IN PRAISE OF HARLEQUIN BLAZE

Before there was 50 Shades Of Grey, there was Harlequin Blaze for ladies who wanted to get their naughty fix. Harlequin Blaze is, of course, an imprint of romance novel stalwart/powerhouse Harlequin. Blaze is arguably its most popular--and, of course, edgier--imprint. HB started off as a sort of mini-imprint for its already existing--and now-defunct--line Temptation, which, at that time, was Harlequin's hottest imprint. Blaze would ultimately surpass it in popularity and then replace Temptation altogether starting with Harlequin Blaze book #1 the aptly-titled Notorious by Vicki Lewis Thompson. As a red-blooded American male, I'm not ashamed to admit I've been an avid reader of both the Temptation and especially the Blaze lines (although it's admittedly been a while since I've read either lines since I've gotten into an "urban fantasy" kick in terms of my casual reading). I at first started reading these books because I, being a "freelance writer" myself, wanted to try to break into the romance market mainly because, next to religious and "self-help" titles, romance is one of the biggest-selling genres in the publishing market (and you can, of course, probably figure out how well THAT went!). But I found myself actually enjoying reading these titles, especially when I started reading titles within the Blaze line. I've got to tell ya, my jaw actually dropped when I read my very first Blaze novel--which was His Hot Number by Shannon Hollis, for those of you who are interested (which I'm sure are more than a few of you!)--and I got to the naughty parts! Of course, just like with 50 Shades Of Grey, some--or many--ladies will likely try to argue how the Harlequin Blaze books, just like the Grey books, are "erotica" rather than outright pornography. And let me reiterate, just as I pointed out in my previous post about the Grey novels, the REAL "difference" between "erotica" and outright porn is that "erotica" has a few more cute little euphemisms for the naughty bits! I mean, when you have frank depictions of what's being done to those naughty bits, then there's a VERY fine line between "erotica" and--that's right!--PORN. You know what I mean?

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