October 12, 2007
Pushing the Boundaries
Everything I write has a thread of romance running through it. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a HEA. I don’t like investing my time and emotions in a book (or series) only to find the protagonist are gonna die in some horrible depressing way.
So I’ve been thinking about the way we consistently push the boundaries as to what’s acceptable in romance. Ebooks in particular are known for shoving the envelope just a little bit farther. I mean, consider this: a few short years ago, people would’ve been shocked at the idea of a menage. And anal sex? Forget about it.
We’ve come a long way. Now we have all kinds of good and dirty stuff to choose from.
Can you read m/m? What about f/f? What about f/m/f? What about m/f/m? What about group scenes with so many “M”s and “F”s that it would take a diagram to figure out who’s got what, and where they stuck it?
Besides all of the above, for those of you who read sci-fi romance, what about alien heroes / heroines? I mean, it’s easy to take a humanoid, paint ‘em green, maybe give ‘em an extra penis or funny looking ears, but what about the truly alien? Could someone talk you into reading that and liking it?
For instance, Barbara Karmazin had a lizard dude as a hero in her book, The Huntress. When I think about aliens, I immediately think of Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I think the uber-alpha warrior/conqueror types in a lot of futuristic “capture” romances could’ve starred Worf, am I right?
But what about Odo, from DS9? He was just a big puddle of goo in his natural state. Was I the only one who was rooting for him to hook up with Kira?
So how far is too far out for you? Where is your comfort zone? Do you ever venture outside out of it? Have you ever been pleasantly surprised?
A random commenter will receive a copy of Boundless, so enlighten me on how freak-tastic and open-minded y’all really are.
Debra Guyette is the big winner! Email me for your prize.
Filed under: Humor, Romance, Writing
21 Comments
October 12th, 2007 at 6:09 am
I’m pretty open minded about my reading. I’ll read almost anything unless it involves a lot of blood and gore. I’ve read a few stories where there was a part that made me go “ewwwwwwwww”, but then I just skip over it. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad book.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:30 am
I’ve become pretty jaded and it would take a lot to really offend or shock me. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just read anything, I still want great characterization, a fantastic storyline and good pacing. Above all I want heart in the story. It’s all about strong emotions for me. I can handle anything else the author dishes out as long those things are included.
October 12th, 2007 at 7:43 am
So you wouldn’t think anything an alien hero? Maybe a giant puddle of goo like Odo?
I’ve always said the author would need to show him in humanoid form first and invest me in him, and then reveal his true nature. Cos otherwise I’m just not sure I’d go for QW14, the sentient sludge. But a really good writer could certainly convince me of a lot of stuff I never thought I’d go for.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:25 am
ok, my first thought was Tier from Andromeda, omg he was hot! And brooding.
I like brooding.
Anyway, I was totally with you on the Odo/Kira thing, but most of my sci-fi experiences are of the television variety and they do tend to stick with the human looking aliens, but I really think if the alien was an interesting character and I could feel some connection with him, I’d be rooting for him right along with the humans regardless off how many heads, tentacles or scales he had.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
You wouldn’t believe how many con jokes revolved around Odo in the late 90’s…eh…maybe you would. Anyway, Roddenberry himself maintained throughout all the series that there should always be the presence of humanity in the aliens encountered. Xenofreakin’ to me reflects that–finding the human in the alien grants us a window into our own universality, proving that we are not alone in either our existence or our experiences.
Then too, extra and/or different parts is just fun.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying a really, really alien hero someday. But honestly, I’m not sure if I could pull it off.
So I waffle over the idea.
There’s so much to think about… with culture, customs, physiology… that I feel intimidated.
Then again, I’m intimidated by the idea of a group sex scene. I’m not sure I have the juice for that (no pun intended). I think I’d sacrifice some emotional intimacy to the god of mechanics (or what goes where).
October 12th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
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October 12th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I don’t like reading about minging stuff. No anal licking, no drinking bewbie milk and do NOT suck a boil laden cock – even if it is attatched to a George Clooney lookalike.
Alien sex can work as long as they are believable. Odo and Kira worked because we knew he could hump her in a solid form but Quark and Kira would have been pushing the FUGLY boundaries.
Besides, if I want to read about tentacles being inserted into someone there is always Hentai!
Gimme good ole alpha male on mouthy woman porn anyday! Don’t matter to me if he is a zebra and she is a pregnant, bald space alien!
October 12th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
My tastes are more conservative about the species of the partners involved in a love story than about their gender or quantity. As long as there’s a story beyond the sex scenes, m/m, m/f, and menage a however many doesn’t bother me. But, while I enjoy science fiction (and adore fantasy), I’m just not too open minded about the non-humanoid thing. I won’t rule it out completely, but I think I’d need a lot more convincing.
Fun topic!
October 12th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I’m an open minded reader, you can’t go to far because that’s why I read to seee how far the author will take me into their worlds.*g*
October 12th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I agree with danette.
October 12th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
I liked Odo
A good story is a good story. I’m pretty open minded although there probably are some story lines I’d stay away from (extreme ones).
October 12th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
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October 12th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
In menages I tend to think more than 3 is just too many people to have without using diagrams.
October 12th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I’d say I’m very open minded. The only thing I would have problem with is f/f anything else is fair gain.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I’m not attracted to f/f stories, either, but it’s not a boundary thing. I just prefer some m in my reading material.
The thing with multiple partners is that writers don’t always seem to be able to pull off writing full characters when there’s more than one hero (since it’s usually not the heroine who is “cloned”). If you want two weenies in the story, why not make an alien who is doubly equipped? I have read that, too, and it was good. LOL
October 14th, 2007 at 8:51 am
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October 14th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Oh I can read about anything and it won’t bother me except some bondage maybe.
October 14th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I can read just about anything but extreme bondage, unwilling heroines and beastuality would definitely be outside my comfort zone.
October 14th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I’ll read almost anything in all genres except real life creepy books about serial killers,like the ones Ann Rule writes and I don’t care for bibliographies either. Ditto on the beastiality not for me.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:23 am
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