So let’s talk about sex. As a romance author, it’s a huge part of my stories—the leading up to and then consuming a physical relationship. Deciding on whether to fade to black or describe it in all its gritty details is one of those case-by-case things that depend on the author, the characters, and the situation within the book.But today, I’m not here to talk about making those agonizing decisions (and they are agonizing—the smexy is incredibly difficult for me to write). I want to talk about the characters themselves, specifically the female ones.
Often in romance novels (especially in the past), you find a very sexually experienced hero and a relatively inexperienced heroine. There are a lot of reasons for this and obviously it works, because the romance genre outsells pretty much every other genre around. Some of my favorite romance books have this formula.
But I took a different route with my heroines.
It wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision. I didn’t wake up one day and think “Man, I really want some awesome ladies who have no problem treating sex the same way they do everything else in their lives.” But in creating the female leads for my SANCTIFY series, it was an aspect that evolved. All of the women are warriors. They’re fighting for freedom and to protect their loved ones in a universe on the brink of turning into something really terrible. When dealing with that kind of pressure, is it any wonder that they dive into their pleasures with equal abandon?
For example, QUEEN OF SWORDS starts with the heroine climbing out of the hero’s bed after a drunken night of sex. The first line is literally, “Ophelia couldn’t find her underwear.”This has already provoked some different reactions among the reviewers who’ve read the book. There are those who aren’t thrilled with a heroine who obviously has no problem drinking excessively and then jumping into bed with a hot stranger. Others think it’s cool that she takes control and makes no apologies.
What about you? Which heroines do you prefer?
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About the Author:
Katee Robert learned to tell stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her favorites then were the rather epic adventures of The Three Bears, but at age twelve she discovered romance novels and never looked back. Now living in Eastern Washington, she spends her time—in between ogling men’s goodies and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse—writing speculative romance novels.
Blog: http://kateerobert.wordpress.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/katee.robert
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katee_robert
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First, I will admit that I don't read many romance novels. In fact, over at Hippies, Beauty, and Books Oh My! I often leave the paranormal romance to my wife.
ReplyDeleteBut with that said I must say Bravo! I'm not a big fan or romance novels because of the amount of overly dramatic text involved. I think more writers should take a stance like this. I find a women that knows what she wants is sexy as hell. More authors should celebrate the fact that women can take control of themselves sexually and be the dominate one out.
So again, I say Bravo to you.
Hippies, Beauty, and Books. Oh My!
I love heroines who go after what they want, sexually or otherwise. I figure there will always be someone who disagrees with something in a book, so I'm a big fan of being true to the character, whatever that means. But I'd have a much harder time believing Ophelia as a blushing virgin :P
ReplyDeleteThanks Mepis! I think there's a time and place for the traditional heroine....I just don't tend to write women like that. :)
ReplyDeleteSeleste - Yeah, Ophelia as a blushing virgin would be.....really, really wrong. *shudder*