Words wield great power. Choose them wisely.

Hello !

First, thanks to everyone who answered my questions about what kind of romance books you read.

If you missed the survey last week, here's the link one more time.

Next weekend I'll pick one person to win a $10 USD (or equivalent) Amazon gift card as thanks for taking the time to tell me what you love in your love stories.

Am I being persnickety?

If you've read any of my books, you know that I write what's commonly known as 'steamy romance,' which means my hero and heroine let you into their beds and their heads when they have sex.

Steamy romance is not the same erotica, even if a steamy romance has an erotic sex scene or two (or three!). The difference being that sex in a steamy romance supports the story and the characters' growth, while the sex is the whole point of the story in erotica.

The opposite of clean is...

The words 'steamy' and 'erotic' don't make me grind my teeth. But the way closed-door romance books are defined do irritate me since the words used for those stories suggest steamy romance is either dirty sex or the opposite of whatever sweet romance is... sour? Harsh? Disagreeable?

And another thing!

'Sweet' can be confusing. Take for instance the use of the the word 'sweet' in book reviews where it's used in the context of sentences like,

"A quick happy read with a sweet ending" or

"They are sweet and cute and so much more" or

"This is a sweet romantic book that's fun, kind, and steamy all rolled into one"

Those are 3 of the 10 actual reviews on Goodreads for Mind Over Splatter that use the word 'sweet.' And guess what? Those reviews confused other readers, like this one who said in her 3-star Amazon review,

"It was cute, although not exactly clean which is what I was lead to believe I was getting. There was a little more bedroom than I like to see in clean romances."

Gah. I hate that a reader felt misled. The description says the story is steamy—but it's at the bottom—so if she'd scanned reviews, her take-away would naturally have been that it was a 'sweet romance'.

What do you think about sweet & clean romance?

What do you think is the best way to define a romance that closes the bedroom door or never makes it to the bedroom before the Happily Ever After or the Happily For Now?

Does that make the story sweet? What if it's a bully romance without sex? Is that still sweet?

And what do you think about my feeling that calling sexless romance books 'clean' implies that sex is a dirty act?

Adding even more confusion to this label is that some authors use 'clean' to mean there's no swearing in their book. Which means I've read plenty of steamy, clean stories by that definition.

How about wholesome & inspirational romance?

Amazon has at least seven categories for books that want to be found by readers looking for Clean and Wholesome romance which appears to overlap with Inspirational Romance which shares a lot of titles with Christian Romance. One thing that's clear in the Clean and Christian categories is that book covers with naked man-chest need not apply! (A few buff heroes did sneak into the Inspirational list, though).

Amazon does not even have a category for steamy romance, but it does have one for Erotica, interestingly, NOT with romance books at all—it's listed with Literature and Fiction, lah-dee-dah!

And one more thing... the latest trend for romance books are covers that look like candy. Yet, behind those bright colors and adorable drawings hide some pretty steamy stories. One of these books calls itself a 'sweet romance' and the the other three say they're steamy—or reviewers use that word.

Are you ever caught off-guard when you're reading a book? Do the labels ever confuse you? Am I being oversensitive and persnickety about all this language business? (You can tell me I am... you won't be the first or the last!)

Free on Amazon this weekend—a steamy romantic comedy with sweet characters.

If it weren’t for the squashed bug on the window, I wouldn’t be in this mess.

When my Neuroscience professor demanded to know the title of my thesis, I should have said, “undecided.” But knowing I’d be docked a grade point for not being prepared, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head: “Mind Over Splatter.”

It was a joke. What can I say? The dead bug looked like a Rorschach inkblot.

Now I need to find an art major willing to be my research buddy.

So when a super cute guy with paint on his chin is tossed in my path, I pounce. After strongly suggesting I can guarantee him an easy A, he agrees to help. All he has to do is wear an EEG machine while he paints.

But the joke’s on me because the way my brain lights up when he kisses me is a data point I really wasn’t prepared for.

Get Mind Over Splatter for free this weekend on Amazon.

This is a stand-alone novella, featuring a quirky heroine and a nerdy hero. It is part of a shared world, multi-author, new adult, steamy contemporary romance series set on a college campus in New England where twelve couples will fall in love at first kiss.

Two new 'Love at First Kiss' releases—$0.99 each and FREE in Kindle Unlimited

His Leading Man by Stacey Marie Wallace

When Dax stars opposite Adam in a student film, he never expects the lines to blur between reality and make believe. And when the script calls for them to kiss, suddenly the confusion he’s been running from his whole life begins to make perfect sense.

An Elemental Attraction by D. D. Larsen

When a volleyball player is paired with arrogant frat boy on a chemistry project, their animosity threatens to derail her plans. But the more time they spend together, the more she realizes he isn’t who she thought he was. And when they kiss, she doesn’t know what to think.

These 3 FREE stories are a sweet deal!

Well, it seems I was feeling ranty this morning. The perils of using my weekly letter to you as a kind of journal entry, dumping whatever is on my mind as I drink my coffee, onto the page.

I'd love to know what's on your mind this weekend. Sweet, steamy, salty, dirty, inspirational... entertain me before I write again!

love&confusingstuff,

Danika

xo

PS—There's still time to let me know about your romance reading and have a chance to win $10 USD Amazon gift card. Compete the survey here.

PPS—...and to grab Mind Over Splatter for free from the Amazon store of your choice.