Why I read Erotica

I’m an extremely eclectic reader.  I love Chicks that kick ass and self-deprecating wizards.  Young kids discovering love or the strength inside themselves.  I love zombies and science thrillers.  Heart stopping adventures.  Achingly sweet love stories.  Every genre has something for me to love. 

But there’s one genre that doesn’t get enough love from the writing community.  Erotica.
 

 

I love reading erotica.  I’m not ashamed to say it.  I don’t hide my books from friends and family.  My sex life isn’t lacking.  I read erotica because it’s good fiction.  It’s one of the best genres to showcase true writing talent. 

Bullshit you say?  Most erotica is thinly veiled porn.   

Alas, you are right dear reader.  The genre, so often maligned, is filled with authors with little skill that rush to the sex and leave behind the foreplay.  Erotica, true erotica is NOT PORN.  It really gets my panties in a bunch that it’s acceptable for women to read grocery store romance novels with virginal teenage girls, but the minute you toss in adults who like sex and get wild in the bed it's somehow distasteful.  

It’s not just about the sex; I’ve read hotter sex scenes in Urban Fantasy (thank you Butcher and Harrison for that).  Good erotica is about characters and growth.  It's self discovery and growth rolled up into a hot sexy burrito of passion. (Wow that sounded less pervy in my head…)   Erotica is good reads!

What is good you ask… Well that’s not easy to quantify.  Like any genre, everyone has an opinion.

To start with let’s define what I mean by erotica:

Erotica is any artistic work that deals substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing subject matter. All forms of art may depict erotic content, including painting, sculpture, photography, drama, film, music or literature. Erotica has high-art aspirations, differentiating it from commercial pornography.  (Wikipedia Entry for Erotica)

 For me, like other books it read, there has to be compelling characters, an intriguing plot and most importantly perfect pacing.  Don’t get me wrong… hot sex is a must, but if the writing is off then the whole thing doesn’t work.  One wrong sentence and the illusion is broken.  The scene fails.

This is why I believe any writer can benefit from reading a well written erotic novel. The author not only has to spin a character centric tale about two people falling in love (or lust… depending on the story), but they also have to choreograph sex scenes that are complicated and fraught with tension.    Pacing, stage direction, character building… it’s all there.  Don’t get me wrong, erotica isn’t literary fiction and will never win the Nobel prize for literature… but I don’t care.   I read fiction for fun and erotica is one of my go to genres.

Here are a few I've enjoyed:

 

If you have any suggestions, I’m always looking for new books to add to my reading list :)

Gina Drayer

photo credit: Chris Blakeley via photopin cc

Not Your Everyday Zombie Apocalypse

So I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump.  My focus has been on finishing my first draft, all other things be damned!  But I needed a break, before my brain melted, and took some books off my reading list.  I was looking for something fun.  Something that would be a quick read, so I picked up Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines.

My first impression was:  REALLY?  Just when I thought I’d read every imaginable zombie book out there, here comes Ex-Heroes.  I was expecting it to be campy and funny… I mean zombies and super heroes, but I was wrong.  Ex-Heroes had everything you’d expect from a good post-apocalyptic zombie novel just with capes and battle armor!

The book was better than I expected.  The main characters, the super heroes, had all the things I love from a good comic book; dark beginnings, murky pasts and complicated relationships.  Clines managed to build a dark and complex story around these characters while setting up a rich world and traditional zombie plot.

The book is told in alternating time lines, THEN and NOW.  This type of storytelling isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed hearing about the back stories of the Heroes…even the Ex-Heroes.  To be honest I wish Clines would have made these two separate books.  I found the THEN parts far more compelling and wanted to learn more about the outbreak and the Heroes. 

A word of warning about format.  I started Ex-Heroes as an audiobook.  I almost stopped listening because the dual male/female narrators were so horrid it totally ruined the story for me.   It wasn’t the voice talent, it was the fact they insisted the female narrator say all the female dialog… DON'T LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK!

 

I decided to give the book another chance and downloaded the ebook.  I’m glad I did.

Over all I’d recommend it for a fun summer read.   It was entertaining and defiantly not your average zombie book.  I will be checking out the next in this series… I need to know what happens next!!

The End

So after putting it off for weeks I finally picked up Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris.  I'll admit, I've been a fan of the Sookie novels.  I've read each one and enjoyed the cast of character, so when I heard that this was the end of the series, I hesitated to read it.   I hate when my favorite series ends.  I hate endings in general. 

But before I get to my review I just want to give three cheers to Charlaine Harris.    Charlaine was terribly bulled over this book, and I don't think it's right.  So let me just say, THANK YOU! for hours of entertainment.  And on behalf of fans everywhere, I want to apologize for the horrible way you've been treated. There come a point where fandom just turns ugly and I think we've reached that point.  Someone grab the fire hose!  People all over the internet cried foul and threaten her, threaten to hurt themselves and even cancel book orders if the book didn't end they way the fans wanted.  (most notable with Sookie and Eric together)

I honestly think Neil Gaiman's wisdom can be applied here when I say "Charlaine Harris is not your Bitch."

Get over it.  When you give your free time over to an author and their characters, you start to develop a strong attachment to them.  (I still have hopes that K. Harrison will find a way to bring back Kisten... but that's another series and another post.)  But it's particularly sad to see people take fandom to this nasty place.  Charlaine even canceled her book tour.  It's sad when an authors feel the need not to engage with fans because they're scared.  Seriously people... take a good long look at where you belong in the whole creative process.

With all that said...Now on to the review. 

 

Unfortunately, I have to say I was grateful for 'The End'.  I really feel she didn't give her most beloved series a fitting farewell.  Sure it seemed like she managed to drag out or at least mention every character that ever appeared in one of the previous book, but the story line was forced.  Furthermore, the story lacked all the things that made the other books work.  The wit.  The danger.  The hot sex. 

 Poor Sookie seemed to be right back where we started in the first book.  Taking care of the house, going to church and working at the town bar.  The whole twelve book series just seemed to be about Sookie sowing her supernatural wild oats, and now she's ready to resume life in her small town.

If you hare a fan of the series... well she does wrap everything up with an nice little bow, but if you are a lover of the written word.... it will be hard to get through.    I'm glad I read it.  I'm also glad it's over.  I can tell Charlaine Harris has grown tired of Bon Temps and her inhabitants.

Gender, POV, and Sex in SciFi/Fantasy.

I've been having this discussion with some of my fellow writers.  Fantasy and SciFi have a heavy male readership.  Male or Female POV matters a little, and is easily overlooked....But when you throw in sex, suddenly if it's a female POV, they want to plug your story into the pararomance section.

Wanting to keep as much of my male audience, while still telling an authentic story...I've been going back and forth on how much sex to put in my book.  Because my MC is female I worry about men not wanting to read (and have some evidence from the male beta readers)

So what is it about 1st person female POV and sex scenes that turns men off?   Is it the descriptive writing...describing what the man is doing to 'me' (1POV)
or
Is it the fear that once we introduce sex that the book will rattle on about angst-y love feelings and menses?

Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

It's not like men haven't sexualize women in Science Fiction and Fantasy for years.  So what's the rub?



I found this blog post (and the one early) particularly eye opening on author gender and Reviews in general.
http://radishreviews.com/2013/05/01/over-the-borderline-more-genre-gender-reviews/

Women writers of speculative fiction find themselves open to accusations of writing too much about feelings and having too much romance–and that these things are actively detrimental to speculative fiction (why is this? and “I don’t like it” is not an acceptable answer; there’s lots of stuff I don’t like and I wouldn’t necessarily call it detrimental to an entire genre). I’ve seen this in reviews of books by women–books where, if the author were a man (or if they simply appear to be male), the romantic plot would have been described as “nuanced” and possibly also as “subtle” or “sublime”–but since the book was written by a woman, the fact that there’s a romantic plot is suddenly a flaw.

Furthermore...I have a new hero!
http://geekerella.com/on-the-non-existent-lack-of-katniss-everdeens-in-adult-fiction/

Then let’s say that. Let’s say “I don’t really like reading sex scenes” instead of saying “Urban fantasy is not a good example of strong female characters because they’re having too many damn orgasms.”

 I'm not necessarily saying a good UF needs to have or not have sex.  But it also doesn't mean that the main characters should be celibate.  Most UF is current fiction, right now, and let's face it... sex is a big part of our lives, whether we're getting any or not.  It's in movies, on TV and in our magazines.  Not to have our characters talk about and think about sex is unrealistic.

Love letter to my Critters...

To all the wonderful people who take the time to read my WIP,

You are the reason I keep going.  With out all of you, I’d still be floundering.  My story would be a hot mess, just a wish and a few incoherent ideas.  You’ve helped me shape my characters, question their motives, and help me see the light in my story arc.  Because of your studious attention I’ve spit polished my word choices and fixed my horrible grammar.  You push me to be better and criticize my every word.  Not because you're are mean, but because you wish only the best for my story.

I know not everyone can find the right mix of motivation and tough criticism as I’ve had the privilege of getting, but I still encourage everyone to put their work out there.   It may take time to find the right people who not only give good advice but also ‘get’ your work.  Once you do it’s magic.  I try and return the favor, and only hope to be half as helpful as the great people who’ve worked with me here at Scrib.  I count all of you as my personal heroes!  I’m no where near done and only hope to continue getting your support and help.

Gina