Atlanta tops the list for romantics

As Valentine’s Day approaches, love is in the Atlanta air, as well as erotica.

Atlanta was recently ranked as the number one city for erotica readers by uStarNovels.com, a business that personalized romance and erotic novels. Seattle is No. 2 and Los Angeles in 10th place.

The data, compiled by uStarNovels.com, used to rank the cities was based on 2,000 customers in the United States over a two-year span

After researching the number of erotic novels ordered by city, the company divided that amount by population to finalize the per capita rankings.

The company’s list was based on 2,000 customers over the past two years. The company examined the number of erotic books ordered by city, and then divided it by population.

“Of the 2,000 orders from around the U.S., Atlanta averaged the most number of readers per million people,” said Darren Shuster, founder and principal of Pop Culture PR.

The uStarNovels.com report showed that Atlanta has 600 percent more erotica novel readers per capita.

Atlanta was the only city in the Southeast to make the list.

“Looks like the smaller cities, compared to New York City and Los Angeles, did better overall in rankings,” Shuster said.

The cities with higher populations, such as Houston and New York City, ranked the lowest for erotic novel readers.

Compared to other cities, Atlanta is smaller and “less busy,” according to Shuster, with smaller social opportunities that open doors for erotica.

According to romantic fiction writer and Atlanta resident Ambrielle Kirk who describes Atlanta as a “very young city,” the region and demographical make up of Atlanta are possibly the reasons the city peaked the list.

For small, southern areas, Kirk said the recent instruction of e-readers has also increased readers because it allows people to access erotic and romance novels in the privacy of their homes.

“I think it’s really awesome that we made the list,” Kirk said.

Georgia State students were not too surprised about Atlanta’s ranking on the list.

“I guess we’re a really romantic city,” freshman Bre Peters said. “I think our location has something to do with it. It makes a good plot.”

Peters, who reads erotic and romance novels “from time-to-time,” said that it provides more “entertainment” in addition to the aspects of the city.

Senior Joseph Perry agreed.

“Atlanta is a big entertainment city,” Perry said. “And sex sells.”