***Adult themes are discussed***
Steamy romance author and psychology expert Christina Braver joins Erin Egnatz on Plot Twist Radio for a candid conversation about sex, romance novels, sexual shame, and the expectations fiction can create about real-life intimacy.
With a master’s degree in clinical psychology and nine steamy contemporary romance novels to her name, Christina is an advocate for realistic, sex-positive representation in romantic fiction. She explains why she often begins a new novel with a sexual challenge her characters need to confront and how psychology influences the relationships, emotional wounds, and intimate conversations she writes.
Christina also opens up about her novel Hawaii for Two, which explores a woman’s difficulty reaching orgasm with a partner and the pressure both women and men can experience surrounding sexual performance. The conversation dives into unrealistic sex in romance novels, the orgasm gap, sexual shame, pornography as an unintended source of sex education, and why readers may be learning far more about relationships from fiction than authors realize.
Plus, Christina discusses why romance remains one of publishing’s most popular genres, why critics continue to dismiss it, the promise of the happily-ever-after, her plotting-versus-pantsing writing process, and how she went from lifelong romance reader to published author.
It’s frank, funny, occasionally very spicy, and a fascinating look at what happens when romance, psychology, fantasy, and real-world sexuality collide.
You can find more about Christina here.