“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to Thursday
With Harry, Mark and John”
- Lou Reed, “Sattelite of Love”
Are you the kind of person who has a story (sometimes several) at the ready in your head at all times to keep yourself entertained should you be stuck doing something incredibly boring for long stretches of time? I am, and I’ve been that way ever since I was a kid. As a child, my favorite types of stories to work on were fantasy novels. Man, I created whole universes, languages and magic systems while attending weddings and formal Chinese New Year dinners, or waiting for my mom to be done handbag shopping. Once I hit puberty, though, my favorite kind of story became a lot spicier.
And I do mean a lot spicier. Once I figured out that sex didn’t have to only be between a man and a woman, I would occasionally imagine fun love stories involving more than two people. You know, Lord Tentinpanterson has two weaknesses: beautiful women and beautiful footmen. One balmy summer’s eve, he’s caught indulging in the latter by Lady Chesste-LaRue. The intrepid lady decides to join the fun, and in between having loads and loads of kinky sex Tentinpanterson finds himself falling in love with the winsome Chesste-LaRue. However, he doesn’t want to give up his hot footment–and, well, neither does her ladyship. Oh, what’s a sexual libertine to do?
I never imagined I’d ever read romance novels that featured storylines of this sort. Pornography, yes. The amount of group sex porn out there is legion, and so is the abysmal quality. Not so love stories centering around couples who are faithful, but not necessarily monogamous. Let’s be honest, here: although a genre known for being unabashedly sensual, sexual adventurousness isn’t exactly one of romance’s fortes. Just look at the massive number of romances in which the heroine is kept a virgin and/or orgasm-free at all costs, even if she’s been married for years and years. Old wiener, improperly plumbed wiener, drug-addicted wiener, hubby likes wiener–the excuses are manifold and sometimes quite hilariously creative. So I figured, in this sort of publishing climate, how can a romance novel be published featuring a swingin’ couple? There’s no way.
Enter Candy’s introduction to Emma Holly.
From what I’ve read so far (and mind you, it’s not at all extensive–yet) Emma Holly has taken most sexual taboos held dear by the mainstream romance community and trampled on them with great and evil glee. Anal sex. Man-on-man sex. Girl-on-girl sex. Man-on-man-on-girl sex. Girl-on-girl-on-man sex. Bondage. Manually-operated toys. Battery-operated toys. Remote-controlled toys. Voyeurism, with and without informed consent. Mutual masturbation. Cross-dressing. And perhaps violating THE cardinal rule of romance novel sexdom: The heroine has hot, sweaty, mind-blowingly awesome sex with several different people, people she doesn’t necessarily love (a romance novel privilege previously bestowed only upon heroes and skank-ass villains). Hell, oftentimes the hero is right there enjoying it with her.
But here’s the biggest shocker–for me, anyway: In between all the athletic boinking, there’s actually a love story. What’s more, the love story is pretty damn good, and the characters are well-written and extremely sympathetic. There’s a believable happily-ever-after, and so far all of the contemporary Emma Holly novels I’ve read have the hero and heroine making a commitment to each other, while also keeping another regular sexual partner (usually a man) in the mix, so to speak.
I, for one, think this trend is pretty damn cool. Don’t get me wrong, I love monogamy–in real life, it’s the only kind of romantic relationship I’m able to handle, and I’m so shy about my body that the very thought of strangers seeing me in my bare-assed glory makes me want to simultaneously laugh and cry. But the fantasy of having multiple sexual partners, of sharing the one you love with other people, is very appealing and I really enjoy reading these stories. I think acknowledging that monogamy isn’t always the be-all and end-all of a romantic relationship is busting through all sorts of interesting frontiers and taboos.
So what do you think? Are stories featuring couples who (ahem) play well with others romantic? Sexy? Both? Neither?
No related posts.
What I like about WH is the ultimate nature of love. You could never ever imagine any of them in ten years, happily remarried to some nice, mild people, playing with their kids in the yard of their suburban cottages.
For those people, love was hell and heaven, the beginning and the end. No pulling punches, no looking back, no concerns of safety, guarantees, will he be nice to me? what about his future? nothing like that, nothing reasonable, sensible, practical. Love like jumping from the cliff into a stormy sea, head first, no lifebelt attached. Burn the bridges and warm your hands at the fire kind of love.
(this is not me getting fiercely defensive, by the way, this is me getting poetic–my lyrical voice is kinda dramatic
)
Candy – As someone who works in the field of domestic violence advocacy, I hear you but I contend that Heathcliff would never have harmed a hair of Cathy’s head. Of course, it is possible that my admiration for this kind of supernova love is impeding my own real life search. If I were to settle for the Closer kind of relationship, life would be a snap (as long as everyone used protection, of course).:wink:
Yes, Daria, yes. And I would say you were fiercely lyrical!
***but I contend that Heathcliff would never have harmed a hair of Cathy’s head.***
He married her sister-in-law to hurt her…and then he beat his wife. He tormented Cathy at every opportunity…and she did the same. She flat out accused him of being her murderer on her deathbed.
I do think he was quite capable of physically harming Cathy, yes. I also think she would be capable of harming him.
The whole point of Cathy2 and Hareton was that they were much like their parents, but with a capacity for true goodness so that their love could work.
I loved Wuthering Heights but it was not a primer on healthy relationships. It was a story about the destructive power of revenge (Cathy and Heathcliff) and the redemptive power of love (the next generation.)
“For those people, love was hell and heaven, the beginning and the end. No pulling punches, no looking back, no concerns of safety, guarantees, will he be nice to me? what about his future? nothing like that, nothing reasonable, sensible, practical. Love like jumping from the cliff into a stormy sea, head first, no lifebelt attached. Burn the bridges and warm your hands at the fire kind of love.”
Well, yes, I do think that the vision of love you outline is wildly romantic, and some romance novels on my keeper shelves portray that sort of out-of-control passion. I do stop short at thinking domestic abuse, pathological obsessiveness and inter-generational revenge schemes are romantic, though. Burning bridges and warming your hands on the fire is one thing; burning them while making sure your beloved is tied to the bridge and screaming in agony while inviting her family for the cheery barbecue is another.
And really, Wuthering Heights vs. threesomes taps into a very basic issue: one is a fantasy I can’t buy into and don’t find appealing in the least, while the other is something I DO enjoy reading about and experiencing vicariously through my books.
Right on, Candy. As an erotic romance writer, I see no problem with this. I love to write fantasies, and see nothing wrong with Emma Holly’s work and she far outshines some mainstream romances.
And this comes from a frumpy, SAHM, erotic romance writer who can’t see herself with anyone other than her husband. There is nothing wrong with fantasies, and committed relationships come in all shapes and sizes today. I know it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but then, I really, really, really hate secret baby stories. I see nothing wrong with other people enjoying them though.
I never thought of myself as a writer who “did” (menage a trois etc)–I always wrote steamy but sweet romances, although not with virgin heroines. Then I challenged myself to write romantica–I meant to have a monogomous relationship, but another man kept cropping up, and there I was, plunging into my first menage (on paper:grin:). It was fun, I enjoyed it, and I’ll do it again. (That book is called Tales of the Shareem: Rees, btw, and was published by Ellora’s Cave.)
That book freed many of my inhibitions. I realized that I can write about a good, healthy, loving relationship with a twist. I am happy that these days, places like Ellora’s Cave are available for us to have romance and break every romance taboo at the same time.
Reviewers and readers have been liking my work so far, so I’m very happy I let down my hair and did it. And my husband learned another side of me he didn’t know existed.
Do I want all my romances to have those added elements? No. But I do like that if I want them, they are no longer forbidden. The rules have been stretched, and I like where they’re stretching.
I’ve been meaning to pick up Emma Holly for the longest time. Must try her!
“So, I’m standing in the Romance section at the bookstore the other day, looking at Emma Holly’s ‘The Demon’s Daughter.’ Mediocre title, yet another bare-chested pretty boy on the cover. But the blurb’s sort of interesting, and I’ve heard good things about the author. Partway into chapter two, I realize this is Steampunk. Better yet, erotic Steampunk Romance. Could it get any better? I’m going back to the bookstore this weekend to pick up ‘Strange Attractions.’ I know, different concept. But the same author. Why have I not read Emma Holly before this?”
One of the things that sets Emma Holly apart for me — besides the fact that she can write compelling characters AND grippingly sensual love/sex scenes — is that she seems to have tremendous empathy and respect for both her characters and her readers. If you haven’t yet, definitely read her upyr books, starting with “Catching Midnight,” which is perhaps my favorite Holly book. The scenes where the heroine merges with the spirit of her familiar animal are so lyrical they read like masterfully crafted love scenes. The way Holly uses Gillian’s familiar to build a relationship between the hero and the heroine brought that book to a whole new level for me. Even in her erotica there is true kindness and tenderness between her characters, and the way they investigate less traditional expressions of sex and sexuality generally (there are a few exceptions) seems purposeful to me. I’m pretty mainstream when it comes to my own life, but nothing Holly writes ever seems vulgar to me, even those things which are not my personal fantasies (which is a lot of the stuff in her erotica!!).
“I loved Wuthering Heights but it was not a primer on healthy relationships. It was a story about the destructive power of revenge (Cathy and Heathcliff) and the redemptive power of love (the next generation.)”
You’re more optimistic about the ending of WH than I am. In addition to the destruction wrought through Heathcliff’s need for revenge is, IMO, a deeply neurotic fear of adult sexuality that comes through in both Catherine and Heathcliff’s characters. There is so much sexual dysfunction in WH that I’m always a little surprised it’s still so readily fed to high school students as “Romantic,” even in the historically generic sense. I can’t help but think of it as in the same literary ballpark as Matthew Lewis’ gothic novel “The Monk,” which I loved, but which was also pretty whacked in a lot of ways.
Candy, I read comment no. 20 and there is a book where the heroine has the hot sweaty sex with two other men (simultaneously) and really kinky sex with another man and the hero is happy with that. He doesn’t participate, but is fine with it. The book is by Lawrence Block, called Small
Town, and it is through her sexual relationships with these other three men and subsequent pillow talk that leads to a crime being solved for which the hero is wrongly accused. Lawrence Block seems to often have the less-than-traditional approach to relationships in his novels. I’m not sure what I think about his premise, it wouldn’t work for me personally, but the book has sure stayed with me months after I read it.
Well, you know what they say… there are folks for whom lust gets them into trouble, and those for whom curiosity is the greater danger.
I’ve learned that I don’t enjoy being personally involved in this sort of stuff. I am, however, curious. (Curiosity killed the cat, but I was a leading suspect.) Glad to know that there are books, videos, etc., to help keep me out of trouble.
I finally got a chance to check out your web page, and I must say that I’m impressed. Hope everything is going well. Take care!
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