You gotta love a novel that has lines like, ย“You know how men are. They take what sluttish women offer.ย” And who can resist such tidbits as: ย“He stared down into her passion-filled eyes and knew she felt the same exquisite joining.ย” (For those readers who arenย’t fluent in Romance-ese, ย“joiningย” here is the equivalent of doing the dirty/knocking boots/gettinย’ some.)

Dallas author Francis Ray has written 20 books built around such juicy utterances. Meant for an African-American audience, Rayย’s books include Any Rich Man Will Do and In Another Manย’s Bed. Her latest release is Not Even If You Begged. It would be easy to dismiss Ray as just another Barbara Cartland wannabe. That would be a mistake. Sure, Ray is fluent in romance-ese, but she doesnย’t follow the usual ย“will she or wonย’t she?ย” formula. Her stories are equally as concerned with the intricate, realistic depiction of adult relationships as they are with the requisite loin-stirring sexual tension. Her books, not quite straight novels, not quite black chick-lit, might best be described as romance-plus.

So what does Ray call her books? Ask her yourself when she reads from Not Even If You Begged at 2 p.m. today. Borders Books, Meyerland, 570 Meyerland Plaza. For information, call 713-661-2888 or visit www.bordersstores.com. Free.

Sun., Jan. 27, 1 p.m., 2008

This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2008.