In these days of political correctness, I'm going to share one of my pet peeves as an author.
I've begun work on my next book, which will again be a romance. I'm adding to the Hoffman Grove series, which begs the question, what kind of romance will it be? Fun fact about COOKIE THERAPY, which is part of this series. When I wrote it, I wrote it with "the door closed." The intimate scenes were off the page. My editor said readers would feel cheated. I didn't ask her if that was because my previous books had left the door open or if she considered it industry standard but deferred to her wisdom as an editor and "opened the door." Does that make it dirty--or steamy?
I did a Christmas novel that I'd hoped to market to Hallmark, WHILE WE WERE SHOPPING, that fell into the "sweet" category (i.e., no sex). Does that make it "clean?"
When I first started writing the Hillendale novels, I'd considered writing to a different market and attended a writers group in that market to learn. FAMILY ALCHEMY was always meant to be more women's fiction than romance, showing Brynn's journey, so the "heat level" was never at issue. However, in that writing group, they talked about "clean romance," which immediately set my teeth on edge. I don't view intimacy as "dirty."
Bottom line, I left the writers group. I didn't pursue the avenue I was considering. Well, I did, but I ended up changing my mind after consulting with someone who writes the genre I was aiming for and she gave me some pointers. I realized I didn't have the right skill set to get it there, and although the group invited me to stick around, I had a hard time aligning what I wrote as "clean" or "dirty."
I'm a big proponent of "sweet" or "steamy." I do recognize that there are people out there who have a problem with reading about intimacy on the page, and I'm well aware of the boundaries some people set. I love reading Kristan Higgins romances, where she takes you right to the bedroom door, and then closes it. I also love reading Jill Shalvis novels that invite you right into the bedroom. I've heard from readers who don't want to "see that stuff in a book," say they skip over the "hot" sections, and other readers who savor them.
With all that being said, there are industry standards to physical intimacy. Different people like different things, or don't like certain things. One of my first exposures to physical intimacy in a book was a novel by Julie Garwood. She wrote scenes including things that I, personally, didn't like, so I tended to wrinkle my nose and skip over them. We all have our tipping points. Most romance novels you read will stick to "typical interaction" and leave the fetishism or extreme behavior to the erotic category. Do authors write about what happens in their own bedrooms? Heck, no! Most of what you see in a steamy novel is standard fare, adapted by a particular author to suit their characters.
So here I go writing another in a series of "steamy" novels. Yes, I anticipate some foggy windows ahead--Foggy, but not dirty. 😉
Do you have strong feelings on how you label romance? Or preferences on the heat level?
Ultimately, the reader decides what they're comfortable with, and whether they read with "wrinkled noses", skip those scenes, or put the book away. My first published works (romantic suspense) were with a "mainstream" imprint of a publisher known for its erotica. Not once did the editor suggest I might move the book to the erotic side. My sex scenes were "sensual" not "hot" (or dirty). Yet other readers called them porn.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I let the characters decide how much, when, and whether the doors are open or closed.
On thing I learned early on, is mystery readers don't want any visible intimacy on the page.
The Wild Rose Press, who published my short romances, had definite imprints based on criteria including level of heat, age of characters, and a lot more. Authors and readers knew the expectations.
Thanks for stopping by, Terry
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