I love reading romance. And recently, I’ve grown to love writing it. I believe positive literature like romance can change the world. It reminds us we want and need to connect with others, we want to give and receive pleasure, and we want “good” to win, even if it’s an anti-hero bad boy/girl.

One key component of any steamy Christina Braver romance novel is great sex. Positive, exciting, fumbling, connecting, vulnerable, awesome sex. In order to write sex well, I read myriad books and articles by sex therapists and professionals not only to learn facts about bodies and how they work, but to better understand people’s hopes and fears around the topic.

In this blog, I’m highlighting books, podcasts, therapists, and other resources I’ve found helpful or inspiring. My hope is that you will be inspired to consider your own ideas and experiences and continue learning.

Everyone starts out not knowing.

As a teen of the 80’s in the southeastern US, I did not receive formal sex education in school. I was left to figure it out on my own. Not the best plan for everyone. I turned to books, any that I could find or were whispered about in the halls of my high school. The most memorable ones were romance novels I read secretly, hungry for information while filled with a sense of fear and shame about it.

I can still picture the dog-eared copy of Judy Blume’s Wifey that had been passed from girl to girl that year.

I was lucky. None of my boyfriends went beyond my consent boundaries (though some tried mightily), and I came to the experience of sex on my terms when I was ready.

As an adult, I was exposed to wider sources of information, though I still read my beloved romances, and discovered an overall love of learning about people and culture that has lasted a lifetime.

With a master’s degree in clinical psychology, a career in healthcare technology behind me, and a grown family, I’m now a bit older and I hope wiser. I still have a passion for learning about people and culture. And as you know, the aspects that most interest me are sex and sex positivity. There are so many great resources out there, available in bookstores and libraries, or in blogs and podcasts.

So, I read. And I have things to say.

This blog is an outlet for all the positive, sexy things I want to say to the world and an attempt to spread the word far and wide that sex is a good thing. A unique and personal experience. A skill to be learned. And an incredible gift to be celebrated and cherished in any consenting adult relationship.

You Deserve Great Sex. Read Romance.