Monday Mutiny--What's UP with that?

I read a post over at Three Wicked Writers about diversity in romance books, and a publishing industry bias against heroines packing some curves.

That post touched on a broader issue that's near and dear to my heart. Just what is sexy to the real, live female reader? And why is it that editors (specifically those who were scoffing at ebooks while an underground publishing revolution in erotic was taking place)can't see that there is pretty, and then there is sexy. And the two don't always go hand in hand.

Women over forty are one of the largest book buying demographics in America. And most of them want to read romance. But lately, I find those books less than satisfying. You see, I am an older woman who can't identify with the bulk of the heroines I read about.

I, for one, would enjoy reading about romance heroines who I can actually identify with. And one of those groups of heroines is *gasp* women over forty. While the twenty somethings are out there trying to get their sexy back--and God love them for it--well, lets just say that on this side of the mountain, sexy is alive and well. And hotter than ever.

But with that said, I don't want to read about a older woman looking for someone to justify her beauty as an older woman, or apologizing for being an older woman.

Remember Samantha from Sex and the City? Or Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada?

These are the women who defined sexy for the boomer generation--a level of sexy we might actually hope to achieve. And I feel pretty safe in saying that heroines such as these aren't ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

Bring me some real women in my romance books! Because when the sparks that fly between a woman and a man who have been there and done that, and still find something fresh and new, and yes, even beautiful between the sheets?

Now that, my dear, is the definition of sexy.