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?

If you make me mad I'll give you a bad review!

Not really, but this sure seems like the way of the writing industry. I guess when I started looking for other authors, I was completely naive. I thought we would all hold hands and encourage each other. Of course, not everyone would get along, as that's just the way it is, but those people would just choose to befriend someone else. I had no idea that if someone disliked my shoes, my nose, my hair, or my style of writing it would become their personal mission to destroy my spirit.

Let me just say this...no, my feelings aren't hurt, I won't be hanging from my shower stall, dragging a razor across my wrist, or even frowning. Just because someone may not like me will not change who I am, or how I feel about life.

So, to the point of this blog...should authors review their friend's books? I've noticed a lot of "give mine a review, and I'll give yours a review", whether or not the book has been read. Hell, I had a couple of friends do that to my first book when I first released it. Then, to my surprise, when these people decided I was no longer a part of the popular crowd, they first took their reviews down, then took turns bashing my book in other's reviews. Grow up! I will not review a book I've never read, I will not give a great review to a book I don't like, and I will not attack someone because I don't like them. There is actually an author I know whom I've lost all respect for, yet I rather enjoy one of their books.

Do you think authors should trade reviews? What if you/they have never read the book? Do you think this is a slippery slope?

Stephanie Meyer, Rachel Vincent, Stephen King...oh my!

Someone recently told me they hated Stephanie Meyer's writing. "Why?" I asked. She couldn't give me a specific answer, other than she's tired of vampires and the writing was amateur.

It got me thinking...what is amateur writing vs professional writing? Of course, there are those who can write text books for students, but is that how you want to read a story? Or would you rather read a story and believe, to your soul, that it is being told my a seventeen year old girl?

Is it possible that Stephanie's writing is lacking, or that she very brilliantly told such a beautiful story that it sucked millions of readers in, regardless of their age. (Yes, I'm a Twihard.) Is it possible that Stephen King could be considered a mediocre writer, even by others in his genre? Sure he could. But, my real question is this...by what standards do we judge a writer, and how do we determine a favorite book, or author.

There is one commenter on my site who likes to bash writers, and pretend they are the last great writer. To be honest, I get bored when reading this person's little stories; they just don't suck me in. That, and it's written in first person; first person writing always reminds me of the little stories in nudey magazines.

I'll tell you how I decide who's my favorite, as opposed to who I'd never read another book by. The story. "Oh, CL. That's what we all look for; a really good story." Of course, we do. But, by what standards.

As I've admitted before, I'm a Twihard. I mean a really hard core Twihard. But, Stephanie Meyers isn't my favorite author. I love Rachel Vincent, and have devoured every book she has written. Why? Because I get sucked into her stories.

Writers suck as Meyers, Vincent, and King have the ability to suck you into a story so well, that when you put the book down, you forget the characters aren't real. I remember reading Stray by Vincent for the first time, and actually wondering how Faythe Sanders was doing after I'd put the book down hours before.
How about how every woman who's read Twilight fantasizes about finding their own Edward, regardless of the fact that he's physically seventeen years old. And regardless of the fact he was described as being as hard as stone and ice cold to the touch. Ew! Who wants to snuggle with an ice cube? Um, me if it happens to be Edward!

Well, here's my favorite part. This is where I ask you how you base your decision on your favorite author, or book? Do you guy by the goose bump factor? Or how about how many nightmares Mr. King's book gave you. Maybe it was a fear of an unknown, non-existent creature. Sound off and let us know...and don't forget to tell us who your favorite author is or what your favorite book is.

Oh what shall I write about today?

While I never have a shortage of thoughts, I always have a shortage of fingers with which to type. My husband and I were watching television the other day, and after seeing a commercial, I had a fantastic idea for another book. Is this odd? Nope.

As writers, or artists, we are constantly bombarded with inspiration, ideas, and character makeups. At any given point in time you could pick up a manuscript from a writer you're friends with and see some of yourself in there. Everywhere I go I see something, hear something, smell something that begs to be written about. So what to do with all these thoughts? Where to put all of these ideas?

No, seriously, I'm asking you. Where do I put all of them?

I carry a memo pad in my back pocket day in and day out, but that doesn't seem to help organize all my thoughts. I bought a voice recorder, but I used it until it gave up. So, where to put all these thoughts?!

Every book you've read came from an idea that popped in author's head while they were driving/working/napping/showering, etc. These ideas usually come in the form of a "what if". What if there was no such thing as trash pickup? What if a elementary school prodigy created time travel? What if a sheltered teen had telekinetic powers and set the prom on fire? Okay, that last one was from Carrie, but you get the idea.
The next step is fun; we get to daydream and call it a job. I'll sit there and dwell on that idea, embellishing it, putting characters into the scenes, building more of the world. How many times has something happened and your mind ran with it? That's what it's like for writers on a daily basis. Our minds won't let us just see something for what it is. Rather, we see things for what they could be...you know, add in a few vampires, or nymphomaniacs, or whatever. We get to create the world in any way we want.

But there's still that nagging problem...what to do with all the ideas while we're busy working on that one, or in most author's cases, those four stories?!