FOR PORN!Sorry, I just love that song (it's from Avenue Q, by the way. I have it as my ringtone). But it also reminds me that calling romance porn is, as pointed out by Emma Sinclair, rather like calling your best friend a slut. You can do it, but woe betide anyone else who tries it. Besides, most romances have about as much in common with porn as...er, I can't think of anything that has less in common with porn. Kindergarten, maybe, although preschoolers do seem to have an obsession with bodily functions.
Anyway. My attention was diverted recently to Danuta Kean's piece on the revival of the horror genre in Britan. I've never realy been big on horror, either in books or film, but right at the end she has a few paragraphs I did take note of.
Chick lit is also getting a makeover, thanks to a new generation of writers inspired as much by Buffy as Jane Austen. Paranormal romances, to give them their official title, are the rising star in a market pioneered by independent press Piatkus. All the leading players, including Headline, Orion and Time Warner, are moving in this year.Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Calling a genre of romance 'porn'? How...Republican. And sneering at a genre written by and for women? Stop, please. Paranormal romance isn't horror. That's why it's called 'paranormal romance', and not 'horror'. Next time you visit the bookshop, you may want to point your feet in the direction of the shelf labelled 'horror'. Not the one labelled 'romance'. You'll be safe there. There will be no "kick ass chicks who fight vampires and have romances". I don't know what modern horror books contain, but Ms Kean's article contained lots of words like 'chilling' and 'postmodern'.
Horror expert Steve Jones says Para Porn represents a new genre, though he regards it disdainfully as women’s fiction rather than horror. “A lot of the writers have come from chick lit and it is aimed at a different audience to traditional horror,” he says with the hint of a sneer.
Funnily enough though, I didn't see the word 'entertaining' there. Guess that's what you go to the romance shelf for.
Did you see my post on some co-workers a while back...asked me what the tattoo on my arm was...I said, I write romance.
ReplyDeleteThe follow on question was, "Oh, so you like sex?"
I won't repeat the rest ;) Some people, just need to learn to READ before they comment.
~S
I have a badge that says, "Don't tell my mom I write romance. She thinks I play piano in a whore house."
ReplyDeleteCouldn't resist: my brother does play piano...and you should see some of his venues...