[Pensandneedles]

Better late than never, I suppose, but my name is Natasha Restrepo-Cameron and I am the IASPR Membership chair.

I am an aspiring author and administrative super star. I know things you never want to know about mail merge and advanced Excel formulas... My degree is in Anthropology with an emphasis on women's studies and gender. My current fav is paranormal and I *HEART* Kresley Cole's IAD series.

I was ecstatic to hear about the IASPR and the JPRS when discussions first began (thank you Smart Bitches for that and so much more!). I think the birth of this association was long overdue and I sigh happily whenever I think of all you clever women out there thinking critically about romance and romantic literature.

Looking forward to it all!

[AmyB]

Hi everyone.

My name is Amy Burge and I am a PhD student at the University of York studying Middle English romance alongside sheikh Mills & Boon romances. I have also worked on medieval historical romances.

I am particularly interested in using my diachronic methodology to reconfigure disciplinary and temporal boundaries by considering the use of the medival in contemporary popular culture, notably the neoconservative rhetoric of the contemporary East as 'medieval'.

As a student of Women's Studies I am also committed to a feminist interpretation of romance and would argue that a more nuanced and less judgemental attitude towards popular romance would be really beneficial for further study in the field.

Looking forward to chatting with you all in the future!

[Laura Vivanco]

AmyB, on 26 March 2010 - 11:18 AM, said:

Hi everyone.

My name is Amy Burge and I am a PhD student at the University of York studying Middle English romance alongside sheikh Mills & Boon romances. I have also worked on medieval historical romances.

Good to 'meet' you, Amy.

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I am particularly interested in using my diachronic methodology to reconfigure disciplinary and temporal boundaries by considering the use of the medival in contemporary popular culture, notably the neoconservative rhetoric of the contemporary East as 'medieval'.

My impression is that in that context, one could possibly say that the 'East' begins somewhere south of France, because Spanish, Italian and Greek heroes are often characterised as being 'medieval' too. And there's often a similar exoticisation of their racial otherness (often there's a blond English or American heroine paired with a hero with dark hair, eyes and skin). Now that I come to think about it, I've just remembered that E. M. Hull's sheikh was half-Spanish.

[kat schroeder]

Another late-comer...

I'm Kat Schroeder. I'm a senior with the Evening Degree Program at University of Washington (although I'm *very* part time, so I've got a couple of years left).

I started reading 'grown-up' romance at about nine or ten (I've always read anything I could get my hands on, and my Granny, mom, and two sisters all read romance). Until I found IASPR through the Smart Bitches, it never even occurred to me that there was a venue for *researching* romance. Waa-hoo!

During the days, I homeschool my two kids, and at night/weekends I'm a professional actor/singer/dancer.

Being a burlesque dancer, I'm thinking I really want to look into the profound lack of 'sex-positive' sexual modeling in romance protagonists. Does anyone know of books where there are dancers, "toy-shop" owners, or any other 'sex-positive' women, ones that don't fit into the "hard-luck whore with a heart of gold" trope?

Oh, and one other thing - whom would be the best person to contact at IASPR about an internship. At the PCA conference, I heard that there might be a position or two open, and I would love to apply, but I couldn't peg any one person on the website as the 'right' one to contact.

kat

[Laura Vivanco]

kat schroeder, on 05 April 2010 - 07:56 PM, said:

Being a burlesque dancer, I'm thinking I really want to look into the profound lack of 'sex-positive' sexual modeling in romance protagonists. Does anyone know of books where there are dancers, "toy-shop" owners, or any other 'sex-positive' women, ones that don't fit into the "hard-luck whore with a heart of gold" trope?

Hello, Kat. I was sure I'd read an online story at eHarlequin about a heroine who sold sex toys. It's Too Hot to Handle by Karen Anders. It's a taster for the Harlequin Blaze line, and I have the impression that it's the kind of line you might be looking for. I also came across a review of Kresley Cole's Dark Needs at Night's Edge. Here's part of Rosario's description of the heroine:

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In the 1920s, Néomi Laress was a notorious burlesque dancer. She was famous and celebrated, and her dancing allowed her to leave behind a deprived upbringing and become independent, even comfortable. Unfortunately, she had really bad taste in men, and made the mistake of getting involved with an insanely jelous man, who ended up stabbing her to death. Having become a ghost, she's been spending her afterlife in the decaying New Orleans mansion she owned when she was alive.

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whom would be the best person to contact at IASPR about an internship

I don't know, and maybe someone will turn up here and give you the right answer immediately after I've posted this, but my suggestion would be to email Sarah Frantz.

[Cora Buhlert]

Pleased to meet you, Kat and Amy.

kat schroeder, on 05 April 2010 - 08:56 PM, said:

Being a burlesque dancer, I'm thinking I really want to look into the profound lack of 'sex-positive' sexual modeling in romance protagonists. Does anyone know of books where there are dancers, "toy-shop" owners, or any other 'sex-positive' women, ones that don't fit into the "hard-luck whore with a heart of gold" trope?

Jackie Kessler has a paranormal/urban fantasy series about a succubus who escapes from hell and works as a dancer at a strip club. There are two books in this series, Hell's Belles and The Road to Hell. There's also a third book, Hotter than Hell, set in the same world, but with another POV character.

There are also a couple of books featuring erotica writing heroines: Victoria Dahl wrote a contemporary romance with an erotica writer heroine last year, though the heroine spends much of the book trying to keep her erotica writing secret from everyone, including the hero. The title is Talk Me Down. There is also a sequel I haven't yet read. The heroine of Julie Cohen's One Night Stand is an erotica writer as well and less secretive about her job, though the erotica writing isn't really the focus of the book.

[Lex Valentine]

Hi, I'm obviously new here. I'm an erotic romance author under the pen name Lex Valentine. I'm a UCLA drop out *eyeroll* who was a Biological Anthropology major. I work full time as an IT geek / Accounting know it all for the largest privately owned cemetery/mortuary company in Orange County, CA. Prior to that I spent five years working for the International Headquarters of the Starlight Children's Foundation.

I'm a native Californian from Monterey County but I lived in Bellevue, WA for a year and Tempe, AZ for a year. I have siblings in the Seattle area and lots of other relatives in WA. I'm your basic workaholic who can't ever seem to take a vacation or sit and relax and do nothing.

I started out reading authors like Kathleen Woodiwiss and Laurie McBain, graduated to reading almost nothing but Regencies until I got into paranormals a few years ago. Now, I'm on a sci fi rom kick.

I'll pretty much try my hand at writing whatever strikes a chord in me. I don't tend to box myself in with regard to genre. I'll write anything I like to read. If the idea comes to me...I'll do it.