KYRA DAVIS

New York Times bestselling author of Just One Night

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Judging A Book By Its Genre...Or Not.

As many of you know, I'm trying my hand at erotic fiction. This is a switch from writing amateur sleuth novels and yet I'm not entirely surprised that an editor at Simon & Schuster suggested it. There's a lot of sex in several of my mystery novels (the two page sex scene in Passion, Betrayal & Killer Highlights was even reprinted in Cosmo). So I'm not entirely out of my element.
Taken From Post Secret!

But the other thing that gives this exercise a familiar feel is that the genre of so called "chick-lit" murder mysteries and erotic fiction have one major common denominator: they both take an enormous amount of abuse from literary elitists.

Just look at some of the comments on Anne Browning Walker's Huffington Post's article: Why Intelligent Women Read Romance Novels.  Here's just a sample:
Each to his own, but romance novels are just soft porn, women like porn as much as men do but can't admit that, so this is the socially acceptable outlet. Repressed women love romance novels because they are bodice rippers with ridiculous plots, just like the porn men like.
and...
This just sounds like a great way for a woman who thinks she's a smart woman to justify the fact that she reads crappy romance novels with raised lettering on the cover. It's not actually true.[that smart women read these books]
and...
Is there anything stupider than women who constantly and neurotically (and egotistically) feel the need to label themselves "smart women"?
Especially, when they are about to describe one or more of the very insipid things they do...
My response to that last comment is yes, people who use their free time reading articles they know they're going to hate just so they can make insulting comments anonymously are infinitely stupider.

It all reminds me of the outrage of the literary critics when Bridget Jones opened the floodgates for  books featuring young, single female protagonists who occasionally like to shop. The authors of these books (myself included) were supposedly bringing great literature to its knees, robbing more serious authors of the attention they deserved and assaulting the book shelves with our unforgivably pink covers! It was an outrage! Maureen Dowd actually wrote a whole column in which she named my first book, Sex, Murder And A Double Latte, as one that was helping to undermine the elegance of the entire murder mystery genre (I was given the privilege of responding to Ms. Dowd on Beatrice.com). On the flip side, a group called American Decency Association (I could NOT make that name up) used my sex scene that was excerpted in Cosmo as proof that Cosmo shouldn't be allowed to be sold in "decent-family oriented stores," you know, like CVS and Safeway. There is nothing like having a paragraph where you describe an orgasm being reprinted and lambasted a hundred times over on the Christian Wire News Service.

So I, and every other author like me, was getting it from both sides. In fact that photo on the very top of this blog? That was taken from Post Secret. Dowd and the Morality people freaked one of my readers out so much that my book became their dirty little secret! I mean Post Secret is where people confess to hating their mothers and fantasizing about having sex with Catholic Saints for God's sake!

But I digress...

Undoubtedly I will face the same kinda thing when my erotic fiction is published and if I'm REALLY lucky another bigwig like Dowd will take me to task and I'll be invited to respond in a public forum (really, it was a lot of fun). And American Decency Association? Please, please, PLEASE put me on your hit list again. It was one of the greatest honors of my career.

But as fun as it is to have enemies I do have a problem with critics who judge an entire genre of books by their covers.  What makes a book good is not the cover but it's also not the genre. It's how it's written. I heard so many people complain about how the protagonists in "chick lit" are all obsessed with finding a man, obsessed with shopping and obsessed with their weight.

Well my mysteries were often called chick-lit-mysteries and my protagonist was never obsessed with finding a man (she does end up with an on-again-off-agan love interest but she's clearly cool with being single), isn't a big shopper and never freaks out about her weight. That's not to say there aren't some great books written about women who are worried-about/obsessed-with these things. I'm just saying you can't assume you know what's going to be in a book just because it has a cover that fits into the pastel color palette.

To be honest I think this erotic fiction I'm writing might be the best thing I've written to date. I posted an excerpt online and one Twitter reader told me it reminded her of Sidney Sheldon.

Sidney Sheldon! That's the best compliment I've ever gotten in my life! But I'm sure there will be those who dismiss it as unreadable smut simply because its erotica just as there are those who dismissed my mysteries because of the color of their covers. Those people who like to write ugly comments on Huffington Post will always have the time to post ugly comments attacking anything they're uncomfortable with but mostly ignorant about.

I'm just hoping the silent majority will give it a shot. And maybe, just maybe, the intelligent people who like to read books that the book police tell us we shouldn't read will become increasingly willing to tell those particular coppers to either take the time to read what they're criticizing or shut the hell up.

Although it is pretty clear that the American Decency Association read my sex scene. I have to remember to send them a thank you letter.



Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
The Sophie Katz Murder Mystery Series, 
and 
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING

10 comments :

  1. AbsoluteMommySaturday, July 21, 2012 at 10:46:00 AM PDT

    None of the Sophie Katz mysteries even cross my mind as chick lit. They are mysteries and awesome ones at that. I'm excited for your next venture as 50 Shades was such a let down. I was so disappointed and things that those comments above would describe a FSofG fan. Not a Sophie Katz fan.
    No matter what someone is going to be way to uptight to admit that they need a little erotica in their life! I'll be gald to read your book in public. I'm so embarrassed to read FSofG, not because of the erotica, but because of the author's now that's attached. And the fact that its a crap book!
    Xoxo

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  2. kyradavisSaturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:51:00 PM PDT

    Silly, don't you know that any book written by a woman about a woman who isn't at war, kidnapped or in some way being victimized is a chick lit book...so says the critics at the New York Times et. al.

    Seriously though, thank you. I didn't set out to write "chick lit." I hadn't even heard the term until I started shopping the series. I think it's fair to say that all of us who were assigned the label have paid for it in various ways. It would be nice if we could just call them books ;-)

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  3. kyradavisSaturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:51:00 PM PDT

    Silly, don't you know that any book written by a woman about a woman who isn't at war, kidnapped or in some way being victimized is a chick lit book...so says the critics at the New York Times et. al.

    Seriously though, thank you. I didn't set out to write "chick lit." I hadn't even heard the term until I started shopping the series. I think it's fair to say that all of us who were assigned the label have paid for it in various ways. It would be nice if we could just call them books ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. kyradavisSaturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:51:00 PM PDT

    Silly, don't you know that any book written by a woman about a woman who isn't at war, kidnapped or in some way being victimized is a chick lit book...so says the critics at the New York Times et. al.

    Seriously though, thank you. I didn't set out to write "chick lit." I hadn't even heard the term until I started shopping the series. I think it's fair to say that all of us who were assigned the label have paid for it in various ways. It would be nice if we could just call them books ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. kyradavisSaturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:51:00 PM PDT

    Silly, don't you know that any book written by a woman about a woman who isn't at war, kidnapped or in some way being victimized is a chick lit book...so says the critics at the New York Times et. al.

    Seriously though, thank you. I didn't set out to write "chick lit." I hadn't even heard the term until I started shopping the series. I think it's fair to say that all of us who were assigned the label have paid for it in various ways. It would be nice if we could just call them books ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Erin SchafferFriday, July 27, 2012 at 8:17:00 AM PDT

    Oh, hi! That was ME that said the exerpt was like a Sidney Sheldon book! I LOVE Sidney Sheldon and I have no shame in that. Why should I? He's awesome. I'm glad that you took that as a compliment, too, because it was meant as one. I loved what I read of the excerpt and will happily buy your book (as I have with ALL of you other books) when it comes out!

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  7. S. ForesterWednesday, August 15, 2012 at 11:42:00 PM PDT

    Hi, Kyra. I'm recovering from a dislocated shoulder, so I have time to write a long comment. Hope I don't bore you. :D

    1. Maureen Dowd dissed you?? Sorry, but that's just awesome. Someday I hope to be dissed by a famous person.

    2. I don't remember that scene from Killer Highlights at all! I remember a sex scene, but all that stuck in my head was the circumcision part (being a circumsized straight male, I had no idea that uncircumcised wieners looked different until I read your book). No, I didn't Google an image. I'd rather not know any more. ;-)

    3. I am rather sick of the "mommy porn" argument about erotic fiction. I don't know what women do with erotica, but it's not the same as what guys do with porn. There's more mental/intellectual engagement involved with erotica ... they're actually reading something. For guys, the images in porn trigger a physical response helping him to get hard and get off. I'm not making any value judgements, just saying that male (VISUAL) porn and erotica (WRITTEN) are apples and oranges.

    4. Your mysteries stand on their own as mysteries, though there is a heavy amount of "chick lit" material in them. Being a Raymond Chandler/Dashiel Hammet fan, I connected with the books on a different level. I liked seeing the California setting and mystery genre explored through a different perspective than the usual hard-drinking, heavy smoking, mistrustful private eye that I was used to. But one character is just as valid as the other! It's great to see different people and perspectives in literature, especially in the same genre. "Mystery + chick" lit was a good idea. I can't wait to see what another writer will do with mystery, and what elements of other genres he/she will include. Literature is a growing critter in itself, and every generation gets to help feed the Beast. And even if a book is "fluffy" .... why can't the Literature Beast enjoy some occasional cotton candy?

    I fell like Dowd is really saying that books about MEN are more important, since that's mostly what she gives examples of. Even feminists can be guily of associating men with importance. If she wanted to drudge out "classics" she could've picked something like Jane Eyre or Maria/The Wrongs of Woman, or something by Virginia Woolfe. Very telling that she picked MALE classics. Not that it would make any difference, as these are extremely old stories. While universal in some ways, they can't connect with people's lives the same way contemporary books can. She lauds Jane Austen, but I wonder how many people in my generation would've cared about Jane Austen without Bridget Jones Diary? Food for thought.

    5. I know what it feels like being judged for the format of your book instead of the content. I'm in the process of trying to sell a COMIC BOOK, of all things. Never mind that it's a mystery/romance/historical piece ... everyone still assumes comics = spandex.

    That said, genre fans can be a writer's best friend sometimes. Most of the support I have recieved is from comic book fans who want to see the format expanded. Your pink books may attract a lot of "chick lit" readers .... but there's nothing wrong with that. "Chick lit" is just a label, and even within one genre, there are fans waiting to see something new done with it. If that makes any sense.

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  8. kyradavisThursday, August 16, 2012 at 10:23:00 PM PDT

    Wow, your comment is a rather well written blog in itself! I agree with every word and deeply appreciate the compliments. And yes,I was reply flattered to be insulted by Maureen Dowd:-)

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  9. DennyMonday, April 15, 2013 at 2:50:00 AM PDT

    I have read the first two books of your Just One Night Trilogy, I loved both of them and I am eagerly awaiting the third installment. The saying that "you can't please all of the people all of the time" is true for many instances in life. Unfortunately there will always be someone who doesn't approve of want you do but you just have to go with your own instincts. I don't care if people think that I'm not a 'smart' woman because I read romance novels, (I also read the classics, thrillers and paranormal books). I read to escape into a different world and forget about the day to day business of being a stay at home Mum of 4. So as an avid book worm I urge you to carry on writing the types of books that your readers enjoy. I for one thank you for providing me with many hours of entertainment.

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  10. kyradavisWednesday, April 17, 2013 at 1:07:00 PM PDT

    I just think it's ridiculous that people judge people for READING something light but think it's totally fine for those same people to find their escapism through watching SNL. We all get our escapism in different ways and to quote Sci-Fi author Piers Anthony:

    "People talk-- they sneer at escapism. Well, there are those of us who need it."

    ReplyDelete

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ALSO BY KYRA DAVIS

Just One Night Trilogy

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Seven Swans A'Shooting

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So Much for My Happy Ending

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Lust, Loathing
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ABOUT KYRA DAVIS

I'm the internationally published author of the Sophie Katz mystery series, and So Much For My Happy Ending. My first Erotic Fiction Trilogy will be released in January 2013.

Aside from that, I'm a single mom; I'm addicted to coffee and True Blood (the show, not the drink). I'm happy with who I am yet I’m always striving to be better; I have more bad hair days than good ones, I love a challenge but I am not fearless, I’m….well…just me.