This was prompted by a chat with a couple of authors yesterday. How much is too much when looking at a bedroom scene. I have always been pretty flexible with our authors. Some demure when it comes to the subject of sex in the story and as long as the romance is there, I am happy for it to be a soft and tender romance. Alternatively, if the author wants to turn up the heat I am happy about that too. I think my criteria is that the amount and strength of sexual activity match and fit in with the story. The discussion we had, was about the level of detail within the story and how realistic the scene should be. I have always been of the opinion that I like the scenes to be realistic but sympathetic, by which I mean I want it to convince the reader that it could happen as written but without the nasty bits as in mess or surplus body fluids. I think it is a good desire to sanitize things a bit. The debate continued as the writer wanted to get ultra-realistic. I do like detail but that felt like just too much and thought it would gross out the readers.
So ok, we are all grown-ups here, how much is too much? For the writers, where do you draw the line? For readers at what point do you stop reading?
I would love to hear your thoughts, experience or any views you might like to share. On here, the blog, Facebook or Twitter