You can’t have a discussion about what makes erotica and erotic romance HOT without talking a bit to the publishers and editors who are responsible for bringing the books to us. Over the last several years your typical romance novel has taken a turn for the better. Not content with the boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after, the romance buying public wants to know every little, explicit detail of how they got there. More and more print publishers are marketing their romances as erotic. This is what led to my quest for information. Where is the line between mainstream romance, erotic romance, and erotic fiction? Are some publishers adding “erotic” to the book to tap into a new market? Well, here is where the lines blur…considerably. Before I started to research this I thought I knew what erotic romance was. Erotic romance is a fictional account of a story that focuses on the romantic relationship between two or more characters with the sexual activity told in a frank and obvious manner. No blurry lines! Right? Maybe! Now, the more I read, I find that there is romance in the strangest places.

The first erotica I read was Anais Nin. This woman could spin a tale. She and a group of writer friends began writing erotica in 1940 for a private collector at a dollar a page. These writings were never published during her lifetime and ironically were her only writings to ever reach the New York Times Bestseller list. “When his fever rose, his breath was like that of some legendary bull galloping furiously to a delirious goring, a goring without pain, a goring which lifted her almost bodily from the bed, raised her sex in the air as if he would thrust right through her body and tear it, leaving her only when the wound was made, a wound of ecstasy and pleasure which rent her body like lightning, and let her fall again, moaning, a victim of too great a joy, a joy that was like a little death, a dazzling little death that no drug or alcohol could give, that nothing else could give but two bodies in love with each other, in love deep within their beings, with every atom and cell and nerve, and thought."1 Yes, that was all one sentence! But WOW! That is powerful, erotic and even romantic and there isn’t a naughty word in it! Nin’s work is considered erotic fiction, and not romance. She was definitely ahead of her time.

Fast forward to 1993 and Black Lace Books is born. Launched as an experiment, Black Lace books are unashamedly explicit and have explored areas of sexual fantasy where other women's erotica had, at the time, feared to tread. Even to this day, Black Lace only accepts submissions from women, feeling that only a woman can adequately write erotica for another woman and keep if from sounding like a Penthouse letter. Their website has the most complete set of instructions and guidelines for submissions on the web. When guiding the prospective authors toward what language to use they tell us, “The erotica-buying public is practically unshockable these days, and would rather a cock was called a cock than 'a pulsing rod of desire'.” No arguments here! Black Lace also limits the use of modifiers in an effort to eliminate the “yuk” factor. “Our readers do not want endless references to 'sopping vaginas' and 'semen-filled cunts'.” Okay, no arguments with that either. However, the most interesting fact about submitting a manuscript for their consideration is the type of storyline they discourage. Paranormal, fantasy, vampire, castles, mansions, masters and submissive maids??…hmmm! I am not so sure that they shouldn’t rethink that. Fantasy based in reality is fine; however, don’t we like some fantasy based on, well, fantasy? That’s what makes it so much more fun than real life. Another one of the more prominent lines of women’s erotic romance in print is Red Sage’s Secrets Collections. Alexandra Kendall states that she founded Red Sage in 1994 with the idea that romance would be first and the erotica secondary to the story. She told her authors that she wanted them to be thought of as romance writers first, but that she wanted them to focus on the best parts of the romance, “with the intense romantic physical relationship to be the biggest part of the story.” She also reminds us that the characters are important too because if you don’t care about them, the sex doesn’t matter.

In 2003, roll in the computer, buy yourself an e-book, and discover a whole new world, no universe, of books in as many themes as there are readers. There is an e-book for everyone as diverse as the fantasy you can create. And for all of those e-books there a wide variety of publishing houses catering to the erotica buying reader. Each one as diverse as the selections they offer with different ideals and philosophies. We love a good paranormal story, or a Sci-Fi Fantasy, and just mention vampire or werewolf and the average woman now days thinks of sex with a capital X. Interestingly enough, women do read erotic romance written by men. We also like to explore the vast amount of themes available including, domination, submission, forced seductions, and even some of the darker themes of the BDSM lifestyle. This doesn’t mean we practice these things, or even really want to try it. But we do want to read about it. eXtasy Books is one of the most diverse publishers offering a wide range of titles that are erotic romance, but some also fall into the category of erotic fiction. Tina Jardin says, “We have a variety of titles because not everyone reads romance. We like to cater to all the reading public not just a select group.” Recently, they have implemented a rating system to help readers decide which book is for them. When ask why use the rating system, Tina says, “so readers won’t be offended when they buy a book. Some readers like more action, BDSM, or whatever, others prefer more of the romantic type of novel. By using one to five flames readers will have a fair idea of what to expect.” eXtasy stresses sensuality to potential authors and encourages them to use all five senses, reminding that the most important sexual organ is the brain. As far as terminology in the books, Tina says it needs to be realistic. “If you go to bed with your husband/boyfriend and you take his cock in your hand and you want to stroke his ego a little… are you going to say, ‘Honey, your shaft is just wonderfully big?’ I think, ‘Honey you’ve got a magnificent cock,’ would be more like it…” *wink*

Andrea DePasture from New Concepts Publishing says that they define the Carnal rated books as, “books with graphic sexual content that could potentially offend more traditional readers. It doesn’t mean that the book is an erotic romance, only that it has graphic sex.” New Concepts takes all levels of sexuality, from sweet to the more heavily rated carnal. Andrea adds that “we don’t try to push an author in any direction uncomfortable to them so the sexual content is based entirely on the author.” Liquid Silver Books considers the sexual tension and build up to be just as important as the actual sex scene itself. Raven Moore tells us, “they look for these encounters to use the words which explicitly describe what is happening.” If they receive a story that has definite mainstream terminology in it and the story is very good, they may ask the author to heat up the scenes. Conversely, they may have to ask them to tone it down if the sex is too overwhelming. Liquid Silver, at this time continues to be the only erotic e-book publisher who doesn’t have a rating system for their books. Raven states, “we have discussed this a number of times and have decided indeed the explicitness level is about the same in each. If a particular book contains something a bit more edgy, whether it be sexually or an erotic thriller, that is clearly noted in the books page.” Though right now this system seems to be working well for them, Raven says they may look at it again in the future.

Patricia Rasey, managing editor of the Amber Quill Heat and Kisses line says that “from the start I want to pick up a manuscript and “see” the difference from the beginning. We like to see the sexual situations begin fairly early in the book.” Amber Quill Press defines erotica as a book that goes beyond the normal sexual situations in a novel and pushes the boundaries of experimentation between consenting adults. Patricia adds, “we constantly walk the line between what is considered erotic and what is considered porn and we walk it very carefully.” Amber Quill will ask the author to write a larger number of sex scenes since they feel that the public is buying erotica for that purpose. However, Patricia states, “it isn’t about a set number of scenes and it doesn’t necessarily always need to be to the act of completion as the build up can be just as sensual as the act itself.”

I would not be able to talk about erotica and erotic romance without mentioning Ellora’s Cave. One of the largest publishers of electronic erotic romance, Ellora’s Cave was founded by Tina Engler because she felt that women wanted more than the traditional romance book that uses flowery phrases. Romantica™, a term which has since been trademarked to Ellora’s Cave is by definition a blend of the words romance and erotica. Editor, Kari Berton tells us “an EC book has all the elements of a traditional romance but also has explicit and graphic sex that leaves nothing to the imagination. In other words when the two main characters are indulging in sex, the bedroom door is open so we can know exactly what is going on.” Kari states that there are not set requirements for the amount of sex scenes in an EC book but when reading a new submission the editors keep in mind that the sex has to be plentiful and with words explicit, even for the lower Sensuous rated books.” A book that is rated E (Erotic) will have more sex scenes per word count and will use more of the graphic sex words, in addition to material that some readers may find objectionable such as bondage, submission and forced seductions. Kari adds, “there is nothing wrong with the sweeter romances, but if you’re looking for an arousing, erotic book with graphic sex and that element of romance then Romantica™ books are what you want.”

So, what is the point I am trying to make? Well, just because you label your book erotic, doesn’t mean it is or it isn’t. Interestingly enough, I had a preconceived notion as to what I thought erotica was when I started this article, now I am not so sure I was correct. Erotica is what ever you want it to be. What turns me on may not turn on someone else, and the large variety of books and publishers today makes a good case for there being something for just about everyone. I find things erotic now that I never thought would cause me to run for the toy box once, let alone multiple times, before I finish the book. Sometimes it’s a good romance that does it, and sometimes its something a little harder edged and most frequently, it’s a surprise. Its that book that you pick up and say, “oh let me give this a try, it looks interesting” and before you know it, you’re swept away to another time and place, or introduced into an alternate lifestyle that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to live, but something about it touches you. It may be something you feel you’ll never experience in reality, but the fantasy of the story gives you a taste of it and for a while you are able to live through those characters and experience the pleasure/pain you long to feel through them. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Sometimes it’s the emotion conveyed in a scene, the crafting of words, the portrait painted and not the words themselves that create the desired effect…

In her extremity, it was a few moments before she became aware of his arms snaking around her from behind, the heat of his hands on her breasts, and the silken promise of his lips brushing against her ear. Weeping with relief, she craned her neck and sought those lips with her own, desperate to find shelter from her torments in the warm, moist darkness of his kiss. He bathed his lips in the bitter sweetness of her tears; finally their mouths met, and as she worked her tongue hungrily against his, another blinding flash of flame streaked across her mound: her cry was muffled in the merciful mysteries of his mouth. So lost was she in the labyrinthine depths of his kiss that she barely registered that no further blows came: her body sang for him.2

1. “Elena” in Delta of Venus © 1969 by Anais Nin
2. Isabel’s Heresy By Tadhg Ó Muiris 2003

© Amber Taylor - December 7, 2003 Issue of the Just Erotic Romance Review Newsletter

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