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

Gay inspirational erotica!

You can use any religion for your inspirational element, including but not limited to:

The many flavors of Christianity!
Judaism!
Islam!
Baha’i!
Jainism!
The many flavors of Paganism!
The many flavors of Buddhism!
Shinto!
Hinduism!
Hare Krishna!
Flying Spaghetti Monsterism!
Agnosticism!

We here at SBTB define “gay inspirational erotica” as “a romantic story between two protagonists of the same gender/sex in which both explicit sexual activity and religious or spiritual beliefs play a major role in the romantic relationship.” Please note: “Gay” does not necessarily mean two men!

So plaese surbmit yr covers for Trixy Plion Publishng - we needs artists!

The Cover Copy

Bailey Drew is a sous chef with a secret - the brilliant chef is really the mastermind behind the recipes at the hot new restaurant, Holy Nest. But someone is sabotaging the dining room and the kitchen, trying to drive the place out of business, and possibly ruining Bailey’s chance to step from the shadows and reveal that Bailey is the Head Chef.

Taylor Quinn will stop at nothing to see Holy Nest fail - the building was originally the most sacred spiritual center for Quinn’s faith, and the idea that hot beef and clams are now served where worship and serenity once ruled is more than upsetting. But Quinn is unable to cross the incredible chef who is always in the kitchen - and always in Quinn’s ever-simmering thoughts.

And now, The Smart Bitches Decree - Let the Games Begin! 

“Gale has taken too many liberties with the plot and the characters. The basic tale of the opera ghost and his love for the chorus girl is there, but other than that, this is a risqué sexual journey that will make you cringe.... The overall writing is okay, but the actions and thoughts of the characters are disturbing. ”

The writing is okay but the actions of the characters are disturbing… because they had a lot of sex in an erotic novel? The logic here confounds me.

“...wonderful story was tainted and screwed by this horrible so called erotic romance novel by Ms. Gale. I am no prude but this book was such a disappointment and not the romantic erotica I was expecting. It was nothing but BDSM sex, twisting our beloved Phantom into a sex fiend who wanted nothing more to do NON erotic but only hard, cold sexual things to Christine, there was NO love, NO romance...just hard core, not written well, sex, nothing but crude and unrealistic sex. Please take my word as someone who has read possibly every book that has to do with Erik or The Phantom...this book will taint your mind forever....”

The story was screwed! By the erotic novel! Ha!

But the accusation that there’s no love, no romance? Well, it’s an erotic novel, not a romance novel. So I assume the “sex” comes first (HA!). But several times there are admissions of love from Erik and Christine. And ultimately Christine has to choose between a man who is disfigured and kinda nuts, but also the one she loves, and a man who is rich, titled, socially acceptable, but not necessarily the man for her. I’ve read plenty of romances with that type of storyline; was there too much kinky sex such that it got in the way of that reader’s enjoyment of the romantic elements of the plot?

“...this book haunts me! I have never read such a piece of trash in all my life that included my beloved Phantom. I know the word “erotic” is in the title - but, what I had expected was something more Sensual, Romantic, and Love - those are the qualities that the Phantom story possesses. This book merely takes our beloved characters and puts them into scenes of bondage, whips, chains and sex with no feeling. It is sad that the writer felt they had to put someone having sex onto every other page - - the story line itself (excluding the sex) was not that bad - and the writing was okay - but the calousness of the sex throughout the book just ruined it! If you like S & M/Bondage and Animal lusts - then you’ll just love this book.”

Animal lusts? Whoa, nelly! That last sentence reads like a condemnation - if you like this book, there’s something WRONG WITH YOU!

One reviewer, “YA Librarian,” who gave the book four stars, said, “I find it odd that people’s knickers are in a knot when reviewing this book. I’m not sure how this book could have fooled anyone into believing it was a nice wholesome tale about POTO when the title is: Unmasqued: An EROTIC Novel of The Phantom of The Opera. People should know that this book is going to have sex in it; a lot of sex in it and people are having sex with each other in different ways. If you are not a fan of erotica then this may not be the book for you.”

That about sums it up for me. It’s an “erotic novel,” and it flips a love triangle over, chains it to a bed on wheels and leads it to the kinky section of the erotica shelf. As I said, “erotica” can encompass many, many things, but if I pick up a novel labeled with that word I do expect to see “lots of sex in different ways.”

But what really confused me was the AAR review, which focused on the morality of the characters as one of the reasons for the “F” grade:

“There are not many books that I can say have made my stomach turn, but Unmasqued is definitely one of them. If Gale had written a more contained story between Christine and Erik - even if Christine was also involved with Raoul at the same time - I would have been more accepting. I am a fan of erotica in general but this was an unsettling, never-ending sadomasochistic tale filled with amoral characters.”

Amoral? Christine is a stage dancer, and has already had sex with other people, and as such in that time period would be considered a “loose” woman, or at least a woman of dubious reputation. The other dancers have “protectors” and engage in sex as well. So what’s the amorality? There’s definitely an S&M overtone, and while some of the scenes I’ve read didn’t do it for me, I can see why it might turn someone else on, particularly someone who likes S&M scenarios.

But the use of the word “amoral” in the review really puzzles me. Christine doesn’t choose to betray Erik because she’s a cruel, heartless person. She finds herself in situations where she has to submit to the point where it becomes a habit for her, but it’s not out of any loss of morals. The same is true of Erik: he might be socially inept and a wounded hero with visible scars and a chip on his shoulder, but he’s not amoral. So why the accusation based on morality? Is it because Gale based the book on a story that has a primary monogamous protagonist pair, and has introduced other partners into that sanctity? It is erotica, so what’s wrong with multiple partners? Why is sadomasochism “amoral?” The use of the word seems to assign a lot of value to monogamous nonkinky sex, and while I can empathize with readers who prefer monogamous storylines, any time I see the word “erotic” I assume there is a higher chance of multiple partners at the very least.

The reaction is half of what keeps me pondering this book. I’d have a lot more respect the various reviews I found online if they’d said, “I can’t take the twisting of a story I love,” much like people were turned off by the Pride and Prejudice sequels that had Lizzie and Darcy getting down to some raunchy raunchy action. I can understand that and can see why it would squick someone out. But to call her and Erik immoral and to rage against the erotic sexual content seems to focus more on what the readers sees as a degradation of a beloved storyline, which the author owns up to rewriting with erotic tones on the cover and in the dedication. You can’t say you weren’t warned.

It would be easy to rail against the relative prudishness of these reviews, but that’s not my point. If the sex didn’t do it for someone, I understand that. It didn’t always do it for me, either, but I’m not that into BDSM scenarios and I know it. However, I do know that they turn other people on. I also know that I didn’t approach this book with any preconceived notions of the storyline, or any blissful memories of romantic enthrallment with the Webber musical or the Leroux novel. Identifying the flaw fuels these negative reactions confounds me. Are people upset at the corruption of a beloved story, or angry that, despite the book being labeled as “erotic,” there was a lot of kinky sex with multiple partners?

“Erotic” doesn’t just mean, “Avast! Here be buttsecks!” But then, that’s just my interpretation of the word - perhaps the word “erotic” is not sufficient to describe the varying levels of sexual content housed within it, and that’s the real issue at hand.

Just as the novel plays with perceptions of control and sex, the reactions hinge on expectations as well. Those expecting an erotic novel got what they came for (har har) but those focusing on the Phantom part were shocked and appalled by the erotic part, and their disappointed expectations of romance more than sex yielded some very whiny and upset reviews. But then, that’s the danger that Gale faced when revising a much-loved story and adding in a different ending and a whole lot of sex. Either way, people talking about a book means people are talking about a book, and that is always a good thing. Just ask Anna Campbell.

What excites you most about the Shomi line?

The fact that these are true hybrids. You’re bringing together two great genres—romance and sci-fi/fantasy in one unique package. As a lover of both, we found it immensely rewarding to have the opportunity to weave together elements from each genre into one novel.

Also, the stories can be complex. We’re not shying away from hardcore sci-fi plotlines here! Anything goes—even stuff that’s a little…well, out there. The stories offer action, adventure, hot sex, maybe even a laser gun fight or two. You’ve got your kick-ass heroine to root for, a hot hero to make your toes curl, and of course a guaranteed HEA.

Can you tell us how Shomi came to be?

Our editor extraordinaire, Chris Keeslar, deserves all the credit. He’s a big sci-fi buff (geek?) himself and has been publishing cross-genre type books for a long time now. For example, he was the one to first publish Susan Grant and her alien romances a while back.

Anyhow, Chris decided he wanted to launch a line of books that would bring a younger audience to the romance section of the bookstore. Giving them a fast paced, action packed sci-fi/cyberpunk tale they could sink their teeth into, while at the same time introducing them to a genre of books they may not have thought of trying before now. 

When Liz and I heard about the new line (we already both wrote for Chris at Dorchester) we naturally jumped at the opportunity. After all, Shomi is a line of books we’d enjoy reading as much as writing. Luckily, Chris liked our proposals and signed us up to do the launch.

The cool thing is I think that while Shomi was idealized as a line that would draw in a younger reader, in reality it has a great appeal to a wide group of readers—young, old, even male! I’ve gotten fan letters from quite a few teenage boys since my book came out a few weeks ago.

What’s your favorite anime?

I’m huge into video gaming, so I really love .hack//sign which is an anime series based on a fictional videogame called The World. I also like Final Fantasy, which started off as a videogame and spawned some anime films. And I grew up watching Voltron!!

Liz is more into reading manga than watching anime. In fact, she’s presently working with the manga publisher Tokyo Pop on a novelization of their Princess Ai manga. 

What’s your favorite hackneyed romance novel device? Come on. ‘Fess up. Amnesia plotlines? Secret babies? Cross-dressing heroines? Cross-dressing heroines with amnesia who give birth to secret babies they completely forget about?

For me, it’s twins. Definitely twins. You know, where the one twin (goodie two-shoes/workaholic/celibate for the last ten years) dresses up as the other twin (wild/tattooed/short-skirt wearing/probably writes for Shomi) to solve the second twin’s murder/kidnapping/disappearance/trouble with vampires. Gets me every time.

Liz goes for the scarred war hero amputee with the tortured soul historical. What could be better than that?

Romance novels get dumped on a lot as being fit only for intellectually lazy women addicted to emotional porn. Anime gets dumped on for being the domain of terminally immature nerds who are way too attached to their Goku wigs. Feel free to wank on at length about the perils and rewards of combining these two sub-genres, and public perceptions vs. the realities of the actual consumers of these two genres.

Personally, I’m sick of all these stereotypes. They’re created by people too lazy to actually interact with the people they label. I get it at both ends. People are like, “OMG, you write ROMANCE?” and in the next breath utter, “OMG, you play VIDEOGAMES?” People can’t accept that I read and write romance because I’m not a (insert romance writer stereotype here) and they can’t accept that I play videogames because I’m not a 13 year old boy. Can’t win, I tell you. Good thing I don’t care what people think and will read, write and play what I want to.

Actually, I feel really sad for urban twenty-somethings who feel pressured to pretend they love whatever the “it” hip, indy, literary novel of the month happens to be, while denying themselves the pleasure they’d get from devouring the latest Harlequin, or whatever, just because they don’t want to be seen reading (shock/horror) a romance novel. Not that hip, indy, literary novels can’t be satisfying, too, but to only allow yourself to read what your friends deem “cool” really limits your reading experience in the long run and may in fact turn you off from books all together.

Just like those of you who have never logged into the World of Warcraft videogame because you assume it was designed for underachieving twentysomething year old guys who still live in their mother’s basement. (Okay, fine, you’re probably right, but that’s not the point.) All I’m saying is “Don’t knock it, ‘til you’ve tried it.”

Bottom line? The haters are always going to try to spoil things by trying to instill their own prejudices of what should and should not be read, using pre-conceived notions of age, race, class, gender, what have you. And you, as a reader, can choose to listen to them and define yourself and your tastes by these random people’s sense of propriety, or you can tune them out, read whatever the hell you want to, and take back your power.

That’s what I do, anyway. And when they look at me disdainfully and say, “You write ROMANCE?” or “You play VIDEOGAMES?” I smile and nod and say, “Yes. Yes, I do.”