Now as for how to know what reaches what extreme as far as S-E-X, there's a few tells you'll learn as you go. Erotica for women is a huge and booming business. We have sex drives and imaginations in need of satisfying! Who knew?!?! Now be careful how you shop because not all erotica has an HEA (Happily Ever After). If you are like me and must have an HEA, and this is the part where, when it is missing from the book, I don't personally find it to be such a good evolution of romance. I mean, how can you still call it romantic? Just one girl's opinion. Now, to get what is right for your tastes, you have to look for recommendations. And please, go somewhere you trust. Some reviewers and review sites can have agendas, both good and bad, and it's hard to know from them what will suit your needs best. Your best bet is to find a very close friend who has already leapt into the revolution. They know you, know how much kink you can take or not take, and can more than likely steer you in a good direction. If they say, oh no, that Jacki Frank? She's not for you AT ALL. Well, then, I very likely am not. (Though my present series, I point out, isn't hardcore or all that kinky. I'm just sayin'!) But my books are paranormal. They have Demons in them, usually as heroes. That right there is enough for some people to say NO WAY. It's also enough for some people to be completely intrigued. (As well they should be!) I for one love a good vampire or lycanthrope hero. All that animal passion, fangs, nibbly stuff…mmmmm yummers!

Certain publishers also specialize in certain lines. Kensington, for instance (shut up, it is NOT nepotism! I only work for them!) has a multitude of lines that burn at different levels of intensity and are crafted to appeal to certain audiences. There's a blurring here and there, but mostly that becomes author specific and you learn who to love and who is not your cup pretty darn fast. There's everything from Aphrodisia which is ultra erotic, to Brava which is sophisticated and very sexy, to Zebra mass markets which run a nice range that appeal to a very wide audience. Modern, paranormal, historical, you will certainly find it, I assure you. A publisher like Ellora's Cave is, however, mostly erotic romance. Romantica, is the term. It means, “What do you know! People these days have really wild sex AND fall in love!” I adore EC because just about any book I have ever bought there has walked the edge of my sexual tolerances and always had an HEA. I was able to find favorite authors quickly. They print in both electronic format (super inexpensive!) And in paperback. So, whichever you prefer, you'll find it. They also have a rating system too to help you figure out just how far over your head you might get and usually alerts as to what kind of kink you might happen across. Gotta love it. This book might have lusty sweaty sex in all manner of ways and places… Heh. For me, some of the warnings make the book an autobuy.

So why am I sharing all this with you? Because, there's a stigma attached to romance novels. It's an old, outdated stupid-head stigma, put it's there. Guys roll their eyes, or I say “I am a published author” and people are all REALLY??? What do you write, you awesome being you? Then my lips curl to say the 'R' and I just know that after they hear 'romance' I will no longer be an awesome being. Pooh, pooh on me. They will say, “Romance? Ohhh.” Sort of sounds like…cooties??? EWWWW!!!

But fear not! We can fight this! I say we can! Just like we fought the jolly boys' club that said in deep basso profundo “Tits in an office…but not as a receptionist??? It is to laugh! Hah! Hah! Hah!” And men who hold up books with covers that are splashed with naked men and women, your manhood will not be in question, I say! If it's good enough for the Marines and the Air Force, then damn you, it's good enough for you! Steal what your woman is reading! It will shock you. It will thrill you! (It'll make you realize why she gets so peeved at you!)

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!