by Giselle Renarde
I'm glad to hear Garce say that most of the erotica he reads these days is his own stuff. Now this post won't sound quite so narcissistic.
The truth is that my taboo work is my best work.
And my best work is the stuff that gets me into the most trouble. Nanny State always sold really well, but it never really made waves (which is pretty incredible considering the adult baby angle), but Adam and Sheree... oh, those crazy kids--NO, NOT KIDS! Consenting adults. I feel like I need to work that in to every discussion around these books. Adam and Sheree are blood relatives, but they're not children. They're grown-ass people making a choice to fuck each other. Some would say that's a misguided choice, but isn't that the fun of fiction?
Amazon banned Adam and Sheree's Family Vacation (and Business) right off the bat because they don't permit such filth to sully their site. There are a lot of ebook retailers that won't carry these books. By now I'm sure you've heard about Kobo's knee-jerk censorship of everything. That started because of the eeeevils Adam and Sheree--well, not them specifically, but characters like them.
Erotica is under fire, and every time this happens too many authors are quick to jump down the throats of those few perverts out there who are writing about icky topics like incest. Well, I'm one of those perverts, and I don't care whether you call my work erotica, adult fiction, porn, smut, or even crap. I don't care what you call it as long as you don't tell me it should be banned. Burn them books. No one should ever be allowed to get their hands on them. What an injustice you're doing yourself if you're an author advocating for the take-down of others.
My filth is good stuff. The dirtier, the better. The dirtier, the more resonant.
Maybe it scares you. Makes you feel a little awkward, thinking about it. Gives you a turn in the pit of your stomach. That's okay. Seems like people sometimes forget that just because a book exists doesn't mean they necessarily have to go right out and buy a copy.
At the same point, Amazon started banning monster erotica. Then they went after virgins, teens and, according to bestselling author Selena Kitt, babysitters. Kobo took it five bajillion steps further and removed every book published through their Kobo Writing Life platform, regardless of genre.
You thought it would just be me and my filthy taboo smut getting burned?
Wrong.
i'm going to be writing about some of these subjects in my post too. Big Brother isn't just government, it's also huge corporations with monopolies on consumer selection, such as Amazon & Apple that feel they have the right to censor their consumers' purchases. it's alarming & frustrating. thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteAs an English teacher I'm firmly behind the American Library Association's publicizing the issue with "Banned Books Week". I have a button that says, "I read banned books", and many adults seem puzzled that this is even an issue for anyone. With all of the X-porn available on the internet if you just know where to look, the idea that anyone would bother banning books seems almost quaint. So many people don't even read at all...I should think that even if you don't like what they're interested in, you should at least allow them the pleasure to be found in the written word. And as you say, if you don't like it, don't read it. But then too many people are hugely interested in telling everyone else how to live, andt telling them what they can and can't read is a logical extension. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteWhen industries get so large and powerful they have the power to set their own brand of censorship to keep an image. And we can no longer rely on the courts to uphold censorship laws due to a a vocal minority who is currently messing with the way the US works in general. What it will take is a dedicated boycott of Amazon books or an alternative Amazon-alike for real people. We could call it Fuckazon. These companies are all about money. If we simply don't buy their wares, and tell them why, or someone of means offers an alternative, those walls should crumble. We just have to show them it is to someone's financial benefit to sell erotic books. Wonder if Amazon censored Fifty Shades? Not a chance.
ReplyDeleteBut this does bring up another, darker subject. Seems what they are doing with erotica is just the tactic they have used since Roe vs Wade. The assholes realized they couldn't reverse that decision, the tactical focus since has been on chip, chip, chipping; away at the edges of the law. Now we have entire states with a total of one or two clinics who have the wherewithal to keep up and running, despite threats, shootings, harassment and the rest. They assholes can't turn things back to the way they were when the Mayflower landed, so they chip away the rights reasonable people have fought for ever since. This is the new censorship, just like the old censorship.
These things come in waves. And Daddy is right - since the U.S. constitution supposedly protects these books, the attacks are flanking, supposedly focused on the most "disgusting" of the erotica out there.
ReplyDeleteMoney talks, though. One article I read pointed out that even as WHS was banning erotica, it had a huge and highly suggestive ad for FSOG on its home page.
And by the way, I loved NANNY STATE. I buy very little erotica - between the anthos I'm in and the stuff I read for formal reviews I have more than enough on my TBR list. However, for some reason your blurb hooked me, and I actually paid for the book. Money well spent!
I should try meet Adam & Sheree. I have one twincest story myself and I find the scenario can be very arousing, if done well.
Giselle, you are very brave. Luckily, the censors never seem able to bury books permanently, even though they can make some books harder to find.
DeleteAuthors should be allowed to write what they want, especially if it's fiction! Perhaps if authors directed their fans to sites other than Amazon for once, Amazon would start to feel the pinch. There are some great sites out there where authors can sell taboo, or open-minded fiction. The obvious one has to be tabooreading.com - and if you click on their author link at the top of the page you'll see just how much you could be making if you sold your books there AND told your customers to shop there.
ReplyDelete