CLOSE VERSUS OVER THE EDGE
With publishers repeatedly asking for “new,” and “edgy,” and “different” stories, I wonder how many readers actually want this kind of thing versus how many are turned off by it.
A few months ago (the day it came into bookstores, actually) I read JR Ward’s book Lover Unbound, part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It was about Vishous, the most “gifted” of six vampire warriors who have formed a secret brotherhood. I like pretty edgy stuff, but I was still shocked by how much Ward pushed the boundaries with this hero. He not only had an express attraction to a male human who had become his best friend and was clearly a straight heterosexual, but he also had sexual fetishes, in particular the need to dominate to the point that the had a table complete with restraints, leather hoods, etc.
And I knew all this BEFORE I read his book (based on the ones that came before it). Somehow, she managed to make Vishous’s romance with Dr. Jane Whitcomb appealing to me despite previous scenes in which Vishous used his “whips and chains” on other women.
However, I’ll be honest and say that of all the Brotherhood books so far, this was my least favorite, along with Zhadist’s, the really scary, emotionally wounded brother. My favorite book is Rhage’s, although he was pretty tortured himself. I can’t really explain other than to say Vishous’s and Zhadist’s “edginess” distracted me–it was almost like they were so well-drawn and had so many personal issues (ones that would make most of society very uncomfortable) that, even though I found them intriguing and likable and multi-faceted, their edginess made me think a little too much about the real world and real issues.
Now I find this very interesting because the books I write deal with very dark issues that would make most people somewhat uncomfortable. My first dealt with sex clubs and a woman’s guilt over a friend’s murder, my second dealt with a hero so isolated and tortured that he blackmailed the heroine into having sex with him, and my latest dealt with crimes of passion, in particular sexual obsession with those society deems “forbidden.”
I have gotten feedback that suggests editors, despite their desire for “different” and “edgy” often don’t want to push the boundaries as much as we think they do.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: As a reader, how far can you be pushed out of your comfort zone before an author loses you? What DON’T you want to read about?
April 23rd, 2008
Virna 
in
Virna's Columns |
Everyone loves a good hero, but what do readers, agents, editors, and writers love most? Join us as we delve under the covers and find out!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
My reading tastes are pretty tame. I haven’t ventured very far out of my comfort zone, and that’s mostly by choice. When I read, I want have fun, be entertained, or I want a book to be though-provoking. It needs to have really great characters that I can relate to and root for. If a character is too tortured, or the boundaries are pushed too far, I tend not to want to go there.
I tend not to enjoy vampire type books for these reasons…too outside what I can relate to to the point it’s distracting. There are always exceptions, of course. Twilight is one of them.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:34 am
It takes a lot to push me out of my comfort zone. I like different, interesting, and yes edgy. What pushes me away is, when the violence over shadows everything else. When the story gets lost in all the tortured souls, where you can’t really see any light for the character, even though you know it has to come sooner or later. What happens is I get bored looking for some relief for the hero or heroine, and will put the book down. Usually what happens after that, it gets forgotten. I’ll be dusting and find it under a new book, and into the donate bag it goes.
Publishing is a difficult industry. The mood changes as often as a breeze outside an publishers New York high rise. Its hard to keep up and try to figure out what they want. One month its this, then a book hits the stands and becomes a over night best-seller. Then they want that. So we’re all rushing to change directions. I’ve given up trying to keep up. I write what I like to read. But then again, I’m not published, either.
If a book is dark and edgy, its got to be framed in some light, at least for me.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
I’m probably all across the spectrum. Coming from a slash background in fan fic that involved male vampire erotica, The Black Dagger Brotherhood pulled me in like quicksand, only it was so much better than any vampire stories I had read before. I’ve had trouble getting into anything since reading those books. My faves were Vishous and Zhadist. (Sorry Virna
I really wanted her to take it even further, and was pretty disappointed when Vishous and Butch didn’t hook up.
But then with that being said, I’m not really interested in reading gay erotica right now either. Been there, done that. But while I love the sweetest and most romantic love stories between strong males and feminine females, I also love some pretty dark erotica that dabbles in dominant/submissive, as long as it’s not cruel, but more about love and trust.
I think the one thing I’m not wanting to read right now, I mean REALLY don’t want to read, is the current trend toward ultra strong females that really don’t need rescuing. I know that’s not fitting with the feminist agenda, but I’m looking for fantasy. I AM that ultra strong female that has always taken care of herself (because I had to). I’m all about reading the alpha male rescuing and taking care of the poor, tired female who just can’t go on any longer.
I know that makes a lot of people shudder, and I realize I’m behind the times with romance. But then that’s just me. I usually do opt out of the trends and go with my own likes. I’m wanting the fairy tale. I have no desire to read a bunch of miscellaneous versions of Buffy kicking ass and taking names. That’s my work life. I deal with a lot of male executives every day. I don’t want to be tough in my down time.
In the end, give me a sweet love story, with a protective, alpha male. Throw in a little erotica and and I’m a happy girl!