Each of us have to write our stories the way we most feel comfortable. That being said I never hesitated a bit to toss sexies and curses into my first stories. I write rough cowboys...just sayin'.
Let's go back a bit. I was about twelve when I started reading romance fiction. I have always preferred historical and sexy reads. My parents nor my grandmother who had a shelf full of Romance novels she traded with her friends never said a word when I consumed novel after novel. But you know what. I have not sensored what my girls read either. I just don't believe in sheltering them from normal life things. They have always been able to ask me about sex or what a bad word is all about. But back to books. It's funny how I can sit at a conference book sale or at a table promoting my stories and some readers will steer a wide berth with a comment of "I don't read those kind of stories." Seriously this has happened and honestly if they have not read my stories then they were already biased long before they met me. But I always laugh and say, "why what are you afraid of?" Nope I didn't make a sale on that one nor another when I said. "Hey even Christians have sex too." After another comment of "I don't read smut. I'm a Christian." No matter the comments and unsolicited judgements you must be true to the Genre you choose to write and to yourself. I have a close friend who writes Inspirational Romance. That's a genre where kisses might be behind closed doors and swears are not utilized for the most part because religion is a key item in the story. She's an Amazing writer and I most admire she stays true to herself. Others write Sweet Romances. They most often hint at the sexies before the door closes or it isn't really assumed or mentioned that the characters have sex. Maybe all that happens is a nice sweet kiss. A lot of readers prefer books without sexies or swear words. That's fine. Other readers prefer full erotic romances with BDSM and a number of other unique lifestyles. Again stay true to what you are comfortable with and what your Genre expects. Some publishing houses want novels full of hot graphic sexies and some prefer the sweet. I kinda get a bit offended by people speaking they only write or read "clean" reads. That to me sounds as if what the rest of us write is dirty. Hey, my characters love each other and the sexies are few and far between. Romance even though it is the biggest seller out there still gets a bad wrap as does Women's fiction at times. I had a neighbor review my book and say it would have been a perfect story without the sex scenes and curses. I also had one of my mothers friends corner me and say something like "I read your book but I just didn't expect all that sex and cursing." Can I add here that the said book is 126K words and there are only 3 sexies of about 2 pages each. I politely let her know maybe my books weren't for her and she should choose nice Amish novels the next time she reads. I told her I write cowboys and cowboys toss back whiskey, screw the girls in the brothel and swear. It's what cowboys do. And by the way I like Amish novels too though I rarely read anything "sweet or clean." I have always thought the sexies were the reward for the characters. And then I have authors who say I can't write too sexy because my mother may read it. Uhmmm...isn't that your mother in her chair on the beach holding that latest romance or women's fiction? Did you know smart women read and write romance. Lexile levels on a lot of romance is high. And for anyone who thinks romance is a quick easy write....I beg to differ. So again just remain true to your genre and how far you are willing to go is up to you. My parents, aunts and uncles and friends read my stories and ya know when we discuss them the word steamy might come up but no one blew a gasket over the sex or curses. F word and other colorful swears. If you choose to write these type of words it's a personal choice. I have chosen not to use Jesus or God's name when my Cowboys are swearing but... I once had a very good friend who I lost several years ago. A nurse friend and I learned so many things from her about life and living. She always made me laugh and while we didn't start off as friends we ended the best of friends with a deep respect for each other. She use tell me that the F word was a good word but not to use it too often. To save it for when you really needed it. So yep I am giving you the same advice. Save that word or others of your choosing for when your characters really need them. But regardless of the sexies and curses my stories are just that. Novels readers have enjoyed. And if all a reader can take from my stories are a few pages of sexy and Cowboys with a potty mouth then I venture to say they sure missed a lot. I am not nor will I ever be ashamed of any of my stories. I am proud of them. You should be too. So write what you can be proud about and not what you must defend. Onward. Write on!!
