Erotic Fiction

Don't forget to check out my book 'Briefs - a collection of short stories'

You can find it electronically at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009C8TC96

Or in paperback at:

https://www.createspace.com/3962688

Or at amazon by searching author name (Tanya Thistleton)

Now back to the racy

About twelve months I read an article on the alleged damage romance novels (those published by the big publishers like Harlequin) were doing to every day lives of women. Whilst I cannot remember specifics I recall the article suggested that the type of romance offered by the big publisher was nothing more than glorified pornography and led women into false sense of what a relationship was going to be like.

At the time I wondered if this was really true, or what other type of information might lead to unrealistic expectations of a relationship. Or was it someone writing this because they had not been able to get their manuscript accepted with someone like Harlequin?

Now, a year later, a book called Fifty Shades of grey is breaking all records in the publishing industry. It is a book that has not been published by the big publisher and yet it has taken the work by storm.

I have not read the book (I swear), but have been told by others that the best way to describe it is 'mummmy porn'. I have also scanned an interview with the author where she defends her writing and describes it different to pornography.

I don't want to criticise the book Fifty Shades of Grey or any of the other romance genres. I guess I am thinking out loud if the negativity about the books is based in jealousy. With so much doom and gloom in the news, terrible statistics on relationship breakdowns, one wonders what is wrong with writing about romance (even if it describes sex in detail)? Are those that criticise jealous because they cannot or did not write it? Maybe.

According to figures, the romance genre generates billions of dollars every year. Doe this mean there are millions of people miserable because they are reading romance? I doubt it. As someone once said, you know what you get when you buy a romance book, it always has a happy ending.

At the end of the day a work of fiction is about escaping every day life. If there are people who get pleasure out of escaping their life with a romance novel, good on them. It might be a better way of dealing with life then taking drugs or consuming too much alcohol.

I take my hat off to all those romance writers. It is not easy and yet many people write them and a lot more people read them. Who are we to criticise what people should or should not read

Contemplating the type of book to read next :)

.