Women want to read more sex in novels?

According to an article in Marie Claire Magazine, Women Want to Read About Sex. I can well believe this.

I wondered and I worried when my first book, It Happened One Summer, was published that the content might put some readers off. I remember telling my husband, "What would the elderly ladies think of it?" He replied: "They'll love it!" And they did and they do. Not that my books are over explicit mind you. I had thought that three letter word would not slip into my books, but I let the characters take over and they had other ideas.

The ages ranges of my readers are anything from 19 to 90 and beyond! I was really surprised when my mother sold one of my books to a 93 year old at a senior citizen's meeting. She must have liked it as she came back to purchase my next book. Having said that, she must have been a game girl as she had a boyfriend.

I've even read of romance readers who say that reading that genre has helped them in the bedroom department. I can well believe that, too. There's nothing like a little spice and raunch to put you in the mood.

Some of my readers are men, which surprised me. We don't tend to think of men reading romance novels, but they do, perhaps though many don't care to admit it.

I'd like to see romance novels properly categorised in book stores instead of being slotted in with general fiction. In the US they celebrate romance writing whereas we seem to ridicule it in this country. Dame Barbara Cartland was often a figure of fun in comedy sketches and in articles, yet she was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century. Ms. Cartland got into the Guinness Book of Records by selling over 1,000 million books in over 36 countries.

I honestly don't know if the three letter word crept into any of her novels, I expect it didn't. I am going to have to read one one day to find out!