Amazon Making "Cryptozoological Erotica" as Elusive as Bigfoot

Retitled Image available on Amazon.com
Erotic romance novels have been around for quite some time, and in this age of technology, more accessible than ever via ebook downloads. One would think that all of the stories have been told already, however there is a growing niche in the world of erotica; cryptozoology and the paranormal. However, a number of ebook retailers, most notably Amazon, is cracking down on their work and making it extremely difficult for them to sell their stories.

In an article by Business Insider, they interview some of these authors about the trouble they are encountering with Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing platform. While it seems admittedly strange to most, there is apparently a large and profitable market for cryptozoological erotica. Virginia Wade, author of the retitled "Moan For Bigfoot," cites that she could net around $30,000 in a "good month" for the short story and jokes that "Bigfoot smut" is putting her daughter through college. Wade is not alone, as there are other self-published authors out there, spinning bawdy tales of serpent deities, dinosaurs, and aliens, that were doing quite well, until recently.

Ebook retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Waterstones faced serious backlash surrounding the easy access to titles that featured themes such as incest, rape and bestiality. Once those accusations began to create a frenzy, authors of the steamy monster tales began to see their titles vanish from online retail shelves. Upon reaching out to Amazon, the authors received little to no explanation as to why their titles were hidden, and in some cases, pulled entirely. They offered up an extremely vague explanation as to what they deem offensive, stating in their content guidelines that they will not accept "offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts." There is some belief held that this specific genre piqued the interest of Amazon due to the taboo nature surrounding intercourse with non-human individuals.

While the sales of these novellas have dropped significantly, most of the titles are still available for purchase on the big sites, Amazon included. The authors have changed some of the titles, artwork and descriptions of their fantasy erotica to keep them there, though you have to seek them out specifically. If you don't want to do that much digging, Business Insider points out that on the rise ebook vendor, Smashwords, has an impressive selection.

-Nowal Massari