Blog Tour: Anne Holly - V-Day

Today I have Anne Holly on the blog talking about making love and making laughs. Sounds like a great topic to me! Check out Anne Holly and her guest post as well as her novel, V-Day!

Make Love, Make Laughs
Erotica/Romance/Comedy

A Guest Post by Anne Holly

Around the writers’ forums, one can come across a lot of discussion about what erotica is versus erotic-romance, and how both are different from romance itself, along with discussions of what makes the various subgenres of romance. Understandably, marketing makes it rather important for authors today to be clear on their genre/subgenre, and therefore their target audience, and most authors I know decide exactly into which category their novel/story will fall before they even write it. I usually do, as well, within reason.

From a reader’s perspective, however, I have incredible overlap and mixture in the genres and subgenres I like to read, and I suspect most readers are similar. Sometimes I feel like a contemporary, sometimes a historical, or suspense, etc, etc. Sometimes, though, you feel like something that is many things or not one thing in particular. This is especially so if you are a fan of a (currently) underserved area like romantic comedy books.

These days, I have found is that much of the erotica and erotic-romance being produced today is very serious, often quite dark. Often involving a vampire. Similarly, contemporary romance, my favourite subgenre, tends to go for the heart warming or emotional, rather than light, what with all the cancer and divorce stories in there. Occasionally a lost parent or missing child. And even one or two vampires, as well, somehow. It seems now if you want humour you need to go to chicklit, a category in which romance was originally not even the point (though that seems to have changed for most publishers).

When I wrote my story V-Day last year, I admit I didn’t know exactly what category it would be at the time. I knew it would be romantic, and erotic, but with this one I kind of just went with the flow (unusual for me). I was armed with just two aims: One, it would be told from the male POV, and it would a virgin hero story, with the heroine being more experienced – this was part of the challenge that another author gave me at the time, as we ranted a bit about the sweet, virginal females of traditional romance novels. So, off I went. Given these elements, it seemed natural to me that it would be a comedy, and given my own strengths, it was rather inevitable that it be contemporary romance. V-Day was the result.

In the end, this is what I finished up with – a virgin hero vanilla-erotic contemporary romantic comedy, with slight cougar elements. Quite the mouthful! When I pitched it to Rebel Ink Press for publication, I honestly described it thusly, as well as reducing it to erotic-romance (so I wouldn’t scare them away). Thankfully, they agreed it was something worth publishing, but I still feel a slight unease in promoting it. Would erotica fans find too much relationship? Romance fans, too much graphic sex? Those are the questions common to erotic-romance in general, though. I also had the additional concern of whether both sides would appreciate the male POV and the tongue-in-cheek (literally and figuratively) nature. Was it too goofy? I didn’t think so, but it’s hard to gauge how a book will be received sometimes.

See, to me, it’s natural to include humour in a sexy story. Lovers play, they laugh… hell, most of them downright giggle, if they’d just admit it. Sex and new love is not a time for seriousness – not all the time, anyway. I have written serious sex, even sad and angry sex, but the light, tickly, fun sex, and the comedy of clumsiness that comes with new love at any age, is what attracts me.

On a couple of my pages and profile, I have as my motto a quote from American author Rose Franken: “Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.” I buy that. I hope readers do, as well.

• For more information about my Valentine’s Day erotic romantic comedy, V-Day, please see my holiday stories website.
  
  
• Anne Holly is a Canadian writer of romance and erotic-romance, as well as a mother and teacher. You may visit Anne at her blog or website, or find her on GoodReads, Facebook and Twitter (@anneholly2010). Sign up for her newsletter here. Email: anneholly2010@gmail.com.