Weekend Ramblings #4

Are you ready for another Weekend Ramblings a la KJ?!

Well then... let's get ready to raaaaammmmmbbbbbllllleeeee!!!!!

This week's rambling topic is...

*Clean Romance Reads*

This is a topic that gets discussed with my bookish friends quite a bit. It is getting harder and harder to find clean romance these days. There are a lot of authors we love who are staying true to the way they write and keep their books clean. But there are others out there that want to reach a wider range of readers so they tend to push the limits just a little bit. And there are even the occasional authors who start out writing clean reads only to move on to writing a step below erotica because they can reach an even wider range of readers.

We all have different versions of what clean means to us. Squeaky clean, pretty clean, fade to black, even sketchy clean. Language bothers some more than it bothers others. Clean reading is not really black and white like a lot of people think. It's full of gray areas depending on personal preference.

My personal preferences definitely vary. Squeaky clean? Check! Pretty clean? Check! Fade to black? Check! (As long as there is no full on descriptions of them getting to the fade to black.) I have also been known to even read a sketchy clean romance. Again.. it really all depends. I am okay with mild language (heck, dang it, etc) but I absolutely cannot stand the F-bomb or the B-words. Just not my thing and I honestly do not see a point in having those words in any book. I also do not mind occasional drinking in books or sex before marriage (again as long as it is fade to black).

But I do have some friends who deem a book unclean if there is any swearing, sex before marriage, or drinking in a book. Everyone is different. There are definitely SO many gray areas when it comes to clean romance.

So my questions to you are, what does clean romance mean to you? What do you like? What do you not like? What are your thoughts on authors moving from writing clean romance to more steamy, sketchy romance?

And if there are any authors out there reading this... what are your thoughts? I have always wondered if you receive any pressure from publishers to write more steamy romance than what you are comfortable with. How do you deal with the pressure of writing outside your comfort zone? Do you ever feel like only writing a certain genre so you don't have to deal with the pressure of adding unclean content to your books?

Inquiring minds want to know!

So come on party people... let's rrrrraaaaammmmmbbbbbllllleeeee!! ;)