I love the Fifty Shades of Grey series for so many reasons.

As an agent who has toiled in the erotica fields for decades, it shows the world that there is a strong market for erotic fiction written, edited and purchased by women. This is smut for women.

Some of you know that I consider myself a “feminist pornographer,” which always raises a few eyebrows. But I believe this movement of women claiming their own smut is part of the evolution of feminism – proudly owning your sexuality is a big part of equality.

When I was a young feminist, I read The Story of O, and I was offended by it, because I knew that I was not a submissive woman. I’ve wrestled with this my entire life in my personal relationships, and since I was not a submissive, I assumed that the submissive woman fantasy was a male fantasy and part of the patriarchy.

Until I became the editor of erotic literature. And I quickly learned that the submissive woman’s fantasy of complete surrender to an Alpha man is the leading daydream of the majority of American women.

As a young feminist, I looked down on this “romance” troupe. I didn’t think it was possible to be submissive and a feminist, just as old school feminists were appalled that their well-educated daughters wanted to stay home and be mothers, or learn to knit and bake. We’ve been saying for the past two decades that feminism was about having choices, and one of those is to be free in our erotic fantasies.

In a recent review of The Hunger Games movie, a feminist reviewer complained about the need for “romance” in an otherwise action-based dystopian YA. I used to feel that way too, but I secretly went to romantic comedies alone so no one would see me cry. I was ashamed of my romantic side.

You can be a feminist and a romantic. It’s OK. And it’s really OK to want, and believe in, a happy ending, even if you know that in reality 50% of all marriages fail. These movies and books are an escape, and a hope.

Everyone wants to fall in love, and be swept away by its power, even men. But they don’t have the freedom women have. They don’t have the choices we have.

So, Fifty Shades of Grey brings all these issues to the surface and has proven, once and for all, that women love to read smut.

As an erotica agent, this means that there’s a whole new marketplace for these stories. The Story of O is 40 years old and the current edition is a dated translation (I’d love to see this in contemporary language). We need new fantasies, which EL James has given us. I am awed to see the birth of a new erotica classic, which is what Fifty Shades is (it’s the same feeling I had as I watched Harry Potter become a children’s literature classic in my time).

But we also need variety. So I am hoping that these books will usher in a publishing tidal wave of commercially successful erotica featuring M/M (that’s gay male romance often written by women) and erotica featuring dominant women and submissive men, as well as more lesbian fiction. And lots and lots of ménage featuring one woman and at least two men!

Tags: erotica | romance | erotic romance | BDSM | E L James | Fifty Shades | feminism | feminist

Hits: 675 | Read more...

I recently read a great blog post about heroes, done by fellow writer Sage Whistler. She found nine types of heroes. I'm excerpting it here for an informal poll.

Which ones are your favorites or least favorites? Which do you most/least like to read about? [I have a more formal poll over at my LiveJournal blog.]

Divine Nine Types of Heroes

1. Mr. Wonderful
2. Mr. Badass
3. Mr. Confused
4. Mr. Shy
5. Mr. Caveman
6. Mr. Pincushion
7. Mr. Evol
8. Mr. TSTL
9. Mr. E

Mr. Wonderful
I will start with Mr. Wonderful. You may see him most often in the romance genre. He is perfect. He is handsome, available, muscled, educated, well-spoken. *insert sigh here* Oddly enough I find this guy the least bit interesting. Where are his flaws? Someone find a pimple on his ass or something. You know how his story will go. He’ll meet the girl, put on his charm, snag her, bag her, and nine months later she’s preggo. The End. Good riddance.

Occupational hazard: Lawyer, doctor, dentist, veterinarian, CEO

Mr. Badass
*insert evil grin here* I like him. *pats head* Mr. Badass is probably still handsome, intelligent, available, OR he might be banging his next door neighbor, the girl at Rite Mart, AND the ticket ripper at the local theater. He’s going to get into trouble. He’s going to curse. He’s going to growl and complain and roll his eyes and maybe hurt your feelings.. AnyHOO at the end of the day Mr.Badass does the right thing.

Occupational Hazard: Tattoo Artist, Construction Worker, Bartender, Repair Shop Owner, Professional Jewelry Thief

Mr. Confused
He doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going. He doesn’t know if he wants to be married or remain a bachelor. He can’t even remember where he left his briefcase this morning.  You will most likely have your heart wrenched for Mr. Confused. He goes through a lot of trials and tribulations before he ends up with Mr. (or Ms.)  Right.

Occupational Hazard: Office assistant, Clerk, College Kid, Photographer

Mr. Shy
“He blushed. His cheeks flushed. He ducked his head. His hand trembled. He dropped his keys and then kicked them under the car. He was nervous. His stomach flip-flopped.” What are these, you ask? Well, these are all reading cues that let you know you are dealing with Mr. Shy. He’s a very popular hero to use in gay fiction.  He’ll get the guy (or girl) by accident because the guy will be pursuing him.

Occupational Hazard: Artist, Computer Techie, College Student, Engineer

Mr. Caveman
Meet Crug. He’s one step away from bopping you on the head and dragging you off to his cave. You love to hate this guy, and though you’re sure the hero(ine) should shoot him in the leg, you still *swoon* over him. Mr. Caveman is a combination of Mr. Wonderful (smart, handsome, successful, muscular) but he has all the characteristics of Mr. Badass. (Dominant, smug, bossy) He just gets away with it because he’s handsome.

Occupational Hazard: Caveman, Soldier, Firefighter, CEO, Inherited Wealth (Secretive business)

Mr. Pincushion
Hey, can I have twenty bucks? Yeah, this guy will give you his last two cents. He’s the caretaker who inadvertently became everyone’s walking mat. He thinks everyone is his friend. He’s a handsome, likeable guy, OR he might just be average looking but intelligent or wealthy.  Mr. Pin will eventually find his happily ever after. It could be with Mr. Right or Mr. Loving, OR a Dom named Jackal who beats the snot out of all the people taking advantage of him.

Occupational Hazard: Accountant, Doctor, Teacher, Musician, Inherited Wealth, Manager, Store Owner, Scientist

Mr. Evol
He’s not a hero! Course not. He’s not like Mr. Badass at all. He’ll steal lollipops from babies and push little old ladies to the back of the line. He’s handsome  He’s also VERY rare as a protagonist. Who’ll ever love this black-hearted scoundrel? Well, apparently, there is such a thing as redemption. There is always a loophole that wins Mr. Evol into the hearts of others.  On the rare occasion Mr. Evol goes from good to bad. Either way this character is evolutionary and bound for a happy ending—or, some time in prison. *shrugs*

Occupational Hazard: Thief, Drug-Lord, Kingpin, Assassin, Pirate, Mercenary

Mr. TSTL (too stupid to live)
Burn this after reading. That’s what Mr. TSTL makes you want to do to your book. If he were a hero he’d be the one who showed up to rescue the woman in the burning building after she’d thrown a mattress out the window and rescued herself. Mr.TSTL pisses the heroine or hero off with his sheer stupidity and thoughtlessness. To be fair he isn’t a bad guy, just not the brightest light bulb in the bunch. By some freak of nature he gets a HFN or a HEA. You’ll probably care less though.

Occupational Hazard: In the interest of being diplomatic I won’t fill in an occupation here.

Mr. E
Mr. E is a ‘mystery’ you get it?  He’s not the typical hero. He might be overweight, handicapped, or a freaking shapeshifter. Mr. E is here to shake things up. He’ll never do what you expect of him. He’s a wicked combination of almost all the Misters I’ve mentioned so far. If Mr. E was a superhero he’d probably be the antihero turned hero, turned antihero again.  He’s the one the town calls a murderer when in reality his best friend died in a car accident.  Mr. E might be a killer on the gossip mills but later you find out he’s a retired veterinarian that still takes in animals. If Mr. E finds Mr. or Mrs. Right it isn’t because he went out looking. His other half will have to come to him.

Occupational Hazard: It’s a Mr. E. (You SO knew I was gonna say that.)

Now, for the poll! Which are your favorites or least favorites? I'd love to see some comments with your favorite books with these hero types.

[See Sage's post for the full analysis]

--EM Lynley

website: http://www.emlynley.com
blog: http://emlynley.livejournal.com

Tags: EM Lynley | heroes | poll | romance | reader poll | romance heroes

Comments 7 | Hits: 1028 | Read more...

This morning, while blow-drying my hair, I was watching a romance movie. Since I had the dryer on, I used the closed-caption for the hearing impaired. When the movie broke for commercial, I thought it was a preview for a movie. I could see a woman on the phone. The caption read, "I'm going to use the treadmill for bait." She got on the treadmill. The scene changed to show two burglars outside looking in. The next scene showed them breaking into her home. The alarm went off...and it turned out to be a Brinks Security commercial!

I thought, "someone is making fun of the Brinks' commercial!" Ha. Ha. But I couldn't believe it. I pressed reverse on my remote (I could do this because it was a DVR) but before it got to the part I read, it froze and broke into pixels and squares. I kept pressing Reverse, but nothing happened. Finally it went into fast reverse, and I was able to halt it before the caption.

This time, the caption had changed and read as it should, "I'm going to use the treadmill for a bit."

The placement of the letter "a" changed the entire meaning.

I wondered, "this was live, so it was possible I saw what I saw..."

I doubted, "maybe I transposed the letters, removed the 'a' and put it in front. It's not that live."

Then I got the idea. Remember Mel Gibson in CONSPIRACY THEORY? Remember Sandra Bullock in THE NET? Well, my idea is a combination of these two. What if a recluse with only access to the computer and the television receives messages through the closed-caption for the hearing impaired? The recluse must brave her fears, leave her home to save someone she doesn't know from being tortured and killed. As she confronts her fears, she learns that the person she must save is a parallel version of her self, and she gets to know herself as she would have been (and now is, because she has changed) without fear.

I would like to hear strange things that have happened to you, and what story you will (or would if you could) write.

(I won't take yours, just don't take mine!) 

Tags: ideas | story | romance | commercial | closed-caption for the hearing impa

Comments 10 | Hits: 777 | Read more...

The AMBROSIA anthology!  My story is called JUST'S DESSERTS and is about pastry chef Justine Calodorini and tycon Adam Stade who adores her creations. 

Jesse has done a great job putting together this anthology and she's also been posting interviews with the contributors on her blog.  Yes, today is my day, so come read my interview at http://sexfoodplay.wordpress.com/.  She calls me scrumptious - I love her for that alone .

My story in the anthology is also available as a Ravenous Rendezvous, so you can check it out that way for a... taste.

More soon, Rachel!

Tags: Rachel Kenley | Ambrosia | romance | Food | sex | love

Comments 3 | Hits: 896 | Read more...

I usually take a half hour each day to read a few favorite publishing blogs. And this morning I came across an interesting post about the romance market and a nice comment about fictionwise and Ravenous Romance here. 

Update: Here's how to find the comment...click "here", above, which will take you to the blog post titled, "Love in the Time of Recession," then open the comment page and scroll down. Someone named "Sheila" left a nice comment about ravenous. I've been seeing these little comments all over the blogsphere. I'll try linking now to the exact comment page. It wouldn't work earlier. Comment

Tags: comment | romance

Comments 5 | Hits: 910 | Read more...

Tags: love | romance

Comments 2 | Hits: 971 | Read more...

I was interviewed a few days ago by fellow author Jesse Blair, and the question came up: Why do I write erotica?

It's a good question. Especially for someone who has been writing and publishing in other genres - historical fiction, horror/suspense, media tie-ins, nonfiction, mainstream - for quite some time. But it basically comes down to one thing. I write realistic characters and their experiences. Their lives. What the encounter, what scares them, excites them, makes them angry or sad or overjoyed. Yes, the stories often get pretty wild or scary and sometimes surreal, but the characters themselves are rooted firmly in reality. They love, they hurt, they bleed, they cry, they laugh, they tremble, they desire. We read about them because we want to experience what they are experiencing. We want to learn what they learn, go where they go, discover what they discover. So when the opportunity came to write about sexuality, it seemed to fit right into what I was already doing.

Granted, I've never been as explicit with my sex scenes as I have been with my Ravenous Romance novels and short stories. But real sex is pretty graphic, right? And so it didn't take much to open the bedroom doors just a bit wider so the reader could see more clearly what was going on. And what's wrong with a little literary voyeurism? I mean, isn't all fiction a bit voyeuristic by nature?

Love,

Morgan

Tags: sex | bedroom | writing | fiction | romance | erotica

Comments 3 | Hits: 806 | Read more...

How does an author write erotic fiction? Or more specifically, how does a writer create effective sex scenes in erotic fiction?

The key is to tune in to what turns you on. Granted, our inner desires are intimate and personal and often quite private. Some even startle ourselves! But if a writer wants to create steamy scenes that will ignite the fires in his or her readers, then the writer has to be willing to explore and then put on paper those intimate, personal, private passions. The writer has to be willing to lay it on all the line, to allow his/her imagination to experience all these things and then share them. I've heard tell writers should never write as if their mothers are watching over their shoulders. Excellent advice, especially for writers of erotica. Let it all hang out! If this isn't the case, then the scenes will read flat, uninspired, and unrealisic.

Years ago, the book My Secret Garden made a big splash. It as a nonfiction collection of women's private sexual fantasies. Talk about steamy! Those interviewed held nothing back, and it made it very clear that there is a huge variety in what gets our minds and bodies a-throbbin'! There are some fantasties that do nothing for me. Others get me hot immediately. The ones that get me hot are the ones I'll include in my fiction. I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy watching others make love (there's a lot of that in my Ravenous Romance novel Haunted Seduction). I especially am turned on by two men enjoying each other's bodies (see my short story in Merry Sex-mas). I love the idea of powerful, brooding men who have in some way become vulnerable and need to be tended...until they're strong enough to rise up and turn the tables in a very big way (such as what happens in my Ravenous Romance novel Man of the Shadows). I love the idea of sex outdoors (soon to come in my next RR novel, Mad Mistress of the Mountain). Hey, humans are all part of nature, aren't we? And there are other hot situations that get me going.

And you can trust me to be honest enough to share them with you in my fiction.

Love,
Morgan

Tags: romance | passion | desire | private | erotic | erotica | fantasy | fiction | sex

Comments 5 | Hits: 821 | Read more...

Hi there, I'm Jincey Lumpkin, Esq., and I'm breaking my cherry here at Ravenous Romance.  I'm not new to blogging.  In fact, I write quite often at my own site, DigiRomp.com.  Feel free to click on over and read more- if you're a lady who likes ladies.  Otherwise, you've got to pony up and buy my books here.  ;)

Lately I've been rekindling my love affair with steamy French cinema.  I watched Romance last night for the second time.

I saw it five or six years ago, but back then I found the story a bit scary- the S&M aspects seemed very edgy to me then.  Now it looks mild!

I love the way French films show women in all their complexity.  It's so far from this American airbrushed romance we're used to.  The truth is that we are beautifully complex.  I want to write about women who don't always make the right choice.

Tags: digiromp.com | lesbian | complex women | BDSM | pop the cherry | french cinema | romance | jincey lumpkin esq

Comments 3 | Hits: 886 | Read more...

What it is about a man in a tri-cornered or cocked hat that stirs such passion for me? What makes that so freakin' hot? I don’t think I could really put my finger on it. But when I’m in Colonial Williamsburg and a young man with dark hair and broad shoulders…or even an older man with steely gray hair and a square jaw…goes galloping down Duke of Gloucester Street on his horse, cape flying, black leather boots secure in the stirrups, eyes blazing, I feel absolutely faint in the knees. Is it the sense of power the man projects? The self-confidence? The aura of duty and determination and strength? The idea that a man who exudes such command would command me in all the best ways? Maybe it’s none of those or all of those. I just know that a tri-corn hat is a first step to getting me hot and bothered and willing to meet the man in stable loft or behind the oak tree in the lily garden. Every Revolutionary hero needs a willing woman to help ease his mind and his soul and his body.

My novel Man of the Shadows (debut Jan. 16) throws a frustrated contemporary woman into a terrifying time fold with a handsome, dedicated, yet troubled Revolutionary War officer. Together, in the wilderness, they must find a way to survive. Is this my fantasy? Well, of course it is! And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed imagining and writing it. 

And I’d love to hear what you think. Thanks! And thanks, also, to those who have helped make my first Ravenous Romance novel, Haunted Seduction, a best seller. If you haven't read that one yet, check it out!

Love,
Morgan

Tags: tri-cornered hat | Colonial | Revolutionary War | officer | sex | pasison | mystery | suspense | love | romance

Comments 10 | Hits: 885 | Read more...