Why I Love Erotic Romance … it’s getting hot

Have you ever flipped through a book to get to the “good parts?” How about doing a “search” on your e-reader for keywords such as “cock?” The Romance Reviews put up the challenge in this Erotic Romance Madness Hop, and I’ve decided to go mad.

Participants can enter to win a few prizes:

1. $10 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance
2. .pdf copy of one of the books on my backlist

In order to enter, leave a comment with your email address. And, since it's my Blog Anniversary this weekend -- whoo-hoo, one year: Follower me on Twitter and Facebook (and let me know), and you will be entered into a separate contest for a $10 Ravenous gift card. (If you're already my friend, drop me a line and you'll be entered.)

When it comes to erotic romance, the sexier the better. Sure, readers want to imagine the writers living fabulous and passion-filled lives – and I’m not saying we don’t … But, we also like to get our kicks reading other fantasies, too!

Before I get into my one review, let me explain that I don’t think all erotic romance is hard-core. In fact, I enjoy the diversity of a fanciful historical with some tender lovemaking, science fiction that pushes the limits and paranormal that explores a sometimes darker side.

Back Door Lover, edited by Debra Hyde, stands out when it comes to taking a taboo subject and making it oh, so sexy. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Hyde in person, and talk about unassuming! You wouldn’t sit next to her on a train and think, “She writes erotic romance.” Then again, people often say the same thing to me.

From traditional M/F stories where the male takes the dominant role, to marriages that need a little pick-me-up and the wife brings home a strap-on, the anthology offers a variety of happy endings. (Pun totally intended.) Those that have read my debut erotic thriller Sex University: Physical Education know that anal play isn’t a new literary foray. I won’t highlight any particular story, simply because I’ve read, and enjoyed, them all.

Remember to visit other stops on the hop by clicking through on The Romance Reviews graphic above. And, you don’t need to do all the stops on one day. The hop runs through May 14 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

And, BTW, if you win … Back Door Lover is available via Ravenous Romance. Go ahead, download it. No one will tell!

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** Stay tuned: Book 3, The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: The Voodoo King is coming soon.

A Future without Discrimination with Lisa Lane

Ours is a time of cultural progressivism and change, one in which increasing numbers of people are opening their minds to issues society has kept closed for far too long.  Among those issues society has long repressed is the value we place on sexual orientation.

Lust in Space
Lisa Lane

I hadn’t thought much about sexual orientation until I began writing and reading more erotic romance.  I realized early on that my writing focused on heterosexual couples, as did most erotic romances that were not specifically m/m, f/f, or ménage.  Conversely, most works focusing on homosexual or bisexual characters tended not to delve too much into their straight characters.  I suppose we all write what we know (at least most of the time) but I couldn’t help but wonder: Why don’t more works write across society’s imposed boundaries between the GLBT and heterosexual “communities?”

I was determined to defy that boundary with my Lust in Space stories.  With the help of androgynous shape-shifters, an alien race that is primarily bisexual, and an alien species comprised of hermaphrodites, the series shows differences in sexual orientation not as an issue, but as a normal part of humanoid life.  While the leading couple is heterosexual, I wanted to portray a future in which people were not defined by their sexual orientations, but by their personal characters. With that, I hope the Lust in Space books might not be defined by any particular sexual orientation, but by the character of their stories.

My most recent work in the series is “Super Nova,” which is in Lori Perkins’ most recent anthology, Three’s a Charm.  The short story follows Suxie (introduced in Lust in Space) and Jocar (introduced in Pandora’s Hope) as they go on a mission in the shape-shifting Nova’s space.  The couple, having first gotten together in Pandora’s Hope, has had its differences: Jocar was initially hired by Space-Corp to spy on Suxie and the rest of the crew; Suxie’s spirituality clashes with Jocar’s atheism; and Suxie is unsure about any future ménage activity—unsure she wants to share Jocar, her lovely blue hermaphrodite, with anyone else.  The story is about lust, love, and a couple that transcends the two, testing their relationship and fortifying their bond with a night neither will soon forget.

Lisa Lane

I think an increased number of books will mesh sexual orientations as time goes on, so that many erotica works will not be labeled “GLBT” or “hetero,” but instead follow more closely the ideal we would like to see reflected in real life: a mesh that exemplifies cohesion of different people despite their differences.

Lust in Space, Pandora’s Hope, and Three’s a Charm are available in all electronic formats through Ravenous Romance, and are also available at Amazon and other major online retailers.

You can learn more about my books and short stories at The Cerebral Writer, or visit my all-erotica blog, The New Sensuality.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ravenous Nights

Threesomes, burlesque, elder desire, fetish and sex under the bleachers aren't exactly topics for casual conversation, but they have a home at the new reading series, Ravenous Nights, in New York City. Started in February by editorial director Lori Perkins and hosted by publisher Ravenous Romance, the series celebrates – and elevates – the erotic word by spotlighting authors of erotica and erotic romance.

On the first Friday of every month, Ravenous Nights welcomes authors and the listening public to the Happy Ending Lounge, a one-time massage parlor in the lower east side and now a bar and literary hot spot to gather and enjoy several fictional offerings. The event has already featured such authors as Logan Belle, Caridad Pinero, Laura Antoniou, D.L. King, Abigail Ekue, Cecilia Tan, Michelle Herrera Mulligan, and Mo Beasley, among many others.

As often as possible, Lori brings a mix performers and performances to a Ravenous Nights event. In February, Mo Beasley performed an energetic ode to his favorite fetish, Black Panties, via spoken word, spirited music and hot choreography. And in May, burlesque performer, Jo Weldon, demonstrated the basics of getting one's tassels twirling!

Door prizes are another essential at a Ravenous Nights evening. Lori raffles off as many free books as possible during the event and sometimes the crowd sounds more like they’re at the races than at a reading! But, hey, can you think of a better way to celebrate one's love for the book? 

This month’s Ravenous Nights will feature authors Isabo Kelly, Rob Byrnes and Hope Tarr:

June 3

8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Happy Ending Lounge

302 Broome Street

New York, NY

www.happyendinglounge.com 

The event is free and dress is street casual.

Ravenous Night’s website is located at http://ravenous.journurl.com


By Debra Hyde