I've been reading a bunch of erotic romance lately, of various subtypes. It's not "high literature", but I've been enjoying it. As with any other genre, themes start to become apparent sooner rather than later and a big one in romance novels is idealization. Yes, the characters aren't perfect people, or there would be no plot line, but the men all tend to share this desire to "take care of" their women. Which tends to translate into a lot of ice cream, chocolate, wine and of course, hot sex! (It's perhaps another sort of idealization to hope that you could have enough sex to burn off all those calories, but it's nice to dream big.)
And I am just as susceptible to suggestion as the next, so when Stuart and I were in Red Deer the other day, I suggested a stop at Marble Slab before we got on the highway for home. I was really excited about this treat, so when we pulled into the strip mall and saw all the "retail space for rent" signs, I was kinda pissed off. In a romance novel, we would have gone to the next Marble Slab store, but in reality, it's an hour's drive away and not really feasible.
As I was brooding on the drive home, it occurred to me that another food fixation commonly found in these books is coffee. The hero is often shown as being truly interested in the heroine because he knows how she likes her coffee and will show up at unexpected but needed times with a take-out mug of her exact order. I suspect that this fascination with coffee reflects the drinking preference of authors, who can be deadline-driven, over-stimulated kinda folks. *smile* And to be fair, the odd cup of tea will appear when the heroine has had a shock or a mug of hot chocolate when something more dessert-y is called for.
So my idea for the theme of a new series is tea. The hero will know what kind of tea the object of his affection prefers for various settings and how to sweeten and/or milk it to her preference. She will sit around with her girlfriends and discuss the varieties of oolong and whether "herbal tea" is a proper designation or if it should be tisane.
I'd read it.
And I am just as susceptible to suggestion as the next, so when Stuart and I were in Red Deer the other day, I suggested a stop at Marble Slab before we got on the highway for home. I was really excited about this treat, so when we pulled into the strip mall and saw all the "retail space for rent" signs, I was kinda pissed off. In a romance novel, we would have gone to the next Marble Slab store, but in reality, it's an hour's drive away and not really feasible.
As I was brooding on the drive home, it occurred to me that another food fixation commonly found in these books is coffee. The hero is often shown as being truly interested in the heroine because he knows how she likes her coffee and will show up at unexpected but needed times with a take-out mug of her exact order. I suspect that this fascination with coffee reflects the drinking preference of authors, who can be deadline-driven, over-stimulated kinda folks. *smile* And to be fair, the odd cup of tea will appear when the heroine has had a shock or a mug of hot chocolate when something more dessert-y is called for.
So my idea for the theme of a new series is tea. The hero will know what kind of tea the object of his affection prefers for various settings and how to sweeten and/or milk it to her preference. She will sit around with her girlfriends and discuss the varieties of oolong and whether "herbal tea" is a proper designation or if it should be tisane.
I'd read it.
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