“what I find most disturbing about FIFTY SHADES is that it will probably spawn dozens of imitators. The thought of going from a reading world all but taken over by vampires to one filled with Doms and Subs makes me what to hang up my e-reader.”

Ofcourse I could ignore it, and just decide to never buy her books again, but I had to reply. Speaking my peace has never been a problem for me. Let me stress here I do not agree with attacking someone for speaking their mind. It’s not personal. I firmly believe in people being able to voice their thoughts and opinions, to agree or not, but it should always be done respectfully, and never as a personal attack.

My reply:

As an author who’s been writing stories with BDSM elements for almost 10 years I don’t think that’s something you need to fear. Every genre goes through the cycle of popularity at some point or another. BDSM as a sub-genre has been around for decades, just like vampire stories had been around before Twilight became a hit. And even if it does spawn a bunch more BDSM stories, I wouldn’t worry about it, after all, there’s millions and millions of readers out there. As much as I wasn’t a fan of the 50 Shades stories personally, I’m thrilled to see that more and more readers are becoming open to the genre. Maybe now they won’t be scared off by the title of BDSM as a genre because some of the best fiction I’ve ever read is part of that genre.

Take a look at this recent post from a group blog that features some Top BDSM authors and the comments from readers who have been reading the genre for a long time. http://www.smutketeers.com/2012/05/09/bdsmapalooza/

Smutketeers » Blog Archive » BDSMapalooza!
www.smutketeers.com
BDSMapalooza!

Maybe I shouldn’t have put a link in, but it wasn’t to promote, but to help educate that this genre has been around for a long time, and has many talented authors. It’s easy to understand why some, especially writers, find the 50 Shades books hard to read, because the writing isn’t the best around. There’s no way around it. However, perfect writing does not always mean a good story. God knows if it did, I’d probably not be able to make a living as a writer because it’s a standard joke with my family and friends that I couldn’t tell you what a verb or noun was even if you held a knife to my throat. But I know people, and I love delving into characters and telling stories, and that magic is what makes readers enjoy my books. (I think, anyway.)

Anyway, back to the point. I wanted to show that the genre has been around for along time, with talented writers and storytellers and a very large fan base.

I left the conversation after that because I thought, in all honesty, her comment wasn’t that bad. I don’t think it was worded the best way, but the worry that BDSM might dominate the market for a while could be scary for someone who doesn’t write it. I mean, I’m thrilled about it because selling BDSM to my editors hasn’t always been an easy thing to do.

Then I read this….

Karen Robards OMG, people, let’s leave race and gender preference out of it. Nothing to do with it. The problem with Fifty Shades is that it sets the women’s movement back a hundred years. It is NOT all right for women to be viewed as property, to be punished, or hit. The female character’s acceptance of this behavior is what bothers me so much. I feel that if the hero hadn’t been rich, she wouldn’t have been nearly so complaisant. Do you all not feel that his money had something to do with her tolerance?

My heart broke. Really. Not because she doesn’t like BDSM and dared to speak out about it. I think that’s totally cool. To each their own, and authors need to be able to speak freely about what matters to them just as much as anyone else does. What broke my heart is that in this day and age, there are still people who think BDSM is all about abuse.

There are aspects of 50 Shades that I didn’t like (The stalking sort of thing) but it didn’t bother me as much in 50 Shades as it does in the Twilight Saga because 50 Shades is a story for adults, and adults should recognize that it’s fiction, a fantasy, and that if someone is showing up at your work, and sending you presents after you’ve tried to leave them behind, it’s not okay. It’s not romantic, it’s stalking. The Twilight Saga is for teens and such, and that it romanticizes Edward’s behavior is not okay to me, because pre-teens and teens might not be able to see it for what it is.

Yet, there was no outcry about that. No, instead there’s an outcry for a story about two adults entering into a consensual situation with activities and limits laid out openly between them.

I have no problem with anyone voicing their own opinions. I do have a problem with people thinking BDSM is based on, or is all about abuse. But if people won’t read up on BDSM because of pre-concieve notions about it, how do you educate them? It’s as simple as that.

ETA: I wanted to add that I’m still a Karen Robards fan. To me this post isn’t so much about HER, as the misconception she’s shared. It’s also not about the 50 Shades books themselves. I also want to stress again that I do not like personal attacks when someone shares an opinion, but that I do think respectful, and thoughtful,  discussion is always a good thing.

What doesn’t change is that I’ve had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of — I’m not even gonna say fans. I’m going with “peeps” — that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I’ve had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y’all. A lot of stories have come out about my “dark years”, and how I’m “unrecognized”… I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I’m ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I’ve yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I’ve thought, “maybe I’m over; maybe I’ve said my piece”. But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y’all. Because you knew me when. If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you’re probably new here. (For the record, and despite my inhuman distance from the joy-joy of it: topping a box office record is super-dope. I’m an alien, not a robot.) So this is me, saying thank you. All of you. You’ve taken as much guff for loving my work as I have for over-writing it, and you deserve, in this our time of streaming into the main, to crow. To glow. To crow and go “I told you so”, to those Joe Blows not in the know. (LAST time I hire Dr. Seuss to punch my posts up. Yeesh!) Point being, you deserve some honor, AND you deserves some FAQs answered.”

I have to say this absolutely fabulous. Not just because I love all things Joss, but because this guy is so real. He’s always had mucho talent. His stories speak to me as a viewer, and he himself as a writer, and a fan. I think that this guys is a genius, and a class act, and I want to be like him when I grow up.

Be sure to drop by the Smutketeers Blog and check out their BDSM-apaloosa. Yes, I was invited to be part of it. :) Not only are there interviews, but chances for commenters to win prizes so go visit, ask questions or just say hi!

Anyway, this guy last night kept telling me little tidbits like how high heels came about in Italy, and the term well-heeled was born because when they were first invented it was alas that only the high society women were allowed to have heels on their shoes.

Then he told me how there was a time in history when two unconnected, unwed women were pregnant and had to decide if they should keep the child, or try to abort. (In the old ways) and how those women chose to have the babies, but wouldn’t life be different if they hadn’t, because one of the babies was Michealangelo, and the other was Hitler. I have no idea if it was true, but just talking to this old guy was interesting because was obviously enjoying telling his little stories.

After walking to our cars I got in and drove home thinking about how long it had been since I’d heard someone telling stories that way, passing them down, and I thought, “I need to call Grandma tomorrow.”

I just put a short collection of erotic fantasies Free for 2 days on Kindle.

LUSTY LADIES has 9 short stores, all have previously published at some point or another over the past 10 years. The Mirror and The Gym, are 2 of the very first pieces of fiction I ever wrote while Unknown Wanton and Private Pleasures are only 2 years old. These are pure erotica, but I hope readers will find the stores fun and naughty and enjoyable to read.

None of the stories are truly BDSM, but there’s a little spanking, a little blindfolding, and some other adventurous ones in the mix. They’re all very short,and if you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you might even have read them before, but this is the first time they’ve every been all in one collection. Plus, they’ve been sitting on my hard drive for years, doing nothing since the first time they were published, so I thought why not put them out there?

So if you think you, or your partner, might enjoy a naughty bedtime story or two, go pick it up and give it a try.

PS: Mavericks of Space, Rock My World, and it’s sequel Highland Heat: Dougal are also on sale for only .99 cents right now. These stories can be purchased at Smashwords, iBooks, B&N and ARe as well. The covers are different on B&N because they’re slow to update, but they are the same stories. Go By title.

Have a great weekend. I’ll be writing. :)