Oh Fifty

I cannot tell a lie, I can’t wait to see Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ve been waiting for it since the moment I knew they were turning one of my favorite books of 2011 into a movie. I’m proud to admit I was on to the Hot Mr. Grey before everyone and their mama decided they had to read the books because, well everyone and their mama was reading them. I’ve had all kinds of discussions about them ranging from whether they are true fan fiction to why the hell they are so popular.

I contend there are three reasons why the trilogy took off like hot cakes. Some folks read them just so they could see what the brouhaha was all about. I don’t understand that since for me books are so personal and I have no desire to read something just because someone else is reading it. Others read the books because of the supposed “taboo” sex. I’ve got to say America is really deprived if the sex in the FSOG books is considered taboo. I’m just saying. But really I think the books became popular because the trilogy resonated with women. They are romances, plain and simple. Women love love and if you wrap it in a rich hot guy who falls for an average girl, you’ve hit just about every girl/woman’s fantasy.

That isn’t a bad thing. Romance isn’t a bad thing, though a lot of people want us to feel ashamed about writing, reading and watching movies about it. I’m thrilled that a romance has taken America by storm, even if many originally indulged because they thought they were going to read about something racy or because they didn’t want to be left out of the national conversation. I know there are a lot of romance writers, particularly fetish writers who bitch about FSOG being a bogus BDSM book but I think they should be getting on their knees every night thanking E. L James (and Stephenie Meyer). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone on reader forums or read reviews and folks have said they started reading the genre because of FSOG. The more folks who read BDSM romance, the better the chance that some of those people will also read regular romance. Hey, maybe someday they’ll even read my books.

And for that I am grateful. So thank you E. L James for bringing romance to the forefront of everyone’s mind and creating more romance readers, by any means necessary. I just hope I like the movie half as much.