Today's post is more of a navel gazing exercise, if I'm honest. It's about seeing myself both as a person and my own being. See, writing erotic romance is fun, but if we delve into our psyche and discover why, it's because, for me, I like love and sex. Together, they are an accurate depiction of why falling in love and staying there is a natural part of life.
I guess that's where all my writing stems from.
I was reading a friends blog today and she was talking about how the writing of her story was about reclaiming herself. And you know what? She's right!
When I wrote my first story Starline, I vividly remember writing the sex scenes and going... "OMG! Did I actually write that??" And I did. And what's more, I enjoyed it. Thoroughly!
But while I write under a nom de plume (pen name) there's still a question. Do I write it for the titillation value? Nope. That I don't.
For a long time, we've (and I mean society) at large has treated romance as the "poor cousin" to literary genius. Which is stupid, because look at Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Their work transcends the ages and encompasses romance while straddling the tracks of literary greatness. These women are placed on the same rung as Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. So where did we go wrong?
Could it be because we accepted that title? The poor cousin tag certainly is how the writing mavens have pigeonholed us for a long time. But read the work of these ladies... Seriously. Because they spearheaded the trend, writing fiction that women wanted to read. They spoke of love and emotion and how their bodies reacted... A precursor to today's more open romance fiction? Possibly.
As a mother of two daughters, I've vetted their reading fare for some time. In fact, only in the last little while have I green-lighted my youngest girl to read the hotter Mills and Boons. She's 17 and many is the time I've caught her with my books in the bedroom. Which is hilariously funny on one level.
She, like many of her age, sees her mother as an author. In fact, I think she's actually proud of me (she tells me that as she turns pink!) She tells people I write romance. Just not what kind.
My mind tells me this is because she's bought into the commonly accepted view that it's okay to read erotic romance in the safety of your bedroom, just don't admit to it. And, what's even more, if it's your mum writing it... Eewww!
The other day she told me she can handle that I write it, but she doesn't think she wants to read the sex scenes. Because it was her mother who wrote them. In her words... "It's okay to know I write it, but you're my mother and the thought of you and Daddy... Just Eww!"
It's a dilemma that society has forced upon me. I can be a mother. I can be a wife. I just shouldn't be a sexual being because I have a teenager and I'm over the age of 30... Yeah. It sucks.
I can't see any change to this, at least until society finds value in those of us who write romance and even more to the point, those of us who write erotic romance.
Do you face the same dilemma? Feel free to share below!
I guess that's where all my writing stems from.
I was reading a friends blog today and she was talking about how the writing of her story was about reclaiming herself. And you know what? She's right!
When I wrote my first story Starline, I vividly remember writing the sex scenes and going... "OMG! Did I actually write that??" And I did. And what's more, I enjoyed it. Thoroughly!
But while I write under a nom de plume (pen name) there's still a question. Do I write it for the titillation value? Nope. That I don't.
For a long time, we've (and I mean society) at large has treated romance as the "poor cousin" to literary genius. Which is stupid, because look at Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Their work transcends the ages and encompasses romance while straddling the tracks of literary greatness. These women are placed on the same rung as Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. So where did we go wrong?
Could it be because we accepted that title? The poor cousin tag certainly is how the writing mavens have pigeonholed us for a long time. But read the work of these ladies... Seriously. Because they spearheaded the trend, writing fiction that women wanted to read. They spoke of love and emotion and how their bodies reacted... A precursor to today's more open romance fiction? Possibly.
As a mother of two daughters, I've vetted their reading fare for some time. In fact, only in the last little while have I green-lighted my youngest girl to read the hotter Mills and Boons. She's 17 and many is the time I've caught her with my books in the bedroom. Which is hilariously funny on one level.
She, like many of her age, sees her mother as an author. In fact, I think she's actually proud of me (she tells me that as she turns pink!) She tells people I write romance. Just not what kind.
My mind tells me this is because she's bought into the commonly accepted view that it's okay to read erotic romance in the safety of your bedroom, just don't admit to it. And, what's even more, if it's your mum writing it... Eewww!
The other day she told me she can handle that I write it, but she doesn't think she wants to read the sex scenes. Because it was her mother who wrote them. In her words... "It's okay to know I write it, but you're my mother and the thought of you and Daddy... Just Eww!"
It's a dilemma that society has forced upon me. I can be a mother. I can be a wife. I just shouldn't be a sexual being because I have a teenager and I'm over the age of 30... Yeah. It sucks.
I can't see any change to this, at least until society finds value in those of us who write romance and even more to the point, those of us who write erotic romance.
Do you face the same dilemma? Feel free to share below!
RSS Feed
