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Joyce originally posted this information July 20, 2009, but somebody decided to be rude about it recently, so here it is again, in a new thread:

"Please don't take this the wrong way...I am an active Christian myself and clearly have nothing against Christian or Inspirational romances!...but please remember that titles that fall strictly into that category are not the purpose of this group. This group is especially designed to build a bookshelf and support group for romances that are clean but are NOT Christian/Inspirational themed, as such books are often excluded from Christian/Inspirational groups and have no other place to go. That's what I want this group to be. A place for "Sweet Secular Books" to have a place to go. References to God are certainly acceptable and will not disqualify a book from being added to our bookshelf, but if it's a heavy theme in your romance and you're writing exclusively for the Christian market, you might like to check out some of the following groups on ŷ������ and place your titles there, instead*:

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/742
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2419
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1988
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/5471
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/8298

See? I told you Christian/Inspirational romances have lots of "homes". Clean/Sweet secular romances don't. So please add your Inspirational titles to the groups above, and remember this group is for "Sweet but Secular" romances.

Thank you!
Joyce DiPastena
Clean Romances Moderator

PS Please don't be offended if some titles you added to our bookshelf are removed. I just don't want this group turned into a "proselyting" group for one religion over another. I'm sure your favorite Inspirational titles will find very good homes in some of the groups I've listed above. :-)

Thank you for understanding!"

If you have QUESTIONS, please ask them HERE. If you just want to chat, please start your own thread in the proper folder.

If you see books on the group shelf that ARE Christian or Inspirational titles (meaning they feature religion as a MAJOR theme rather than just a character who happens to mention their religious beliefs), please private message either Joyce or me to let us know. We cannot possibly know every single book personally. We rely on the group to HELP us build this library of clean secular romances.

Thank you. ��

*I removed one of Joyce's original links since the group it pointed to no longer exists. Please note, there are probably more groups now that cater to religious-themed books.

Great point!

Totally understand. And I agree there needs to be a home for these books. There are a lot of us who want them and some of us who write them. Thanks, Joyce.

I have one book that is mainstream romance. All others are purely Christian so I wont post them.

Is there a place for Islam? How about an intercultural romance Islam and Christianity?

My books all fit into this group because romance is a part of life for most people and it is possible to construct fiction with inferences to the results of romance (clean) rather than go into details. I write to entertain readers. Easily searched by title on Amazon uk and Amazon in USA. Tango Boat Dancers (humor); Atlantic City Nazi (historical fiction), and Slush Pile Inspector (humor). Here's a link to the first one

I think my latest Boxed Set Trilogy Maine Shore Chronicles fits this category. Religion is not a major theme in these stories, but faith is. So also is mysticism. They are Romantic Suspense novels with a twist of mystery in each installment.If you have an Ereader check out just go to

I forgot to add that the three books in MAINE SHORE CHRONICLES were all published in Thorndike Press's "Clean Reads"edtions prior to their publication as eBooks on Amazon.

In this novel, the protagonist shares his climb from poverty to wealth as a result of being forced to become a literary agent.

Storks in a Blue Sky by Carol Anne Dobson is a secular, clean romance. It is a historical romance where the hero is Catholic, the heroine is not. It is not Christian or Inspirational.

I would like to read Storks In a Blue Sky and I believe it should fit the "proper image" of this group.

Sybil wrote: "Is there a place for Islam? How about an intercultural romance Islam and Christianity? "

Hi Sybil,

I don't know if there are any groups on ŷ������ for Islamic romances. You'd have to do a search. Sorry I can't help!

I purchased Storks In A Blue Sky at the Kindle store and look forward to read it soon.

I'm glad there's a group like this! I write secular romances that are clean or sweet, but I still like supernatural themes sometimes or just a plain old love story. It's interesting to find other books in this category. You can find four of my current books on Amazon, here or at my blog here . I'm going to check out some of these other books. Thanks!

Some of the women in my group are looking for novels without a lot of swearing, or explicit sex scenes, and isn't for young adults or Miss Marple!

Ayny wrote: "Some of the women in my group are looking for novels without a lot of swearing, or explicit sex scenes, and isn't for young adults or Miss Marple!"

Hi Ayny! You should be able to find some good titles on our group bookshelf. Welcome!

Joyce how do I find your group bookshelf list?

Sherry wrote: "Joyce how do I find your group bookshelf list?"

Scroll back up to the top of the page. You will see some links under the banner of Clean Romances that are Group Home, Bookshelf, Discussions, etc. Click on Bookshelf and you will have PLENTY of choices to get started!

Joyce wrote: "Ayny wrote: "Some of the women in my group are looking for novels without a lot of swearing, or explicit sex scenes, and isn't for young adults or Miss Marple!"

Hi Ayny! You should be able to find..."
Thanks - I often find the "cozy mystery" genre is clean.
some of the older "regency romance" books that women read years ago.

Ayny wrote: "Some of the women in my group are looking for novels without a lot of swearing, or explicit sex scenes, and isn't for young adults or Miss Marple!"
Hi Ayny, my contemporary romantic fiction, Carly's Rule, is a clean read. On Friday, February 28th, It will be an Amazon Kindle Special Deal for $1.99 for 24 hours only. This is the first book in my series, The Braddocks. The second will be out in May.

I would like to think that my Huguenot series comes under this category although it does once in a while mention something about the Huguenot faith. Rather in the same way that Phillipa Gregory's books often mention the Catholic faith. In the past religion was part of every day life for everyone, so it is very difficult to write historical novels without some religious references. Does anyone think my books would be okay here. I am not proselytizing the Christian world view in this series. Just what made a Huguenot tick so to speak.

While the books aren't just romance, each one has a romance as part of the main plot.

I guess a lot of people have a different idea of what makes up a clean romance. I have noticed a few different interpretations, but I think we all need to go back to the reasons why this group was established originally. Thanks for the reminder, Jaimey.

Could I ask for a little help? Until I read this thread, I didn't know about the Bookshelf, and I can't seem to figure out how to add something to the Bookshelf. My novel, An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl, is a clean romance that would fit under the sub-categories "twentieth-century," "jane-austen," "romantic-comedy," and "new-adult." Could anyone let me know how to add it? Moderators? Thank you.

Abigail, on the bookshelf page, at the top left, is a search box that says "add book" above it. Enter the title of your book there. The results page will give the option to add the title to the group.

Thank you so much, Namesake!

:)

yay! my book fits into this category. The Trouble with Playing Cupid I'm so glad we have this group to go too!

I am glad I saw this post. I'd been trying to figure out how to add my squeaky clean novel, Me & Georgette, to the bookshelf. Well, now I've added it!

Me & Georgette is my homage to the late queen of the Regency romance, Georgette Heyer. I hope you all enjoy it!

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for quite some time. I seriously couldn't decide where to post this, though it is something I thought you all might find interesting AND might want to discuss. It is a Facebook post by John Sandford, who writes thrillers--best known for his Prey series, I think. The post starts out: A short note about sex...and goes on to explain why he rarely writes sex scenes in his books. Here is the link:

He pretty much details exactly why I like reading and writing 'clean romances.'

I'd love to know what you all think.

Alfie Thompson (aka Val Daniels)

Alfie wrote: "Hi all,

I've been lurking here for quite some time. I seriously couldn't decide where to post this, though it is something I thought you all might find interesting AND might want to discuss. It ..."
Interesting comments.

hi there
i want to express my appreciation for this group and the ladies who monitor it.
I also have a question.
is it possible to put a book title into the search bar and see if it is on this book shelf?

Alfie wrote, “It is a Facebook post by John Sandford . . .��

Good for him! I couldn’t agree more. If I want to read erotica, I’ll buy erotica, but if I’m reading a story, the sex is just a distraction.

I totally agree, Abigail.

So happy to have found this group!

I am very happy that you have created this group. I am a writer and a Christian. However, there are so many different beliefs amongst people who call themselves Christian it is easy to have problems. I hope you will enjoy my books, that are not erotica nor religious in nature.

I so agree Tyshawn!! Thanks to the creators! So appreciate a place for clean romance!

I just found this group today and am so happy I did! I enjoy romances without graphic sex and am always looking for suggestions. I recently published my first novel which falls in this category and am excited to find a home for it!

We found some cozy mysteries, "inspirational" romance, and an Amish series for the library here.

Thanks for setting up this group! I LOVE tagging books so that I and others know within a category-what they're getting. It's nice to get the choices slimmed down and recommended. I'm new to the group and am also getting ready to e-publish a novella that falls in this category.

deleted user wrote: "I'm glad there's a group like this! I write secular romances that are clean or sweet, but I still like supernatural themes sometimes or just a plain old love story. It's interesting to find other b..."

My books are clean and romantic. I'd love to have you read one and give me your thoughts.

Recently I discovered that Amazon has a category 'Clean and Wholesome Romance". Check it out. There are 1,248 kindle books listed, Should be able to find something worthwhile.

My novel is not a Christian novel and I don't plan to write in that genre. But there is a christian world view, mild language, and some sexual tension. Would it still be considered in this group? I tried to send you a message personally but it was an author page and couldn't. Hope okay to ask here. Some readers in clean and wholesome wrote reviews and loved it. So I listed it as clean and wholesome on Amazon. I hope I won't offend anyone. There is one sexually tense scene but that is all. NO sex. It is only added because it is pertinent to the story line and what happens next.
Thanks for your help.
Michelle
Roman Rescue: Who Will Save The Hero?

Amazon also has a category of 'Clean Romance' and there is a bigger choice, something like 10,000 books to choose from.

Sharon wrote: "Recently I discovered that Amazon has a category 'Clean and Wholesome Romance". Check it out. There are 1,248 kindle books listed, Should be able to find something worthwhile."

Sharon, how do you find it? And do authors add their books, or are they automatically in the list? Thank you

Groovy�� you go under categories Fiction: Romance: Clean and wholesome. It is on the same page where you load your ebook. I have not noticed it on createspace.

Thank-you:)

Hi, I'm new. I'm wondering if you include books where the characters 'do it' offscreen. Fade to black, no details besides kissing.

Also, I recently read a fun, clean young adult book with a sweet no sex romance (Now & Then) but it had some F-bombs in the teenage conversation. How do you all feel about clean language? I personally like to keep it PG-13 and will let a little bit of swearing slide, but I want to know what the group standards are.
Thanks, and if there's already a thread addressing this, would you please direct me there?

I have just published my second book in my Spruce Creek Romance series, "Simply Provocative." There are NO graphic sex scenes and no swear words stronger than Damn. Sex does occur between consenting adults, but it takes place behind closed doors. I prefer to allow my readers' imaginations to fill in the details. I suspect that some authors use those graphic scenes just to increase the word count. I consider my books to be sweet and clean. I am certain that there are readers who would disagree. Just like beauty, trash is in the eye of the beholder.

Ayny wrote: "Some of the women in my group are looking for novels without a lot of swearing, or explicit sex scenes, and isn't for young adults or Miss Marple!"

Check out the Spruce Creek Romances. All stand alone, no swearing or explicit sex scenes.

Hi, Tandie, welcome.

I find that clean means so many different things to readers. Some, including me, do not like the "F" bomb at all--nada. To me, that's not clean, but to another reader of clean romance, it's okay.

Some clean romances do have sex, but between married couples, yet not graphic. I used to write those scenes between my married characters, but because I don't feel comfortable writing sex scenes anymore, I no longer do. I feel readers' imaginations are more creative than I can write it:)

And, some readers like kissing, but some don't.

I consider my novels to be clean, not sweet, because there is passionate kissing; and I will, on a rare occasion, use the words "damn and hell", because they're in the Bible...**tee-hee**

I think that as long as it doesn't contain erotic, graphic sex scenes and words, then it's considered clean. But someone else may have a different description:)