Blogging A-Z Challenge
Thirty Days. Twenty-six posts.
April 1 marks the first day of the annual blogging challenge. For 26 days of April (every day except for Sunday) I’m going to have a post related to my Blogging A-Z Theme.
(This post contains adult content that may not be suitable for those under 18)
What’s my theme, you ask?
Do you really need to?
I write bedtime reading for adults, stories they can enjoy alone and with a partner. So it only makes sense that my theme is – Erotica.
I’ll be picking a word or phrase commonly associated with the literary genre of erotic. Don’t worry, these posts won’t be graphic or cringe-worthy – I’m looking to educate, information, amuse and always, entertain.
Read on!
E is for…
Erotica
Erotica is defined as sexually arousing material.
But what’s the difference between erotica and pornography?
Pornography is the depiction of gratuitous sex. In my opinion, if you’re reading or watching something and suddenly two bored but extremely attractive and well-endowed females are offering themselves to the pizza delivery man, who is also very well-endowed, it’s probably porn.
If the pizza delivery guy liked, was in a relationship or had a secret fantasy about one of the girls, that’s probably erotica. Sex can be just as steamy, but will often involve emotions or relationships.
Erotic fiction can also have as many different sub-genres as pornography. We’re talking romance, BDSM, fetishes, cowboys, shapeshifters, tentacles, dinosaurs…
Yes, Taken by the T-Rex is available on Amazon.
There is really something for everyone.
** Shameless self-promotion**
I write erotic romance, focusing on married couples, polyamory and swingers. My books include the Husbands and Wives series (swingers), Office Plays (sex at the office) and the Touch series (polyamory). For a full list of my books, click here.
Many can assume erotica began with the release of E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey series. (I mention this series quite a bit because it had a big impact on me.) The truth is, James only joined the long line of authors writing about everyone’s favourite pastime.
Well, maybe not everyone’s.
And maybe not everyone enjoys reading erotica as much as you do, my lovely, loyal readers!
James might have hit the mother load with the tales the Christian Grey, but folks have been reading ‘dirty books’ throughout history. Like, everything, erotica began back in Ancient Greece and Rome, usually in the form of verse or poems. The Decameron, a collection of stories by 14th century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, included several racy tales. Marguerite of Navarre, a princess of France, wrote a collection of stories called Heptameron, in the 1400s.
These days, erotica has hit mainstream and owes its popularity to the internet and digital reading. It’s no longer necessary to hide the covers of your steamy read, although Kindle does help with that! Erotica has become an accepted genre as names such as James, Maya Banks and Sylvia Day regularly hit the bestsellers’ list.
Women and men are both embracing the literary wonder; able to indulge their love of swoon-worthy romance and get titillated at the same time. I’ll admit, I jumped on the bandwagon and I’m not ready to get off anytime soon.
Look for something new from me this summer!
Anna Ellis 