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I can't predict when I have the time to post a new blog, but check occasionally. I'm going to try at least weekly.
Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Buy now!!!


The moment is there, the book…is…available!!!

So let’s get this over with all the necessary links for the where to buy, where to read reviews, the picture, the promotional stuff and of course the address for my new website where I will be blogging as well, so if you want to sign up for a newsletter, where in the future you’ll be able to get sneak peaks into the world of Girl in the Mist, read deleted scenes and  anything I fun I can think of.
For a more personal blog, the way you’re used to over here, with stuff about my life, work, hobbies, writing, ya know, just stick around. Here nothing is going to change in that regard.
Do try out the book. I would love to hear all your thoughts on it
Here we go:


Social media:

For the reviews: Goodreads

Buy links:





So, that dealt with, let’s get down to the regular stuff...

Song of the day: “Ophelia” by the Lumineers. Not the most pleasant earworm, considering it is mostly the Ophelia bit that keeps tumbling in my head, rather than what is otherwise a very nice song.

On the most part it has been work for the past few weeks. And when I mean work I mean that in the broadest of sense. Been doing full days at the catering company, partly due to people calling in sick, family leave for someone, and a colleague up for vacation. It makes for plenty of work for me, despite the fact that at the moment I don’t really have time for it.

There is just so much to do for the whole promotion bit of the book. It means that I am out at work for at least 7 hours, and then come home to do the necessary stuff at home, and get behind the computer to do the proverbial homework that involves networking, writing to people about the book, asking for reviews and interviews, guest spots and anything else possible, and all the while checking up on reviews that are done of the book, and seeing what folks think. Scary stuff, ya know. Hearing what folks say about your headchild. But so far I have been able to handle it. In fact, readers have been absolutely brilliant in their reception of the story. They’re calling it a twisty plot, a story that messes with your head, amazing unique characters…simply said, it is wonderful to hear.

The weather here has been icy, albeit sunny. Some Siberian wind blowing in, apparently. Icy. Which isn’t nice at all, considering I actually have to go out in the cold several times a day. Because, for the moment, I have a dog. Yes, a dog! A foster dog, you understand. He was in need of a temporary home, while a new family was looked for, which means that I’m having some wonderful company while at home. He’s a 6 year old Border collie, well trained, and absolutely adorable. Am so tempted to keep him. But of course, I can’t. Just not smart, living the way I do. If the decision comes that I have to move out, and the new place does not allow for pets, I’d have to find a new home for him again, and that would simply be heartbreaking…for the dog and me.

Kitten is not at all happy with present company, naturally. Poor baby has exiled herself to the pantry, where they spend their time staring at each other through the cat door. Hah

Which basically brings us to the end of today’s blog, because, let’s face it, nothing really exciting happened since the last post, if for no other reason than the fact that I simply haven’t had time to do anything but work on all ends.

So we’re going to leave it at this, and see if I have something a little more exciting to share the next time. I’ll be back.



Friday, February 9, 2018

Ready for pre-order at long last

Song of the day…okay, screw that. Let’s do it different today. I’ve got news! Haha

I got THE news!

We have a DATE!

 A PUBLISHING date! I kid you not.

Remember that teaser pic I had a little while ago? Well, here it is for real, along with links and everything where you can pre-order the actual book…if you were to be so inclined. * wink *

I’m excited, I am jubilant, as you might expect. It is finally happening. All the hard work coming to a long awaited conclusion. Gawd, I can hardly believe it. How long have y’all who’ve been reading my blog, been hearing about me and big brother editing and rewriting the book formerly known as Saving Nina? Hmmm? Many a years past with me writing, it, then joining forces with big brother and rewriting it time and again until finally, finally we came in the quarter finals of the ABNA competition, and then, bolstered by the publisher’s weekly review started sending it out for real, and getting all those big publisher’s interested enough to have a look at it, only to hear the dreaded “no” again and again, until finally FINALLY last year Entangle LCC took it.

The editing this last time wasn’t easy by any means either, but we managed, survived the ordeal if you will, and now we’re there. A couple of weeks  before the book is out there for real, but already available for pre-sale HERE, or directly at the publisher HERE and I am psyched, naturally. Also in Goodreads where you've got links to all the retailers

Here are some other links for you to check out like the awesome review by USA Today bestseller, Naima Simone.  CLICK HERE She's awesome, and definitely worth a look if you're looking for suspenseful, hot romances.

And I finally figured out how to open an author Facebook page, which is HERE. Likes and follows will be vastly appreciated. Ha

Other than that, I have been delving into the promotional plan for the book, which is daunting in many ways, but also strangely fascinating.

Next Big brother has been working on our website, which will get its own blog at some point, so keep an eye out HERE. I would love to see y’all there, if you can manage it. Soon there will be a Newsletter where I’ll be sending out news and tidbits, along with teaser scenes that will, in the future wrap the entire “No Escape from Rising Sun” series up in a neat package. These will be scenes that won’t be in any of the books, but rather background happenings that will be referred to in the actual novels. But from different perspectives, explaining mysteries that we couldn't deal with in the stories, but wrote down anyway. It should be vastly interesting, to say that least. I’ll let you know when I set up a proper place for this all and post a link for that too.

So here are some pics, with the most important one being the actual cover!



Gorgeous, right?

Teaser for GitM
 As for life in general? Well, things have been busy. I’m dragging my butt through long days again. Work (finally some shorter days again) takes up 4 to 5 days a week, which can take up to 7 hours in the average day due to commuting…with on Fridays a whopping nine hours away from home because at the moment I am working at the cafeteria of a school up North, which takes more than an hour to get to. It is interesting, though. A solo spot, meaning that you’re nicely busy right up until the final moment of the day when you have to clean the whole mess up and get the heck out.

My other spot in the big town less than 20 mins away from my place is starting to be a lot more fun now that I fully know what all is involved. I’ve stopped making constant mistakes and that makes it all a lot less frustrating. Yay. Who’d have thought, eh, that I could get a job in a branch that I actually enjoy. With the way things go over here, I was very much afraid that cleaning would be my lot until the books become a success…that is the hope anyway, haha

Teaser for GitM
Getting to know more locations in the area, which was what I was hired for, of course.
But anyway, getting back to the point I was making before work distracted me…making long hours. First the day job and then when I get home behind the computer, doing all the necessary stuff like setting up more network stuff, putting up links, writing descriptions, you know, all the promotional stuff that I had so hoped not to have to do…unrealistic of me, I know, right? But I guess I’m old-fashioned that way. I still hoped that writing good stories was the thing that was really the big thing.
Alas there’s more to it than that, so now I’m learning promotion from the pros over at the publisher.

I do need some sleep fast, though. Not getting more than 6-7 hours a night, and although I can manage that quite some time, I need an occasional catch-up.

Cooking…yes, I’ve been doing that, of course, just nothing fancy, but rather quick fixes that are as nutritious as I can. Including loads of pumpkin soup. Yummy.

On the sad note, my aunty died a few weeks ago, meaning there was the whole funeral bit, and sad relatives and people we hadn’t seen in ages, and…well. It was a private affair for most part, so I think I’d best not say too much. Forgot to ask permission and everything. However sad the circumstance, it was lovely to see all the relatives gathered together, and the afternoon spent at our niece’s  place, meeting her kids and husband. And our nephew wife and daughter, a sweet little girl that reminded me of me that age…but without the backtalk. Hahaha.

I did a review for another writer the other day, which I will post here soon. Check her out HERE because I am very pleased to let you know that I am at liberty to offer a free copy of her book of a raffle that I am planning to do really soon. Just send me a quick note with your name and email, and I'll add you to the proverbial hat. I will pick a name sometime next week, and get the copy to the winner ASAP.

And that’s about all…of the interesting stuff, anyway.

I’ll keep you posted.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Lost Romance

Song of the day: “Dream a little dream” by the Beautiful South. Love this one, and luckily I am able to sing it most of the day without getting bored. This is a good thing since it often keeps tumbling in my head. Hah.

First off I need to rant a little. So sorry, but sometimes you just have to get something off your chest, if you get my meaning.

So, I watched a movie last night. It was a long day, I was tired and let’s face it, I can hardly stop getting input from modern day trends when I’m trying to break through in the writing bizz, eh.

But anyway, I am starting to notice a rather disturbing yet blatant problem in movies (books too, for that matter) these days. They are rapidly un-romantisizing everything. Either that, or they have no idea what true romance is. I mean really, I got into a discussion about the subject the other day about this particular issue, and I can tell you it got fierce.

I mean really, it is not that plots are bad, or even the acting, (though both are a bit iffy at times) that bothers me, it is the fact that people seem to have forgotten what romance is.

Where are the long drawn-out glances, the nervousness, the fleeting touches, the look that says, “oh my god, he’s/she’s perfect, whatever will I do without him/her?” the emotional impact, the flutter in the stomach (even for the watcher/reader), the long endless talks, the closeness, the trust, the respect the…well, all the wonderful things of those long ago stories that made you sit there, root for the hero and heroine to find happiness together, rather than wonder are they going to “get it on”.

So sad, movie after movie these days I’m left feeling a bit…I don’t know, empty in the end. Some not as bad as others, but that satisfaction feeling of “aaawww” is becoming a distant memory of “the good old days”, which kinda sucks, if you ask me.

Seriously, you stop making example movies of true love, absolute loyalty, life-long friendships and all those wonderful things people used to strive for because that’s what fiction was based on and that which we all wanted so badly, and you’ll find the world where we live in today.
Realism!

I mean it, fuck realism (pardon my French *snort*). If anyone wants realism, a world where people cower from crime, where kids loot stores, where junkies lie dying in the street, and where families mean nothing anymore and where the “next new love” is right around the corner, they can have it!

I want the prettiness back, thank you very much. If I want gritty realism, I’ll watch the effing News. When I read, when I watch a movie, and when I think of the future I want the dream. I want the supposedly unattainable in being a free thinking person, a person not afraid to take risks, someone who will do everything, wait for however long is necessary for that one person (your other half) that you can’t imagine living without. That’s romance. The romance of life! The adventure of seeing who you can become if you just work at it hard enough, and won’t take no for an answer; not form yourself, nor anyone else

*Sigh* I miss the so called unattainable in fiction, if for no other reason than that it makes people stop wishing for it, and most importantly, to strive for it. How do you think you’ll ever find magic, if you’re not even looking for it, eh? I mean it, how will you find beauty if you don’t use your eyes to search for it? You can’t. To see, you need your eyes, and to find magic, you have to believe in it.

Ah well, that’s my rant anyway. I had to throw it out there, or else choke on it. Hah.

So what’s been up of late? Not a whole lot, just plenty of yard work, for which we have definitely reached the time of year again.
What with summer plants past their prime the soil needs to be prepared for winter, and the new plants that will need spots soon.

While I was taking out the last batch of diseased tomatoes (I managed to save three plants) big brother planted another small field of potatoes, which almost makes for this years planting. Only one…maybe two more fields and then it will be all about the cabbage species season.

We had another snake episode, (what’s with the snakes this year? That eagle we’ve been seeing this summer, really isn’t doing its job). Big brother was squatting in the yard, checking the melons, when suddenly he saw a thin, but long snake right beside him. It fled before we could catch it, but still, it freaked me out a little, like usual.

But anyway, there were weeks to yank, and since there was purslane all over the place I decided that yesterday was a good day to try an experiment with the weed that was supposedly a well known vegetable back in the day. I gotta say, I didn’t dislike it. I have to get used to the taste, sure, and I think I like it in a mix better than on its own, but on the overall, it’s very nice.

Later in the day we basically finished tenant’s ceiling, (interesting experience to wield hammer and nail basically upside down, hah) and it looks absolutely splendid. I’m going to have make pictures and post them to properly show it of.
That done, despite my yearning for a short nap, we edited, of course. Almost halfway through the book, so we’re making progress at least.

Since we did enough, and since I was a tad tired, we finished the day by watching Thor. Not bad, all things considered. I liked the actors, who did a credible job of it, but the plot left something to be desired. *sigh* I miss the old fashioned movies.

Well, anyway, today started of with laundry, followed by putting together patty dough of lentils and chickpeas, which would be the basis of today’s supper. That was followed by a phone call to the garage, to make an appointment for tomorrow. Gonna need those new brakes in the Land Rover now. It was no problem, so before driving mom to her appointment tomorrow, we’ll drop the car off.

That settled we headed out into the yard where grandpa turned earth, big brother watered and I built small fences around the new patches to keep the dogs out. Talking about the dogs, my present concern is Gada who had blood coming from her mouth this morning. It stopped after a few minutes, but if the problem persists I’m going to have to take her to the vet for a check up. Poor Gada, age is really starting to get to her.

Well that’s it for today. Gotta get back to work.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Sex, feminism...that sort of thing.

So I’ll have to give another little rant later on, in regard to something I read online. It’s a doozy, and personally it gave me an outraged OMG! But that’s for later. First thing’s first:

Okay. It was a bad night, especially since when I tried to go to sleep the skin of my skull moved (stretching while laying my head on the pillow) and set a headache into a mad frenzy. I was literally cross-eyed for a moment and had to get up to walk it off before I could take a painkiller and finally, very carefully, lied back down, taking great care not to put pressure on anything that wasn’t really necessary.

Not an easy feat, I’ll admit, but I did manage it in the end, drifting off to sleep, only to awaken several times during the night before the morning finally arrived…with sunshine for a change. This has been the wettest winter we’ve had in the two decades since we’ve been visiting and living in Spain. In about four days there was a downpour of approximately 1 cubic meter, which is astounding for this area, for as far as I know. Heck, we’ve been on the edges of full blown hurricanes, or so I’ve heard.

The sun is actually sparkly bright, however, blinding me, and making me stumble back with the reminder of last night’s little problem, brought to the fore with a fierce pounding on both my temples. Great! That’s just great.

I take my time with the morning rituals, sluggishly going through them until I can no longer postpone starting on the day and head for the house with the dogs scattered about, since they get distracted by the nice warm weather.
Chaos is lagging behind, Knight II is already waiting at the gate and Bommel is studiously finding his way by memory, rather than sight. The rest of the pack is just dashing back and forth, doing their very best to evade the crazy Monster Boxer’s feinting attacks with benevolent disinterest.

There are some chores to be done, laundry, some kitchen cleaning, breakfast, and then the fun part; cleaning Tika’s cage. It’s a mess, and we need to clean it out before we release the big pack from the patio.
Tika, our big eclecto parrot sits on her perch when we take the cage down from the ceiling, looking curiously at the few dogs that are seated around the table on which her cage is now set. The dogs are literally trembling with their need to hunt, but obey the frequent commands and warnings we utter as we work. Tika twitches her beady black eyes, walking back and forth on her stick with apparent amusement as she flutters her magnificent wings in challenge.

After she’s had her shower, and the cage is once again clean…as well as the table…the dogs are released from the patio and big brother and I set up our computers.
While big brother starts working on “Calamity’s Luck”, one of the romances I’ve been writing on for that past few years, I open up the latest project and add two more pages to yesterdays scene. That one done I start writing another one for a new scene.

The computer alarm goes off, at the end of the page and it’s time to get ready to head for school, as is our biweekly schedule of late. We arrive at the appointed time, and get busy both on the computers as well as the paper tests.

Though I’m occasionally bothered by the sporadic pounding in my head, the tests go well enough, making me feel relieved that if we had gotten any of these 200 or so questions we would have passed our exams.

Afterwards we take a quick detour towards the home improvement store and then head for home where the dogs and dinner is waiting.
After some relaxation in front of the TV with a recorded episode of “Life” to enjoy, I turn on my computer and start surfing the Net for the latest news and chats, only to come upon, what I can only describe as a new trend in the romance book scene.

Here’s my rant:

Seriously, I’ve read blurbs, excerpts and have come to the conclusion that the so-called mild erotica is worse than the average playboy. Forget a fun plotline, characters and even a hint of actual emotions. It’s blatant in-your-face Sex with a capital S.

I’ve known for years that these kinds of stories exist, heck I’ve even read one or two, but they’re getting worse and more explicit by the year. (And then I’m not even mentioning the trend of not just millionaires for heroes, but billionaires instead. What is that? Money and sex are all that sells, or something?)
And it’s not just man/woman, man/man, woman/woman or whatever. Heck I can understand loving a person no matter what the sex, but this is different. According to these tales the “good” and really erotic lays are about ménages of whatever sex is available, quartets and genuine orgies.

Remember all those once so despised badly filmed porn flicks, anyone? Were those considered pinnacles of literary excellence, or were they considered be crude animalist things that only perverted people watched?
Remember all the TV shows where women looked down on men because they couldn’t get their minds out of the gutter?
Guess things have changed considerably while I wasn’t paying attention.

But back to these “titillating” orgies…
Now, from where I stand one woman getting “done” by three men without her actually knowing them, or even getting on a first name basis, is considered to be a threatening thing.
I mean, I clearly remember “The Accused” being seen as something atrocious. Was that just me?
But from what I understand of these stories it is “exciting” for women to do this kind of thing because it’s “FUN”. Explore their sexual side, men, women, who cares, and all that.
No wonder guys no longer know which way is up when it concerns the signals women give. Heck, I’m a women and I’m completely confused.

Here I thought that feminism had been all about women having the right to say no to Tom, Dick and Harry while they looked for a man they could love, or care about…little did those poor women fighting for our rights know that by what they put in motion, women were going to be inclined to do that sort of thing voluntarily.
Heck, I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it.

Since when is sex a form of recreation and a matter of “the more the merrier?” anyway? I mean, the electricity goes off for a night in some heavily populated area in a city and nine months later there’s a birth wave going on. Aaargh.

I do know that originally, it (sex) is supposed to be a procreation method, no matter which way you turn it, and in the best of cases a way to show true affection…but showing such intimate, ehm, “liberation” to a bunch of strangers? I don’t know. I can’t see the attraction. Seems a little like devolution to me, actually. We’re supposed to be intelligent, aren’t we? Able to control our most basic urges? Hmmm.

For years men get to be called pervs and whatnot for reading dirty magazines and now the big bucks are being raked in from women who basically buy the same thing, only under the guise of mainstream literature…and enjoy it to boot. For all intents and purposes these stories are promoting: “Try it out! It’s fun to get “busy” with a quartet.”

What is that, I wonder? It reminds me of a piece I once read where a psychiatrist explained that the reason why a girl (in the story) was an “easy lay”. It was because she had been gang raped once and had decided in her post-traumatic shock that for her to prevent that event from ever happening again she would just have to stop saying “no” entirely.
Something along the lines “If ya enjoy it, it’s not rape!” Baffling!

Then there are those that claim that by having casual sex, just for fun, is the ultimate freedom of men…HUH? Now, logically speaking it would appear that those who think as much have been led to believe some huge scam made by men, so they can get what they want from women, without having to make a single effort, or being accused of rape…now that would be an interesting topic for a novel, if it wasn’t for the fact that a lot men have “changed their ways” over the last couple of generations due to tedious and strenuous sensitivity propaganda, forced upon them by the first feminists.

It all just seems like we’re trading places, of something. So what happens next, women treat men like toys for the next few generations to get back at them for centuries of forced submissions and then its turnabout’s fair game again? The old adage of history repeating itself, does come to mind.

Right! I’ll better stop my rant before I end up yapping about it for ages, but I think it reflects poorly on those who still like to consider sex as something special which should only be shared with a person you care deeply for, not an itch that should be scratched…which reminds me: How can anyone in their right mind even think about casual sex with all the illnesses and viruses running amuck?

I mean, eating from a used plate is icky, but having orgies with strangers is “just sex”? Bodily fluids mix in both cases, if I remember correctly. Right?

Basic logical thinking seems to be…Oh wait, there’s not much thinking involved in casual sex, is there?
As for safe sex…let’s face it, except for abstinence or “self-help” there’s no such thing possible when all’s said and done.

Ah well, to each his own, I guess. It just stuck in my craw, and I had to get it out before I popped a vein, or something. Hah.
Hmm. Guess I'm getting more conservative with age. Who'd have thought that was possible? Not me, that's for sure.

But anyways, after discussing this matter with the sibs, (who completely agree) rather heatedly, since it is ruining a genre that we’ve enjoyed for years…aka Romance, the real kind…I gather up my things and dogs and head for my quarters to prepare for the night.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Forum distractions. Hah!

Not much time today to write a Blog, I got terribly distracted on the forums, which is turning out to be a horrible addiction, for as far as time is concerned.

Let’s see, I cheated again this morning, so I’ll start there.
Once I let the dogs out, I flop back in bed and snooze for another forty minutes before I head on out to the house, carrying my laundry with me and knowing full well that it is a good thing that today is not a workout day for me.

There’s a chilly wind coming from the north, drying the air and thus the laundry on the lines, promising me a full hour of taking it all down, folding it and hanging a new batch that will hopefully be dry tomorrow, because the piles near the laundry machine has been piling up considerably during the past few days when nothing would dry.

It actually takes me up to seventy minutes to get it all done, even with big brother pitching in with the folding, but in the end I manage to feed Yadzia, have a quick bite myself and then set the computer up for today’s editing session.

I find myself having a hard time concentrating, even though the story is lovely and big brother did a good job of converting it to the 3rd person narrative. My mind keeps drifting and it allows me to only edit about seven pages during the course of the afternoon.

Since there’s enough of yesterday’s pizza left, I don’t need to cook today, but stop messing with the computer anyway at the usual time.

Having decided that today is going to be a rest day of sorts, preparing for the coming week where lessons need to be followed, groceries need to be got and another visit to the vet’s is looming, I have a feeling we’re going to need it.

We watch four action packed, recorded episodes from the latest “Prisonbreak” season, thoroughly enjoying the ongoing tale of Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows before I finally drag my butt out of my seat and head for the kitchen to do the dishes and prepare the continuation of the last project: The storage closet.

Using and old shelve that came off the wall, I place it in the corner where the closet is going to hang, and then continue to prop canned goods under it until the heavy piece of furniture reaches the height I want it to have.

Next, I drill holes through the wood, remove the closed and drill holes in the brick corner, before big brother comes to help me prop the thing off so we can bolt it to the wall.
Middle sister comes down to help me paint the closet with primer, and the evening draws to a slow end that has me heading up to my cabin around my usual time.

Like I said at the beginning, I get distracted on the forums. They are a lot of fun, and when a subject, which is certainly one that I take to heart, comes up, I just have to throw in my bit…which turns out to take up a page or two. Hah.
Shame on me, but it’s so much fun. This particular subject was about romances, and being an avid reader of it, while writing in the genre as well, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut…or fingers still, in this case.

So here’s what had me distracted:

”Ooookay, this romance bit needs a separate post for sure. You guys won't believe it, but I've got an opinion about it that which is just chomping at the bit to come out. LOL. I know it hardly ever happens, but there it is. ;-)

Right...I'll call this my rant, then. *snort*
First of all, a good love/sex scene that fits into a story, is tastefully done, meaning not just about A going to B (or in this case into...ehm, you get my drift) can really add to a good developed story, so basically I have nothing against them.

I've been reading romance novels for up to fifteen years now, you could say I'm slightly addicted, and yeah some of "the scenes" are totally awesome, but I have been noticing some disturbing changes of late in the genre of romance novels.

They're getting more explicit, like instead of...okay going into an analogy here...instead of sitting in a cozily lit living room, with atmospheric lights that make everything look, well, pretty, the romances are now going on in what I can only describe as fast-food joint lighting. Instead of welcoming you in, it just slams you in the face, and makes you want to leave ASAP...detailed scenes, often without a single emotional motivation.

Now, I admit that there is a place and time for anything, and a steamy, gritty scene against the wall, in the bathroom and who-knows where can fit into a story just fine but when I get details about bodily fluids going every which way (I know, gross example, but I did read it on occasion...and it wasn't in "another genre" *clears throat*), basic natural urges being satisfied and then described as "love" I'm like...Huh? Where did that come from? The characters just had head-banging sex after exchanging their names and they're talking about love? Uh-huh. Ooohkay. Whatever you say. Very unromantic if they've been had at "Hello". LMAO.

Also, I don't particularly like the new trend that's going on with "accurate" naming of A and B. I mean, I didn't like the "his throbbing lance" scenes any better, but at least that was remotely literary. It got the idea across just fine, rather than forcing me to open a medical lexicon in order to get a clear description. LOL. It's also very unromantic, IMO. A wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am with a complete stranger who "looks really hot" doesn't really get me...ehm...involved, if you get my meaning?

That isn't to say I want a romance to follow the cliche trail of, boy meets girl (or the other way 'round), they date, get married and do the deed on their wedding night, (described or not) but awesome sex does not automatically mean romance to me...since we're talking about romance novels, hehehe...there are exceptions, of course, but they are rare and far in between.

The best example for me is C. Feehan. She was always pretty descriptive, and in the Carpathian stories it did have it's place, even when I didn't entirely agree with it, but now...OMG! Might as well read hard porn...and they're getting longer, too, which is like. TMI! TMI! All that sticks in my mind is "the scene" rather than a story that is pretty darn awesome, which sorta ruins the effect.

I'm no prude and I've pretty much read anything there is to read about the theme, but there are times when the blatant exposure of a variety of anatomically correct body parts makes me long for the "they kiss, the door closes and...the next morning" type of stories. Not often, but sometimes. ;-)

It's a bit hypocritical of me, I know, since I too write...ehm...explicit scenes sometimes, but I do always try to give it some emotional impact too, which a lot of today's romance novelists appear to forget in their latest works. There seems to be an overall fashion trend that there needs to be "more" of everything, more detail, more explicit description, which takes away a bit of the magic...for me anyway.
It leads to a dead end of sorts, I guess. Once one has reached the top there's only one way to go, and that's just basic physics in the end.

That isn't to say I want the "love" scenes out of books, which was probably the purpose of your post, now that I think of it, ::-) sorry, got on a roll here. *sigh*
I don't want them out of romances, I just want the return of some atmospheric lights.”

Like I said, fun! So I thought I might as well post it here as well, even though the writing style is very different.

Ah well, it allowed me to put in a full post without taking as much time as I usually do, so…on to bed.