I’d like to thank Louisa for having me on
her lovely site. It’s such a pleasure to be here!
I’d like to talk about romance. There now,
that’s a real surprise, isn’t it? I had a fabulous review recently for Body Temperature and Rising. One of the
reasons the reviewer liked BTR was that it was NOT a romance. I read that bit of
the review with a raised eyebrow and a silly smile on my face because I’ve
always considered BTR to be a paranormal erotic romance, though I can certainly
see where people might think otherwise. And frankly I’m very okay with that.
Some people don’t like romance. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a sucker for it,
but I’m very happy to write something that pleases people both sides of the
romance line.
When I wrote Body Temperature and Rising, it was in my mind to create a coven of
witches who practiced a rare form of sex magic, and because it was sex magic,
the coven was, in a lot of ways, a polyamourous marriage. Because of the battle
the Elemental Coven is involved in, the bonds within the group are very tight
and run very deep. Because the magic practiced is sex magic, the relationships
between all of the coven members are sexual.
The review got me to thinking about what
romance really is. To my delight, the topic of romance is a book within itself,
but not one I have time to explore in one blog post so here’s a very
boiled-down version of what I learned from the Free Online Dictionary.
Romance
can be a love affair. It can be an ardent emotional
attachment or involvement between people. It can describe something of mysterious
or fascinating quality or appeal, something adventurous, heroic, or strangely
beautiful. It can be a fictitious tale of
heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or
place. In the case of BTR, the English Lake District is the setting, a setting which
is very beautiful and evocative, and way more distant from me that I wish it was.
And BTR is definitely a tale of heroes and extraordinary and mysterious events.
Romance can also be an artistic work, such as a novel, story, or film, that
deals with sexual love, especially in an idealized form.
Yup! I’d say based on the good ole FOD’s
definition, Body Temperature and Rising
is a romance … of sorts. The fact that it appeals to non-romancers as well as
romancers is just the icing and the cherry on top.
I’ve always enjoyed pushing the boundaries
of romance because complicating a relationship by adding another person or two
or more makes for more conflict in the story, and in such a situation, someone
is always wrong-footed. Whether or not the three plus people can find their
Happy For Now or their Happy Ever After is always a crap shoot, and that’s a
part of the fun. The Elemental Coven has way more than their fair share of
complications, enough to last for three novels and then some. But then you’d
expect romance as a group activity to be like that, wouldn’t you?
*****
American transplant to the Lake District, MARIE WARREN,
didn’t know she could unleash demons and enflesh ghosts until a voyeuristic
encounter on the fells ends in sex with the charming ghost, ANDERSON, and night
visits from a demon. To help her cope with her embarrassing and dangerous new
abilities, Anderson brings her to the ELEMENTALS, a coven of witches who
practice rare sex magic that temporarily allows needy ghosts access to the
pleasures of the flesh.
DEACON, the demon Marie has unleashed, holds an ancient
grudge against TARA STONE, coven high priestess, and will stop at nothing to
destroy all she holds dear. Marie and her landlord, the reluctant young farmer,
TIM MERIWETHER, are at the top of his list. Marie and Tim must learn to wield
coven magic and the numinous power of their lust to stop Deacon’s bloody
rampage before the coven is torn apart and more innocent people die.
More info,
excerpt and buy links: http://kdgrace.co.uk/books/lakeland-heatwave-book-i/
*****
K D Grace was
born with a writing obsession. It got worse once she actually learned HOW to
write. There's no treatment for it. It's progressive and chronic and quite
often interferes with normal, everyday functioning. She might actually be
concerned if it wasn't so damned much fun most of the time.
K D's critically
acclaimed erotic romance novels, The Initiation of Ms Holly, The Pet Shop and
Lakeland Heatwave Book 1: Body Temperature and Rising are published by Xcite
Books and are available from all good paperback and eBook retailers.
Her erotica has
been published with Xcite Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Harper Collins Mischief
Books, Black Lace, Erotic Review, Ravenous Romance, Sweetmeats Press and
Scarlet Magazine.
Find out more
about K D Grace on her website, http://kdgrace.co.uk.
She's also on Facebook and Twitter.
Thanks for having me on your fabulous site, Louisia! It's such a pleasure to be here!
ReplyDeleteKDx