Oddly and yet not… this is still pretty much fits what is going on at the AAR Boards. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Retro Post: August 31, 2006
So, I finished the book, but I feel as if I was kidnapped and victimized by Brockmann’s skill as a writer.
I am not a writer but that seems to be a pretty big complement *g*. The post is by a LyndaX at aar. The complaint itself, regarding violence in romance isn’t a new one.
But can we as readers, blame an author, because we read their book? And who gets to set the rules? Who gets to say, okay no one cross this line because it upsets me.
If you read the last line in the post, the reader is tossing her hair and storming out of the message board to go email the author and the publisher. My question is why? What would you hope to accomplish with that?
Of course I feel the same way about violence in romance as I do about bad bad words. Although I did love harlequin’s response to one of the posters.
I complain about the lack of westerns and the smaller numbers of historicals. But in saying this I am not trying to take away books other people are reading and enjoying.
Have you ever emailed or snail mailed an author? What moved you to write? What kind of response can you give or expect from saying ‘your books are too violent, dirty, fill with naughty words, so forth and so on’?
I think I would write back saying grow up and don’t buy anymore of my fucking books.
Which is one more reason why it is a good thing I don’t write *g*.
My take on it is this – sometimes my characters have foul mouths. A werewolf Enforcer is not going to say “shucky darn” when he stubs his toe. Sometimes my characters are involved in less than happy circumstances.
I think it’s easy to say “the story would be just as good” without something that bugs you as a reader but as a writer I have to say, “how do you know?” It’s my book and they’re my characters and I deem what’s necessary.
That’s not fluffy I know. And some people don’t like bad words and violence and first person and multiple POV and whatever else any chosen author at any given time might use.
And as a reader, I don’t read books that contain my own personal hot buttons but I can’t say I’d ever be so bold as to assert any story would be “just as good” without whatever it is that made me testy. I just don’t read them.
Anyway, I write romantic suspense. In one of them, my heroine was stalked and kidnapped. This wasn’t a happy wonderful thing, it was terrifying and in order to put the reader into her head, I had to write it with violence. In another, the heroine is a domestic violence survivor, she’s not had a pleasant last several years. She tells people what happened to her and so there’s violence there too.
Anyway, I have had mail from readers who hated the idea of me having boy parts touching in one of my series in a menage book. I wrote her back and thanked her for the note because I do appreciate people taking the time to write me, it means a lot, even when they’re pissed off at me. And I also explained why I did it.
Wow, this is long, sorry!!
*headdesk*
Violence and bad words. That’s pretty much my entire book.
Oh, and the sex.
I honestly won’t know how to respond if someone flames me with a response like that tells me I shouldn’t use violence or cursing. I hope respond as gracefully as Lauren, and not say: “she’s the daughter of Satan, how the fuck do you think she’d talk?”
Christ, my grandpa was a preacher, and I talk like Satan’s daughter, too.
Oh my god. Sorry about the incoherence of that post. Off to get caffeine.
“I think I would write back saying grow up and don’t buy anymore of my fucking books.”
LOL. Funny you say that. Ever read Christopher Moore? He’s not a romance writer but he did write something similar to your thoughts in response to getting emails about the profanity in his books. It was so sarcastic and funny! If I wasn’t interested in his books already, I might’ve picked them up just for that. LOL.
Anyway, violence in romance? Foul mouths? It doesn’t bother me and really, in some books, it’s to be expected but even if I was offended, to email an author just so say “I hated the foul language and blah blah blah”…waste of effort IMO. I mean, what’s the point? Besides just getting it off your chest I guess…lol.
Short of child porn and sex with animals – not a whole lots shocks me. Which either makes me a deviant or the World’s Most Liberal Librarian. You decide.
I have never written an author personally when I’ve hated their book. To me that’s just bad manners. Posting a review on a web site (not affiliated with said author) or on a blog is fine though. Why? It isn’t the author’s “house.” The author has to go looking for it. Me e-mailing the author and saying, “I was deeply offended and your book sucks monkey balls” would be like me going to her house and saying, “This wallpaper looks like shit, and your kids are ugly too.”
I don’t think I would ever write to an author to complain about their books. If I don’t like it, don’t buy it and don’t recommend it.
Uh-oh, Sybil. I wanted to send you my December release, the medieval, to review but if you don’t like violence…you probably won’t like the book much. It’s pretty bloody.
I kind of wondered at the post at AAR too, but when I read all those posts at the Diane Palmer, I rolled my eyes they almost came out of their socketts! FWIW I’m an older reader who luuurrrvvveesss the sex scenes in books – as long as there is good character development too. As far as cussin’ goes, I’m not much of one myself but as Lauren said – if I were to read ‘shucky darn’ when some bad ass type hero did something, I think I’d be closing the book on that one.
And nope – I’ve never emailed an author when I read something I don’t like in their books. I wouldn’t even think of doing something like that for the same reason Wendy gives.
ditto-ing (is that a word?) Wendy and Kristie.
I think one of your most important questions was “who gets to set the rules.”
And the reader does. BUT not be emailing the author/publisher, posting on the blog or anything else. The reader controls things with her $$.
So if you (you meaning royal you, not you personally) don’t like a book, or don’t like a certain type of book, Don’t Buy It.
One of the things that cracks me up is people saying “I hated XYZ, about this book and think it should be burned, but I bought the authors next four in the series, too.”
As for me, I’m not easy to offend by anything and harelquins answer cracked me up!!
Lauren: That was great you answered her. Really I guess an author should answer email even if the person is fucknuts. At least the first time… saying thanks for reading *g*.
Which would prolly annoy them more so could be why I like the idea ;).
Meljean: I think your response would rock. heeeeeee
Chica: nope never read him but picked up a few of his books at one time or another…
Wendy: you are a deviant, I like that about you! LOL I will forever now think of you as
World’s Most Liberal Librarian
with a cape
Kris: I would prolly tell an author I didn’t like their book if I emailed with them often and if asked. Otherwise I just can’t see going out of your way to say hey stranger x, your book sucks. you are welcome reader z
December: I have no issue with violence in romance. I admit I don’t read a lot of the ultra violent stuff because it fucks with my happy happy joy joy buzz. But to me it plays into the time period. You can read Garwood for a feel good medieval that isn’t at all true to life, other than that I think you take your chances.
And I like medievals… so bring it on.
Kristie: You may have guessed I have no issue with cussing *g* but I hide that fact well. hee
Tara: Welcome back! hey did you see the lf post I did just for you?
Emma: That seems to be the smartest thing, but the ‘omg I couldn’t resist the power of the writer’ thing throws out voting with your money.
Really emma you want people to be responsible for their own reading choices? You silly author you…
;o) Sounds like the reader was really pulled into the story. Isn’t that point?
If she didn’t like where it was taking her, then she had the option of putting the book down.
Me, personally, I’d take that as a huge compliment if somebody said that about me.
LMAO! I so agree. I really only write when I have something nice to say. I also really only blog when I have something nice to say. (well, I had to make an exception for Chasing Stanley, but I really only try to give constructive criticism when I think I must give criticism.) I guess I listened (mostly) when my mommy taught me “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
yeah shi I think you have to take it that way… cuz it is the point…
LOL Lori… I do not at all believe in that rule *g*
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
is soooooo not my point but I am glad that works for you 😉
To me is it like reading an erotic romance and bitching OMG there is too much SEX. Or reading vampires and going OMG blood! No shit… there are certain things you can expect in certain plots. Or if I read an inspy novel and was like OMG there was too much god in the book. der
But at the heart of it, we do have free will, if something is done well just not in your comfort zone – step away from it. Don’t expect IT (tv, movies, radio, music, people, the net whatever…) to change to make you happy. LOL maybe I am still not making my point though *g*
I’ve only ever emailed authors because I really luuuurrrved their book and/or I had a question and wanted information I couldn’t find elsewhere. To email an author to say I didn’t like a book=douchebaggery, IMO. It’s different from just warning off readers.
“So, I finished the book, but I feel as if I was kidnapped and victimized by Brockmann’s skill as a writer.”
Very interesting. So she was helpless in the face of SB’s superhuman writing skills. Though she struggled and struggled, she just couldn’t put the book down. That’s definitely a compliment, of sorts. But c’mon, you’re a grown-up! Everyone has a different comfort level w/sex-violence-language. Put the book down. Don’t buy another. Write your review on Amazon to warn others with like tastes. But don’t deem yourself the arbiter of good taste for the entire reading public. I know I’m overstating a bit, but when people get het up about things like this, censorship is sure to follow.
“Now if we could just get the blasphemy out”….God, I love it.
The point is that everyone has an opinion. As my granddad used to say, “Opinions are like tailends – everyone has one and they all are different, but none are pretty.”
We’re all free to take the opinion or not. An opinion is only worth the paper it’s written on, and, in the case of the Internet, that ain’t much.
If an opinion is voiced about someone’s personal predilections, then the opined-about have a standing to complain to the opiner (is that a word?). If, however, the opinion is about a work or art or literature, then it’s only one voice in possibly millions, and, as such, is worth even less. Use negative opinions for what you can get out of them, then discard the rest. Like sifting wheat from the chaff.
“There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued.” – Thomas Huxley
And on the flip side of that…
“A great many people mistake opinions for thoughts.” – Herbert V. Prochnow
LOL which is why I also have a post somewhere call opinions are like assholes, everybodies got one. Or something like that…
And I of course am all for opinion but really people who bitch water is too wet are annoying. uh… in my lil opinion *g*