The Urban Dictionary defines Romantica as romance novels with explicit sex, the term 'Romantica' being derived from 'Romance' + 'Erotica.In some cases this word has been used in a humorous, derogatory, or ironic way to point out the fact that certain novels are classified as Romance and are therefore seen as more socially acceptable, while other somewhat similar books are classified as Erotica and receive harsher social censure.
I guess this is true, since Amazon in their wisdom, are said to have re-indexed a heap of 'Romance' books into the 'Erotica' category.
My own take on Romantica is that it is indicative of a well-crafted and engaging story which essentially focuses on a romantic relationship (within numerous sub-genres: sci-fi, paranormal, etc), with lashings of explicit sex, as opposed to hard core or seedy porn where the plot (if there is one) is very much secondary to the sex. And then, distinct from porn, is Erotica... a huge, amorphous mass of literature that contains graphic sex which may push the boundaries of what are considered taboo topics. Some erotica is very deftly written with engaging characters, but if you remove the sex element, there's often not that much of a story remaining.
Distinctions can be highly subjective as dividing lines can be somewhat blurry. So what do I deduce from this? Simple: There's something to suit everyone's diverse tastes, and I enjoy writing romantica.
Shame I can't show my mother;)
I couldn't show my mother because she has passed but I would. However, although my daughter knows I write, I have no idea if she has ever read anything I've written. It's not something we've ever talked about.
ReplyDeleteIt would be something if you were to find your daughter HAD read your books, wouldn't it, Leigh? Being open is a good situation to be in. I just don't want to risk offending anyone. It's not so much the sex/smut, but the spanking, as some people I know would be either horrified or quite judgemental.
ReplyDelete