Erotic Romance...What It Is, and Is Not. by Romance author Tracy Cooper-Posey

Erotic Romance...What It Is, and Is Not.

Erotic romance first crept into the publishing industry at the turn of the millennium.  Fast forward nearly fifteen years, and it’s one of the hottest genres in town, thanks to books (and now movies!) like Fifty Shades of Grey.

But despite fame, fortune and a decent dollop of notoriety, there are still a huge number of readers and even authors and editors, marketers and agents, who still don’t fully understand what erotic romance is.

…and what it is not.  The most common misconception about erotic romance is that it’s just romantic (read “emotional” or “sappy”) erotica.  It isn’t.  Erotica is a quite separate genre with very little in common with erotic romance. 

Erotic romance is many things, but it is not a sub-genre of Erotica. 

Erotica is a specialized form of storytelling with very different aims from those of erotic romance.

Its primary function is to arouse and titillate the reader using language, metaphor, imagery and more.  Everything in the book, including word-choice, is designed to provoke a physical response in the reader, and to stir their sensuality. 

Erotica may have a coherent, linear plot.  Then again, it may not have anything resembling a story at all – it could be a series of vignettes, scenes or “moments” all compiled with the sole objective of stimulating the reader’s physical responses.  Viewpoint characters can change without notice, and there may not be a lead character at all.

There is a strong argument in favor of classifying Fifty Shades of Grey as Erotica – and not erotic romance.

Why?

Erotic Romance is a sub-genre of Romance

Erotic Romance began as a (very) racy sub-genre of romances.  Romance authors were drawn to the freedom of story-telling available within erotic romance, as well as the unique (back then) method of telling a romance via the sexual sub-plot, plus all the very different types of stories that could now be told with the bedroom door wide open.  Broad-minded readers loved them. 

There are a great many rules and conventions that the Romance industry and its devoted readers expect to find within the pages of any romance.  Erotic Romance meets every single one of those expectations…and delivers more, besides.

1.  There is always a hero and a heroine.  Sometimes there is more than one hero, but there is always at least one.

2.  A romance always develops between the hero and heroine…and it always, always, always ends happily.  (Thus disqualifying a huge number of stories that the non-romance reading public consider to be romances, including Gone with the Wind, and the Fifty Shades series).

3.  There is romantic conflict.  The happy-ever-after ending is always put in jeopardy in an Erotic Romance, just as it is within the pages of a “normal” romance – although often, the conflict is played out via sexual issues (but not always).

4. The hero(es) is/are always to die for.  J

5.  And often not acknowledged:  Just like any other popular fiction genre, romances tell a story.  There is a coherent plot, conflict, and a happy resolution.

Then there are the bonuses that Erotic Romance brings, including:

1. More adventurous story-telling.  There are very few limits on what erotic romance readers are willing to try.

2. Sex!  In all its steamy glory, described in loving detail.

3. Because the bedroom door is left open, the reader gets to see the romantic relationship developing through all its stages, from awkward (often hostile) strangers, through all the intimacy and trust that develops through sex , to the final conclusion of the romance.  All the little by-plays and fun relationship building stuff that happen in a bedroom (or anywhere else!) the reader gets to share, too.

Erotic romance is a mature market

Erotic romance, when it first became popular, inched its way into the hearts and minds of romance readers a step at a time.   The very first erotic romances (including a few of mine) were considered racy and risqué, and for most of the romance industry, quite shocking with their frank language and imagery.  But now, fifteen years on, those early erotic romances are just sexy romances.  They don’t qualify as erotic romance anymore.

Those tamer, older erotic romances’ frank sex scenes barely raise eyebrows, while the other end of the erotic romance spectrum has extremes of BDSM, multiple partners, and much, much more.  Erotic romance authors keep pushing the limits, experimenting and having a great time telling new, fresh stories.

Erotic romance has been absorbed into romanceland and now, quite often (and especially for the milder version), there are no warnings about hot sex, and the erotic romance is shelved amongst its tamer cousins, instead of being stuck in a discrete corner with plastic wrap and R-Rated labels slapped on it.

In other words, erotic romance is now just another sub-genre of Romance, like paranormal, romantic suspense and historicals.  You get to pick and choose according to your personal reading tastes.  

Makes you wonder what the inventive writers of romance will come up with next, huh?

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Tracy Cooper-Posey writes erotic vampire romance series and hot romantic suspense. She has been nominated for five CAPAs including Favorite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award.  She published 35 titles via legacy publishers before switching to indie publishing in March 2011. She has published over 45 indie titles to date.  Her indie books have made her an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author and have been nominated four times for Book of the Year.  Byzantine Heartbreak won the title in 2012.  Tracy has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at MacEwan University.  An Australian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a former professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line.  Her website can be found at http://TracyCooperPosey.com.

If you're a erotic romance author and you like to write an article telling everyone the difference between Erotic Romance and Erotica please email Laurie at bittenbyromance@gmail.com 

Review: Diana by the Moon by Tracy Cooper-Posey

Title: Diana by the Moon
Author: Tracey Cooper-Posey
Source: Author Request
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: November 12, 2013
Reviewer: Jasmyn

He is Arthur’s man. His duty is his life. She fears and mistrusts him. The only way they will survive is to work together.

Britain, 469 A.D.:  Shortly after the Roman legions returned to Rome, leaving Britain open to Saxon attacks, Diana's abusive parents die during a Saxon raid on their villa farm, the same day her brother takes most of the male slaves and servants to join the rebel Celt, Arthur.

Diana, who no longer trusts anyone, must find a way for the women in her household to survive after the enemy has stolen everything. They struggle to eke out a living from the meager provisions remaining.

Alaric, proud Celtic warrior and trusted lieutenant to the upstart British leader, Arthur, has been sent by him to establish and maintain a line of signal beacons — one of which must be built on a strategic hill on Diana's property.

His mission is critical to the security of Britain.  Alaric must overcome his hatred of Romans if he is to fulfill Arthur’s ambitions in the north.  He forces Diana to agree in return for the protection of Alaric and his men.  Diana is pulled into a deadly political net, when Roman British enemies, including the Bishop of Eboracum, take exception to her new Celtic allies.

A haunting tale of two lives touched by the coming of King Arthur, and two hearts and souls struggling to come together against odds as great as those against Britain itself. Only together will they survive, or else be sundered…forever.

Diana by the Moon is part of the Jewels of Tomorrow series.

Guest post with Tracy Cooper-Posey

Caves – Some of the World’s Most Naturally Creepy Places

Paranormal romance fans understand creepy.  They like creepy.  A little bit, anyway.

But creepy, in paranormal terms, is something that is manufactured by ghouls, goblins, demons and spirits…and authors with very good imaginations.

Caves, though…caves in their natural state are the creepiest and most frightening places you can find, and you don’t need a souped up scary movie soundtrack to enhance the sensations. 

Cavers – people who like to climb down into the bowels of the Earth – or Potholers, as they’re also called – have got nerves of steel and a brain that is wired slightly differently from the average human.  They have to have, because caves are not pleasant places.

Let me explain. 

There’s possibly a good chance you’ve been in one or two caves in your lifetime.  Tourist locations open to the public, where you can walk in and have a look around at the stalactites and stalagmites, while a tour guide or self-guided presentation tells you about how old the cave and the fossils found inside it are.

It’s fascinating and chilly and you’re pretty glad to get out into the sunshine at the end.

Fair summary?

These sorts of caves that have been opened to the public are the MacDonalds version of caves.  They’ve been retailed and tamed to the point of inoffensiveness.  Access to the cave is paved over, made safe and accessible to all.  Lights are strung up and in some cases, air conditioning pumped in.  The cave floor itself is swept smooth, and paths and steps built and poured, while hand rails are constructed to ensure you have something to cling to as you climb up and down.

If there are any pockets of offensive or dangerous gas, noxious water, hot water, or too cold water, they’re removed or diverted.  Tourists are kept away from unstable areas where cave-ins are possible, or the floor is simply too difficult to walk across (until concrete paths can be poured).

The flip side to all the guiderails and paths and lighting is that while the human tourists are being shepherded carefully along narrowly defined routes, the impact on the natural flaura and fauna is being kept to a minimum.

But what humans don’t see, with all that careful shepherding, is what a cave is really like, without its make-up on.

You might tend to think of a cave like you see them in the movies and on TV; with conveniently flat, sandy floors, and tunnels that run horizontally to provide access to the main chambers.

Caves are nothing like that in reality.  They’re pitch black, unlit spaces in the earth where shifts in tectonic plates left gaps and holes in the rock and earth.  Time, water and erosion did the rest, and what you’re left with is fantastically shaped spaces that often have no identifiable “floor” at all, or walls, or a roof.  When you make your way through them, you begin to understand how the continents were formed and are still shifting and shrugging every now and again…and how truly insignificant humans are, with all their surface activity.

The toe of land at the bottom of Western Australia (where it says Cape Leewin on the map) is riddled with caves.  Some of them have been commercialized just like I described at the beginning of this post.  Some of the caves are well known only the local pot-holers.   But there are more areas deep inside the cliffs and earth of Margaret River than have ever been discovered.

It’s that raw opening in the centre of the earth feeling that I tried to convey in Terror Stash.  There is one scene in particular where the three main characters face what is called a “tight squeeze” in caving terms.

See if it creeps you out.  And not a ghost in sight.

_________________

A stash of terrorists in a tiny town? No one believes her.

American diplomat Montana Dela Vega, posted to laid-back Western Australia, discovers a band of known terrorists hiding deep in the bush. Laughed at by superiors, she must find courage and her own resources to expose the ruthless zealots.

The only people who believe her wild story are Caden Rawn, the mysterious and physically intimidating man with a terrifying reputation, and a bloody history that dogs his every step; and Steve Scarborough, a local police officer with an instinct for the truth and a secret of his own.

Caden and Montana’s private investigation entwines them in tragedy and fear, and teaches them the meaning of friendship...and love.  They must face the cost of truth and the courage of their convictions for Montana’s terrorists are very real and very deadly indeed—and they want Montana for themselves....

Available in print and ebook at retailers everywhere.

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Tracy Cooper-Posey is an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author.  She writes erotic vampire romances, hot romantic suspense, paranormal and urban fantasy romances.  She has published over 50 novels since 1999, been nominated for five CAPAs including Favourite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award. 

She turned to indie publishing in 2011. Her indie titles have been nominated four times for Book Of The Year.   She has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at MacEwan University. 

She is addicted to Irish Breakfast tea and chocolate, sometimes taken together.  In her spare time she enjoys sewing, history, Sherlock Holmes, science fiction and ignoring her treadmill. An Australian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a former professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line. 

Catch up with Tracy at her website…Amazon…All Romance eBooks…Smashwords…Kobo…Facebook…Twitter.

Review: Dead Double by: Tracy Cooper-Posey

Title: Dead Double
Author: Tracey Cooper-Posey
Source: Review request
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: 178 pages
Reviewed by; Emi 

The woman he must now protect looks exactly like the one he once hated.

An Iranian physics genius in hiding wants to give the west his world-changing theories, but will only give them to Micky Wilde, whose beauty once charmed him. The only problem? Micky is dead. Logan Wilde involved his wife in his grim business and it got her killed. For Logan the guilt runs deep. 

Sahara Taylor-Hughes is a San Francisco beachbum with a life and personality a million miles different from Micky’s caustic ways, but she is Micky’s double in appearance. Duped into playing Micky to get the plans, Sahara destroys what little peace Logan has left.

Zaram, a potent renegade terrorist, learns of the plans. He will hold the western world to ransom if he gets them first. Logan must help Sahara beat Zaram, collect the plans and make sure she stays alive, or else lose his mind…and his heart.

Review: Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey

Blood Knot
Tracy Cooper-Posey
http://tracycooperposey.com/
Published:  3/7/11

Paranormal Romance / M/F  and  M/M/F  Erotica
Review Requested

Winter, a professional thief who can manipulate others' biologies by touch, accidentally "healed" her former partner-and former vampire-Sebastian, whom she secretly loves. Her healing created a symbiot pairing between them that neither of them wants.

Nathanial, a sexy thousand-year-old vampire and Sebastian's ex-lover, talks Sebastian and Winter into stealing evidence that will expose all vampires to the world. But Nathanial is a puppet-master who doesn't believe in falling in love with humans, leaving Winter unsure of his real feelings for her once he seduces her, or how he feels about Sebastian, the former vampire-now-human whose life he has turned upside down once more.

But the evidence they steal is hot property. The future of all vampires is on the line and others will stop at nothing to get it, leaving Sebastian, Winter and Nathanial with no allies but each other. They must trust each other to survive. Only...can they?

MY RATING:

SEXUAL:

Interesting Read!

First let me say that the romance/erotic scenes between the m/f and m/m/f were totally HOT! The story was interesting in the fact that it involved two vampires and one supposed female human who were known as the best thieves known by reputation amongst the vampire world.

Nathanial (Nial), is one sly and sexy vampire that has a way with manipulating minds to get what he wants. I loved how sexually his actions towards Winter and Sebastian were. He seemed to never lose control and always knew how to read the others actions to make them react physically and mentally.

Winter was one bad ass chick that was human but not really human. She had human parents but she has a gift no one else has, she can reach into others by skin contact and change their biology chemistry or heal them, including her own self. For instance, she was able to heal herself from being poisoned by reaching within herself mentally and breaking down the strain of the poison and reversing it, therefore making her immortal like the vampires.

Sebastian, another sexy vampire worked with Winter for two years and had been keeping his true feelings of how he felt away from Winter. Winter had saved his ass many times but the last time was the straw that almost made him want to confess his feelings towards her, but thinking her human kept him from it even after he found out a truth she had been keeping from him. Sebastian had almost died and Winter panicked and touched him to heal him only to find out that he was darker than most humans and she healed him back to being human again not knowing he was a vampire.

The story gets interesting as Winter discovers she has inherited some traits from Sebastian she didn’t have before such as requiring blood – his blood and her eyes and hair have changed permanently .

Sebastian thinks he is turned back to being a human because of his chemistry changes within his body such as being able to eat food and craving it. However, Sebastian is having a hard time dealing with the truths and decides to run from his true feelings and tries to forget about Winter that is until his ex-lover Nial comes along and convinces Winter to help him find Sebastian.

The story heats up from there when Winter and Nial find themselves in each other’s arms with excited passion and especially when they find Sebastian and old sparks are rekindled between the ex-lover and the joining of the new lovers.

I’ve rated this a 3 ½ star because I thought there should have been a little more clarification (what kind of immortal) on what Winter truly was for it was evident she was more than human but not a vampire.