I said I wasn't going to do this

I saidI wasn't going to blog about the whole EC/RWA issue but unfortunately I can't escape it any longer.

First, just so no one feels misled, I am an Ellora's Cave author and darn proud of it. EC has treated me beyond fairly and I love working for them. Even if I manage to get published in Romantic Suspense with another publisher, I'll continue to write for EC because they ROCK!!!!

Now here's my take on the erotica/porn/romance debate. To me, if it has people who fall in love and live happily ever after it's romance. Whatever steps they take to get there, should it involve werewolves, BDSM, menage a tois, or whatever else is their business. Romance is falling in love, end of subject.

All my characters fall in love and end up happily ever after. I may write some darn hot sex throughout the book, but my characters form emotional attachments that withstand intergalactic wars, death threats, and usually mayhem of some sort. I might also add that my books might talk about sex in franker terms than many "traditional" romances, but the amount and type of sex is no more wild than many, many traditional authors. Heck, sometimes even less!

In the end what it comes down to is your comfort level. I think the word "erotica" puts people out of their comfort zone, which is why I don't refer to my stories as that. I dare ANYONE to read one of my books and tell me that they aren't romance. People may not like the heat level of my writing, and that is totally understandable. I don't enjoy reading "sweet" romances, but it doesn't mean I look down on those authors and say, "Well, they only write inspirational because they can't write sex."

We write what is in our heart, and that is what's important. Shouldn't we all stick together and support each other as AUTHORS instead of attacking and defending our own little turfs?

And that's the last I'm saying on this issue! Tomorrow I'll go back to complaining about my kids. . .