tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post4304327613105635556..comments2024-03-28T01:06:38.596-07:00Comments on Maya Reynolds: Defining Erotic RomanceMaya Reynoldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-19850361318299531172007-08-04T14:30:00.000-07:002007-08-04T14:30:00.000-07:00What I find amusing is that RWA claims that erotic...What I find amusing is that RWA claims that erotic romance can enter the RITA in non-erotic categories, but I HIGHLY suspect that's not true, in all cases, even if an erotic author could expect a reasonably fair judging against non-erotic books, and you can't. <BR/><BR/>Why do I say this? It's simple, really. RWA defines "romance" as being between two people. If you notice the definition of erotic romance, among other things you'll notice that poly-grouping romances are perfectly acceptable. They are commonplace. So, are you telling me that RWA National is going to just allow them and ensure them an even judging, though they aren't two-person romance? I highly doubt it.<BR/><BR/>So...no. Not all erotic romance books can enter the RITA. Not by my estimation, anyway.<BR/><BR/>BrennaBrennaLyonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17399508130752035374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-41968490043853253602007-07-17T13:24:00.000-07:002007-07-17T13:24:00.000-07:00Laura: That is precisely Passionate Ink's stand o...Laura: That is precisely Passionate Ink's stand on the matter. In addition, it is unfair to both the entrants and the judges to ask judges who are not comfortable reading erotic romance to judge erotic romance entries in a category not designated as erotic romance.<BR/><BR/>I suspect the REAL problem is that there are no erotic romance authors on the RWA Board (or e-pubbed authors, for that matter as well).<BR/><BR/>I am not meaning to dump coals on the RWA Board members. They are working very hard on a volunteer job--God bless volunteers--they make the world run. However, as quickly as the publishing industry is changing, RWA has to find a way to stay au courant of trends and definitions.Maya Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-86530521428852260982007-07-17T09:58:00.000-07:002007-07-17T09:58:00.000-07:00It's true that you can get triply compound subgenr...It's true that you can get triply compound subgenres e.g. erotic historical romance (like Pam Rosenthal's), or erotic inspirational romance (I'm thinking of Eva Gale's <I>The Seduction of Gabriel Stewart</I>, a free online and very short work which I <A HREF="http://teachmetonight.blogspot.com/2007/03/self-other-and-love.html" REL="nofollow">blogged about a while ago (part way down the page)</A>) so there could be some reasons why there might be particular romances which could be entered in more than one category.<BR/><BR/>That shouldn't mean that every single erotic romance is assumed to be a triply compound romance. It really seems to comes back to the RWA board not recognising how and in what ways the 'erotic' bit is important to this particular sub-genre, and how that makes it a sub-genre in its own right.<BR/><BR/>It can be difficult to define what makes a sub-genre distinctive, and there are always some novels which blur the boundaries, but I think I recall reading an author of Inspirationals saying that the religious element is like a third strand, being interwoven with the love of the hero and heroine. Some authors of historical romances have, I think, said that the history is almost like a third character. I'm not an expert on erotic romance, but it seems to me that if the hero and heroine's journey is expressed through their sexuality and their sexual relationship, then that similarly becomes almost a third character, mediating between them.Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-22436310954012912312007-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:002007-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:00Laura: As usual, you've hit the nail on the head....Laura: As usual, you've hit the nail on the head. The RWA Board actually made an offhand comment that erotic romance writers could enter the contests of all other sub-genres, which just says to me how little they understand erotic romance.<BR/><BR/>I still have a VERY vivid memory of entering my first RWA erotic romance contest with an early version of "Bad Girl" and having a judge tell me that my storyline was "offensive" to her. <BR/><BR/>In order to give a fair chance to erotic romance, I think contest entries should be judged against OTHER erotic romances, not pitted against other sub-genres.Maya Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791278987339976101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16743003.post-45387026830238689152007-07-17T05:28:00.000-07:002007-07-17T05:28:00.000-07:00It seems to me that the point about erotic romance...It seems to me that the point about erotic romance is that the erotic (i.e. sexual) part is as important in this sub-genre of romance as the inspirational bit is in inspirational romance, or the suspense part is in romantic suspense. In other words, in these sub-genres, the romance occurs through the sex/inspiration/suspense, which is what gives the novel its impetus. The novel is both about the romance (the romantic relationship between the protagonists) and about resolving the sexual journey/ inspirational journey towards God/ solving the crime. You can say much the same for the other compound romance sub-genres: in historicals you shouldn't be able to take out the history and set them in a different period, or even the present, without that making the plot and characterisation fall apart; for paranormals the paranormal aspects should be integral to the plot, characterisation and world-building.<BR/><BR/>I think that's what PI was trying to get at when it stated that the sex 'could easily be removed or "toned down" without damaging the storyline' in sensual romances. As you say, the idea that such passages could 'easily be removed' is probably wrong, because no author is going to like the suggestion that bits of her book could be hacked out and it make no difference and, as Brenna says, all scenes should be there for at a good craft reason e.g. moving the plot forward and characterisation.<BR/><BR/>But if you take the sex out of a sensual romance, it might change, but it wouldn't change sub-genre (since 'sensual romance' and 'sweet romance' are not sub-genres). Removing the sex from an erotic romance, the inspirational bit from an inspirational romance or the suspense part from a romantic suspense would (a) move these novels into a different sub-genre and (b) require massive re-writing with regards to how the protagonists meet, what moves the plot forwards, the characterisation etc. In other words, you'd have to write a new story, because the novel would collapse completely.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if the problem that some people have with understanding PI's definition of erotic romance is that they've perhaps come across too many romances marketed/labelled as 'erotic romance' which are really 'romances with a lot of sex' or are 'erotica with a HEA'. Because sex can be included in almost all the romance sub-genres, people perhaps don't see so clearly the distinction between sexual journey as plot motivator (as it is in erotic romance) and sex in other romances.Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.com