to rant how romance fiction star-crossed lovers have been unfairly vilified. LOL. No sirree bob! They can take care of themselves without me coming to their defense. At least in romance fiction they can! And that’s what I’m talking about, not that ole Greek tragedy star-crossed love birds (YAWN), but the strong and the brave in romance!

There are many of us who like this theme, I know who you are. You bought my books that have this theme. (G) So today, I talking about modern romance fiction using this theme very successfully. Oh, you might not recognize it as the new improved version of the ancient stories, but it is.

This is your chance to speak up and shake those pompoms for the Romance SCL everywhere. Rah! Rah!

I'm one Hussy who embraces romance SCL, loves romance SCL and finds romance SCL probably the most exciting theme and plot points available to heighten the angst and make the story emotionally charged with unique situations. How? Easy. Give the hero and heroine what appears to be insurmountable odds stacked against them and set them loose. Maybe calling this Star Crossed Lovers is an injustice since that connotation reeks of Romeo and Juliet, but to me, it is the same kind of incredible odds in romance fiction only it isn’t a tragic ending, but a Happily Ever After.

I admit, I love placing my heroes and heroines in hopeless situations. I adore painting them into corners and then finding a way out so they can be victorious over their plight. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy other books with less angst, urgency and conflict over being from different worlds. I most certainly enjoy those as well.

But for me, writing those stories would put me to sleep. I find the against all odds kind of stories exciting and seducing. I just love the challenge romance SCL presents to finding that Happily Ever After. It becomes a real quest for me and probably why I love to write them!

So bring on the romance Star-Crossed Lovers! It’s the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins her back and that has been the crux of romance since day one. Toss in some of those stars, mix together and then scatter to opposite ends of the spectrum. Voila! We have a Romance Star-Crossed Lovers’ theme. Yeah baby!

Romance SCL are also great for the genres I write in, especially paranormal romance. Sigh. I mean it’s the perfect vehicle. One lover is from the human world while the other is from a world of darkness and evil. Oh chills and thrills. The conflict is immediate and brings not just the expected problems, but allows for a whole slew of other conflicts and issues to be tossed into the mix! Oh yum! Now my blood is sizzling and I’m ready tell you about their heart-breaking story.

At first it won’t be heart-breaking. They’ll have a lot of fun, love and sex, but then their dark moment will strike out of nowhere. Gasp! And it’s at this point I must answer the big question.

What makes this theme so appealing in a romance? Is it because opposites attract and create bigger sparks or does the fascination with romance SCL transcend simple chemistry?

Maybe it’s the bigger than life situations. The insurmountable situation that has only one ending. Despair. But wait, this is where it’s different in a ROMANCE NOVEL. You guessed it – there’s going to be a HEA.

So go ahead and read the book and let yourself feel those wonderful emotions and those sad ones, too, because the good part will show up at the end and save the story!

Could this then be the intrigue? The reader always has hope and the expectation that it will all somehow, some way work out for the two lovers. This hope makes the creatures of the night or those damned to eternal hell seductive and mysterious because we don’t know how they are going to be redeemed. So we read to the end of the book and discover they most definitely find redemption and our heroine proves everyone wrong.

See there! He was the right guy for her!

The heroine never gave up! She’s always believed in her man and did all kinds of brave and selfless things to save him. She fought demons from hell and vampires for him. She tries to give her life in exchange for his!

And the hero's no slouch, he's made the biggest sacrifices for his love and proven himself worthy of her love. He's begging to give his life so she can live. So bring on tall, dark and sexy! Bury me in the reality that his goal is impossible to achieve and then let me find a way for him to accomplish his mission and shine. I am so there!

I love to explore these selfless acts and determination in my SCL characters and in my most recent book I just turned in to my editor, my first HUSSY book, WAKING THE DJINN, the story explores the questions of why and how a woman could possibly fall for a demon. It proved to be one of the most challenging books I’ve written because how does anyone defend a demon lover? How could a reader be sympathetic? What would make such a male protagonist a hero?

I mean talk about star-crossed! A Hussy Warrior Hunter and one of the 72 spirits King Solomon trapped in an urn. How can my heroine, Jordan Lewis, possibly come to terms with this kind of love? Hmm... I loved writing this book!

This kind of plot/theme challenges me as a storyteller to make it logical and reasonable that such a relationship can work. I must dig deep and come up with plausible motives and find a way to allow the dark hero to find that redemption only love can give.

So yeah, I'm the biggest romantic ever created. But for the record, let me make it clear, I don’t write tragic endings of star-crossed lovers like the Greeks or Shakespeare did. I’m writing romance!

These SCL are definitely going to have a HEA ending! I find this theme a perfect fit for paranormal because by the very nature of vampires, werewolves, demons, and such they are going to be the direct opposites of their human counterparts. You can’t get anymore star-crossed than that. There’s no denying their worlds are at odds from the getgo. There is no possible solution to their tragic, ill-fated love until…

Until…

There is a small glimmer of hope. Hope for the damned. Hope for the cursed. One of the reasons I just love writing paranormal books is because of this dark element of the fallen human or spirit and his longing to return to his origin—the light. So what better way to achieve this than through love, baby! Good ole love!

With all these delicious elements, we automatically have a great emotional roller coaster ride unfolding as they struggle to defend and claim their ultimate prize -– L-O-V-E.

That's what romance star-crossed means to me. That's why I've used SCL in several of my books. I am free to explore and express all the emotions in the best possible way. I’m challenged as a writer to reach beyond the usual expectations of a scene or plot twist and come up with something unique and different. Something that will up the stakes in this doomed game of love and challenge these Star-Crossed Lovers to find a HEA to their story!

Gettin' Naughty - Star-crossed or Weak?

Star-crossed lovers, a pair whose relationship is doomed before it even begins, and often ends tragically. Two characters destined to meet and fall in love. Pshaw! What a load of crap!

We can thank William Shakespeare for the most famous star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. IMHO, Romeo and Juliet weren't truly willing to fight for what they wanted. They were immature and lazy.

Other famous star-crossed couples include Sir Lancelot and Lady Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde. The theme is one that has been used endlessly in books, television shows and movies. Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala in Star Wars. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic. Even Mick St. John and Beth Turner on the popular show Moonlight are star-crossed lovers.

The star-crossed lovers are so deep in love but something keeps them apart. They are so over the top in love that they can’t go on without the other. *groaning* Give me a break! If you’re not willing to fight, face some difficulties, and make sacrifices to be with this supposed love-of-your-life then how much do you really love them? Not much!

We’ve all heard the stories of a mother who suddenly finds superhuman strength to lift the car off her baby. Her love is so strong it knows no bounds. Physical limitation will not keep her from protecting her child just like nothing should keep genuine love from being suppressed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for romance and undying love. Throw in lots of tests, trials and obstacles for the couple to overcome and it’s even better. HEA is an important factor in all my books, even if the HEA is only implied or a future possibility, its still there. But ending your life because your lover is dead? IMHO, that character is weak and has some major mental issues to be using the death of a lover as justification for suicide. Your lover would want you to go on and live a full life, not cut your existence short because you’re too weak to live without them.

And hello, if you are so deeply in love with someone nothing is going to get between you and your lover. Not your family, friends, age, religion, race, sex, societal dictates and prejudices…nothing! When I read a star-crossed lover story, I want to smack the characters and tell them to find their backbones.

Regardless of the obstacles there are ways to make your relationship work if it’s what you really want. You can find a way if your heart is truly involved with a little effort. The least you do is kick the Fates in the ass and find a Sci-Fi geek to blow a big hole in destiny then make your own path. You come out fighting, use your intelligence, and keep at it until you find a way to make it work!

Nic (stepping down from soapbox)
So naughty it's scandalous!

*Note: No star-crossed lovers were intentionally harmed during this rant. This is simply my personal opinion of a common plot that drives me crazy! No other Hussies participated in the making of this rant so send the hate mail to me if you must send hate mail, but I'd really rather you didn't.*

Book Talk

Another week for new books releasing from Ellora's Cave Publishing. The special Thursday release days and ten new books a week will continue through the end of the month. Whew, that's a lot of yummy new books to devour!

Releasing Wednesday:



Emerald Eyes - Solange Ayre (Paranormal)

The Bond That Heals Us - Christine d'Abo (Futuristic)

Changing Times - Marilu Mann (Shapeshifter)

Surprised by Desire - Katie Blu (Contemporary)

Releasing Thursday:



All Worked Up - Eve Vaughn (Contemporary)

Tempting Tess - Regina Carlysle (Contemporary)

Releasing Friday:



As It Should Be - Vivien Dean (Paranormal)

Thief's Surrender - Alexis Canto (Contemporary / light bondage)

Cursed by Moonlight - Melissa Lopez (Werewolf)

Commanding Kat - Reese Gabriel (BDSM)

The Hussies would like to extend a warm welcome to new to Ellora's authors Marilu Mann, Regina Carlysle, Vivien Dean, and Melissa Lopez. Congratulations on your book release. We wish you all the best!

Happy Reading!

Nic
So naughty it's scandalous!