Titles such as Mummy Porn really annoy me...

I think the title says it all.

I was talking to some ladies on the weekend who both tried to trawl through the latest literary sensation... of the Mummy Porn variety... Both put the books down after several pages and said to me that they couldn't understand the fuss.  They liked good strong plot lines, they enjoyed hot sex... but this just didn't do it for them.  Was this what I write?  True story.  I tried to explain to them the difference between what they were reading and what I write.  But boy, what they were hearing in the media seemed to be the high point of the discussion, because I was using terms they hadn't heard before.  It's a constant refrain for me.

I write Erotic Fiction.  Not "Mummy Porn."  To me, there is a very clear distinction... It's something I've talked about before and will continue to push because until we get this clear, we are going to face readers who pick up a book, looking for something to gratify them and end up leaving in droves because we haven't given them what we promised.

The three terms are not interchangeable.  "Mummy Porn" is not "Erotica", just the same as it is not "Erotic Romance."

I write yummy hot sex scenes in my stories... BUT ... each of those scenes are important to the storyline. They show the growth and development of the characters and their relationship.  No scene is gratuitous. I don't write the kind of scenes that are "wham bam... who's next?"

If I wrote porn, then it would be gratuitous sex.  Sex without any emotional attachment for the sake of "getting it off" by characters who have come together for that reason only.

Porn - Noun
The representation in books, magazines, photographs, films and other media of scenes of sexual behaviour that are lewd and designed to arouse sexual interest.

Even true erotica is not porn.  Erotica is allowing people to discover their own sexuality in encounters between consenting adults. This can include legal prostitutes, kinks and fetishes (bear in mind these can span over into Erotic romance) etc.,

Erotica - Noun

Literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not a prude.  I like to read sex.  I love to write sex.  But I'm one of those people who are looking for that emotional punch.

Sex for sex's sake might float some people's boat and I'm pleased the books with meatier sex scenes are getting a look in, finally.  Are becoming almost "main-streamed" but please... puuuulllleeease.... if you are going to talk about it, please categorise it accurately.

I applaud the fact that the industry is no longer shutting the door on the intimate adventures between couples, but how the hell can we ensure our readers are getting exactly what they want to read, when we can't even get the categorisations right, from inside the industry?

Yes.  I will continue to rattle this cage.  We have to, if we want to be taken seriously.

Imogene