“To bask in passion’s glow. To bathe in love’s fountain. To swim in the rivers of Eros.” “It sounds quite vile. No thank you.” It was very difficult not to laugh. She managed it, just. MUCH ADO ABOUT DUTTON by Claudia Dain The other day one of the authors in one of the many online reading groups I’m in posted a question asking readers how many love scenes they demanded in a romance. I get why authors ask this, but I feel like it’s a difficult thing for readers to answer. I know there has been a lot of debate and general discussion about how many love scenes/sex scenes put in romances, and over how the quantity and quality of love scenes in a book should be advertised to readers. I remember reading a few years ago that a favorite romance author of mine felt pressured by her publisher to include a specific number of sex scenes in her book. I felt that was unfair; not just because I think that she should be allowed complete freedom in her creative process, but also because those scenes weren’t what I found most enjoyable about her books. In the end, I took…

The other day over at my writing blog, I mused about something that’s often puzzled me; that is, the subject of Vampire Reproduction. With vampires, I wondered, why are they so often infertile, when by the rules, they ought to be more than capable of reproduction? I won’t rehash everything I said over there, but do take a look if you’re curious or would like to weigh in on the subject. I find my mind often wonders into these strange little alleys and then gets stuck there sometimes, leaving me no choice but to slowly work my way out. Today’s little alley concerns werewolves. Werewolves aren’t infertile, but with them, I wonder, since they can change forms without damage to their internal organs, how come t werewolf lore so often includes the caveat that they have to mate as humans? Or, alternatively, that they can’t mate as wolves and have the pregnancy last? Let’s set aside one of the really obvious answers (the squick factor). Click here to read the rest of Carolyn’s blog, comment and to enter her contest. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Will you Join Me in my Affliction? Thanks, Fresh Fiction, for inviting me to blog here today! It’s no accident Romance is such a popular genre. As a species, Homo Sapiens care deeply about relationships. Our survival depends upon forming them. No one should be surprised, therefore (are you listening ET?) that our stories are so often about relationships. Likewise, the popularity of the various sub-genres can tell us a great deal about what concerns us today, even when, and I would argue, especially when, the stories are not “realistic.” Vampires and shapeshifters don’t exist, after all, and 1815 was so long ago, isn’t it irrelevant by now? Order Your Copy today Shakespeare set a great many of his stories in his historical past, foreign countries or fanciful realms because the displacement of location and time allowed him to comment on present day issues that wouldn’t otherwise have made it past the censors and might even have gotten him in thrown in jail. Modern stories set in the past serve a similar function; they allow commentary about our lives today, whether the result is something along the lines of Thank goodness we have antibiotics! or a reflection, however brief, that…