FAQ: What do you think of 50 Shades Of Grey?

I am often asked this question by non-romance readers who know that I write “naughty novels” and are seeking an Expert Opinion On Smutty Books. Fun fact: Apparently, I am an Expert On Smutty Books.

 My Expert Opinion before I read the 50 Shades Of Grey trilogy: It amused me that suddenly America was shocked, simply shocked, that women were reading erotic novels when, in fact, we’ve all been reading sexy novels for years. I mean, it felt like mainstream media suddenly discovered that, say, dogs bark or cats meow. You know, file that under Obvious.

My Expert Opinion halfway through the books strictly for research purposes I swear: Shut up, I’m reading.

My Expert Opinion after reading the books: The books were not as kinky as I expected. In fact, I might have told my husband they were too tame. Ok, I might have grumbled this. (His response? Tweeting about it.) But then again, I make my living writing this stuff and I read romance novels regularly so my expectations for graphically depicted sex in novels are high. Also, I live in New York City. This book just had lots and lots of it. While the characters did do some naughty stuff you won’t find in a typical Regency novel (makes one wonder when certain, ahem, props were invented), it was all done in the context of a loving relationship. Seriously.

Oh, and there was character development! And subplots! And—gasp—contraceptive use!!!

I’ll confess: I skimmed a bit (No, not those bits!) because the dialogue was a bit repetitive and the heroine thought Oh Shit! with an annoying frequency. However, for writers there’s something to be learned here about tortured heroes, pacing and sex scenes. For everyone else…enjoy. Including the naughty bits. There’s more where that came from.