Women have been reading (and writing) erotica for years and years, and yet, the thousands of sales of erotic novels each year mainly fly under the radar.
Until . . .
A little phenomenon known as 50 Shades of Grey happened.
With this one (arguably, poorly written) book, women are coming (no pun intended) out of the woodwork to talk about the erotic fiction genre. Suddenly, there are blog posts, articles, interviews, and so forth, discussing it. It has also spawned many a related virtual conversation on other erotic fiction favourites. Women, it seems—and even some men—are finally happy to talk about their favourite erotic authors and make recommendations on the books they think you and I should be reading.
Personally, I read the 50 Shades books and was less than impressed. Speaking from a writer and book connoisseur's point of view, I didn’t care for the repetitiveness of the language, at all, and I found the steamy scenes to be almost, well, boring after the first two or three. When I was finished the first book, I almost didn’t want to read the next two, but in the interest of being impartial and giving the author a chance, I did. Also, I have to admit, I was curious to see where the journey of Anastasia and Christian would go; however, if I had to read the words “Jeez” or “My sex” again, I honestly thought I would scream.
As someone who has contacts and even acquaintances in ‘the lifestyle,’ I was disappointed with the story arc, as well. It did not do justice to the real world of BDSM and seemed to imply a sad fact that is unfortunately touted by a lot of writers of women’s fiction and romance that the bad boy can be tamed by the right woman.
There is light at the end of the Grey tunnel, however, when it comes to erotic fiction. There is so much better work out there! If you’re a bit of a book hound, like myself, there is literally a candy land of erotic fiction to choose from. The best part is, now that 50 Shades has opened a door, it’s much easier and much less taboo to check it out. On my very messy and very full bookshelves, there are several books of varying erotica—some of which have incredible story lines, to boot—mixed in with my literature, chic-lit and science fiction.
Another great perk? In an industry that has taken a bit of a beating over the last few years, it’s really nice when a book—any book—gets people interested in talking about authors again. Book clubs are springing up again, new authors are being discovered and talked about, and a renewed passion for reading seems to be sweeping through the land.
As for me, I am still probably going to be sucked into that I-have-to-have-it emotion over whichever book becomes the next flavour of the moment. You know how some women get like that about handbags? Well, with me it’s books, and like it, love it, or hate it, I can’t wait to see (and read) whatever book becomes the new “it” book to read.
Maybe it will even be mine.
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