

So I cracked open our friend Jess Michaels/Jenna Petersen's "Everything Forbidden." (Nov. Avon Red). It's got everything I love in an historical erotic romance: poor virgin heroine who wants to give her sisters Seasons that will help them marry well; a virile, profligate, sexually dynamic marquess next door who's willing to trade paying for those Seasons for unlimited access to said poor virgin heroine's bod and burgeoning sensuality; opportunity for h/hn to get in over their heads emotionally while having very steamy sex.
The book works great, cause Michaels got game with the prose, and turns a nice, sexy phrase and sensual lov
e scene that works for readers who want sexy that pushes the envelope just a tad. The best part is that the sensuality is celebrated by both hero and heroine - but I'll not dish why that's such a cool, sexy part of the story.
Bella Portia Da Costa sent me her recent Oct. Black Lace erotic release, "Hotbed," and, as always, it's a mélange of powerful sexual scenarios and highly charged erotic imagery. The novel, like the majority of her erotica and romantic erotica, teems with outrageous couplings - sexual and relational - that arouse by the very fact that they're so damn, well, beyond: beyond merely titillating, beyond the Average Jo-anne's fantasy, and, in some cases, deliciously beyond the pale.
That's the beauty of Portia Da Costa. She hurls dead sexy scenes and language at the reader which touches on deepest fantasy, but kicks it up so it's even better than what we could come up with on our own. And Da Costa's writing is awe-inspiring - especially when you think that she just hangs out here every day talking about her kitty and stuff. There ain't a writer of erotica or erotic romance who don't owe her props. You may not be ready for t
he intensity of Da Costa's novels - but buck up and give em a try -- yet when you place them up against just about everything else "erotic" being written, you see their superiority, as well as the impact they've had upon the genre/sub-genre.
This talk of erotica is getting me excited -- no pun -- about having a second annual "Hot Topic Week," in which we'll explore erotica, erotic romance, and what it all means (besides the obvious, at least in my relationship).
What do you like about erotica/erotic romance? Have you given it a try and not liked it? Why? Who are your fave authors of the really hot stuff?
Very cool back-to-back-to-back series coming in late December from Lynsay Sands and Avon! The Argeneau three book series about two vamps and a vampette are being released Jan-March, with No Waiting. We'll have Argeneau series exclusives beginning December at "Romance: B(u)y the Book," plus a GuestBlog with Sands right here at LTR!
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comments
Writing erotica (I refer to my Lacey work as romantic erotica since that's how I personally view it and how I differentiate it from my Toni Blake romances) happened almost by accident for me, and I'll be honest - it was initially about expanding my writing skills and making money ; ) But it quickly turned into a very freeing experience and I think that's what many *readers* of erotica/erotic romance get out of it, too - simply the freedom to think about and explore sexual ideas that so many of us were trained to consider *un*thinkable. What I learned is: you CAN think about "forbidden" things and life will go on. The sky won't fall, you'll still get up and eat breakfast in the morning, life continues as normal - except that you've allowed your mind to go someplace new and, in my opinion, someplace healthy.
As a writer, I have goals for my work. My goal for my Lacey Alexander books are pretty simple - I hope they encourage women to embrace their sexual fantasies (that doesn't mean live 'em, mind you, ; ) it just means to enjoy them and indulge in them freely 'cause they're not hurtin' anybody. ; )) For me, the absolute most gratifying part of writing erotica is all the mail I recieve. From women who, like me, simply find it freeing, to women who tell me how much my books have improved their marriage because it's made them more open-minded sexually or because they've shared the books with their husbands. One of my friends said, "Oh, so you write marital aids." I was like - whatever. For me, the big picture is: if I'm writing something that's bringing some kind of joy into people's lives, what more could I ask for?
Thanks so much for the very nice review. :) I don't think I could write anything without a hefty dose of romance. LOL It's just not in my make up, I guess. I think you have to have a hefty does of both in order for a book to work well as an erotic romance. :) Hopefully you guys will like EVERYTHING FORBIDDEN as much as Michelle did! :)
orannia
PS Congratulations on the dinner party MK! I was going to attempt to cook my first ever risotto this weekend, but I got side-tracked. Fingers crossed for this weekend :)