As you may or may not be aware, JK Rowling has a new book out, an adult fiction novel set here in the real world, totally devoid of magic. Some of her fans are of course disappointed with the step away from the Harry Potter Universe. I, however, never got into Potter, so I have no emotional investment in the situation. I say, good for her, writing what she wants to write. Good for her, taking a chance with a new genre rather than safely staying where she has established fans. Good for her, having made enough money on Potter that she doesn't really have to worry if "The Casual Vacancy" flops. I didn't read Harry Potter because I don't really do Young Adult fantasy - most of it is just too quick a read for me, I want a long book that I can sink my teeth into. And I won't be reading this new book because I pretty much only read fantasy and non-fiction. My mystery-reading days are long behind me. The closest I get to literary fiction is the guilty-pleasure Outlander series, with its one concession to fantasy (time travel!) but otherwise historic setting. So why am I writing about Rowling at all? My eye was caught by a headline that said "Wow, J.K. Rowling's New Adult Novel Is Very ... Adult" which of course piqued my curiosity. Inside I found a few over-wrought mentions of cleavage, condoms, and vaginas. Oh boy. How naughty. But what really inspired this article was the following paragraph: Rowling explains that these sorts of subjects are one of the benefits of leaving fantasy behind. A crucial difference between fantasy and realism, she says, is that you can't make fantasy too raunchy. "You don't have sex near unicorns," she says, "It's tacky." (Of course, unicorns can only be tamed by virgins anyway, so one wouldn't expect to find them near sex even if the juxtaposition were perfectly couth.) Rowling calls the unicorn/sex prohibition an "ironclad rule," summoning up visions of medieval chastity belts. Really? I think maybe Rowling said this with a tongue firmly in cheek, I really hope she did, but I still think it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the fantasy genre. It suggests that in Rowling's mind, fantasy equals kid stuff, and literary fiction is serious adult business. You can't write about serious adult topics or raunchy sex in fantasy, because it's for kids! Don't get me wrong, I think it was actually a smart move for Rowling to switch genres for her adult work. It shows a very sharp delineation "My fantasy work is appropriate for your kids, my literary fiction is for grown-ups only." But that only applies to her work, not to all fantasy. It makes me wonder if Rowling has ever read fantasy, or even spent a few minutes browsing the fantasy section of her local bookstore. Maybe since her books are shelved in the YA department, with shelves overflowing with all the new YA fantasy, she thinks that all fantasy is kid-appropriate. Maybe she's never seen a Sookie Stackhouse novel, or all the fantasy-themed stories in the Romance section. And she's obviously never watched Game of Thrones, which takes full advantage of being on HBO to not only depict all the sex from the books, but throw in some extra sex for good measure. I grew up with kid-friendly fantasy. I read the Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit. But my first exposure to sex (beyond knowing it as an abstract thing that mommies and daddies did to make babies) came courtesy of the fantasy genre as well. I remember it well. I was reading ElfQuest and there was a scene with two elves making love. They were naked, and the woman was sitting in the man's lap, legs wrapped around him. So that's what sex was. I felt so grown-up to have been allowed to read this comic with this adult content (it felt like more of a milestone than when I watched my first R-Rated movie). I was 11 years old, almost 12. Once I was an adult and I had free range to pick up whatever books I wanted, I discovered things that went far beyond those sexy elves. I think what Rowling fails to realize is that fantasy and science fiction have long been an avenue of exploring things that society considers taboo. Star Trek explored inter-racial relationships when Kirk and Uhura shared a kiss. Babylon 5 had a lesbian kiss. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress introduced me to the concept of line marriages, which later cropped up in Earthdawn. Many science fiction and fantasy stories have explored inter-species romance and sexuality. One cool side-effect of all this exploring of the possibilities of relationships and sexuality is that it engenders a lot of acceptance. Once you've read a story and identified with a character who is polyamorous, it doesn't weird you out when you meet someone who is poly. You were already aware that that's a thing. You have some idea of how it works. Maybe you even got curious enough that you researched it on-line, learned about the community, and learned how not to look stupid by asking your new friend rude questions about their relationships. But even aside from that, raunchy fantasy is fun. You get to read about interesting characters in a well-developed world (or, in the case of urban fantasy, a slightly altered version of our own world), and occasionally you get titillated by a hot love scene. It's kind of like porn, but instead of plumbers and bored housewives, it's unlikely heroes and runaway princesses. Also the plot is better. And you have to supply your own sound track. I doubt very much that Rowling will ever see this article. Even if she engages in a little self-Googling, I'm sure this will be buried well below mentions in more mainstream press. But just in case she does, I'd like to suggest that she give the fantasy genre another look and see how adult, serious, and downright raunchy it can be.

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Copyright © 2012 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.net