The Internet and Romance Literature
The internet has ushered in a new era in romance literature, allowing readers to indulge private fantasies without having to face a store clerk or mail carrier. Online bookstores now legally carry a wide range of quality erotic literature, fantasy fiction and romantic fiction.
Other websites serve as hubs for non-commercial story distribution, offering readers the opportunity to become authors, anonymously writing and posting their own romantic stories. Most online authors adopt a colorful pseudonym (and can develop cult fan followings within their genre), though a small number use (or claim to use) their real names. Among transgendered authors, it is common practice to adopt a feminine alter-ego, though even there it’s not unheard of for a writer to use his own first name.