Why I Write Spice

by Jennie L. Spohr

The first romance novel I ever read was Secrets, Sweet Valley High Book 2, by Francine Pascal. Forced to read them out of order, as they were continuously checked out of our school library, we flock of prepubescent girls (and some boys) flew to the shelves as soon as the lunch bell rang to see if any books in the series had been returned.

Even at age eleven I knew I needed to hide the perky Jessica and Elizabeth with their red Fiat Spider driving and their matching “blue-green eyes” from the prying ones of the world outside my friend group. The twins and their California dreams were not the kind of literature a burgeoning, respectable, intellectual feminist should read. And so began my secret indulgence. 

Thus, when I originally wrote my Renaissance novels, The Realm Series, I leaned more heavily on the history, minimizing the romance as a mere element of the larger political intrigue. Indeed, at that time romance novels in general – not just the “smutty” ones—were relegated to the dusty bookstore back shelves, tucked away from the serious literature, written by serious people. Fiction that wasn’t, well, mostly geared toward men, was intellectually inferior, to be ridiculed, and those (mostly women) who read romance were deemed at best frivolous, and at worst licentious. 

No matter that romance has always been a dependable money maker, with the likes of Danielle Steele selling on par with James Patterson: it is Steele’s work people belittle, while Patterson’s are made into blockbusters staring serious actors. 

And yet male authors write sex quite often and have it lauded. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, breathlessly applauded as groundbreaking, is rife with sexual harm and a male author’s fantasy of lesbian intimacy. Game of Thrones is full in incest, rape, and prostitution. And perhaps the most glaring example, Lolita, shows up on many serious publications’ top-100-novels list, despite glorifying a pedophilic rapist. But are they even really writing sex scenes, or something else? Why are criminal, exploitative, sexual situations seen as legitimate artistic expression added to college curriculums, while the consensual, sensual sex depicted in romance novels is degraded as trashy? The answer to that is far too complex for this short article. 

But this shamed landscape of women’s erotica all changed in the early 2000s, first with advent of e-readers and then with Fifty Shades of Grey. Whether Fifty Shades was skillfully written or not (E. L. James can cry contentedly in her red room full of money about her critics), it blew the doors off this formerly whispered-about genre. Given a platform free from judging eyes, women (and some men) of all stripes swarmed to erotic romance. We all know what’s happened since: A Court of Thorns and Roses and Fourth Wing showered the industry in sales and legitimized a world of sexual fantasy and the power of women’s libidos.

While still not considered serious literature, women frankly don’t care anymore. Don’t care that the self-proclaimed arbiters of taste and intellectualism think Romantasy is frivolent. Don’t care that many men are uncomfortable with us enjoying the sexual exploits of the Bridgertons. 

There is a reason women (and some men) swoon over book boyfriends: it’s because these books portray sex as not just something raw and explicit, but show the females in them as revered, cherished, singular, safe, and, well, hot, in their lover’s eyes—something often sadly missing from their own lives, and indeed from the books with “sex” in them that we’re “supposed” to read. 

In this new cultural landscape, I re-envisioned my own books. Already filled with royal intrigue, betrayals and bloodshed, passion and peril, I decided to unabashedly add the scenes, hints, and brushstrokes that take a closed-door romance to a doors-cast-asunder romp. But I also wanted to respect my original readers. Not all romance booklovers want the same level of intimate intensity, so why couldn’t there be two versions of the same book, one for each preference? Thus my “Closed Bed Curtains” and “Betwixt the Sheets” editions were born.

And what joy my sweet little Sweet Valley High loving heart had doing so. I reveled in figuring out each character’s sexual style, illustrating their arcs to even more advantage. For example, my antagonist has a less precious view of copulation, so any later act of tenderness shows the stark change in his circumstance and mindset as the series progresses.

And while I partly wrote sex into my books because yes, it sells—now more than ever—it was also about honoring women’s desire, including my own, about delighting that grown-up eleven-year-old. And while I can only speak from my experience as a heterosexual cis-woman navigating relationships and from what I’ve observed in the world, there is a potency in reclaiming the power of sex back to and for the female gaze, joining with the flocks of millions of women proudly proclaiming that not only do we like sex, this is the way we like it. And that is something we should all take seriously. 

Heirs & Spares, (Betwixt the Sheets Edition/Closed Bedcurtains Edition) by Jennie L. Spohr, €16, www.jennielspohr.com

Heirs & Spares: Betwixt the Sheets Edition  

AMAZON BEST SELLER

For those who like more spice in their (k)nights . . .

It’s 1569. Elizabeth I sits on the English throne, the Reformation inflames the continent, and whispers of war abound. But in Troixden, just north of France, the Lady Annelore isn’t interested in royal politics. Times are hard, taxes are high, and the people in her duchy need her help just to survive. Her widowed father is a good man easily distracted by horses, and her newly knighted childhood friend . . . well, he has plans of his own. Then Annelore receives a call she can’t ignore. When Troixden’s sadistic king dies childless, his younger brother William returns from exile to find his beloved country on the brink of civil war. He’s in desperate need of the stability that comes with a bride and heirs. But Annelore, his chosen queen, won’t come quietly. Now the future of Troixden lies in the hands of two people who never wanted the power they’ve received and never dreamed that from duty and honor they might find love and a path to peace. Heirs & Spares is one part history, two parts palace plotting, and a whole lot of spicy romantic intrigue. Break out the spiced wine and sink into this rousing read.

NOTE: This is the “Betwixt the Sheets” version. For a warm romance, please see the “Closed Bed Curtains” version.

BUY HERE

—

Jennie L. Spohr is the author of the bestselling historical Renaissance romance series The Realm, including Heirs & Spares, God & King, Crown & Thorns, and Sword & Shield. She made the innovative decision to write two “spice level” editions of her series so readers could pick their preference without losing any of the swoon and intrigue. You can find her on Instagram @jlspohrwriter or online at www.jennielspohr.com.

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers