Questions About Fifty Shades of Grey

Okay, after much hype, you've seen it, the ads, the links, the television mentions, I'd reluctantly downloaded Fifty Shades of Grey on my new Kindle Fire. I had to know for myself why this book was quickly becoming a cultural phenomena.

I'd heard from several trusted sources that the writing was so-so and that it wasn't actually that HOT and would be considered fantasy more so than an actual piece of erotica.

In my opinion, I think readers and trusted sources are absolutely right.

I do, though reluctantly, admit that I'm a bit enamored with the actual characters. There's quite a bit of eye rolling, but for some inexplicable reason I'm going to continue to read on and see what happens.

I have, however, been asking myself many questions during this entire over-hyped/media genius marketing campaign has come to light.

As an author of four erotic romances, I wondered about the allure to a book that really isn't erotic, though it is touted as being so.

I think I finally realized one of the many reasons this book has been so widely accepted as "Mommy Porn."

It isn't really erotica at all.

I believe erotica is an honest rendering of an erotic romance/story in which mature language is used instead of euphemisms, taking the purple prose out of the story and using modern terms instead of cliches to describe the sex. You'll find no "swollen petals dripping with dew" in erotica.

In the case of the Fifty Shades book, however, it's filled with examples of this.

The character Anastasia refers to her body as "Down there" instead of using the term pussy or vagina or clitoris or mound or labia. There are many instances where the characters make these vague references to anatomical body parts or sexual acts.

I wrote my first erotic romance, Leather and Lace, specifically for Ellora's Cave and was lucky enough to have the book accepted and published. I did my research and scoured the website, taking all the tips I could from the literature of Jaid Black, who went out of her way not to dumb down erotica. She wanted EC authors to be it to be true to modern times.

She believed women had come far enough to be in touch with their sexuality. She literally created a literature sexual revolution, bringing erotica into the mainstream approximately twelve years ago. Way before Fifty Shades.

There are so many, fabulous, well written erotic romance books out there. Amazing characterization, incredible plot lines, and magnificent story tellers weaving sex so hot it'll melt your e-reader, had by characters you come to care about and root for, and in the end, that's what matters. A fabulous story that wasn't written for Twilight fans. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the Twilight movies...mostly. I am a huge fan of the vampire genre, and can attest to this by the release of my first book in the Sangre Series, Seduced by Blood. But, I'm more of a True Blood fan. You know, vampires for adults. lol

I digress, however,

Fifty Shades has literally become a household name (or a housewife's game) and I have to ask myself, do women want the naughty words taken out of their sexual literature?

Is this one reason why Fifty Shades has taken hold?

Is this one reason why housewives, mothers, grandmothers, even the first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama has embraced this book.

The subject matter may be a bit taboo, bondage and all, but it's all spoken about in such a dignifying manner.

I'm working on several erotic romances now and I'm wondering if I shouldn't experiment with one. Leave out the references to anatomy and be as vague as possible?

Fifty Shades is a success story, no matter how you look at it, but are women, everyday women wanting to dabble but too embarrassed to be that frank in their literature?

It's definitely something to ponder.

What do you think? Why the success of Fifty Shades? From the viewpoint of other authors, I'd love to hear your opinions? Readers, what about you, does the lack of naughty words appeal to you? Does it make it easier to embrace?

Thanks and have a fabulous day,

Taylor