Too Much Sex?

I have a confession to make - I love to read bad reviews on bestselling authors. Yep. Even those of my favorites, it brings me a little sense of joy to see one and two star reviews. Maybe it just makes me feel better that I don't have all five star reviews. Or maybe, I feel like even those who are in the top of the game have those who dislike their work.

While going through an author's reviews, an author whom I used to love her work, I noticed a trend in the reviews - too much sex. I won't name the author, as I'm not into giving bad reviews (or at least giving out the names), but I will tell you this is a bestselling author who happened to have a great series...until about halfway through the series. It then turned into bestiality fetish erotica. The storyline just disappeared.

Now, obviously, I have nothing against erotica, or really great sex scenes, but this author seemed to have decided as long as someone was having sex she no longer needed a plot for the books. Many of her previous fans have dropped both series and opted to find other new authors.

This whole thing got me thinking; what would it take for your most hardcore fan to turn their back on you?

When we pick up a book, whether this is a new-to-us author or someone we've been reading for years we expect a certain kind of writing. With the author I spoke of above, we expect the character to be stubborn, and almost paranoid that every male is a chauvinist. We also expect gory murder scenes, great plots, a little suspense, and a great crime solving ending. However, in the last half of both series, it seems the author got either bored, or was being pushed too hard to complete too many books in such a small amount of time. I don't know which, and probably will never know.

In a way, it's kind of like certain genres of books or movies; in romances, we expect a happily-ever-after. In suspense, we expect a great who-done-it. In horror, we expect to feel like we should be reading/watching through our fingers. What we don't want is a romantic hero who decides at the very end he doesn't really love the heroine, and wants to now become a celibate monk. We don't want to watch a suspense where you can guess who did it in the first five minutes. And we really don't want characters who had certain opinions about sex and monogamy to suddenly become oversexed sluts with a tendency to screw animals.

I'm sure some of you know which author I've been talking about, but we'll let the name stay anonymous. In the meantime, have you ever stopped reading your favorite author because they suddenly stopped playing by the rules they created? What really turns you off about a book?

It's no longer a secret....

I have self-published my first book. Why, you ask? Well, that's why I'm writing right now.

I originally went the traditional route, working all last year on queries, synopses, talking with and emailing agents. I did get offered a contract, but after a lot of thought and prayer I decided it wasn't the right option for me. For one thing, I've never been the most patient person in the world. It's not so much the wait as the hurry up and wait that kills me.

The second, and biggest reason, is I really don't care if I make NYT Best Selling list. I just want my books to be read and enjoyed. Who cares if some stuffy critic likes my book, as long as my fans keep coming back for more. Another reason is I really have no desire to have my face plastered everywhere like my beloved Stephen King or Stephanie Meyer. Don't worry, I'm not comparing myself to them, but when going the traditional route all creative liberties are restricted and you become an employee of the publishing house, instead of the other way around. I don't want someone telling me how to write, how to market, etc.

Some have doubted this decision, although the some is a tiny percentage of people I've talked to. I'm posting a link to a very informative article to argue my own point here. After reading this link, as well as many others, including some by JA Konrath, I'm convinced I'm doing what's best for myself and my family. I have no illusions of gradeur, or fantasies of wealth. I just want to make a living doing what I love. After all, don't we all dream of living our dreams?


For those of you who haven't seen the links yet my book is available here and here. Head over and sample the book or feel free to purchase it.

Until next time, happy reading.