BOOK REVIEW

I read book reviews today, something I do periodically to remind myself what I’ve done right with a story and in some cases, what I might have done wrong.

I happened upon the most interesting review of PROMISES TO A STALLION, the story of Luke Stallion, one of my billionaire brothers from Texas.  The reviewer HATED the book, acknowledging that she was clearly not my target audience.  The story was deemed MATURE and she noted that her mother would be more open to such a story line.  My book was reviewed with one other, a collection of homoerotic sodomy tales set in South Central LA, both books purchased for their potential use as masturbation tools.

I found the whole scenario quite amusing (and slightly disturbing that my book was purchased for its masturbation potential).  But I also couldn’t help but wonder why a reader who acknowledges that they prefer hard-core erotica and urban literature would even bother to read a traditional ROMANCE just to snub their nose at it and deem it unreadable?  After all, it is ROMANCE.  It’s marketed as ROMANCE and that in and of itself would tell someone they are not going to get blatant pornography and profanity in the storylines.  In ROMANCE the characters actually become friends and fall in love before they jump into bed with each other and the jumping into bed is preceded by a lot of sensual, very sappy foreplay before the deed ever gets done.  There is rarely any sodomy, bestiality, or hardcore sadomasochism and definitely not an ounce of homoerotic adventure. 

As a ROMANCE writer I don’t use the F-word, the N-word, the B-word or any other word that would be deemed insulting and unacceptable in church or a public place where adults who are older than I am might be congregating.  But there are writers who comfortably write those words and publishers who happily publish those books and not one of them lists the genre as ROMANCE.

There is a generation of young people who have no moral boundaries.  There are no limits to what they will say or do and there are no restrictions with what they will read, view, or listen to.  Fortunately, there is more than enough stuff out there for them to enjoy, that will satisfy what they do like. 

But why buy and read what you know from jump is not going to be your cup of tea just to spit it out because it’s not what you like?  When I want porn, I buy porn, not something faith-based!  I would think that if you want stronger, then you would buy stronger so that if you do end up spitting it out, it’s because it just didn’t suit your taste buds.

I guess it’s a good thing I don’t get paid to think!