Star Crossed Lovers?

Yes, we all know that theme. Lovers whose relationship is doomed to fail. Why star crossed? Because those who came up with the term believe that the stars control human destiny.

And yes, the most famous example of this theme is Romeo and Juliet.

The tale of the star crossed lovers has been done and redone - and redone - and redone. And when this topic came up for discussion I had to ask myself why it is such a popular theme. What pleasure do we get from the tale of people who love so passionately yet are doomed to be kept apart?

Personally, I don't enjoy it. Color me a "non-tragedy" fan, and I think this theme is by and large a tragedy. I don't mind endings that have me wondering IF the couple will get together, work things out, or find each other again across the vastness of time and space. But doomed? That leaves me cold. The Universe is a place of endless possibility and I like to think that anything is possible.

Perhaps that's why I write Romantica (R). (For those of you not familiar with the term, it is a trademarked word belonging to Ellora's Cave that describes the fiction they publish - Romance with a bit of erotica, or as someone once so aptly described it, Romance that leaves the bedroom door open). Here's a genre that not only tugs the heart strings with romance that we women crave, but also panders to the more sexual aspect of our natures and lets us see behind that bedroom door.

Which brings me to a bit of a rant. What is so intolerable, so abhorrent, so sinful about what happens in the bedroom? ( or on the kitchen table as the case may be) Would any of us be here without sex? It's a biological imperative - all species procreate. People just engage in sex for pleasure and not strictly to propagate the species.

What makes us as a culture (in America) so willing to expose ourselves and our children to horrible scenes of violence and yet scared out of our knickers when it comes to sex? What makes a work of art by one of the great masters like Michelangelo that shows nudes acceptable and a photo of a woman with bare breasts unacceptable? It boggles my mind.

And makes me wonder if the real "star crossed lovers" isn't something larger than two people who are trying to overcome enormous hurdles to share their love. Maybe we in the world of Romantica are fighting that same battle. To overcome narrow minds that focus only on the erotic and forget that Romance comes first in that word. That the books are tales that employ the same themes as any other. Quest. Adventure. Pursuit. Rescue. Escape. Revenge. The Riddle. Rivalry. Underdog. Temptation. Metamorphosis. Transformation. Maturation. Love. Forbidden Love. Sacrifice. Discovery. Wretched Excess. Ascension. Descension. And that at their hearts they are romantic tales.

Romantica does not forsake the themes that have inspired our imaginations, fed our hearts, brought us laughter, longing or tears. It simply fills in the blanks of what happens after that alpha male takes the woman into his arms.

This is not to say that this genre is for everyone. It's genre fiction. Some people like it and others don't. Science fiction is a genre and I adore it, but I certainly don't think every reader has to dig it as much as I do. The same holds true for Romantica. It has it's place in the world of fiction and it's time for people to start acting like adults - adults who accept and even appreciate one another for their diversity and embrace the arts in all their forms as a creative expression.

Let's not allow this genre be the doomed star crossed lovers of fiction. It has too much to offer.

Rant over. I'm off to write :)

Ci

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Erotic Romance Is Still Romance

First, I'd like to thank the Hussies for asking me to be a guest blogger today. I'm thrilled and hope it's not a joke as it is April 1. :) Well, it would help if I introduce myself. I'm Ashley Ladd and I write erotic romance for Ellora's Cave, Total-e-Bound, and New Concepts Publishing.

Like the Hussies, I write romance and I write erotic romance. We share a publisher who has coined the term "romantica" which means the same thing.

I'm amazed how many people mistake erotic romance and romantica for erotica. Erotica is sex without romance. What I write, what the Hussies write, are definitely romances first - with a lot of hot sensual sex added in. After all, sex is an extension of romance. It's what happens after the romantic dinner and candlelight and the romance progresses to the bedroom.

Personally, I love romance. If I had to choose one over the other, romance would win hands down every time. My editors are constantly yelling their mantra at me "More Sex More Sex More Sex". Sometimes I dream about it. This morning I was awoken from a musical version of it. That was odd, even for me.

I want to give you a snippet of my just released erotic romance "Confessions of a Nympho" published by http://www.total-e-bound.com/. It's a short "Lust Bite" story.

Blurb:
In an effort to promote her books, erotic romance author Tatiana Reece decides it will increase her blog traffic if she starts a new blog in which she pretends that her personal life is as racy if not more racy than her novels. She calls it "Confessions of a Nympho" and she makes up some really hot, spicy stuff.

When tax season rolls around and she makes her annual visit to her accountant, Ace, the junior accountant handling her case—who has long been secretly in love with her—discovers her blog. Using an alias, Ace begins a torrid online affair with Tatiana that moves into a real world affair.
One problem. Ace disguises himself and when she discovers his true identity, she'll be furious.

Excerpt:
Tatiana leaned closer, licked her glossy lips, and smiled conspiratorially. “I hope you can find me a lot of big deductions this year.

Ace swallowed hard. He had something big for her all right, but it was inside his pants, swelling larger with every second. Embarrassed, he slid further under the desk to hide his source of discomfort. “We’ll see,” he said noncommittally, without any hint of emotion. “I’ll do my best.” He kicked himself for getting shy, not at all like the kick-ass romance heroes she lived for. How could he ever win a woman like her acting like this?

She dumped out the contents of both boxes onto his desk and sifted through them. “I went to several conferences this year and bought a new computer. Those hotel rooms are downright outrageous!”

Hotel rooms? He gulped. How he’d like to share a hotel room with her. He wondered if she went alone and took the receipt from her hands. When her fingers grazed his, shivers raced down his spine. Unable to stop himself, he asked, “Is this for single or double occupancy?”

She snatched the receipt from his hands, grazing his knuckles again. “Let me see. I get a roommate whenever I can, but a few times I went alone.”

His jealousy surged and he longed to ask the roommate’s name. Some of those nearly naked Tarzan-type cover models she’d had her pictures splashed with all over the romance magazines? Not that he’d ever admit to reading those or keeping track of her doings. He’d sooner cut out his tongue.

“How many? Conferences, I mean? Help me sort these into categories.” Or else they’d be there all night. On retrospect that might not be a bad idea…

She squinted at a computer printout in her hand. “What about websites? Aren’t they tax deductible?”

Loosening the tie that threatened to choke him, he nodded and tried to keep his voice steady. “Yes, of course.”

She leaned further forward and gazed deeply into his eyes. Her ample breasts strained against her t-shirt. The nipples budded against the flimsy cotton. “I mean, if I have more than one website? I just opened this new one, plus I have pages on some romance writers’ group pages.”

When he took the outstretched receipt from her outstretched fingers, her flowery writing on the back caught his eye, and he flipped it over. Reading it, his heart skipped several beats.

“Confessions of a Nympho” blog. It contained the website url, and he memorized it. Like he could forget a name like that? It was burned into his consciousness.

Confessions of a Nympho? His cock throbbed almost ripping open his zipper. His blood sizzled. He couldn’t wait to visit her blog and read her deepest, darkest fantasies. Or were they fantasies? Did she act them out? Was she really a nymphomaniac?

** Can you tell I'm into blogging lately? I'm a lot like the heroine of my book that way. In fact, I just renamed my website to "Happily Ever After" as that's what I write, happily ever afters. I also just had it redesigned. So please pop over and take a look, leave me a comment, and be entered in my monthly contest for a free ebook download from my Ashley Ladd published books. http://ashleyladd.blogspot.com/

Once again, I want to thank The Hussies for inviting me to be their guest today. You're all awesome and I enjoyed my time spent with you.