You might be surprised to discover that one thing some writers worry about is tearing apart the very fabric of society in their unending drive to please readers and earn money. Well, maybe not all writers worry about this, but I do. For example, one of the issues that concerns me greatly is defining the difference between romance, specifically historical romance, and erotica.

Why, you may well ask, should this be important? After all, isn’t writing one much the same as the other? Aren’t both legitimate professions? To which I might reply, I do not want to write erotica and I do want to write romance. The difference between them makes all the difference in the world to me.


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You might be surprised to discover that one thing some writers worry about is tearing apart the very fabric of society in their unending drive to please readers and earn money. Well, maybe not all writers worry about this, but I do. For example, one of the issues that concerns me greatly is defining the difference between romance, specifically historical romance, and erotica. Why, you may well ask, should this be important? After all, isn’t writing one much the same as the other? Aren't both legitimate professions? To which I might reply, I do not want to write erotica and I do want to write romance. The difference between them makes all the difference in the world to me. Words Have Power To be a writer one has to be moved by words. Spoken words, sung words, words written on paper or scattered across a computer screen. Writers believe that words can actually affect the lives of those that read them. Often they believe this because some words, written or said, have changed the course of our lives completely. Sometimes words are a lifeline, tying us to something enduring and important in this world of misery and misfortune. When I wonder if I'm right or wrong on a political issue, I find myself saying "We believe these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights…." Those words are true to me, and they firmly plant my feet on some fundamental principles that I wouldn’t be me without. "One small step for man, one giant leap for man kind." "I have a dream.” “Thou shalt not kill." Some words are ladders to heaven and elevate humans to something more than two-legged animals. If you ever get a chance, you might think about actually writing down the words that give you strength or hope. Knowing what they are and why they are so important to you can really be a lifesaver on your very worst days. Some words are anchors that drag us right under the water, pinning us there. When I hear a story about a woman who kills her children, or a man who shoots up his work place, or people being murdered en-masse to suit some idiot’s stupid ambition, some part of me dies. There is significant value in exposing these ugly truths, because displaying evil makes reasonable people like you and I take steps to stop it. For example, when you see a young mother suffering from acute depression, I hope you offer to watch her kids a few afternoons a week and help her find a nice therapist or religious counselor . . . But some ugly words are just plain ugly. The word "nigger" for example, is an ignorant, brutal epithet and it does almost nothing except make ignorant people feel superior to their betters. So, words have power, and that means the words I write have power too. And I don’t want to write words that poison the human soul, I want to write words that elevate and entertain it. Therefore, I don’t want to write erotica, I want to write romance. Identifying the Difference See, words have power. If you like erotica, then you are now offended. Pretty amazing, isn't it? Actually, erotica, in principle, is fine stuff. There is just a lot of it on the Internet and in the world generally, and some of it is really soul-eating. For example, I don't like "erotic" stories about a woman "finding" her sexuality by being raped by lots of people. Even when I find it sexually stimulating, it irritates me. The Story of O, for example, while entertaining for a couple of hours, can leave tender-hearted folks like me mentally-ill for weeks. I don't like stories about children being molested, or stories of brutal incest, or any of that crap. That stuff gets called "erotica" but I’m pretty sure its "pornography with no redeeming social value". I think the words "thought crime" pretty much sum it up. I don’t want to inflict my views on others and make them stop reading it and writing it, though. Hell, I'm glad they are busy at their computer keyboards and not out committing these crimes and taking pictures they can post. So, although I want to put sex scenes in my book, I do not want to write erotica. I want to write romance. What's the difference? For me it’s not as simple as one man/one woman heterosexual mating. For example, I’m pretty sure its possible for a man to have more than one wife, and a wife to have more than one husband. Perhaps they can all be married at one time. People do that kind of thing you know. Muslims can have four wives, and some Mormons have two. Human nature being what it is, I bet some folks are very happy living that way and I’d like to read a romance or two that tells that kind of story. I know its possible to deeply love multiple people at one time. I loved my mom, and dad, and brother and sisters. I love each of my children with all my heart. Loving several people at one time is easy. I'm not sure how the sexual part works out with multiple husbands or wives, but I bet it can be done. The Fobidden Tower by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a science fiction book that does a pretty good job talking about such a marriage. That book is definitely some kind of romance . . . I think it's also possible to have romance where a woman starts out loving one fellow and ends up loving another. Love’s Tender Fury and Once More Marietta describe that change of heart. Those are good books. Why love just one strapping man when you could love two. Especially because that whole irritated alpha-male thing wears thin about year five in any marriage. After a while you want the guy to lighten up and if he doesn't maybe there is another nice man waiting for you. But there we are again. Isn’t a book that describes sex with multiple partners that doesn't end in marriage called erotica? Perhaps. But, even a book about one guy and one girl who have rampant sex all the time and get married at the end can be pornography. The definition of romance to me, is that romances have a story outside sex, and that story is about falling in love. Erotica, when it has a story, seems to be about "self-discovery". Romance is about finding someone amazing and going through a bunch of stuff with them, and then finding that you love them with all your heart because they are in fact worth loving. Romances, at least the kind I want to write, are about making a place where children can be born and or raised, where people can grow old, where things can be built. In romances, the bedroom is the place where folks get to know one another, and it can be a fierce battleground for working out some deep-seated personality problems. But, when you are done the larger story is about this really great pair of people who are going to set the world on fire once they work out a few interpersonal difficulties. Those are the stories I like to read, and those are the stories I like to write. In Conclusion So, when you read a book by Andreya Stuart, its trying hard not to be pornography or erotica, even though there might be lots of steamy sex scenes and some of those scenes might even involve violence or multiple partners. Well, I haven't done the multiple partner thing yet, but I want to keep the door open. One day I might try my hand at mystery novels, and that presents even more of an issue than romance. In mysteries you are actually killing people, and these days writers are including serial killers as antagonists more and more often. Now, is that pornography or what? Isn't the death of just one person enough? Why does anyone have to die? What was wrong with Nancy Drew books, that is what I’d like to know . . .