Is Romance a Four-Letter Word?

http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288/post/40013804.html

Romance is Not a Four Letter Word
by Barbara Vey, at the Publishers Weekly site

She's got some excellent points. Romance is my preferred reading genre. And yes, I hear many people disparage it as unimportant, "light", non-significant. Oh, and "aimed only at women" - uh, that means over half the population, over 70% of the regular readers in the US. There's something wrong with literature aimed at women?

When someone tells me they don't read or don't like romances, I always ask them what romances they have read that caused them to dislike the genre. I think you can guess the most common response -- the person has never read a romance. Nope, they are just taking a snobbish attitude that they learned from others -- or unfortunately, from the media.

A related issue is "romance" as a genre. Ever had a non-romance reader concede they're willing to try it, and ask you for a recommendation? Well, that's impossible. There is no such thing as just a "romance" that epitomizes the genre or is the best. "Romance" is as generic a term as "literary fiction". If you really hope to suggest a book the potential reader might enjoy and that would give them a positive opinion on romance novels, you've got to ask what types of books they already like. Historical, contemporary, futuristic/scifi, paranormal? Light and amusing or dark and angsty? Do they want a book with deep emotions that will make them cry, or do they prefer something humorous and entertaining that will lift their spirits? Find out what best fits them, and recommend a romance novel of that type.

So those of us who love romance novels, be we readers or writers, need to proselytize in order to counteract the negative opinions of many people. If you see someone reading a book in public, chat them up -- well, if you can do so without coming across as a stalker, and if they don't indicate they really don't want to be interrupted in their reading. And talk to people browsing the bookstore! Ask them for a recommendation -- that leads to the opportunity for you to offer them one. Always have a good book (preferably a romance, of course) with you, that you can whip out and talk about. That's what purses, briefcases, and pockets are for -- carrying books.

I can't imagine not having a book with me at all times, just like I can't imagine not enjoying some type of romance novels.

Don't Start, or Don't Finish

On July 3, I blogged about dropping books I wasn't enjoying: "I had an epiphany. I do NOT have to finish every book I start. If it's bad, I'm allowed to stop wasting time on it."

So...what books haven't I finished recently?

Temping Fate by Esther Friesner - Okay, this is Young Adult, not my usual reading material, but I've been trying to expand, to taste other genres and see what's popular. And I've read a lot of Ms. Friesner's older fantasy books - they tend to be light, quick, reasonably entertaining reads when you don't want to have to think too much or feel too much. This contemporary paranormal YA got good reviews and many YA fantasy books do seem popular with more, umm, "mature" adult readers, so I decided to give it a try. I'm not saying it's a bad book - if you are a teenager you may love it. But I'm not a teenager - heck, my kids are no longer teenagers. I enjoyed the world she creates, the paranormal elements. But by halfway through, it was getting a bit tedious. And I was REALLY tired of the teenage angst and cliques and petty jealousies. So I stopped - I wasn't enjoying it, so I didn't spend any more time on it.

The Silver Fox and the Red-Hot Dove by Deborah Smith - This is an old (1991) LoveSwept. Hey, my TBR shelves have a long history! I'll catch up someday. Not bothering to waste time finishing this one allowed me to move on to other books from those overloaded shelves. This isn't badly written in style, but it is full of factual inaccuracies, cliches, and generally silly and unbelievable behavior by the characters. Oh, and since I skipped to the end just to see what happened, I discovered the heroine descends into a TSTL moment (not that she was particularly bright from the beginning) in order to bring about the big dramatic moment and self-sacrifice for looove.

Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels - I believe this is the start of a mystery series. Ex-rich girl now poor takes a job as tour guide in a Cleveland cemetery, falls and hits her head, and now can communicate with ghosts. It isn't bad, it just didn't grab me fast enough or hard enough to keep me going past Chapter One. I think maybe I was more in the mood for romance and deep emotion, and this isn't that. So I have put it aside for a while; maybe I'll give it another try someday.

With Nine You Get Vanyr by Jean Marie Ward & Teri Smith - If you decide to read this, keep a pad of paper and a pen handy from the start. There are SO many characters it's impossible to keep them all straight. Some of the personalities are not well defined, which makes it harder to remember the identity and role of each. And it goes from our world to an alternate universe with a whole other set of names and terms. The book definitely would have benefited by having in the front a list of characters and place names. The main characters of this story (I assume there will be sequels) just lacked something and I couldn't get into them even after a couple of chapters, so I put the book down. It's fantasy/scifi, not romance, so next time I'm in the mood for that genre I may give this another try - AND make those lists as I read, so I can keep checking on who is whom or what or where. But for now, I'll "just say No". (Oh, and the damned thing is printed in incredibly tiny font, making it really difficult to read.)

So, with the time I saved by not continuing to read the books I was not enjoying, I've been able to wallow in truly good books. Reviews to come, maybe.

Covers: Effective Erotica

The Ellora's Cave Exotika is a line of erotica - stories that focus on the sexual journey and adventure, not the romantic relationship. The look they've created for the covers of these stories is, in my opinion, extremely effective for the genre and quite enticing to purchasers looking for quality erotica. Kudos to EC's cover artists.

Covers: Are You Happy To See Me?

OH MY GOD! Run, woman, run - Don't let that thing anywhere near you!

I haven't read this book, but I feel intense pity for the poor heroine. There's no way that sex with that monster cock is anything but painful. (And don't even THINK about anal.) And draping it in a, umm, drapery is not going to disguise it. This guy probably ignored those warnings about priapism in the Viagra commercials and now has a permanent pulsing python.

Hmm, I guess whom I really pity is the poor author, who got shafted with this obscenely ridiculous cover.

Book Review: The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

I’m on an historical romance kick at the moment, which is unusual for me—I’m a paranormal gal generally. But there actually seem to be some fresh voices and new styles coming out in historicals, to tempt me back to that genre!

Setting: 1760 England

This is definitely a character-driven story. I became thoroughly attached to the hero and heroine, and to the heroine's brothers. I was a bit less thrilled with her 15-year-old-sister, but hey, teenage girls even 250 years ago were as annoying and self-centered as they are nowadays.

Lady Georgina "George" Maitland is at her country estate to deal with problems with her young sister. She's basically been the mother figure in the family, taking care of her younger siblings because their father was uncaring and their mother sunk in hypochondria. George quickly becomes very interested in her new land steward, Harry Pye. She defends him when all the locals think he is sabotaging farmers on the neighboring estate in revenge against the lord of that land. George decides that at her age, she wants to experience passion, and Harry is just the type of man she wants. The more time George spends with Harry, the more she comes to admire his ethics and devotion and intelligence; she is however, very reluctant to commit to a permanent relationship or to make Harry feel trapped into marriage. Of course, her family is less than understanding about her affair with a man so much lower on the social and economic ladder than her, although eventually her brothers see Harry's quality and come to like him personally.

Meanwhile, we learn the sordid history of the neighbors, and the secret of Harry's parentage (no, this isn't the cliched plot where he is suddenly revealed as an aristocrat by birth). Lord Granville is a bit over the top as the villain—he's just tooooo evil, a madman with no redeeming qualities who's abused his wife and sons all his life, treated the people on his land with cruelty.

I can't describe too much without spoilers, but I must say I loved the interactions between George and her brothers, and their scenes with Harry. The scene at the end in the church is just hysterical in an understated way.

I do question the historical accuracy of the social and cultural elements of this story. Could even a noblewoman have that much legal autonomy and independence in that time period? Would she be so socially acceptable/fashionable when unmarried by age 28? Could the son of a gamekeeper truly rise to the position of steward of large estates, and marry the aristocratic lady without both of them being ostracized by Society? This time period is not one I’m very knowledgeable about—but it struck me as odd and requiring a good bit of “suspension of disbelief” while I was reading.

ISBN 9780446618489; US$6.99; © 2007
Warner Forever/Hachette Book Group

Book Review: No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey

I first read this little fantasy when it originally came out ten years ago. I remembered it fondly and so was thrilled when it was reissued this summer.

The story takes place in the sorta medieval kingdom of Esphaia. The wise and careful regent Mangan has just died, leaving young Prince Jamas to prove he can run the country on his own. Jamas learned well from his regent, and he has a very special advantage--Mangan's cat Niffy seems to have some special skills at judging people and situations, and now becomes Jamas' companion and protector.

Jamas quickly has to deal with the ambitious ruler of the neighboring country. King Egdril seems most inclined to encourage relations by a marriage between the two families, but his wicked and conniving wife has other ideas. It's amazing how many nobles in their country have died recently, especially those who opposed the queen or had something she wanted.

One of Egdril's nieces, lovely Willow, does indeed catch Jamas' interest and he's more than willing to marry her. But she fears that she is being used in the evil queen's machinations and the marriage will only lead to Jamas' "accidental" death.

This is a cute and interesting little story. Niffy provides a touch of the paranormal, there is a mild, sweet romance between Jamas and Willow, and the suspense associated with how to end the murderous queen. This is, indeed, an excellent young adult fantasy, I recommend it for preteens and young teens.

ISBN 9780843959031; US$5.99; (c) 1996

Published by Dorchester Publishing in collaboration with Wildside Press.

Writing "The End"

I've been MIA on this blog for a week and a half because - I finally finished the story I was writing! Okay, it's a novella, so it's not like I've been working on it for the past year. More like two months off and on of writing and self-editing, showing it to critique partners. But, damn, it's such a rush to finish, type "The End" and say "I wrote a book!" It's the second one, but for some reason the feeling of accomplishment is even greater than the first time. I was actually dancing around the room in excitement, which seemed to traumatize my cats. (What, they were afraid I'd step on them?)

Maybe it's because I felt more connected to this story? It's fiction, but loosely based on an incident from my life. Once I started it, the ideas and words flowed the way they never have before, the emotion was a lot stronger -- and I think I was more eloquent in conveying it.

Do all writers feel this way when they complete a story? I don't know, I'd be interested in hearing. I know my critique partners vary in their reactions. One of them hates to finish a story, it actually seems to make her sad to have it done, no more following the lives of those characters.

And now the next step - getting brave enough to submit it.

Book Review: Second Sight by Amanda Quick

This is the start of Quick’s (Jayne Anne Krentz) Arcane Society series. The stories are set in Victorian England, and are romantic suspense with a strong touch of paranormal.

The Arcane Society is basically a secret club devoted to examining “psychical phenomenon”; the members are described as “obsessive, reclusive eccentrics” and are paranoid in their insistence on secrecy. The society was founded 200 years ago by an alchemist who wanted to develop a formula to enhance people’s paranormal/psychic powers. The story opens with the decendents of the Alchemist discovering his hidden tomb and the secrets it contains.

Venetia Milton is hired by the Society to come to Arcane House and photograph the collection of artifacts and relics. After the death of their parents, Venetia has used her photography business to support her siblings and maiden aunt, and the impressive payment from the Arcane Society for her task will enable her to move her family to London and set up as a fashionable society photographer. But before doing that, she wants a chance to experience physical passion by having a short, clandestine affair—since she’s too old and poor now to attract a husband. Plus few people outside her family would understand her odd little talent of seeing people’s auras.

Gabriel Jones, son of the current Master of the Society and great-great-whatever of the founder, is Venetia’s host at Arcane House, and definitely responds to Venetia’s tentative seduction. But their night of passion is interrupted by housebreakers, and Gabriel sends the household away to safety while his “hunter” psyche takes over to deal with the intruders. Venetia is devastated to later read a newspaper article about Gabriel’s death and the destruction by fire of Arcane House. However, there is a silver lining. To establish a staid and non-scandalous presence in London, she plans to present herself as a widow—and why not go by the name Mrs. Jones?

Unfortunately, newspaper articles can be wrong. Venetia’s careful plans and her success as a London photographer are threatened when her “husband” appears in society alive and well. And insists to her that she is in danger from the unknown enemy trying to steal the old Alchemist’s secret formula. Now Venetia and her oddly talented family must play along, pretending joy at her husband’s return. But she also insists on becoming very involved in helping Gabriel find the villain.

I always enjoy Quick’s heroines. They are assertive, intelligent women trying to function in a society that expects them to be subservient to men. And they sensibly choose mates who can respect them and allow them to be what they are.

I love the “sound” of the dialogue in this story, it adds so much to the authentic feel of the period setting. It isn’t that there are words used then but not now, but rather the patterns and rhythms of speech.

My only complaint with the story was the basic set-up of why Gabriel presented himself publicly as Venetia’s lost husband. It’s pointed out that the name Jones is so common, there was no real link to him and no need for him to join her subterfuge. Gabriel’s reasons, related to his belief the hidden enemy would be after Venetia, just didn’t seem plausible to me. The situation came across as forced and fake, something the author shoved into the story in order to set up the continuing relationship between Gabriel and Venetia.

Jove Historical Romance, paperback, ISBN 9780515142808, © 2006, US$7.99

Book Review: Michelle’s Men by Lynn LaFleur

This is the second in the Cooper’s Companion series about two brothers and a sister who own a male escort service. No, they don’t rent out gigolos, they really do provide women with respectable male escorts to events – but hey, if the client is interested in a little more “personal” service…

While Michelle’s brother is off on his honeymoon (read the first book in the series, Rent-A-Stud), she is interviewing new escorts. Andre and Nathan are absolute hunks, new in town, and looking for interesting part-time jobs to supplement their own freelance work—Andre’s a photographer and Nathan’s a writer. Michelle can’t help drooling over them both, even though she has a rule about never dating any of the employees/escorts. And it becomes clear they return her interest—both of them.

They eventually convince Michelle to date them alternately, and she becomes more confused and conflicted when she realizes she loves each of them for their different personalities. She’s sure she can’t have both—boy, what would her brothers say to that?—but how’s a girl to choose? What she doesn’t yet know is that Andre and Nathan are not only best friends and housemates, but have been lovers for years. They also both enjoy women, and they don’t want to make Michelle choose between them, they want to enjoy her together.

Wow, get out the asbestos oven mitts to hold this book. Andre and Nathan, Michelle and Andre, Michelle and Nathan…and eventually Michelle and Nathan and Andre. I loved all the combinations. These characters are great, the story is fun.

Michelle’s Men, ISBN 9781419911347, digital download $5.95 from Ellora’s Cave
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419911347

Talking to the Author: Lynn LaFleur

Lynn LaFleur has a number of erotic romances out with Ellora's Cave and Avon Red, and a non-erotic romance from Cerridwen Press. She writes contemporaries, some with a trace of the paranormal. She writes both novellas and longer length stories. Try her Happy Birthday, Baby four-story collection from Ellora's Cave for a taste of a bit of everything!

Seren: Although you have other menage a trois stories at EC, "Michelle's Men" is the first one to include male-on-male sex in the relationship. What made you decide to do that?

Lynn: I read my first M/M romance about a year ago. I thought the developing relationship, both physical and emotional, was very well done. It made me curious about other authors' books featuring M/M, so I purchased several. These books are romances in every sense. Romantic, loving, showing genuine caring between the two men. I liked that and wanted to try writing one myself. I mentioned the idea of a menage featuring some M/M scenes to my Ellora's Cave editor. She said to go for it.

Seren: Why do you thing m/m romantic relationships have recently become such a big fad with women romance readers?

Lynn: Fantasy. Two hunky, attractive, sexy men who are in love and show that love sexually. Men have the same fantasy about two women having sex. It's hot and exciting and a little naughty. That sense of the forbidden makes it even more hot and exciting.

Seren: Do you think romance readers are as interested in just two men as they are in man/man/woman menages?

Lynn: As a reader, I like the menages best. What women wouldn't want two men who only want to please her? But strictly M/M romances are very popular, and show no signs of losing that popularity. Different readers have different tastes. That makes it so much fun for an author!

Seren: How do you research your male-on-male sex scenes? Do you think they are realistic?

Lynn: I read a lot of M/M books from other romance authors. And yes, I watched some gay movies. Purely for research, of course. I do believe my scenes are realistic, based on what I read and watched. I've had some wonderful fan letters from readers saying how much they enjoyed the book. I don't think they would've said that if the scenes didn't work for them.

Seren: Do you have more stories coming? And if so, will some include m/m or m/m/f?

Lynn: Michelle's Men was so much fun to write, and the response from readers has been wonderful. I definitely plan to write another book in the future featuring M/M or M/M/F.

Thank you so much for talking with me, Lynn! Best success for your upcoming books!

Email: lynn@lynnlafleur.com
Website: www.lynnlafleur.com

Talking to the Authors: Alexa & Patrick Silver

Alexa and Patrick Silver are a happily married couple who share their love of reading and happily ever afters. Patrick is the technical geek and he makes sure everything makes sense. Alexa is the creative type and she makes sure the romance is high on spice.

Seren: You have your first book out with Ellora's Cave, a shapeshifter story with a married couple who incorporates another man into their relationship. What gave you the idea for this story? Why did you decide to include male-on-male sex in the relationship?

Alexa: The basic idea of the plot came forth when we were stuck at an airport with all the other frustrated families. My mind started wandering, examining the fun ways a couple without children could pass the time. When I saw Ellora’s Cave’s call for submissions, the idea of two hunky shifters came to me. I approached Patrick with the idea and he was all for it.

The story was conceived with a male/female/male ménage. I always wanted to write a story that contained male/male elements and I think the emotional relationship between the three characters was quite natural to write. Thankfully, Patrick was as open to it as I was.

I think Animal Attraction would have had less intensity if the story was only about Wes and Tab. The addition of Brand, the more natural Alpha, makes the marriage of Wes and Tab take on more significance and adds so much to their struggling relationship. It is a blend of old and new, of the old relationship flourishing with new blood. And then you have the shifter element and the pecking order of the Alphas. Our readers and publisher were particularly happy with a scene where the two men establish the pecking order. We were firm in our belief that both men needed to be Alpha, but one the more dominant Alpha. I hope that came thorough!

Patrick: When Alexa brought up the idea of the story, I was all for it. We both love the idea of shape shifters and since we are both devoted cat people, it is no surprise our heroes tend to be big cats. Besides, were-kitties are just plain fun to write!

As far as the male-male relationship goes, I agree 100% with Alexa… there is something endearingly touching about two men, macho on the outside, feeling their way into a relationship. The dynamics are fascinating. And on the coldly commercial side, everybody doing a ménage story writes about a woman joining a hetero couple. We both figured that doing a story about the other possibility was both a unique opportunity and a challenge to write properly. How DO two men, both Alphas and both indoctrinated by our society to be highly touchy about their sexuality, break past those barriers to form a relationship? In this case, their mutual love of Tabitha became their bridge to each other.

Seren: Why do you thing m/m has recently become such a big fad with women romance readers?

Alexa: I think it is a natural progression from the ménage. Women are fascinated by Alpha Males who can show their vulnerability and is there anything more vulnerable than a man who can expose his soul to another man? Add in the emotional layers to a male/male relationship or a ménage where the males are also romantically involved, and many women are hooked.

Additionally, women are more well spoken about their sexuality than ever. With the advent of the Internet, adventurous women are exposed to all sorts of literature. Erotic romance is no longer as taboo as it once was. Many bookstores carry erotica and erotic romance books. As erotic romance has become more mainstream, women have felt free to seek out stories that push more boundaries. The Internet has also allowed “slash” (male/male) fan fiction to be accessible to fans of popular TV shows, books, and movies. It seems natural for readers to look for these sorts of stories featuring original characters.

Patrick: Well, I lack the proper plumbing to be qualified to guess why women find male/male attractive. I will however point out that it is unusual, rare and just reeks of overactive male pheromones . Male homosexuality in general is much, much more… animalistic, more primitive. It is loaded with raw maleness. Oh, it can be loving too, no doubt, but in general it involves tons of just plain male rut. I guess women find that attractive at an instinctive level.

Seren: Do you think romance readers are as interested in just two men as they are in man/man/woman menages?

Alexa: I think it depends on the story and the reader. For some readers, I’m sure that the appeal and fantasy of being the filling in a male/male sandwich is the ultimate, but for others the appeal of two men becoming vulnerable to each other is intoxicating. Some books lend themselves to a ménage well while others lend themselves to a male/male relationship. It all depends on the plot of the specific story. I think both have huge appeal!

Patrick: I think it depends on the reader. Straight male/male has its place and its readership. I think that male/male/female or even male/female/female relationships are more complex and thus far more interesting as story material. Speaking only for myself, I prefer to read a ménage story than a straight male/male story… unless it was very well done indeed.

Seren: Do you have more stories coming? And if so, will some or all include m/m or m/m/f?

Alexa & Patrick: Yes! For the foreseeable future, all of our ménages will have a male/male element. We do have some male/female non-ménage stories in the pipeline.

Right now, we have two stories accepted by Ellora’s Cave. Primal Fate is part of the Torrid Tarot series and is based on the Emperor tarot card. It is set in the African savannah. Can a lion and a meerkat shifter overcome their differences and find love? It is a male/female erotic romance.

Troika is also part of the Torrid Tarot series and is based on the Two of Pentacles card. When Steve Delarian crash lands on a planet during a supply run, he never expects to find his old lover and his lover’s wife there. Since James left Steve for the woman, there is a lot of unfinished business between the two men. Add in Moira and a sexy emotionally charged ménage results. But Steve has never been the kind of guy to settle down and he is desperately needed elsewhere. Can James and Moira break down his defenses? This is a male/male/female ménage.

Additionally, we have two stories (male/female) under consideration with our publisher and we’re just about to start on our first male/male erotic romance.

Seren: How do you research your male-on-male sex scenes? Do you think they are realistic?

Patrick: Hey, come back here, Alexa! Hmm. Well, since my partner seems to have chickened out on this answer, I guess it’s up to me. How does a man answer this without sounding like he himself is deeply into male/male sex himself? I am very comfortable with my own sexuality, Thank You Very Much!

Seriously, if you have an open mind and have not the slightest trace of homophobia, it becomes a matter of common sense, mostly. How would you feel in situation ? Is it anatomically possible? How would a homophobe react to that? How would an open-minded man react to that? We males are conditioned from birth, by our very environment, to react in certain prescribed fashions to scenes involving other men. Most men are scared to death of reacting positively to the sexuality of another man, for fear of his reaction! If you can get your mind past that, past the conditioning of your upbringing, it becomes a matter of “what would bring me or my partner the most pleasure?”

I also have the advantage of having friends who live the life. The best man at my first wedding, decided after 8 years of marriage and two children he preferred men. He and his wife parted amicably and raised their kids together. He is still, to me, one of my best friends. I have others I can ask difficult questions, if common sense can’t provide an answer.

Alexa: Well, researching the physical aspects of male/male isn’t the hardest part. The hard part is to make sure the males involved react as men instead of women with penises. The male brain, the male approach to sex is different to the way females approach sex and relationships. To make the men realistic and not caricatures we need to delve into the emotional consequences of situations.

The pure physical research can be done by watching movies or looking at pictures. It’s the emotional reactions that are so much harder to quantify, as neither of us has been in a male/male relationship. We have wonderful friends who are quick to answer questions and are gracious enough to discuss their experiences with us.

Seren: Thank you very much for talking to me, Alexa and Patrick. And good luck with your upcoming releases, I'll look forward to reading them!

Email: thesilvers@alexasilver.com
Website: http://www.alexasilver.com/
Animal Attraction: ebook at Ellora's Cave; $2.99 download
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419909511

Talking to the Author: Katherine Cross

Katherine Cross is a new author, and her first story released is a male/male/female menage set at Christmas, with a sort of fantasy/paranormal element. Different and delicious. She agreed to talk about what it was like creating that first story. She sounds like an erudite and experienced lady.

Seren: You have your first book out with Ellora's Cave. What gave you the idea for this story? Why did you decide to include male-on-male sex in the menage a trois relationship?

Katherine: My first book with Ellora's Cave is a Christmas Quickie called Nutcracker Prince. I've always been fascinated by the Nutcracker ballet—it's a yearly tradition in my family—so it seemed only natural to use that as the base idea for my story. As for the M/M sex in the ménage a trois relationship… I prefer an equal romantic triangle when writing. While I enjoy reading M/F/M fiction, I tend to want to write relationships where all partners are equals.

Seren: Why do you think m/m has recently become such a big fad with women romance readers?

Katherine: Actually, there is nothing new about M/M. M/M has been around for a very long time, gaining widespread recognition during the 70's due to Star Trek fanzines and the popularity of the Kirk/Spock romantic pairing. Fan communities centering around M/M romances (called slash as a result of the slash mark used between the two character names) have been around for many years; however, it has only recently "broken out" amongst erotic romance publishers. I'm not certain why that is, but I have a few guesses. One guess is that Romance's trend toward Paranormal and Futuristic has opened the genre up to these fan communities—many Romance writers now write what these fans want to read. TOR has opened a Romance line, Harlequin has opened a Fantasy line… Speculative Fiction and Romance are blending together to a certain extent, which has encouraged readers to cross over. As these readers and writers bring their genre tropes into Romance, "old-time" Romance readers are realizing that hey, M/M is pretty darn hot.

Seren: Do you think romance readers are as interested in just two men as they are in man/man/woman menages?

Katherine: That's a tricky question. I think that as a whole, M/M/F is easier for a lot of people to swallow than M/M, so it's embraced more fully. M/M/F takes the excitement and eroticism of M/M and makes it accessible to women. It's really the best of both worlds—two hot guys who are into each other but who are also interested in *me*? What's not to like? I do think there is a definite market for M/M and that there are many readers who want (pardon the pun) straight M/M, but M/M/F has the ability to reach a wider audience.

Seren: The one everyone really wants to know: How do you research your male-on-male sex scenes? Do you think they are realistic?

Katherine: As much as I'd like to say I have two boyfriends stashed away at home… I'll go for honesty and say reading. I'm a big fan of M/M and M/M/F and I read a great deal. Gay fiction, gay romances, stories written by men, stories written by women… A large part of a writer's education is through reading and internalizing what we read. I also ask questions, make it my business to meet people who have hands-on experience and do research. As for realism, I'd have to answer yes and no. Women writing gay sex will naturally approach gay sex from a feminine point of view. I can differentiate between the reality and the fantasy of M/M and M/M/F just as I can differentiate between the reality and fantasy of M/F. Romances typically offer a somewhat idealized vision of sex and romance no matter the gender of the participants—no one wants to read about morning breath, after all. It's my job as a writer to understand the reality, recognize the fantasy and give the readers something in between the two.

Seren: Do you have more stories coming? And if so, will some or all include m/m or m/m/f?

Katherine: I do have more stories coming. I am just now finishing a M/M historical set on a British Navy ship of the line during the Napoleonic wars called Lover's Knots. I also have a M/M/F demon ménage called Devil's Night, which has been a lot of fun to write. Along with these, I have several M/F books, including a necromancer/nephilim story called Death-Speaker, which will be included in the Ellora's Cavemen Seasons of Seduction volume IV. It releases in digital and print on December 22 nd.

Thank you very much, Katherine!
Katherine's web site is http://katherine-cross.com/
She can be reached at katherinemcross@gmail.com
Nutcracker Prince: ebook at Ellora's Cave; $2.99 download
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=1-4199-0793-X

Talking to the Author: Samantha Kane

Samantha Kane, and her Brothers In Arms stories at Ellora's Cave, has become an auto-buy for me. So, being as I know her editor, I got brave enough to ask "Do you think she'd do an interview for my blog?" And Samantha was incredibly gracious and kind.

Seren: You have a very popular Regency-set erotic romance series out with Ellora’s Cave, BROTHERS IN ARMS, and each story is a ménage a trois including male-on-male sex. That’s unusual in an historical romance. What made you decide to write that?

Samantha: I’d like to say that I spent hours and hours refining a high concept for the idea, but that would be a lie, LOL. It was one of those lightbulb moments where you’re sitting or walking along, da dum, dum, dum, and WHAM! It hit me and I sat down and wrote the first five or six chapters and it worked. I think the idea was percolating in my head, and my brain, without my conscious participation, said hey stupid, how about this? Idiot. My brain talks to me like that a lot.

Honestly, I have always liked really hot romance. I was totally fed up with books that led up to excruciatingly short, euphemistic love scenes that ended before they began by slamming the bedroom door in my face. I had already completed one manuscript, which was a sensual romance, and most of the people who read it said the same thing—you write amazing sex scenes. So I didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what my strength was. Then I discovered Ellora’s Cave and erotic romance, and thought wow,what a fantastic idea, romance with extremely hot, explicit sex that ends with a happily ever after. I want to write that.

I only read a few erotic romances, and of those only two or three ménage stories, before writing THE COURAGE TO LOVE. It’s as if that idea was just waiting for the opportunity to present itself. The ménage stories I read were contemporaries, and after reading them I felt…cheated. It was as if half the love story had been edited out. Here were two gorgeous, amazing men who were close friends making love to the same woman for whom they both had feelings, or had the potential to have feelings for, and the sexual tension and chemistry between the men was never addressed. Not only that but the men never even touched while making love to the woman, a feat that would take a great deal of work and the limberness of a Chinese acrobat. The love story was incomplete, and the sex unsatisfactory. So I decided to write a ménage the way I wanted it to be.

I had two goals in THE COURAGE TO LOVE. One, create a situation where two men would development the kind of close relationship that would make them want to share a woman for life, and two, provide a plausible happily ever after for my three lovers. War was very much on everyone’s mind at the time, and it occurred to me that there is a situation where men become incredibly close, particularly men who fight together, watch each other’s backs, live together, and survive together. It was a natural step to imagine the heroes of COURAGE as veterans. Contemporary veterans, however, was not, in my opinion, an option. I think a contemporary setting presents too many problems for a believable ménage happily ever after unless it’s a paranormal, but I’m not going to talk about that right now. So I had to make my veterans historical characters. I’m a huge Regency-set historical fan, Jo Beverly is a favorite, so I decided to make my heroes Peninsular War veterans. This was a big gulp moment for me, because I had always written contemporaries. COURAGE was the first historical I tried.

A Regency setting was also a good choice for goal number two, a plausible happily ever after. As fans of Regency-set historicals know, the period was rife with sexual excess beneath its veneer of social rigidity. The way to legitimize those excesses was marriage. As long as your spouse looked the other way, or better yet engaged in the same activities, all was forgiven if it wasn’t too obvious or objectionable. So another aspect of the story emerged: the heroine had to marry one of the heroes to make their ménage “acceptable” in the eyes of society.

And there you have it. After only a couple of chapters it became obvious that COURAGE was the start of a series, not a stand alone book. There were so many veterans clamoring for their own story that I knew I couldn’t do this idea justice in just one book. The fourth Brothers in Arms novel will be out this fall, in November.

Seren: How do you maintain the romance, not just sex, between two men?

Samantha: I don’t differentiate between my lovers, it’s all romance. I treat the relationship between the men the same way I treat the relationships between the men and the woman. I try very hard to make sure that there are three love stories being told. To use the characters from THE COURAGE TO LOVE, I wanted to make sure that Tony and Kate, Jason and Kate, and Jason and Tony all had equal time. I think that may be even more obvious in LOVE UNDER SIEGE, and AT LOVE’S COMMAND, my upcoming fall release.

For each love story I explore what brings them together, what they find appealing about the other person, what they eventually fall in love with. The heroes in my stories are as enthralled with one another’s bodies, scents, laughter as they are the heroine’s. I also answer the central question in any love story, to me anyway--why are these two people together? What do they give, or provide, to each other that makes them so important? It’s a central part of the character arc. The relationships that develop change my characters in some positive way as a result of the love they share. That’s romance, baby.

Seren: Why do you think m/m romantic relationships have recently become such a big fad with women romance readers?

Samantha: Umm, let’s call it a trend, which I think will continue far into the foreseeable future. I’m going to combine this question with your next one: "Do you think romance readers are as interested in just two men as they are in man/man/woman ménages?"

I think the male/male/female ménage is a favorite female fantasy. So no, I don’t think romance readers as a group are as interested in just male/male as they are in the type of ménage I write about. That’s not to say there isn’t a readership for male/male out there, there obviously is. But I think romance novel readers would be more inclined to accept a male/male/female ménage because it’s a way to vicariously live the dream.Two gorgeous men want to have wild monkey sex with one lucky girl for the rest of their lives, and love her forever. Holy fantasyland, Batman, youbetcha! It’s also easier for them to relate to the sex when they can experience it through a woman’s viewpoint. And yes, I am making the assumption that most romance readers are women. Again, yes, there are men who like romance, but I don’t think I’m speaking heretically to say that your typical romance reader is a woman. And she wants to be able to place herself in the pages of the book. In a male/male/female ménage she’s able to do so as a participant. In a male/male, she’s an outsider looking in.That may be oversimplifying, but that’s the way I think of it.

As for why the male/male aspect of the ménage has become more popular, I think it’s because we like men, LOL. We especially like handsome, strong, masculine, sexy, take charge guys. Who are naked. I’ll take two, please. And then, oh yeah, have them make love to one another for my pleasure. Yep, that’ll do it. I don’t think it’s some social phenomena that’s a symptom of some greater societal issue. It’s just two naked sexy guys doing each other. Yikes, is it hot in here or is it me? We could get Freudian and say that through the male/male sex women are able to hypothetically fuck men, which in reality they can’t do without a strap-on. That may be Jungian. I honestly blew off that whole semester, but you get my drift.

Seren: Ooh, the thing we’re all dying to ask: How do you research your male-on-male scenes? Do you think they are realistic?

Samantha: ROFLMAO. I hate to disappoint, but as I told my Dad, I write fiction, not autobiography. I’m probably going to get a lot of grief over this but here goes—I never read, or watched, any gay or bisexual stories or movies before writing THE COURAGE TO LOVE. That’s right, not one. I drew on my own background of loving, and making love to, a man. The feel, the taste, the scents, the sounds, they don’t change based on who’s pitching and who’s catching in the lineup that day. And after forty years I damn well better be able to figure out which slot to put Tab A in. As for realism, (shrugging here) who’s to say? They’re realistic for me. I like to think they’re realistic for my readers. The feedback I get seems to indicate they are. But let’s be honest, how realistic are the sex scenes in the majority of romance novels? If we wanted realism we’d just read Sex forDummies. Instead we read fiction—romanticized ideals of what we want sex to be. I think the sex in erotic romances comes closest to the real thing than other genres, but again, readers don’t want the real thing. They want it better, faster, stronger, for less than six million dollars. Was that reference too dated, LOL?

Seren: Do you have more stories coming? And if so, will they include m/m or m/m/f?

Samantha: Yes, and yes. As I mentioned earlier, the next Brothers in Arms novel willbe released from Ellora’s Cave sometime in November, and is titled AT LOVE’S COMMAND. It is the story of Ian Witherspoon, his lover Derek Knightly, and Ian’s wife, Sophie. AT LOVE’S COMMAND is nearly twice as long as THE COURAGE TO LOVE and LOVE UNDER SIEGE, so it should satisfy all those readers who’ve told me to write longer books! For the first time I go back and explore the start of the men’s relationship during the war, and readers will also see Jason and Tony from THE COURAGE TO LOVE and their war experiences. I loved writing this book so much I was heartbroken when it was over. Luckily I had another project to jump right into. Right now I’m working on my first ever science fiction/futuristic novel. It’s also a male/male/female ménage, and I’m completely in love with the characters. I like to think of it as what if Han, Luke and Leia were doing it? Tell George Lucas not to panic, the story is completely different, but the whole good vs. evil and love triumphant theme still rings true. As someone once said, there’s only one story but endless ways to tell it. Next year will see more Brothers In Arms, specifically Freddy and Brett’s story, and quite possibly Very, Michael and Wolf’s story as well. Whew! I better get writing.

Seren: Thank you, Samantha! And now get back to writing! I'm really looking forward to your futuristic. Especially since our editor has so cruelly refused to give me a glimpse of your upcoming fourth Brother in Arms. November? I have to wait until November?!

Book Review: The Courage to Love by Samantha Kane

I didn't think I'd be interested in male-on-male romances. I subscribe to the theory that the female reader consciously or subconsciously identifies with the heroine, wants to be in her place in the story. Which means I want the man or men paying attention to ME, not to each other. Plus, I just didnt' think I'd find detailed descriptions of gay sex appealing or even interesting.

Boy, was I wrong. Okay, maybe I cheated a little. This story, and most of the ones in this genre I've read since then, are actually menages of two men and a woman. Yeah, the two guys have sex with each other, but they are also each making it with the heroine - so I get to put myself in the fantasy.

This is the first in Ms. Kane's Brothers in Arms series. There are three books out now, a fourth coming soon. The setting is Regency England, the main characters are men who were British officers in the Napoleonic Wars. They survived the horrors of war by supporting each other, often sharing women - and sometimes ending up sharing each other. But now back at home in England, they have to think about propriety, about their families' expections, about finding wives who will provide heirs.

In The Courage to Love, Jason and Tony have been in love with Kate for several years. But she was married to another man. She became a widow, but they were away. Now they are back and they want her - they BOTH want her. Although she seems able to accept the shocking notion of two men and a triad relationship, she refuses to marry them. The reasons for her reluctance, the horrifying event that is affecting her, and the villain lurking about are gradually revealed.

At the start of the story, Jason and Tony are best friends, deeply and emotionally attached to each other - but they've never had a sexual or romantic connection between them. Through their shared love for Kate, and sharing her in bed, they come to recognize the depth of their attachment to each other. And eventually the threesome becomes truly three-way.

There are many secondary characters. Lots of fellow officers get introduced, who become heroes in future books in the series. It was hard to keep them and their relationships straight. But they were all enjoyable. The only character I didn't care for was Kate's niece, who lives with her. I was uncomfortable with this very young (she's 15 or 16) woman in the situation, and I found her an annoying and obnoxious person. (Of course, she's a teenager--so maybe that's realistic.)

I cannot tell you how much I loved this story! The main characters are so vivid, so intense, so endearing in their emotional struggles. The sex is beyond hot. Yes, I drooled over the male/male sex scenes, to my surprise. Yep, I immediately purchased and read the second and third in the series, and am eagerly awaiting the next. They just get better and better.

Ebook at http://www.ellorascave.com/ . The print book will be out in September.
Author website samanthakane.us

Vacation is Hard Work

I'm almost at the end of my two-week vacation. You know, that time when I was going to spend lots of time reading great books, lounge in the yard...and make many blog entries. What did I actually spend my time doing? Cleaning. And more cleaning. Reorganizing the kitchen and bedroom. Doing minor house repairs. More cleaning. I HATE CLEANING.

Anyway, I didn't get all those blog entries done, and now I'm trying to catch up. My topic for the next week is male-on-male erotic romances. Book reviews, author interviews.

Book Review: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

This fascinating paranormal is labeled as "fiction". It does have a bit of romance - at least, the start of one - but it isn't by any means a romance novel.

I loved the interesting and unique world building in this story. Yay, something a bit different! Georgina, the female protagonist, is a succubus -- but hates what she is. She's been around for, oh, a couple thousand years, but now lives in Seattle and works in a bookstore. Her history is gradually revealed, so that the reader can understand and empathize with her emotional dysfunctioning, her conflicted self-image. Georgina is a good person - she is still feeling guilty and suffering for a mistake made two thousand years ago, the one that led to her being converted to a succubus.

There are lots of intriguing secondary characters, both humans and various types of immortals. Several potential love interests crop up for the heroine. The plot involves denizens of Heaven and Hell somewhat disjointedly working together on a problem that falls into both their realms. I can't tell you more without spoiling the story for you -- definitely go read this yourself! The ending does leave just enough hanging strings to make you eager to read a sequel, without making you dissatisfied or annoyed by unanswered questions.

Oh, by the way, it is written in first-person, if that matters to you as a reader.

The author's website lists the sequel as "Succubus on Top", coming January 2008.
http://www.richellemead.com/

Kensington Publishing, March 2007, trade paperback, $15.00

No More Clean Plate Club For Me!

Did your mama raise you right? Right after "Clean your plate, there are children starving in Africa" came "Finish what you start." For me, and I think many readers, that also applies to books. I spent most of my life thinking that if I read page one of a story, I had to read all the way to the end. It would somehow be a crime or a sin to not finish the book.

No more! I had an epiphany. I do NOT have to finish every book I start. If it's bad, I'm allowed to stop wasting time on it. Now, it took a lot of effort to convince myself of this. There's that hope of "well, maybe it will improve if I read one more chapter". Or the "I'm not enjoying this, but I do want to know how it ends." Or "I paid $7.99 for this book, it would be a waste of my money if I don't read the whole thing."

1) I've been reading for many, many years. (It's rude to ask a lady her age.) I can't recall any book where the first couple pages or chapters really turned me off, but then the book got significantly better. If the author couldn't entrance me with the beginning, it's just not going to get better. Stop hoping and just stop reading.
2) So I'm not enjoying the writing or the plot, but I do have a compulsion to know what happens to these characters. That's what "skimming" is for! I've learned to flip through the pages looking for a particular reference or character name, and just read snatches to grasp the action. Or just jump right to the last chapter to find out how it ends. (However, I'm going to have to keep this under control - I certainly don't want to become one of those people who read the ending first!)
3) The money's already spent. It won't cost me any more or less based on how many pages I read. So why should I now waste something even more valuable and scarce than money -- my time? I've got a TBR mountain - it's unfair to those books to ignore them while I spend time with a mediocre book.

So I'm practicing. I stop after two or three chapters and actually ask myself "Am I enjoying this story? Is it worth my time?" Sometimes the book isn't so bad, it's just that I'm not in the mood for that type of story at the moment. I'll put it aside and maybe I'll come back to it another time. But if I'm truly not intrigued by the story, or the writing style is driving me crazy -- it's time to quit, to put this book in the "take to the used bookstore" bag, and move on to a much better read.

How many books have you not finished recently? And what made you quit? Or are you still the "Clean your plate" type?

Book Review: Romeo by Gail Faulkner

I hesitate to apply the words sweet and endearing to an erotic romance, but that actually is how this story made me feel. I loved it, and adored the luscious heroine and hero.

Lauren had a heart transplant two years ago, but doesn't tell most people about it. She's tired of being babied and overprotected by her father and brothers, she wants to be able to live an independent and normal life. This weekend, she's off with her friend Carla (a doctor-to-be), to a gathering of Carla's family at the ranch owned by her wealthy cousin Romeo. Yep, that really is his name and he is drop-dead gorgeous and sexy and accustomed to having women fall at his feet. Carla describes him as "bossy, dictatorial and a general pain in the ass." That's because Romeo's parents died when he was young and he had to become the responsible head of the family very early. He goes overboard in trying to control and protect everyone, subconsciously trying to protect himself from losing another loved one.

Carla and her cousins are expecting lovely Lauren, known for being an "Ice Queen" with little interest in men, to give Romeo the cold shoulder, and they are looking forward to his reaction to a woman who doesn't fall for him. It doesn't work out quite that way -- Lauren and Romeo fall for each other at first sight, although in a private manner, not sloppy public pawings. Romeo recognizes Lauren's medical problems--his mother had a bad heart--and of course immediately tries to smother her with controlling protectiveness. But he's met his match in the seemingly quiet and gentle Lauren. She can manipulate with the best of them, and soon is making it quite clear to him what the word "equals" means and what the consequences are of trying to make her decisions for her. By the end of the story, it's easy to tell who will be in charge of this relationship, and that Romeo is going to enjoy every minute of the battle.

Lauren gets a five-star rating from me, she is the true iron fist in velvet glove and completely endearing and lovable. The relationship between Lauren and Romeo progesses a bit too fast--you really have to suspend disbelief to go along with them being engaged and contemplating a quick wedding trip to Las Vegas within two days of meeting. But the concept of love at first sight, of instantly recognizing "the one" and being immediately willing to make a life commitment, is a fantasy we all enjoy surrendering to, as a break from the way love works in real life.

Ebook at http://www.ellorascave.com/ or print book (trade paperback, $14.00) in the "Hurts So Good" anthology from Pocket Books
Author website: http://www.gailfaulkner.com/index2.html

Book Review: Captain’s Lady by Sharon Milburn

Yes, I can read and enjoy something that isn’t loaded with sizzling sex scenes! Mind you, I don’t do it very often, but I can…

Didn’t most of us read the short, traditional Regency romances when we were young girls? The incomparable Georgette Heyer! Those sweet, shy (but actually clever and independent) misses making their come-out in the London Season, those daring rakes who would drag the lady into scandal and then make a love-match of it? And all with just a kiss or two, perhaps a touch of hands.

This type of Regency fell out of favor in recent years, although “Regency-set historicals” remain popular – longer length, more complex story lines, much hotter sensuality. A few publishers have leapt to fill in the gap for readers who still want the traditional type of Regency. Cerridwen Press started its Cotillion line this year, putting out one ebook a month; the books seem to be showing up in print a couple of months after the ebook.

Captain’s Lady features Alice Carstairs, who is beyond the age of coming out and finding a husband (gee, if you haven’t done that by twenty, you’re on the shelf). Due to the loss of the family’s money, she is drudging at a bleak and uncomfortable position, running the household and caring for the children of a distant relative. It’s an awful situation, since that family is also about to lose its home and Alice’s integrity and loyalty are at their limit. The new heir is dashing Captain Sir Edward Masterman, and although he knows nothing about being lord of the manor, his arrival saves the household and Alice.

Despite the accusations and lies of others, Sir Edward quickly recognizes Alice’s true qualities and comes to rely on her opinions and her help in solving local problems. She is quite clever and tactful in her advice, and most of the staff and villagers love her. But there are those jealous or guilty few… Sir Edward wants to take care of Alice the way she takes care of everyone else. But he’s also torn by his attachment to his naval career and his desire to fight the evil Bonaparte. And Alice falls in love with him but of course thinks that he could never marry a penniless nobody like her. (For those of you inexperienced in traditional Regencies, this is the stock phrase used to describe a good half of these romances.)

This is a typical story of the genre, containing most of the standard elements. But it is very well written and well plotted, I enjoyed the author’s voice and talent, I loved the hero and heroine. I strongly recommend it to those who love the Traditional Regency genre.

Print (trade paperback, $9.99) and ebook ($5.95); Cerridwen Press
Author website: www.users.bigpond.com/micenko/

Book Review: Elven Surrender by Jory Strong

Anything Jory Strong writes is fantastic. I got hooked on her from her first book, Trace’s Psychic, and that Supernatural Bonds series remains my favorite. She has four ongoing series (paranormal, contemporary romantic suspense, futuristic), and mixes in the occasional unrelated short story or novella. Elven Surrender is a fantasy/paranormal short novella, with a menage a trois.

Silver has been trained as a witch, and is about to undergo the initiation rite and go off to handle her own remote territory. But a little-understood mystical mark appears on her hand, indicating that she may be destined to be the mate of a warlock—a fate she does not want, as it would mean surrendering her will and mind to the warlock’s control and never having a territory of her own. Pursued, she flees into the forbidden forest, where she’s intercepted by…

Wraith and Tynan, elven half-brothers. They were raised to hate each other, competing to eventually assume their father’s role as Lord of their land. But they are actually both more intelligent, more interested in healing and helping their people after their father’s evil rule—even if it means they must work together. The only way they can combine their powers and have their elven people accept them jointly is to share a wife. They foresee Silver, and know the mark on her hand means she is theirs. What neither they nor she know is that she is a rare half-elven, and her heritage could have an unpredictable impact on their joining.

Loved it! Hot, hot. (Ooh, I wish I had a bathroom/bathing tub like Wraith’s!) Short but satisfying, although I do hope Ms. Strong considers setting more stories in this world in future. Write faster, write faster!

e-book, available from http://www.ellorascave.com/
Author website: http://www.jorystrong.com/welcome.html

Book Review: Witch Fire by Anya Bast

Until now, Mira’s had a rather dull life. She was raised by a maiden aunt after her parents were killed in an accident when she was a baby. She’s recovering from a recent divorce from her cheating lawyer husband, living in a cheap apartment and working as a waitress to earn money to go back to college. Then sexy Jack sits down at a table in the diner and orders coffee – and Mira’s world changes. Turns out she’s an incredibly powerful and rare air witch, as were both her parents. Jack is a fire witch, sent by the Witch Coven to protect her. Seems that the head of the Evil Warlocks, who killed Mira’s parents, now wants her. To cure his own fatal illness, he needs to summon a demon by draining the power of (and killing) four elemental witches.

When Mira’s attacked by warlocks, Jack takes her to the Coven headquarters to protect her and to provide her with training in her powers. The two of them also, of course (after all, this is a romance), fall in lust and love, but they both resist the attraction. Mira wants time to recover from her divorce, plus is trying to cope with all these wild alterations in her world view. Jack’s reasons are darker – he’s overcome by guilt. He hasn’t told Mira that (1) his father is head of the evil warlocks, and (2) when he was ten years old he witnessed his father killing her mother, and was unable to save her.

This was an intriguing story that kept me reading. Not perfect, but very good, and I will definitely buy the sequel (Witch Blood). Mira and Jack are great characters. There’s lots of intense sex. Well, actually, I got so interested in the plot moving forward that I began to skim the sex scenes – at times, it did feel like some were unnecessary to the story and had been inserted just to feed the trend for erotic romances. I appreciated that although Mira initially resisted believing in witch’s and magic—wouldn’t most of us?—once she saw it “in action” she was smart enough to accept. She is a determined, intelligent and level-headed heroine. There’s one TSTL moment near the end, when she insists that Jack not be included in a dangerous rescue mission—even though he’s the most capable person, she wants to protect him. Of course he finds out and shows up to save the day.

My only other complaint is the very sparse world-building. I wanted to know a lot more about these elemental witches: where they come from, how their power works and what its limits are, how they fit into the regular world, how their own witch society functions and governs itself, and so forth. Almost nothing is explained. At one point, Mira asks these questions and no one answers her, either. I hope Ms. Bast expands on this in the future books of the Elemental Witches series. I’m eager to read them!

print book (mass market, $7.99), Berkley Sensation
You can check out the author’s website at www.anyabast.com

Are the Big Boys Ruining Erotic Romance?

The continued success of erotic romance depends on expanding the reader base, enticing more mainstream romance readers to this genre. But are the big New York print publishers turning off readers who give erotic romance a try?

Remember the days when almost the only place to get quality erotic romance was online from e-publishers? Although print publishers like Red Sage (the Secrets anthologies started in 1995) and Black Lace had been around for a while, they weren’t in the forefront of most romance readers’ recognition. Ellora’s Cave basically launched the erotic romance trend in 2000 after author/founder Jaid Black was told by NY publishers that women would not want to read her sexually explicit romances. EC became (and still is) the big fish in this pond. Other e-pubs and small presses jumped into the water and found it a good place to be. Sales went up and up – clearly, women DID want to read ErRom. Then a couple of years ago, EC went into print and hit the Borders bookshelves in a big way. That’s when NY print publishers really began to notice that this could be a lucrative market segment, and now all the big boys have joined the party. Kensington Aphrodisia, Harlequin Spice, Avon Red, Berkley Heat. ErRom is THE booming genre in romance. But will it last, or how long until the boom goes bust, and what will determine whether the trend stays with us?

Now I get to give you my not-so-humble opinion. Join in and post your thoughts.

I’ve heard a lot of muttering that the ErRom market is getting swamped, flooded, overcrowded—whatever you want to call it. In other words, too many books coming out. For some reason, people think that will overwhelm readers, drive them away from the genre. I don’t get it. Why would having lots of choices make readers less likely to buy books in the genre? Yes, it means more competition amongst authors/books, possibly lowering the sales figures on each individual book. After all, if a reader buys, say, six ErRom books each a month, and there are only six new ones released – well, you know yours will be bought. BUT if there are twelve new titles to choose from, your book may only get picked up by half the people. HOWEVER, the overall number of ErRom books purchased didn’t go down.

In fact, I believe having more titles available could increase the popularity of the genre. Readers will have different types and subgenres and author writing styles to select from, are more likely to find things they really like, and therefore will keep reading the genre.

But I think there are two factors that COULD seriously damage the ability of ErRom to spread to a much bigger segment of the mainstream romance readers. And both are being caused by the frantic efforts of the big NY publishers to get in on this trend and milk as much out of it as quickly as possible, even if they end up killing it off. After all, there will always be another trend for them to chase…

(1) Blurring the line between erotic romance and erotica.
The epubs stressed the difference between the two. If something was labeled “erotic romance”, it was a ROMANCE--focus on the relationship between hero and heroine, ending with that emotionally satisfying committed HEA (to paraphrase the RWA definition). ErRom added explicit sex as part of the development of the relationship and the plot. “Erotica” can be fun and sexy and even have romance – but the focus is on the sexual relationship, not the emotional one, and the hero and heroine are not necessarily monogamous and may not be committed to each other at the end of the story. Some readers like both genres, some prefer one or the other only.

The NY boys are trying to have it both ways. Their advertising and labels on the books can’t be trusted to correctly identify ErRom versus erotica. Maybe they don’t understand the distinction. A lot of authors say it’s hard to figure out what these publishers want to see submitted, because the publishers don’t know themselves. They’re still trying to figure out what sells best. Maybe these publishers don’t WANT to let romance readers know that some of those stories are erotica, not romance – because that could lower sales. So this leads to confusion, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment amongst readers new to the genre, those trying it out to see if they like it. If you want to read a romance, you’re going to be disappointed if that “erotic romance” you bought isn’t “romantic”. You may conclude the whole genre is lacking, and you won’t waste your money buying any more books.

Failing to clearly define and appropriately identify erotic romance versus erotica is turning off the mainstream romance readers who are new to trying this genre.

(2) Putting out poor quality stories in the rush to cash in on this trend as quickly as possible.
With all the NY pubs in the act now, “resources” are stretched thin to fill all those releases. In this case, the resources are authors who can produce great ErRom stories. First the big boys raided the epublishers for experienced authors already proven to be fan favorites. (Several EC authors told me the story of how it sure looked like editors at Avon Red took the list of authors off the EC website and alphabetically started contacting almost all, soliciting submissions.)

Now publishers are “running out of resources”. There’s been much speculation that editors at some of the NY pub erotic romance lines are lowering standards, desperately accepting books, sliding them through the editing process, and generally putting out a lot of not-so-good stories—just because they need books to release. What is one to think when a brand new, never-published author brags online that she just got a three-book contract from a major NY ErRom publisher based on a couple of pages of synopsis and the first few chapters of one unfinished book? What drove that editor to accept this, since she can’t tell if the author is even capable of completing a full book, let alone by deadline, and whether the author can sustain the quality throughout, not just is those first couple polished-over-and-over chapters? Well, the editor likely accepted it because, yes, she loved the story concept; but also because she’s under pressure to get lots of ErRom out there while the market is hot, and is competing against all the other ErRom lines trying to find authors. So the editor may not have the time to ask to see a full manuscript like one normally would. I’ve read the advance promo for this book and series, it sounds very intriguing. But will the writing and stories measure up, given the author’s inexperience and the pressure the editor may be under to get anything that can be labeled ErROm, no matter how poorly written or edited, out onto the bookshelves?

I hear constant comments from readers and from other authors that there are some books they really enjoy in the NY ErRom lines, but find far too many amateurish, poorly written, poorly edited. Giving new authors their shot is a great thing, but does require extra time and effort from the editor/publisher to work with the author on the first books. And that doesn’t seem to be happening in the rush to put out ErRom while the trend is still hot.

A mainstream romance reader just trying out erotic romance is unfortunately likely to start with one of these not-so-great books, and be turned off the genre as a whole.

Conclusion: I firmly believe erotic romance as a genre is a permanent part of the landscape. Like trends in past, its popularity will blaze for a while, then cool down. But the best writers and publishers will continue, and in fact will likely do even better once the fad-following publishers eventually move on to something else. IF those big boys don't irreparably damage the genre's reputation and marketability with mainstream romance readers.

Book review: Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction I & II

First off, let me say that I read a lot of anthologies. My reading time is limited, it's almost impossible to find an uninterrupted chunk of several hours to plow through a whole book. But I can fit in novella-length stories. Plus, like many other readers, I've found this is a great way to discover new-to-me authors. I couldn't even count the number of times I've loved a story in an anthology and done an Amazon or Google search for that author and discovered their backlist. And bought them all!

I love the annual series from Ellora's Cave. Four books each year, six stories in each, a mix of genres, a mix of experienced and newbie authors. I don't, of course, love every story in every book, but these anthologies probably have the highest "success rate" with me for liking almost all the stories.

Plus, the books come out in print (trade paperback) the same day they are released as ebooks! I do indeed call my local Borders and rush to get the book. I'm feeling especially spoiled this time. I bought Seasons of Seduction I, but a friend gave me the ARC of volume II, which was available at BEA.

Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction I (March 2007)

An historical, a contemporary, a vampire, an alien abduction (sorta), a paranormal (a banshee and a demon), and a fantasy paranormal! Something to please anyone. And contains one of my very favorite authors, Jory Strong; I'd pay the $15.99 for her alone.

1. Okay, I admit I'm not a fan of historicals, especially medievals. So I sort of skimmed Her Lance-Alot by Delilah Devlin. But who could resist that title!
2. The contemporary Dance of the Plain Jane by newbie Lillian Feisty is hot, hot!
3. Very interesting Club Vamp by Allyson James, plus I adore menage stories. I'd have loved to read this as a longer story with the world building expanded.
4. Another luscious menage in Choosing Madison by Sherrill Quinn (another newbie at the Cave). The aliens are a lot of fun.
5. Come Howling by Denise Rossetti is hysterical! Who knew a banshee could be so funny? Definitely not the half-breed demon who falls for her.
6. Lyrael's Sacrifice - Not the best by Jory Strong, in my opinion. But even on her off days she's incredible. Again, there's a lot of stuff packed into this short length, it might have benefited from more space to explain the world.

Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction II (June 2007)
(Remember that I read the ARC - there could have been some changes between that and the final version released yesterday.)

1. Gillian's Island by Lani Aames is a contemporary with paranormal elements. It was good, but not great. It's a bit hard to cram two couples/relationships into a short story.
2. Devon's Vix by Rebecca Airies actually had a new twist on a vampire world. Something a little different in this overloaded genre is always welcome! I loved the relationship between h/h. Vix, BTW, is her term for a female vampire - I like it.
3. Wendy's Summer Job by Charlotte Boyett-Compo is pure spoof of all the cliches in romance novels. It is completely unlike the dark fantasies this author typically writes. The author's note at the beginning says, "Please read little Wendy's story with your tongue firmly tucked in your sweet little cheek and expect the words to be a pretty shade of purple." Enjoy!
4. I'd love to know more about the warprinces and the futuristic world introduced in Chasing the Dragon by Megan Kerans. Maybe she'll do future novels set there.
5. Viking's Pledge by Melany Logen is an historical. The h/h relationship is very touching, as he is determined to protect her and willing to give her up if that's what she wants.
6. Taking It All by Cheyenne McCray is hot BDSM. Ooh, I love the ice cube scene! One of my favorite fantasies.

e-book ($9.99) and print book (trade paperback) from Ellora's Cave Publishing

Welcome to my world

If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem...

I resisted getting into the blogging trend. There are many things about it I dislike. It eats up time when I could be reading books or writing my own stories. And so many blogs are either merely an excuse for the blogger's ego, or are really negative: out-and-out attempts to create controversy or push some nasty agenda or spread unpleasant gossip.

Then I started visualizing the type of blog I wanted to read. And realized that I should be part of the solution by creating a blog like that. A blog for authors and for readers, where we discuss publishing industry news, provide information to each other, and talk about the books we read. But always in a constructive manner - no flaming, no attempts to discredit or defame any writer or publisher, no revealing info about anyone's personal life. The focus is on the books and the industry. Yeah, a book review can be unflattering - if I don't like it, I'm going to say so. But in context of what didn't work for me in the story, and always about the story, not about the author's personal life. And if there are troubling rumors about a publisher, sharing those with other authors can help us all - but only as long as the information is constructive and is not clearly overblown or an attempt to discredit someone or some company.

So if you are looking for nasty dirt, or want to have arguments, or want to learn intimate details about someone's life, this is not the place for you. But if you want to analyze books - what worked, what didn't - or discuss writing problems and styles or philosophize about the publishing world, please join me in scribbling.