Is It Just Me?

Or has mainstream romance tipped completely toward the erotic? Man, I'm tired of it. Like a lot of published authors, I've got a stack of books to judge for the Rita. I won't mention titles or even categories, but the books in my stack all lean toward the erotic. I'm not shy and have always read widely, but WHERE'S THE ROMANCE???

To say I've been disappointed is an understatement. I'm flat-out scared for the future of our genre. The romances in the books I've read don't lay a healthy foundation for marriage. Every time I closed a book, I thought, "Those people are doomed to divorce." They all had ... (for my more conservative readers, excuse the boldness)... really hot sex, but there's nothing at all to make me think these couples will be together in two years.

If anything, I'd bet money they'll be divorced and wondering what went wrong.

Man, it's upsetting. I love the romance genre. I love books that explore the fullness of relationships, good and bad. But without a moral center, a fundamental knowledge of what God intended for man and woman, a love story doesn't work for me. That fundamental morality doesn't have to be overt. I can read a book that's not an inspirational and LOVE it. I have, many times. But I can't read a book that portrays promiscuity, one-night stands, etc. and believe it offers a valid path to HEA.

So how do I judge books I find unbelievable? Fortunately, it's not an issue. I broke out my editor hat and took a hard look at plot, sentence structure, etc., and thought, "Okay, if I loved this premise, what would I think about how it was written?" I scored the books accordingly.

I'm looking forward to getting back to my own TBR pile. This weekend I expect to finish Kansas Courtship. As soon as it's done, I'm going to read for a solid week!