Does rape belong in a romance?

This is a controversial topic in any setting, but in a story that is supposed to be about love and happy endings, it seems to have no place there.

But, does it?

I think a writer should have the freedom to tell the story they want to without having to be censored. That being said, I don’t think rape should be glorified and used in a way that makes it okay or romantic. Because rape is not about love. It’s an act of violence. Sometimes rough sex can be misinterpreted as rape, and that can be a gray area if the lines are unclear. But most probably agree if a woman feels violated, there is no doubt that it is rape.

If a story calls for a rape scene and it is important to the plot, a writer should be able to do what is needed for that story. I can think of at least one example where rape could work in a romance—a woman recovers from a rape and has to learn to trust men again so she can find love.

It is a subject that should not be taken lightly, but it shouldn’t be taboo for a writer if it is a key part of the story they want to tell.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

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My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

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Favorite paranormal creature?

I’m working on a new series and trying to decide which paranormal creature I want to use. Vampires have been really popular, but I hear they are on their way out, though I find this hard to believe. Vampires have fascinated humans since Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Then Ann Rice’s popular vampire novels changed the way people viewed the creatures of the night. She was the first author to write erotic vampires. And recently it was the Twilight series that became popular with women of all ages. I think vampires are here to stay. I have had a vampire, a Greek vampire, in one of my series so I’m not sure about vampires for this series I am working on now.

Werewolves have also been quite popular. I have to admit that I lean toward werewolves for the series I am working on. True werewolves, not shapeshifters that can change at will, but the ones cursed to change at the full moon. Bloodthirsty beasts. Killers. What fascinates me about this type of creature is that for the rest of the month, the werewolf is human. I think it’s that beast within theme that is so attractive to me—that mixture of innocence and danger.

Faeries and angels are also popular. I have written faeries before so I want to do something that I haven’t done before. There are so many types of paranormal creatures to choose from that I will have to do some more research and decide what is best for my series.

Do you have a favorite paranormal creature that you would like to see in stories?

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

Zombies, in romance?

Romance readers never fail to surprise me. I’m still bewildered about the popularity of male/male romances, not made popular by gay readers, but by heterosexual female readers. And now zombies are popular in romances. I can’t get the disgusting image of a brain eating, groaning, slobbering zombie out of my mind. This is not the ideal hero or heroine of a romance novel—at least in my opinion.

Can you imagine anyone kissing or having sex with a zombie? Eew. At least a vampire or a werewolf can hold a conversation and look normal enough to be a romantic lead. Blood drinking vs. brain eating—I would pick blood drinking over brains any day. There is too much of an ick factor involved with zombies. This may be something that affects me personally because I was traumatized by watching the original Night of the Living Dead when I was a child. Nothing frightens or disgusts me more than a zombie. “Barbara, they’re coming for you.” I hear this dialog in my nightmares.

I haven’t read any romances with zombies, but the only way for a zombie romance to work for me is if the hero and heroine are human and not zombies. Maybe zombies terrorize them or maybe they hunt zombies. But I don’t want to read about zombies having sex with other zombies or with anyone. Keep the zombies in horror novels and leave romance to the hunky vampires and werewolves.

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

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Older Heroine, Young Hero

I realized that all of my heroines so far have been older than my heroes. I’m not talking about a 40-year-old woman and a 25 year old man. My heroines so far have been supernatural creatures like faery women, goddesses and vampires so they are usually hundreds of years old. My heroines so far are also experienced sexually so they usually do the seducing. I guess they would be super cougars.

Why did I do that? I wasn’t even aware of what I was doing at first. I’m not older than my husband and I don’t go out chasing younger guys. Younger guys are nice to look at, but I like older men. I was thinking that maybe an older woman and a younger man might be a fantasy of mine. At 40 something, I could be a cougar. It does kind of sound like fun even though I wouldn’t act on it. It would even be a better fantasy if I were an ancient vampire hunting for young prey. Why not? There are weirder fantasies.

I was wondering what readers thought about the older woman/younger man scenario. A lot of romances have virgin heroines. And oddly, the book I am working on now has a virgin heroine. I wanted to try something different. It is kind of fun reliving my virginal days to create this heroine.

So what’s your preference? An older, experienced woman or a virgin?

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604