Romance novel
A romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late 20th and early 21st centuries, these novels are commercially in two main varieties: category romances, which are shorter books with a one-month shelf-life, and single-title romances, which are generally longer with a longer shelf-life. Separate from their type, a romance novel can exist within one of many subgenres, including contemporary, historical, and paranormal.
Erotic romance
Erotic romance, sometimes called romantica, is a blend of romance and erotica. Erotic romance novels are characterized by strong sexual content, but can contain elements of any of the other romance subgenres. Erotic romance novels tend to use more frank language, avoiding many of the euphemisms used in books with milder content. These novels also usually include more sex scenes, often focusing more on the sex act rather than being a more traditional love scene, and may include more unusual positions or acts. Despite a greater emphasis on the sex scenes, however, erotic romance is not to be confused with pornography. While pornography would concentrate solely on the sex acts, erotica novels include well-developed characters and a plot which could exist without the sex acts.
Erotic romances lengths run from short stories to single-title novels. Some of these are published as part of a category, such as Harlequin Blaze, while others are published as part of an anthology and are only novella length. Even single-title erotic romances may be as short as a novella, however.
Many of the publishers of erotic romance are either small press publishers or electronic book publishers. Writers often have more leeway in what types of erotic acts can be included when working with an electronic publisher than they would have working with a print publisher. The market for erotic romances has been growing rapidly, leading some publishers to create new lines for these types of books. Some subjects are still considered taboo, even with erotic romance. Themes such as pedophilia, incest, and bestiality are discouraged by all publishers.
The market for erotic romances has been growing rapidly. "Ellora's Cave", an electronic publisher which focuses on erotic romance, became the first electronic publisher to be recognized by the Romance Writers of America as a legitimate publisher.
- Also see the page [ Romance novel ] on Wikipedia
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