Brits Call It Quits On the Naughty Bits

[#1]

What a loss, for all of us, whether you read erotica/erom or not,  it's a loss of creativity.

[#2]

I have never read erotica maybe some one could give me a hint on some soft erotica to start out with to see if I'd like it. I don't know if my air conditioner could handle the extra heat though.

[#3]

The first ones I read, before I understood the genre (and, these days, it's still sometimes hard to tell where the line between hot romance and mild erotica is drawn), I discovered authors like Lora Leigh and Shannon McKenna. I still like those two, and you might also try Sarah McCarty to get you started. Forget hot flashes, Debbie, you'll feel as if you're reading these in a steam bath!

I always find it sad when publishers go out of business or drop lines, but maybe this isn't a sign of a lack of sales. It seems to me they are only "redundant" because so many publishers have picked up the slack on this side of the Atlantic, so now Black Lace isn't unique. Baby boomers seem to like hot romance (well, you all know I do), so what used to be sold in brown paper wrappers is now mainstream.

This is NOT the same as porn, although plenty of people argue that it is. This is why it isn't: at National, I was brought to tears by a woman who writes erotic romance. She explained that she was raped as a teenager, and by writing erotic romance she was finally reclaiming her sexuality. It's about sexual freedom, and whether you like/read erotic romance or not, I know this author is not the only one who writes as a way of celebrating her freedom and her sexuality. But it is still romance, of course, and that's as important as the heat.

[#4]

Thanks for the suggestions Becke and I too am an almost Baby Boomer who enjoys Sizzling Romance so maybe I read erotica and don't know it.

[#5]

dhaupt, you wrote: maybe I read erotica and don't know it.  You most probably read something akin to 'erotic romance,' but one publisher's erom is another's sensual romance is another's erotica.  One of the problems with the Great Erom Rush of a few years ago was that lots of publishers started buying 'hot' and developing 'hot' imprints, then almost, it seemed, haphazardly slapped tems 'erotica' and erotic romance indiscriminately.  It confused lots of readers, but lots of us knew it'd take some time for pubs to get a foothold on delineating erom from erotica from sensual. 

Why's that so important when so many believe sub-genre and genre lines should just be allowed to blur? Cause sensuality levels are almost sacred for many readers, and they really want to know what they're getting.  And they don't allow for a lot of leeway in that area.  So if folks who like it hot but not raw (as in hot w/monogamous per erotic romance) got erotica (perhaps multi-partners and scenarios driven by emotions other than mutual satisfaction or, perhaps need for humiliation or to be humiliated, for example), well you can imagine the sense of shock or betrayal on the part of the consumer.

Now, even in "mass market" (paperback), we're seeing lots of lines pushed depending upon the publisher. And some of that could be because of the baby boomer demo and the youngest demos are more comfortable with hotter, more experimental/less vanilla sex between the monogamous couple in their 'traditional' love story.  I find that interesting and exciting, but, again, for the sake of the reader and the author who wants her books marketed to the correct audience, I love to see consistency and forethought onthe part of publishers.

[#6]

That was a moving moment, becke. And  romance fiction, especially erotic romance, has allowed many women to reclaim or simply embrace their sexualities.  Survivors of abuse, women from sexually repressed backgrounds or women who simply want to explore and become more knowledgeble about themselves and sexuality in general share often how reading all kinds of romance has changed their lives. This is powerful stuff.

Exactly, Amy, on all counts. 

[#7]

Wow, see I didn't know I needed help in delineating all the sub genres and the sub heat levels of romance. And I think I have been reading some sort of erotic and thanks to Becke I've ordered one of the authors that she's suggested. I like hot hot hot love scenes but only between a monogamous couple so what exactly is that called?

Maybe you should offer classes, hmmm yeah and maybe we could get say male models to stand in for the um male characters.    ;-) 

[#8]

Debbie - Shannon McKenna has a new book coming out -- I haven't read the ARC but Romantic Times gave it a great review. I've read her previous series, and those were really good -- lots of suspense. Each book stands alone but the characters are connected. It helps to read them in order.

 Lora Leigh has several series, and the Breeds are hugely popular. They used to be sold as erotica; now they're mass market paperbacks. It helps to start at or toward the beginning, but it's not absolutely necessary. I like her Navy Seals series, with WILD HEART being my favorite so far.

Sarah McCarty has a series, too, but I read those out of order and didn't have a problem with it. Search any of these author names on the Romantic Reads board and you can see what others had to say about these authors. There are plenty of others, too -- these were just the first ones that came to my mind. 

[#9]

It's always sad to see a publisher go away, and BL was the leader, just like EC, when it came to erotic romance. The subgenre DOES make for a freeing experience for women, and it allows for an open discussion of sexuality, something Michelle is ALWAYS excellent of stimulating. I remember your first meeting of Neville, Michelle. I believe it was at RWA Atlanta in 2005. I remember you raving about him and his openness to the subgenre. Not just openness but his exuberance for erotic romance. I think he'll find a home elsewhere, where he'll continue his support of romance in general. Good people like him, don't get lost in the crowd.

[#10]

I shall miss writing for Black Lace. It's been a huge part of my writing life, and I've really enjoyed working with Adam and with Kerri Sharp, the first Black Lace editor, who taught me an enormous amount when I first started writing for the line, way back. I've written both erotica and erotic romance for Black Lace, and probably quite a bit that floats somewhere in the middle. Romantic erotica, maybe? I just know I had lots of fun with it!

I'm sad to say goodbye... but I'm looking forward to new challenges, empowered by my experiences with Black Lace.

[#11]

Adam Nevill was the first editor totrust me to write a real print book and he gave me some great editorial advice along the way. I enjoyed working with him and the Black Lace/Cheek lines for whom I wrote a couple of short stories and 3 cowboy books. I'll miss BL and their wonderful authors

[#12]

So many of us will miss having new BL/Nexus to enjoy, Portia, but fortunately we have our dog-earred keepers and the rest of the current list commissioned through Dec 09 will be released through Feb 10 in the States and, I believe, and a bit later in UK. You may have those dates more handily than I at present.

In an interview I conducted w/Nevill back in06 -- which, btw was too hot to be published by the folks I was writing for at the time! -- he gave all the props in the world to Kerri Sharp, I believe, whom he felt mentored him at Virgin.  When I asked him what a man possibly could know about women's fantasies that'd make him a good erotica editor, he told the story of how is interest in erotic fiction for women began with his reading Anais Nin in early adolescence.  I guess that'd be a leg up on attributing ability to subscriptions to "Maxim" and HBO, no?

[#13]

Yeah, dhaupt, this is the one area I get obsessive about delineating, cause of the hotness factor.  Ellora's Cave (EC) has neat-o delineations for readers to judge which levels of EC "Romantica" they're most comfortable with.  no surprizes, and I like that for readers.  For me, I like surprizes, just not necessarily sweet ones, you know?

I'd say, too, that Leigh and McKenna always have been erom, rather than erotica, but, again, I'm more rigid on determination, erotica rarely for me being about a love story, and often being driven by emotions that aren't usually sweetness and light.  Nor should they be, cause the 'less sweet' emotions ramp up the intensity of the sensual/sexual/emotional response in the reader.  'least to my way of thinkin.  But sometimes I have been convinced I've erred.

[#14]

We'll miss you guys writing for BL/Cheek/Nexus, too, Kate4Queen (your majesty), and look forward to reading you all in other imprints.  I hope everyone will keep me informed of her projects so I can spread the word. 

And, too, Kate, I hear from so many BL, et al, authors that they so enjoyed the process of writing for the imprints, which is cool to hear.

[#15]

Thanks for posting the hot picture of Adam...! Seriously, though, I feel like the demise of BLNexus signals the end of an era. I also believe that it was a serious error on the part of Random House.

BL published my first novel, Raw Silk, and got me started in erotica. At its best, it offered well-crafted, meticulously edited work that engaged both the intellectual and physical sides of the reader.

Requiescat in Pace.

Warmly,

Lisabet

[#16]

It's true, Lisabet, that Adam and author Barry Eisler inspired me to coin the acronym FITH at my own site.  Foxes in the Henhouse ( a term I didn't coin) are male editors, authors, industry guys who generally wreck havoc among the mostly chick pops of readers' and writers' conferences.  And by 'wreck havoc,' I mean women go a little silly over them; they don't do much 'cept show. It's a sight to behold for one who digs observing human nature.

Also true, one generally could count upon the BL/Nexus imprints for offering headier stuff. It will be interesting to see how this washes financially for RH UK, as it would seem the lines were profitable.  And very popular erom/erotica lines in the UK.  

Message Edited by Michelle_Buonfiglio on 07-25-2009 09:48 AM