Saturday, February 16, 2019

Round Robin for February, 2019

Here we are, already in February – the month of St. Valentine’s Day denoting love. It is, therefore, most appropriate that our topic this month is on love, sex, and relationships. What seems acceptable, what do you think current readers want, and what (for you) is going too far?

As a reader, I enjoy a broad range of genres from my own Regency romance preference to out-and-out thrillers and bits of this, that, and the other in between. I wonder if others, like me, look back on their reading history and realize how much their tastes have changed over the years. When I was much younger I quite enjoyed horror stories, now I hardly touch them and am more likely to go for a cozy mystery.

It doesn’t matter what genre I turn to, love, sex, and relationships, in one way or another, come into all of them. It’s a bit like playing the shell game, it doesn’t matter what cover you lift you're sure to find one of them there. It's entirely possible to have love without sex, sex without love, and relationships of one kind or another everywhere.

When I started writing, I was very wary about writing sex scenes. Did I need them? Could I or should I write them, or should I write closed door sex scenes because I write Regency romance? In fact, on that topic, has anyone read any of the steamier Regency romances lately? It seems to me there are more and more of them which makes me ask, are those authors writing more sex into their stories because they are looking to attract new readers or keep existing readers, or is because that's what the market (and maybe their editors) demand?

I read a few Regencies while on holiday recently, including two books by the same author and found the sex scenes repetitive and boring. Ho hum, rinse and repeat. I will not name the authors as my opinion is merely that. That both titles were New York Times bestsellers, indicates that many, many people think very differently to me. In my own writing, I let my characters tell me what they want and go from there.

This aspect of writing confuses people who don't write, and I'm often asked, as an author don't you tell them what to do? Well, no I don't. I don't like writing sex scenes without commitment between the couple and the hope, even the expectation, of a fulfilling relationship to come. That is something we don't very often get to see in romances. You get the meet-cute, the growing attraction (usually shown as dislike), misunderstandings leading to a breakup before the couple declares their love for each other (or at least admit it to themselves) which may or may not lead to a sex scene. The actual relationship develops later, and I think this is why so many series have become popular. Readers want to know what happens to that couple they have become so invested in.

I have a mix throughout my books. Hardly any sex in my Edwardian trilogy, the main characters are already married. Some steamy moments in my contemporary western romance, and varying degrees of sex in my Regencies. However, the third book in my Regency series will have a much lower key on the sex scenes, because that is what my characters are currently dictating. None of what I write is out and out erotica. While I don’t mind reading it occasionally, that’s something I leave to authors who are more comfortable writing it.

So now you've digested my take on the subject, hop on over to these excellent authors and discover how they feel.

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com



6 comments:

  1. I definitely GET it that the characters are the directors in my stories - I was the screen writer, but they do the acting. Sometimes they just have to make love, on the screen, sometimes not so much. I also agree I've read far too many books that the sex just doesn't do it for me because it's too cookie-cutter. Too same old, same old and usually without the emotional aspect that is driving it past the hormones. I began with Georgette Heyer and her characters were complex enough to satisfy, but I really would have liked to see what she would have done with the doors open. And I agree that the reader, me included, wants to see past the final scene into their lives beyond. One of these days I'll find a way to write a final chapter in my TIde's Way series so the reader gets to check in on all the relationships.

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    1. I started with Georgette Heyer, too. I still have my first Heyer title, a first edition hardback copy of Frederica. To me, all her books were a build up. We rarely saw the relationship beyond the betrothal, except perhaps for the Duke of Avon, Lord Justin Alistair, who appeared in a few more of her books. I really like my 'people' and hope to write more stories about them, similar to the way Mary Balogh does with her series.

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  2. You are spot on about the sex in the Regency era romances. Sometimes seems out of the scope of the period. And I think you are correct that the character seems to determine what they want to show and what they don't.

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    1. We know there was lots of sex in the Regency era - however, not necessarily between a husband and wife! More likely the wife was in place to produce an heir and a spare, and His Lordship then enjoyed the company of courtesans and/or mistresses.

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  3. Hi victoria, I go back to Georgette Heyer, too. She's the Mistress of the between the sexes sparring that I just love and use in my own work. I remember the first TV personality I had a crush on and it was nothing to do with tight jeans or a six-pack. It was his voice doing a commentary on some big national event. I'm not on the official list thios month, but I did write a few word up yesterday on Novels Now, anne stenhouse

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    1. Hello Anne! Thanks for dropping in. Your comment on the TV personality's voice made me smile and as I feel much the same every time I hear the actor Sam Elliott. It's also an interesting point as how many of us ever give our characters a distinctive voice?

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