Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Topic: The Relevance of Sex In Literature in 2011. My guest today Author, Roxanne Rhoads

Guest Post by Roxanne Rhoads

Sex has never been something I have shied away from, not in art or literature or life. I’ve never understood why some people are so closed off when it comes to sex- after all none of us would be here if it were not for sex.

It is natural, completely 100% natural- like breathing and eating, for humans to have sex.

So when it comes to my literature, I like a little sex thrown in.

Even when I was young (younger than I probably should have been reading my mom’s romance novels) I was disappointed when it came time for the couple to get “close” and the scene ended with a passionate kiss and them tumbling into bed then the scene or next chapter picked back up later or the next morning or whenever.

I felt like I’d been ripped off. All the good parts were glossed right over.

That’s probably what sent me searching for something a little less glossy and a lot more real. And I found it, in the form of erotica and erotic romance short stories and novels.

From books full of delicately crafted scenes and poetic descriptions to explicit raw, uncensored smut- I’ve read it all.

And believe me there are all types, all forms, from graphically explicit to finely tuned literary eroticism.

From historical bodice rippers, to contemporary boy meets girl, to paranormal vampire meets girl, or sci-fi alien invaders meet vampires who like cross dressing werewolves…

If you like it, want it, dream of it, or are curious about it, it’s out there. And it should be.

Anything between consenting adults (or consenting witches and vampires who are well past the legal age of consent) should be OK and not subject to censorship.

And to lump it all together as porn (which many critics and censors do) is a damn shame and quite probably the sign of simple mind that just can’t understand or appreciate the art of the erotic.

Oh I know some of it is porn, plain and simple sex for the sake of sex without character or story development, but there’s a lot that is so much more and it simply gets labeled as porn, too.

But those of us who have found our way here probably already know that and are connoisseurs when it comes to distinguishing fine erotica from porn.

I personally love both reading and writing erotica and erotic romance.

There’s something about a well written erotic story that transcends all other types of non-physical erotic stimulation. Stimulation through photos, video or even a live “show”- like a strip club- all those forms of stimulation are immediate and there’s no need to use your imagination. It’s all there in front of you, no need to imagine anything. The artist, director, or dancer has taken care of all that for you.

It’s mindless sexual gratification. And where’s the fun in that? Me, I like something a little more cerebral. Eroticism in literature, sex in words, requires the reader to imagine the scene, to imagine or become the characters. It is all in your head, imagined, painted and put together with just the right words to create something phenomenal inside your imagination. Arousal through the written word can be a slow build, a sensual experience that can touch all of your erogenous zones- most of all your mind; the largest erogenous zone that you have, though sadly often the most unstimulated one. Well crafted sex scenes and vivid imagery can create a fantasy scene like no picture or movie ever can. It is so much more intimate, more personal, more touching- the right words can grip your heart, arouse your mind and heat the genitals. I love my job- creating fantasies with the written word, fulfilling all my dreams, fantasies and desires with each new story I craft.

I think sex in literature is important, a way for people to safely experience fantasies, to explore sexuality, to learn, to imagine and most of all -to enjoy human sexuality expressed via the written word.

About the Author:

Story strumpet, tome loving tart, eccentric night owl...these words describe freelance writer, book publicist and erotic romance author Roxanne Rhoads.

When not fulfilling one the many roles being a wife and mother of three require, Roxanne's world revolves around words...reading them, writing them, editing them, and talking about them. In addition to writing her own stories she loves to read, promote and review what others write. She operates a book review site, Fang-tastic Books, dedicated to her favorite type of book- anything paranormal. She also owns a virtual book tour company, Bewitching Book Tours and is a publicist for Entangled Publishing.

When not reading, writing, or promoting Roxanne loves to hang out with her family, craft, garden and search for unique vintage finds.

You can visit her at www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com , www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com, www.bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com , and www.entangledpublishing.com

Roxanne’s entire backlist of available books and ebooks can be viewed at http://roxannesrealm.blogspot.com/p/book-list.html

Please join in the discussion in the comments section below; your insights and observations are most welcome.

5 comments:

  1. Imagination - that most necessary (and most oft overlooked) of ingredients in erotica ;)That is, of course, why it's so exciting, we tailor it in our heads to fit our needs. Excellent post.

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  2. Nice post Roxanne, and as a writer of erotica as well, I agree with you that it's still a misunderstood genre at times.

    Varying degrees of sensuality and raw descriptive sex can be found in erotica, but storyline is essential. It's the story , dialogue, setting that engages the readers' imaginations. I always feel the anticipation is so much more exciting than the sex itself (though the latter is wonderful too, of course), but if written well, the reader should practically be orgasmic by the time the characters are having sex.

    Ultimately, language creates great foreplay. Writing a sex scene should be the culmination of all the angst and sexual tension that has built up to that point.

    eden

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  3. It's nice to hear what other erotica authors have to say, we are an often overlooked genre of authors not really taken seriously by some because "all we write is sex".

    As if sex is not important.

    It's not important yet people obsess about it, destroy their lives over one night stands and affairs, none of us would be living without someone having had sex.

    So to me sex is important and it should be taken seriously at some point- and not just the bad stuff but the good parts as well.

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  4. Great post,Roxanne! This is the one post in the series which best expresses how I feel. To have a love scene start and then end with nothing said about the actual physical love-making is so wrong. Such a monumental let-down. I write horror, but sex is always included where it should be. I will have to check your site and books. Thank you.

    Blaze

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  5. Hi Blaze Nice to meet a like minded writer and reader. :-)

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