From YA to Erotica
Aside from the Summer Olympics and all those amazing demi-gods competing for the medals and making and breaking world records, I am extra Gushing about Andrea Cremer's yet to be titled erotica trilogy set in the Nightshade world. I had to do a double take if it's the same Andrea Cremer who brought us the same YA Nightshade series about a group of teen werewolves and witches and apparently I read it right.
This is such a big leap from cute, bubble gum teen drama to heavy and emotional adult read. However I am very confident that Ms. Cremer can pull it off because despite Nightshade being YA, it was rich with emotions and was a tad more mature emotionally than its contemporaries. That said, I can rest easy knowing that this erotica series won't disappoint.
Andrea Cremer's erotica trilogy will be published under Penguin USA's Dutton imprint. The first book in the series scheduled for release in October 2013 is reportedly about “the lives, passions, and betrayals of lovers whose very desires invite their dooms". Read more here.
Reading without Comprehending
Now on to my Gripes, early this month there's been a lot of drama going on between writers and bloggers to the point where it became a VERSUS rather than AND. Author-blogger relationship is volatile to begin with but events of late propelled it into a soap box that made a lot of notable people sound off including Stacia Kane and her friend, Auntie Specialsnowflake. It is a known fact that we do not like the same things and even if we like the same book, we still have different opinions about the plot, our favorites scenes and other nuances that resonated with us. But this is not enough reason to launch this pathetic cyber war that blighted writer-reader relationships.
Throughout the heated back and forth between various groups, I was thinking what some of these people are reading that made them turn into idiots. Isn't reading supposed to make people SMART? Whatever happened to reading AND comprehending? In defense to bloggers like myself, Jennifer of The Bawdy Book Blog wrote a very good letter that I think reflects my thoughts perfectly about bad author behavior and book review requests, and I quote.
- we are not a media outlet whom you can take advantage. We are not here for YOU. We are here for US. We blog about books to share our love of reading and to spread that love amongst each other. Promoting you is purely a side benefit you reap – and us, too, if we enjoyed your book. I know it’s irritating that you sent your book to someone months ago, and they still haven’t reviewed it. I have dozens in my to-be-read pile that fit this bill and I feel the weight on my shoulders a little every day. But I’m a mood reader. That is to say, I read based on how I’m feeling at a given moment. I would rather read your book months – years – later, if it means I’ll enjoy it more and be able to give you a better review.But in defense to Indie authors in general, it is a shame that they got clumped together with someone who's a nobody motivated by getting his 15 minutes. We here in Talk Supe have been very FORTUNATE to have worked with very cool, understanding and supportive Indie authors and I think it's unfair to clump them all together and label then "unprofessional" because of a select group of people who don't know better. Bad behavior is not exclusive to self-published writers, I have seen popular writers under big publishing houses with million dollar contracts and deals exhibit attitude that will make their publicists' hair turn grey. Bottom line is, everyone has an opinion and if you're brave enough to put yourself and your work out there and bask in accolades, you should also brace yourself for the inevitable poor reviews. If you're not ready to be scrutinized then don't make your work public.
I know this is not the end of this and I'm pretty sure something and someone will blow up the blogosphere soon but until the next controversy, let's all remind ourselves that it's always wise to practice restraint whether we're gushing or griping.
