SUZANNE: The Skinny on S-E-X

Early in my career as a romance writer (I had more than a dozen Dell Ecstasies and Silhouette Desires under my belt), my grandmother said to me: “Suzy, you were always such a sweet young woman, how can you write books with such graphic S-E-X?”

I still remember my answer to her question: “Don’t worry, Grandma, I made it all up.” And I still laugh at that answer since I was in my early 30s, married and the mother of a six-year-old son at the time.

During the intervening years I’ve written and had published more than forty romance novels, including what I call my Quaker books: beginning with THE GOLDEN RAINTREE, set during the era of World War One. TGR was poignant, emotional, had very little sex and no humor. (And is still many readers’ favorite.)

I also continued to write contemporary category romance for sensual lines like Silhouette Desire and Harlequin Temptation. In the early 90s I added in a few historical romps with lots of sex and humor. I viewed sex as another necessary component for my books, along with a strong sense of place, a wonderful hero and heroine, and the aforementioned humor. What I call my “Iowa corn-ball sense of humor.” (Yes, I’m originally from Iowa.)

In 1997, St. Martin’s Press published my first single title contemporary romance, THE PARADISE MAN, with its dash of humor, a few poignant moments, and plenty of sex. TPM was followed by several other “Man” titles. (The funniest of the bunch, imho, is LADY’S MAN.)

In 2004, I moved to Berkley, my current publishing house, with another funny and sexy contemporary romance, SWEETHEART, INDIANA. It was while reading a Harriet Klausner review for the second book set in my fictional town of Sweetheart that I had an epiphany: I was no longer writing cutting-edge sensuality In fact, bless her heart, Harriet had actually described my book as a “sweet romance.”

I’ll tell you I was dumbfounded. Stunned. Left speechless. (A rare occurrence in itself.) I called up my fellow Quill, Jayne, and said: “Tell me the truth, Jayne, have I gone soft on sex?”

I already knew the answer, of course. I had!

Times change. The paradigm shifts. Writers reinvent themselves out of necessity or to stay fresh. And I’ve come full circle in ways I never dreamt I would or even could.

I’m going in an entirely new direction with my writing, so new that I’ll be using a pen name. My hero — the most fascinating man I’ve ever created, a man I’ve been wanting to write about forever — will tell his story in a paranormal romance to be published by Berkley in the spring of 2007. (I’ll be announcing more details later this summer.)

But I can promise you one thing: I’m back writing truly sensual books, books with plenty of S-E-X.

Inquiring minds want to know: Do you like your romance spiced with plenty of sensuality? (We're assuming, of course, that it's done well and works within the context of the story.) C'mon, you can tell me. I won't say a word to anyone.

Here’s to a long, hot, and sexy summer!