I get asked all the time, “Why erotic romance?” by both writer and non-writer friends (I also get asked with the same frequency questions like, “What’s up with the hair?” and “When are you getting furniture in that house?” but that’s an entirely different saga). My answer, which I thought was simple, isn’t. In fact, I had to sit down and think about it.

To me, erotic romance is a tale told through sex. Characters develop and relationships grow through encounters of a sexual nature (although not solely from sexual encounters). All my erotic romance stories seem to have a theme to them of either a character’s development of his or her sexuality, or a character’s discovery of their full personality via expression of their sexuality.  If I took out the sex, there would still be a story.  It would be thin, and would probably suck to read (if not be outright boring and ignorant), but it would have the bare basics of story requirements.
Straight erotica is a different ball of well…sticky substance. :P  If I’m writing something that’s erotica, the story is the sex. The premise is sexual in nature, and the goals of the characters relate directly to sex.  The plot is directly related to the sexual encounters. If I took out the sex, there would not only be no story, but what is there wouldn’t even make much sense.
One of the enduring themes I love to tackle in writing is the idea of emerging self-awareness. What else is life, on one level, besides discovering who you are and all the many facets of your own personal Human Condition? Some of us who call ourselves writers just do it with other people. And, of course, a huge part of me is doing its part to envision an existence where people aren’t so damn hung up about sex.

…for not updating her blog on Monday like I was supposed to. In my defense, I have a good reason. Family in from out of town and a kiddie birthday can really cut into a girl’s blog h0rin’.

Alien Communion is consistently getting great reviews - thanks to everyone who’s mentioned that they enjoyed the book! I write to be read, and if I’ve swept somebody away for a few hours, it’s the greatest of compliments.

Doing a short entry today, because I’m drafting a longer one on an actual subject - my own personal definition of erotic romance.  I’m sure every ero-rom writer has either blogged or posted about this at one time or another, and I’m probably not revealing anything earth-shattering–so call it peer pressure.

This time, there’s one from Cassidy at Joyfully Reviewed.

“Alien Communion caught my imagination and fantasies tight in its alien fist from the first page on. Not only was the sex hotter than could be contained on ordinary paper, the characters drew me in and made me feel as if they were standing right next to me.”

I’m not supposed to be posting today, since it’s not Monday, and I promised myself I wouldn’t blog h0r any day but Mondays…but I was so very excited about getting my second review, I couldn’t wait to post.  Plus, it’s raining outside, and I can’t take the laptop out while the rugrats play.

I’m also being a bad girl and messing around with blog layout and tinkering under the hood of this baby…just a few tweaks.  I can quit any time.  Really.  Swear.

I’d like to thank Annie and Eveline from Euro-Reviews for popping in to say, “Hi!” in the comments of my last post.  Annie–I’m just incredibly glad you liked the book!  I love writing about the future, where anything’s possible–and if that possibility includes hunky men, all the better!  Eveline, I envy you your chocolate.  I once had the chance to work on a consulting project in Belgium, but had to turn it down because right when the project was due, I’d be due, myself, and flight attendants get nervous when they see very pregnant women boarding airplanes for transatlantic flights.

For those of you who’ve made comments and wondered why your comments don’t show up immediately, it’s because I have comments set to moderated approval.  I’m fairly new to the back-end of blogging, and I don’t have all the filters set up yet that would allow me to open up comments and not worry about spam from online casinos, online pharmacies, online diploma mills, and or online whackos in general.  So while I learn, I moderate.

I’d like to thank Annie and Eveline from Euro-Reviews for popping in to say, “Hi!” in the comments of my last post.  Annie–I’m just incredibly glad you liked the book!  I love writing about the future, where anything’s possible–and if that possibility includes hunky men, all the better!  Eveline, I envy you your chocolate.  I once had the chance to work on a consulting project in Belgium, but had to turn it down because right when the project was due, I’d be due, myself, and flight attendants get nervous when they see very pregnant women boarding airplanes for transatlantic flights.

For those of you who’ve made comments and wondered why your comments don’t show up immediately, it’s because I have comments set to moderated approval.  I’m fairly new to the back-end of blogging, and I don’t have all the filters set up yet that would allow me to open up comments and not worry about spam from online casinos, online pharmacies, online diploma mills, and or online whackos in general.  So while I learn, I moderate.

So they say that once you’ve been released, it’s a good idea to Google your name periodically, to find out who’s talking about you. Since Alien Communion is my first release, I know I won’t be showing up many places yet - I’m a relative n00b and quite unknown still. So I took that advice to periodically Google my name.

Periodically being every five minutes during the day, and sometimes in the middle of the night when I get up to pee.

Imagine my surprise when I found out my name had appeared somewhere! I found I’d been reviewed by Euro-Reviews, and called Mr. Xandra to tell him.

Mr. Xandra, being the pragmatic and connected soul that he is, read the review and said, “So…does this mean you’re big in Germany? Y’know, like David Hassellhoff?”

“Honey, I think they’re in the Netherlands. All their ads are in Dutch.” See, I can tell this, because it says, “Reviews in Dutch” right on the front page.

But then, Mr. Xandra is persistently distracted by my cover on a regular basis. “Think there’s more than a passing resemblance to the hero?” he asks.

“Only the horns, my love.”

But you aren’t here to read the rest of that conversation (and no, I’m not sharing! My mom reads this blog…or so she says…) - see a select bit of what Annie at Euro-Reviews has to say:

“I really enjoyed this book and yes, it will be a re-reader. I highly recommend it, and I believe it will appeal to many more readers than just those who prefer Futuristic or SciFi genres.” — Annie, Euro-Reviews