What are the readers of erotic romance really looking for? I have just read a review of my latest erotic romance novel -  PA Exposé - over at BookRomanceJunkies. You can read selected highlights over on my blog Kristal Baird Erotic Romance .

The reviewer was thrilled by the plot arc and the characters. What seemed to 'phase' her most was the erotic element - in this case BDSM. She found the hero hot and sexy but far too dominant for her. The erotic episodes (bondage, submission...) "not for the faint hearted"...

Whilst I absolutely understand that it isn't for everyone, I researched the BDSM lifestyle a lot and (within the parameters of fiction) believe my novel to be somewhat less shocking than the reality out there. Many practitioners blogs will attest to that!

Is it horses for courses? Or do you believe the majority of readers of erotic fiction generally prefer their novels more vanilla than "real"?

I would welcome comments either here (or over at my blog - where you can get a better flavour of the review and my novel: one extract in a former post and another via a buy link Xcite Books.

Thanks, kristal