Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

Laura Kinsale sent us a link to a rant she wrote on her own BB, wherein she discusses political correctness clashing with her desire and goal to write a good story.

Kinsale’s frustration is with readers who expect enlightened heroes (read: not ‘old fashioned’ alpha heroes) but bemoan the lack of good stories:

I read a lot--a LOT--of reader commentary on the various romance sites regarding things like alpha heroes and “rape” and “forced seduction” and how all that is so 1970’s (or 80’s or 90’s, take your pick depending on your age) but we’re all enlightened modern women now and we just don’t like that sort of thing. Then in the next thread will be complaints that the genre just isn’t as compelling or interesting as it used to be and readers can’t find books they really enjoy, and gee, why are all the heroes vampires now?

The trend, as she calls it, of self-conscious political correctness in romance is somewhat stifling to Kinsale as a writer, and a recent review in Salon gave her the context to express what had been irritating her.

A few Bitchery readers have sent me a veritable buffet of links regarding a recent J.R. Ward fluff online at her author-hosted bulletin boards. Seems a reader went to Ward’s BB community, and posted her opinion about Ward’s series, specifically about the slang used by some characters, and the gay undertones in some of the scenes, and asked if anyone noticed the same things she noted.

I can’t link to the thread in question as it’s for members only. But from my understanding, the writer of the original post was blasted online by “rabid fangirls” of Ward’s community, and ultimately ended up banned from the boards.  Since I can’t directly read the thread or witness the alleged harshness that greeted this reader’s questions, I have rely on what others have said.

What strikes me as curious is that a few bloggers hold Ward responsible for the behavior of the fans on her site. DishingDiva states that the boards are hosted and moderated by Ward and thus the attacks and banning were condoned as she must have been aware that they were happening.

Now, we here at SBTB, we are big fans of authors behaving in entertaining fashion, and we are more than aware that there are some people out there on the wild, wild internet that take their reading very, very seriously. But is an author responsible for the allegedly buttheaded behavior of their readership?

I pose the same question to myself - if we were (un)fortunate to attract a troll, would it be my responsibility to ban and delete that user’s posts until they signed up again under a different user name from a different IP? Looking at it from a “person who hosts the discussion” perspective, I’d have to say that I’m not entirely responsible for what other people say. If someone signed up for membership and started posting after every review how much Candy and I suck and how we’re absolutely horrible people to be so mean to those nice romance writers like Cassie Edwards, it’d be annoying but I’d probably let it stand, since hey, that’s their opinion and they’re welcome to it, even on our site.

In fact, I’d lose credibility if I started deleting the posts I disagreed with, or banning users who caused trouble on the site. I’m not saying I love the squabbles just for their own sake, but no one here has disgreed by name calling or demanding that they be banned from the register of Bitches. If that’s what happened on Ward’s site, if she deleted the original poster because she didn’t want gay undertones discussed on the site, well, it’s her prerogative to edit her boards however she wants, though I’d disagree heartily with that decision.

I also know the community here is pretty intelligent and enjoys a good discussion, even a heated one from multiple points of view, and would probably ignore a troll until it went away. Or at least have some delicious fun at its expense. At the very least, I can always count on the Bitchery members to disagree with class and style, even when heated issues light up the stats like someone farted on a match.

So do I think Ward is responsible for the behaviour of her fans? Nah. Was it a dumb move to ban a user who asked questions that some fans didn’t like? Yup. Does it suck that people can be buttnoids online? Sure it does. But then, some people out there think Candy and I are the buttnoids.

Avast! It be Talk like a Pirate Day so be ye of good cheer, saucy wenches!

And many thanks be to the Bitcherrrry readerrrrs who sent me the following instructional video, should you need a primerrrr on how to Talk like a Pirate.

So grab a tanker of grog, and keep your roger jolly, eh? Yaaaaaaaaaar!

Jeri left a very wise comment in our discussion of the demise of the Bombshell line:

I wonder if they were operating on the assumption that heroines are the people we’d like to be, as opposed to the people we are (though I think a kick-ass heroine can be relatable if she has enough other weaknesses).

It illustrates the tension between readers wanting reality in their romances vs. wanting to live the fantasy.  How many times do readers/authors say “But it’s just fantasy!” to defend a non-realistic portrayal of, say, men.

I tend to want to identify with the heroine, rather than aspire to be her. I like to see women who struggle with money, don’t always do the right thing, and sometimes choose men who aren’t gods on earth.

Romance as reality vs. wish fulfillment: SB’s, have we covered that topic already?  I can’t remember if we did it other than in the context of condom usage.

So what about reality where the heroine is concerned? We get bristly at TSTL heroines, but is there an opposite end of the spectrum, where the heroine is too perfect, or too ass-kicking? How much fantasy do you want to enjoy in the portrayal of the heroine? Where’s the proper location in that stupid-to-perfect spectrum?

I’ve often thought that the fantasy male of a romance novel must be easier to create than the heroine, particularly if you think that the reader doesn’t identify with solely one or the other, but depends on both characters as a form of identification and wish fulfillment. And as I sit here thinking about what heroines I’ve liked the best, I have an easier time remembering which heroines I’d like to kick in the ass, as opposed to the ones I admired or genuinely liked, particularly because I could appreciate them despite, or because of their flaws.

So I have to ask myself, is the heroine subject to harsher standards because women as so very well schooled in judging one another? What is the best-case-scenario for you with a heroine? Relatability? Fantasy?

Bitchery member Rosemary sent me the following link, which I totally confess to sighing over as Fabio welcomed me to his kitchen.

I love how he says we can “just talk.” Right. Sure, Fabio.

And if you go in the next room, he’ll ask if you want to cuddle by the fireplace next to what looks like Manticore the Roy-eating tiger.

Plus, you can watch “the tantilizing love story Sprays of her Life...” in Fabio’s refrigerator!

But the best part, as Rosemary pointed out, is the fridge poetry, which Fabio will read to you when you are finished arranging the “magnets.”

Oh my stars and garters, I’m laughing so hard there are tears running down my face. This is even better than when Fabio wanted me to brush my teeth.

Here’s my poem as read by his Fabioness himself:

Fork your sensual head against firm
chocolate butter behind.

Bare Candy taste his private spice oats.

Please, share your sensitive poetry with me - and Fabio! Special note: there is a magnet with the word “Candy” in it, so feel free, as in please please please, make your poem about Candy in some way.