The good old fashioned romance doesn't seem to be enough anymore...
Perhaps readers are getting bored with regular romance novels? Are readers abandoning the regular romance and more interested in erotica, kinky sex scenes, domination, deviancy and abuse? The more perverse the better?
It really seems like to me, what else could explain the huge interest in these books?
Romance authors usually don’t spell out every single move the lovers make, or every single thought that runs through their head while making love. Romance writers have their clever ways to trigger the reader’s imagination and send tingles to the right places at the right moment. Also, the majority of the books are well edited, the plots are fascinating and they provide hours of great entertainment. Romance authors don’t promote physical and mental abuse, or perverse activity.
However, it seems like some readers want more. The Fifty Shades fans don’t seem to care about bad writing, grammar mistakes, limited vocabulary, or as my friend who read the first book put it, “This book seems like it was written by a sick minded, horny high school dropout teenager. I bet my shoelace has a wider vocabulary, and the story is sick and demeaning, and it justifies physical and mental abuse.”
Are readers getting desensitized and want more excitement than the good old romance novels usually offer?
This made me realize how we became desensitized to horror movies in a relatively short time. When I was a teenager, I always had a pillow in my hands, so I could hide when the scary parts came on, in even mild horror movies. I’m not a big horror fan, but if a movie doesn’t gross me out too much in the first five minutes, and my friends say that the story line is good, I give it a try.
But is the time near when the good old fashioned romance stories will be passé?
Will romance writers be forced to incorporate whips, handcuffs, leather strips and gags into their stories?
Will they have to make their characters scream in pain, bleed and be humiliated in order to meet the expectations?
Well, I'm not a fan of those stories, I'm a hopeless romantic and in my stories, although there is romance, the focus is on the emotions and story-line.
If you like love stories combined with fantasy and don't expect perverse scenes, you might like some of my books.
Happy reading!
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I think the media, books and movies have placed so much emphasis on kinky romance that some think it's how love should be. Well, thos of us who are from a different generation have different beliefs- I know I do and I wrote two erotica books. I love romance books but minus the hardcore sex.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with sex scenes in erotica books, a lot of readers like it. What I have a big problem with is the promotion of perverse, abusive and demeaning behavior.
DeleteYes, I agree. I prefer a romance where a little is left up to the reader's imagination. Personally, I do not like the 50 Shades trend. I think it's a dangerous message to send to women - that if a demands your complete obedience in all aspects of your life, and is weirdly obsessed with you, it's okay as long as he's rich and powerful. Obsession isn't love. Money is great, but it's no substitute for respect and real love.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Obsession is a mental illness and controlling others is abuse! I bet if the guy in the book would be a construction worker living in a trailer park, the books would be collecting dust at the bottom of the shelf.
DeleteI agree that all the kinky stuff is getting to be too much. On one hand it is considered "must read" while on the other hand the people are complaining about how abuse is running rampant. It is scary how love with mutual respect is no longer the standard. I like to use my imagination. Your books have just the right blend of love and desire while keeping everything unwritten.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindy! I agree. I never read the 50 shades books and never want to after what my friend told me about the first book. She was disgusted and didn't even finish book 1
DeleteI have written a few erotica poems. It is not something I believe I will ever do regularly.
ReplyDeleteTasteful erotica to stimulate the senses is perfectly okay written as a novel or poem. Dirty, sick, abusive porn is not okay
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