Okay, I confess. I’ve never subscribed to the whole muse thing. Haven’t give her (him?) a name, and there ain’t any “ladies in my basement” (a la Jenny Cruisie) telling me their stories. Hm. Maybe that’s why I’m not published.
But the last two nights…wow! Vivid dreams with tons of potential for book ideas. All, thanks to Tylenol PM.
Now, I’ve never been one to take meds for sleeping. Haven’t needed to. But, along comes this whole menopause debacle and, well…all good things come to an end, I guess. Anyway, if the tradeoff is story ideas, I say bring on the hot flashes.
The only problem is (how do I put this?) the dream was pretty erotic. Enjoyable, yes! But suitable for something I’d write about? Maybe, not. Oh, I know erotica is all the rage in romance publishing, and I’m sure I could write it, but I’d never be able to tell a single soul I was published, so how much fun would that be?
I know where the dream came from. Hours before, I’d read an article in RWR (by Ethan Ellenberg) proposing the idea of rating romance novels for sexual content. You know, just like in the movies. After all, no one even bothers to call it romantica anymore, and much of what I’ve read in the genre seems like plain ol’ porn to me. Ethan’s concern is that we’re alienating traditional romance readers (or turning off new ones) by surprising them with explicit sex. Maybe so, but I think he’s underestimating readers. From what I can see, titles and covers give a pretty good clue as to the level of sexuality inside. Especially if the reader is buying category or downloading from an epub.
Eek. Don’t get me started on the role of explicit sex in romance novels or its impact on the romance industry in general. Forget about readers. How many writers are being driven away because they don’t want to be associated with a genre that borders on porn?
Oh, God…I sound like a shriveled up prude (or is it prune?) and trust me, I’m not. Menopause and hot flashes notwithstanding.
Diet update: Okay, I don’t know how it happened. I haven’t been to the gym all week, but I went down another 2 lbs. Must have been those dreams last night.
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1 comment:
Hard to tell about your romances and their detail when you don't provide anything for a reader wantabe to read. You did sound a tiny bit conservative. But, it isn't a bad thing. I don't write anything my mom can't read. How's that?
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