“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…

I blame Fred Astaire. Years of listening to records entranced by the sublime staccato of his tap dancing made me naturally inclined toward a hero who can keep a good beat. There are a lot of romance novels featuring rock stars of every type. While reading Brooklyn Ann‘s recent book TEMPTING BEAT, I began thinking about just how many of my favorite books have diverting and delicious drummer heroes. “For life can be delish With a sunny disposish” Ira Gershwin “You know, you can be kind of intense sometimes, Malcolm Ericson. You come across as this happy-go-lucky-type dude most of the time, but you are in fact a man of many layers.” —PLAY by Kylie Scott I love a charming and witty hero. Mal Ericson, from Kylie Scott’s Stage Dive series, is the first drummer hero I read about. It’s easy to see immediately why Mal, a fan favorite, is still talked about years after his book PLAY came out. Mal’s manic energy, good humor, and highly amusing sexual confidence is vastly entertaining. Anne Rollins is fighting a losing battle trying to resist Mal’s charm once he picks her to be his fake girlfriend. Over the course of PLAY, Anne…

A lust/hate relationship. Ever have one of those? He infuriates you, but turns you on. You can’t decide if you want to strangle him or have your way with him. You really don’t understand each other and don’t seem to have much in common, but can’t keep your hands off each other. Find angry sex satisfying? It’s all angry sex. Mercy, lust/hate relationships are hot. When you’re involved in this type of romance, you find you’ve never felt more alive. Or infuriated. Or confused. Or passionate. I highly recommend you give it a try. For about a month. After that, you’d better find something more substantial to build your relationship upon than burning lust and righteous anger. The problem with passion that rages like an inferno is that it burns hot and quickly consumes its fuel. Oh, but it’s so great while it’s last. And if you can make that kind of passion last a lifetime, without killing each other… Well, you’d better stock up on your energy drinks. In my most recent novel, ROCK HARD, the heroine and hero start with a lust/hate relationship. That hot, I-want-you, I-hate-you, go-away, don’t-leave-me, take-me, don’t-touch-me-you-jerk, I-can’t-get-enough-of-you kind of relationship. Well, the heroine,…