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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Why I Write "Those Kind of Books"


This month's blog is from an older post that I ran across the other day. I was trying to think of an appropriate post to celebrate freedom. After I finished reading the last paragraph, I realized what it had taken for women to reach a point where a discussion about erotic romance could take place in a public forum. I truly am grateful for all of the efforts of those who fought the good fight.

Most erotic romance authors at some point in their career are asked by a well-meaning (or not so well-meaning) friend or relative why they write “those kinds of books”.

These days, if anyone asks why I write Erotica and Erotic Romance, I tell them it’s because I enjoy the freedom of exploring what makes people tick and in my opinion separating sex from the equation means leaving out a really huge chunk of the life experience.  If the current trend in books is any indication, apparently I’m not the only one. 

As a reader and an author I know that I enjoy a good story with a strong female protagonist, a woman who knows what she wants whether that may be honestly exploring her sexual nature by having a fling or a more serious romance with someone who sparks a palatable need that will ultimately lead to an emotional connection.

There isn’t any time during sex when characters are not emotionally vulnerable and as a reader I am fascinated by that vulnerability. As an author, I realize that sex is a veritable gold-mine when it comes to revealing a character’s hidden depths that hopefully, a reader might connect to on an emotional level.

Sustaining an emotional connection using the journey of the sexual experience to advance the plot is not a task I would assign to the faint of heart. It is, dear reader much more complicated than those who disparage erotica and erotic romance would have you think. It is not simply, insert tab A into slot B.  

Whether it’s a story focused only on a woman’s sexual journey to discover her own hidden depths or a romance that is revealed along the sexual journey, I believe Erotica and Erotic Romance to be positive forces in our culture. They reinforce the belief that women have a right to their sexual identity and that they won’t accept anyone telling them otherwise.

If you study history, there have been times during each century in this country when women have taken a stand and demanded their rights. It wasn’t that long ago women were denied the right to vote, birth control and protection against an abusive spouse. They were also culturally persuaded to believe that they didn’t have a right to a sexual identity. I sincerely hope that those days are over and I thank all of those who came before and spoke out, marched and were sometimes jailed so that future generations would be able to express themselves freely. 

 

Until next month,

Paris Brandon




13 comments:

Adele Downs said...

Terrific post, Paris! I agree that the emotional connection between the characters matters most.

Best--Adele

Sandy said...

A great post, Paris. Unfortunately, young women don't understand what we fought for in the past and will one day have to fight again for them.

Our whole country may have to fight for their freedoms again, as we watch them being taken away.

Tina Donahue said...

Great post, Paris.

I tell those who trash romance (which is just about everyone) that they should try writing one. Getting that emotional build on paper, delving deep into characters' souls, making readers laugh, cry, sigh, get angry, etc. etc. is freaking hard.

Paris said...

Thanks, Adele! I agree:)

Paris said...

Thanks, Sandy! I can't believe that we are having this fight again and that young women today are in danger of losing ground.

Paris said...

Thank you, Tina! The ones that get me are the those that have never read a romance, erotic or otherwise and yet feel free to bash the genre.

Rose Anderson said...

Great post, Paris, and so true. Hats off to the ground-breakers!

Melissa Keir said...

Women have come a long way and we still have more to go! Thank you for the reminder about how important and challenging it is to write passionate stories that grip the reader. :)

Paris said...

Thanks, Rose! Tipping my hat:)

Paris said...

I have to agree with you, Melissa. We do have a long way to go, but I'm confident that we will make it:)

Cara Marsi said...

Paris, I love your post. You do a great job of explaining the depths to erotica and erotic romance. I agree with the others who say most of the young women today take their rights for granted. One young woman told me she doesn't vote because she doesn't believe in it. Yet, the hard-won rights we women fought for are being eroded. And so many people, men and women, look down on romance and they judge it without having read any romance books.

jean hart stewart said...

I agree with everything said. I especially wonder about the people who tell me e-books aren't real books and they'd never read them. A little off topic, but the same narrow mind we all run into.

Poe Von Page said...

A beautifully written response to this question! Several times I've inexplicably been in situations where I've been asked to defend my feminist status when people discover I write erotica. Um... It's my prerogative as an autonomous woman. That's kind-of the point of feminism.

Thanks for this. :)
Poe

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