Guilty Pleasures

I've caved in and started reading the Tales of Atlantis boxset by Gena Showalter that I picked up before Christmas, and I was a little thrilled at the idea of giving into a guilty pleasure when I got in from work this evening. And it started me thinking, why is it that erotic/romance/chick lit novels are usually termed as "guilty pleasures?"

Chocolate is a guilty pleasure, because it has calories in it which if consumed in large quantities, can negatively impact your health and should therefore only be consumed in small quantities as a treat. I've never heard the same said of romance novels.

My train of thought led me to consider that it perhaps it is that these books are badly written. But there is obviously more to a good book than how well it is written.

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Encounter

I am standing on the balcony of a hotel room in Bournemouth, looking towards the sea. It is a Friday afternoon in June. The sun is setting, and the hazy sky is alight with red and gold. It's pretty, relaxing in a way I had not expected. Work has been difficult this week, and I am glad to get away for a weekend. Time to forget. Time to forget everything.

There is a rustle behind me and I hear footsteps on the balcony. I start to turn but hands are heavy on my shoulders, a chest is pressed against my back. He drops a soft kiss onto my shoulder. A warm breath tickles my neck.

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A Beginning

An awakening, or perhaps just an acceptance, of the thoughts of a mind.

Of stolen moments, and forbidden desires, of love and lust and all that falls between.

In the end, the heart wants what it wants.

And who can deny the heart when it pleads so softly and yet with such persistence?

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