I got a couple of comments recently that made me question my Twitter handle. My original post on this subject explains that I don’t take myself too seriously as a romance writer, but lately I wondered if other people don’t take me seriously as a writer because of my name.

I don’t believe my writing (or any romance/erotica writing) is trash. However, some people do so my Twitter handle is a tongue-in-cheek nod to them. I believe that good romance novels and erotica are empowering to women—and men.

Yes, there is a lot of sex in my books. I love reading and writing mindless escapism—sex just for the fun of it. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with that. But I do believe that sex in fiction can tell a powerful story. There’s a moving scene in Secret Storm where Sara teaches Jack to let go of his past by letting go of his pants. (You’ll have to read it to figure that out.) Secret Storm is my favorite book because Sara and Jack’s sexual encounters are meaningful and they reflect the condition of their relationship.

Austin and Jane’s sexual encounters in Tell Me You Want Me are primarily about fun, but I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with that either. According to Austin, “Sex is a part of life.  It’s not a separate thing.  It’s normal, natural, fun. It’s a lot of fun. It’s no different than anything else.”

My characters learn something from their sexual encounters, and if they don’t, they had a good time. I hope Vince, from my trashiest story so far – Dangerous Heels, learns something because I don’t think he’s gonna have a good time. Dangerous Heels is a great example of a story that’s both trashy and empowering, and I’m rather proud of it.

So I will remain a trashy writer. Whether not people take me seriously is their choice. I choose to write romance, erotica and trash for fun and pleasure. If we happen to learn something along the way, awesome! If not, I hope you had a good time. I did.