Romance v Erotica

[Rumple Foreskin]

Not unlike the late, dead, Gertie Stein, I'm wondering what's in a name. Other than the labels used to identify body parts and various sex acts, what's the difference, if any, between the fast growing sub-genre of risque romance novels (which seem to be getting more and more risque) and erotica?

Bonus question: Will the two fields ever merge?


Thoughtfully yours,

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Whispersecret]

Kensington Books has a relatively new imprint called "Brava," which has the words "An Erotic Romance" or "Tales of Erotic Romance" printed on every cover. Thankfully the covers are pretty innocent looking, though, in contrast. Makes it "safer" to bring them up to the cashier.

The plots of these novels and novellas are usually sexual, as opposed to risque romance, which is your usual romance plot, with sex scenes that are juicier.

So, in a way they're already merging. However, there will always be people who prefer not to enter the bedroom with the hero and heroine, or who prefer kinder-gentler sex with their romance.

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

I'm not sure that there is any versus in the "v."
:
Long ago I commented that the best erotica was currently
being aimed at women. I meant the stories which were
officially "romances."
Sure, you can imagine a story with a lot of sex but no
romance, or a story with lots of romance but no sex.
Still and all, most romances lead into sex aometime or
another. And sex without romance is somewhat cold.
Also, stories reveal relatively little of the lives of
characters -- more, of course, in some cases than in
others. So whether you report the incidents in bed with
more detail or less makes the same set of incidents
a romance or an erotic story.