So I have a good friend, Liz Everly, with whom I’m actually starting a new blog called LADY SMUT. We were talking about the Fifty Shades of Grey success the other day and she said she thought part of what women liked was not just the erotic but also romantic aspect of the book. True, I agree I like erotic romance best. When it’s just sex I get bored at the drop of a hat. Liz said she also thought that not using the P-word or (for a guy) the C-word was important to a lot of readers.
What do you think? When you read erotic romance does the ‘dirty’ language send you to heaven or make you wince?
I myself realllllllly used to dislike the P-word. Yet by the time I was through with writing my first erotic romance, I was over it. The P-word was soft, wasn’t violent sounding…
However, right now, I’m reading LOVER ENSHRINED by J.R. WARD.
(It rocks btw. I so recommend the The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, starting with DARK LOVER) In this novel, J.R. Ward uses the C-word (again for a guy) but sticks with “her sex” when it comes to women. Or, should I say, female vampires? ;> Yet, man, Ward can go pretty far despite this. Here’s a quote from page 326 of Lover Enshrined:
“With a growl, he lunged down and put his mouth to her, going right for the heart of her body.
They both cried out. As her hands speared his hair, he gripped her thighs hard and moved in even further. She was so warm against his lips, warm and wet, and he made her warmer and wetter as he French-kissed her sex. While she moaned, instinct overtook them both, paving the way for him to….”
Whew!
What do you think? Should erotic romance authors be dropping P-bombs or not? What about swearing? I saw a quote the other day that just about killed me. “He’d better stay away, or I’m going to punch him right in his Christmas sweater.” Loved it! This quote inspired me to think hard about how to use language more creatively and stop being such a potty mouth.
Give a shout out please, — I’m so curious to hear your thoughts.
Meanwhile, if paranormal is not your thing, and if Fifty Shades of Grey is, Liz over on her own blog site is recommending Sylvia Day’s book BARED TO YOU. Check out what Liz has to say about it here. And I hope you check both of us out at Lady Smut starting in just a few weeks!
Come Play in the Shadows... 
Dirty language turns me off. It doesn’t matter if it’s books or real life. Interesting about the french kiss part. Years, and years ago, I used the term in front of my grandmother. She was not happy and told me that meant just what you described and refused to believe that it meant tongues in mouths.
Thanks for the comments! I find it interesting how far good language skills can take a book. Joanna Bourne, for instance, has some of the steamiest sex scenes I’ve ever read. Yet there’s no dirty language, and a lot of really stunning craft. ;>