ROCCO welcomes....ASHLYN CHASE!

Helping me celebrate my Blogaversary is one of my very first interviews, the fabulous Sourcebooks author, Ashlyn Chase!  Ashlyn writes light paranormal romance, but she’s also penned some erotic romance as well!  Her guest post today is on that very subject- so without further ado….Here’s Ashlyn!

Thanks, Rocco!

Erotica vs. erotic romance:

I really think the difference between erotica vs. erotic romance needs to be explained. To me, romance in the name defines the story as a love story...be it between male and female; male and male; female, male and male; werewolf, vampire and stripper or what have you. Erotica is a sex story in which sex is the goal and motivation and there need be no major conflict unless they disagree on positions.

You should know that "pure" erotica (pardon the oxymoron) venues, like the stores with blacked-out windows, want nothing to do with us romance readers and writers and would probably appreciate our making the difference known too.

I once ventured into one of these stores with my paperback, promo matchbooks, and a press release for the manager. I was practically thrown out. “Our readers don’t want those books,” he said. “They want raunchy porn. Your books aren’t.” So, there you go, right from the erotica experts. The erotic romance genre isn’t pornography no matter what some people will tell you.

And just to be sure, I read one of these badly written books. A man on a motorcycle comes up beside a beautiful blonde in a convertible at a stoplight. She looks him over and tips her head, inviting him to follow her. Of course, he follows her to her penthouse and they do it all over the sofa about half a dozen times. This is described in what would be graphic detail except the writer needed an anatomy lesson.

The only secondary character was the maid who walked in and immediately walked out, disgusted. The slutty woman mentioned her husband would be home at 5 o’clock so they carry on until about a quarter to five and the biker leaves.  End of story. Would you call that guy a “hero?” I wouldn’t. Is the woman a “heroine?” Hardly. Would I rather read a story with a plot? A conflict to overcome? Some three dimensional characters? Absolutely! Give me a good erotic romance any day.

Now, since we’re talking about good erotic romances, I should absolutely recommend my newest novella Immortally Yours. I had no problem writing the French heroine’s voice or saucy attitude—and I also had no problem writing my psychiatrist hero’s voice and impartial attitude. These characters were very real to me. Why? Well, possibly because I speak French and worked as a psych nurse for fifteen years.

Here’s where you can find the blurb, excerpt and deets:  http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9862-immortally-yours.aspx

 Happy Reading!  - Ashlyn

Find Ashlyn at these links:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ashlynsnewbestfriends/  (My fans e-mail chat loop. We have contests.)

http://www.twitter.com/GoddessAsh

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raymond-NH/Ashlyn-Chase/101303673285353 (My fan page, please ‘like’ it. We have contests.)

http://ashlynchase.blogspot.com/ (Just the news)

http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/ (my fellow Sourcebooks authors)

http://naughtyauthorchicks.blogspot.com/ (A group of awesome hot romance authors)

Thank you Ashlyn...we love you and your cat, Lightning, too.

And now….a giveaway! One lucky reader will win their choice of ALLTHREE OF ASHLYN’S STRANGE NEIGHBORS SERIES,  or a $25 BARNES AND NOBLE GIFT CARD!

All you have to do is leave a comment in our comments section with your email address. For extra entries, you can friend me, the Human, follow me on twitter @RoccoBlogger, friend Ashlyn on FB follow her on Twitter, or tweet or FB about this contest!

Contest closes midnight, February 5^th – winner announced Monday, February 6^th.

Speaking of giveaways, it's time to announce the winner of my store giveaway!  Since there were only two entries, I have decided to award them BOTH an item since they had the correct answer. So congratulations to chrisbails and FillionFanatic! Watch for email from THE HUMAN!

Next week – closing out BLOGAVERSARY – JEFF COHEN, AKA EJ COPPERMAN! A guest post plus giveaway on Jeff's blog!
Also in February...a guest post from UF and YA author, CAITLIN KITTREDGE!

And don't miss March....Charlaine Harris in ROCCO's hotseat!

ROCCO

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