P.S ‘Passion’ is one of my all time favorite books, and I am getting impatient waiting on ‘Patience’. Lisa Valdez’s website hasn’t been updated since January so I decided to google her in case there were tidbits of information out there.

Yes, ‘Passion’ was borderline erotica. Yes, the hero was less than heroic. But he redeemed himself in the end, and it was a helluva a memorable read :P

Have fun reading ladies !
xoxo

First, I loved the haiku. It was hysterical and had me laughing out loud at work (and believe me, I had to backpeddle to cover that up).

Second, I loved the book Passion, and am one of the many fans who is still waiting for Patience, when and if.

Finally, regardless of how I feel about the book, no one has the right to tell me where I should spend my allotted ‘book money’. I earned it, and if I want to buy dreck (not that I thought the book was dreck), it’s my business. No one else’s. Frustration is understandable, but blaming readers for encouraging “bad” writing is not.

Apologies for the snark, but keep up the reviews (and haikus)! Thanks.

THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for finally saying what I said when I read it. On Amazon everyone is just soooo impressed and can’t WAIT for her book….

I even tried to re-read it thinking I had missed it and couldn’t do it.

Thanks for saying something I’ve been dying to say
in such a creative way! :P

I haven’t read Valdez and neither earlier discussions nor this review make me want to go out and read this book, but let me just point out that I bet the majority of the folks who said that they might look it up because they gotta see the ‘bad’ will probably buy it used, borrow it from a friend or the library.

So all that righteous indignation over ‘money for drivel’ going to Valdez sounds very sour grapes.

Others have already pointed out that just because this reviewer didn’t like it, this doesn’t make it a bad book and any author coming on a reader forum telling readers off for reading and enjoying a book she considers ‘drivel’ is *way* too big for her britches.

You and others buy books for yourselves – I do too. So, keep doing that – those who like over-the-top squick value, sounds like this is the book for you. It’s not for me.

But bad on those who would simply buy it because someone else gave it such a bad rating – reminds me of the jokes about lawyers chasing accidents and all those who HAVE to slow down or stop near an accident to see if anyone is hurt or dead (and don’t tell me that’s not why we do it).

This is my last comment on this subject. I’ve enjoyed the debate and have found it interesting – besides I learned another neat word to put in my distasteful vocabularly (squick – that doesn’t even sound good). I do love how DA always brings out passion in others – good or bad.

Happy reading (whatever your taste!) and writing!

Great Haiku Guest Reviewer!!

My book buying budget is $25 a month as far as my man knows and I’m very picky about what I purchase. It’s all about my entertainment ! There are authors whose work I support but only as long as their books are good. If that changes my purchasing habit changes.

So yeah, my entertainment spending doesn’t take your career into account. Sorry, but it doesn’t even take MY career into account. And a well-written squick book can be just as wonderful as an awesomely bad movie. I loved that stripper movie with the girl from Saved by the Bell. (Showgirls?) Fantastical!

All that said, I haven’t read Passion, and don’t know if it’s good, bad, or fantastical. But I might find out soon!

I do not read books just because they’re awful. I’ve never touched Decadent (or whatever the name of the in ur ass, saving ur life book is) and I’m not in the least tempted by Knight Moves.

This is not the first review of Passion that I’ve seen. And others, from reviewers I frequently read, are quite praising.

However – and here’s where the differences in taste and opinion come in – sometimes one person’s POS is another person’s keeper. Quim, cunt, public sex and a dirty talking hero do not bother me. In the least. The baby smushed in the middle of sex, ok, that’s a little creepy. But I’m assuming it’s in the epilogue and I only basically skim those anyway.

I thought the book was better than the D grade though. The baby in the middle sex is just gross. Yuck.

It’s a tough market right now. Authors ARE competing for consumer dollars and it’s never been so cut-throat as it is now. When we (authors) see readers get excited over a book BECAUSE they think it is bad and they want to have fun reading it, I know that SueT is NOT the only author who thought, “No! No! Don’t spend your money there…buy MY book because it’s good! I swear!” And I don’t think that’s an unnatural response. Or whiny or petulant. Just honest, IMO.

And this is not a commentary on PASSION. I’ve read GLOWING reviews of this book…this is actually the first bad one I’ve read. But that makes neither opinion right or wrong. Personally, the sex in the bed with the baby was enough to convince me not to read this book…not even from the UBS or library. Ick, ick, ick. But that’s me…I’m sure other people found the scene emotional and lovely. To each her own!

No one seems to talk about writer’s block any more, but I assume that was what happened to Ms Valdez.

However, it's just as “silly” to say we readers have little effect on a writer's career – readers most certainly contribute to a writer's success or failure or why have readers.

Of course. This is obviously true. I guess what I meant, though, is that there are lots of elements that go into the making of a Good Book. Writing alone — plot, characterization, technical skills, etc. — isn’t necessarily going to guarantee a spot on the best-seller lists or a prized place in the hearts of romance readers everywhere. Timing, trends, word of mouth, the alignment of the planets in the universe…all that plays a role. And since most writers are probably not blessed with precognition, all they can do is do is pour their hearts and talent and efforts into their manuscript and hope for the best.

I do understand the concept of “voting with one’s dollars.” I do it all the time. (No Janet Daily books for me!) And I CAN understand your frustration. But while ultimately the romance industry is a finite organism, I do get the impression that it makes room for variety of writing styles and reader preferences. Surely it isn’t a case of “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us!”

There were elements of the review that intrigued me. I’m fine with squicky sex. I’m fine with erotica that doesn’t have a plot. I don’t need a love story to rationalize the desire to get laid. Multi-chambered vaginas is weird and pushing around the cervix sounds painful, but that alone is not going to repel me. And based on my own piqued interest, and the generally positive reviews for this book elsewhere, this is EXACTLY the kind of story for which I’d be willing to put down money to see what it’s all about.

I am not a huge fan of Harlequins and they are definitely formulaic but thats not to say there are few gems out there – just like Urban Fantasy right now yep it might look there is a glut of the same old. But I think the problem with the genre is that many authors are joining in the bandwagon and I think its expected that there is going to be alot of that right now. But that is not to say there isnt books/series out there which readers will enjoy. I primarily read UF because its my favourite genre- my main gripe is that some books are UF lite and its a romance disguised as one or vise versa. But that isnt to say I am not a fan of romance its just because I dont like the weak worldbuilding because it feels like ‘lets add vamps and weres and call it an UF/paranormal’ – I want more detail and thought into that.
But I think with UF right now readers are starting to see this. But romance is a wonderful genre because its one of the few that is able to combine with other genres and subgenres – I am hearing there is going to be more steampunk out in the year which is great because its definitely a change of pace from the usual contemporary/futuristic or fantasy setting.

Good books will always rise to the top but there will always be someone who disagrees on how good or how bad a book is but thats fun because if we had the truly same old, same old then its something to worry about.

In the case with Lisa Valdez- I think its a case of bad timing. I think her book came out just when erotic romance was just starting to become mainstream. There are more squicky stuff in Elloras Cave books than what actually happens in this book, and she got a bad backlash. Again its more about marketing and expectations- looking at that cover you expect more of a mainstream historical romance and readers who didn’t expect that created a love/hate thing. If the book was published much later, I doubt it would have got that reaction I think.

Nifty – I might sound petulant. Quite possible – I won’t argue with you on that. And you bet, to some extent, I’m blaming readers – myself including since I’m first and foremost a reader and lover of romance. We are the ones who buy erotic, vampires, werewolves, urban fantasy that sounds all the same etc. so publishers keep buying it. Jane did a write up about how paranormals are all starting to sound the same – she’s correct. That’s how readers contribute to it – we keep buying them. But do they decide my career? Not 100% because I agree with what you said – I need to write the best book I can. However, it’s just as “silly” to say we readers have little effect on a writer’s career – readers most certainly contribute to a writer’s success or failure or why have readers.

Besides, having been in it for over 10 years, I know this business is HUGELY subjective. These aren’t my frustations. Well, okay, not ALL of my frustrations :D.

My frustation and aggravation is those above who were “thrilled” by how awful the book sounded and yet their response is to go plunk down money (maybe some – I realize there are libraries) just so they can see how awful it is. Even as they cringed, they talked about going and buying it. One mentioned she just loves a good train wreck, another said her ladyfingers cringed but now she has to go get it despite all that. That is my issue. Now, if they wanted to go read it because there are others who loved it and they might, that’s different. But to want to read it because someone said it sucked….

I'm constantly amazed by the fact that people are driven by these reviews to actually go and read the drivel. So, in other words, you all are contributing to drivel being published since you get a review and decide “I've just got to read this!” … but want to say that for everyone who wants to go out and spend money on a book that stinks so bad – hey, thanks a bunch for perpetuating bad writing and bad plots – this is why they keep getting published – you all keep buying them despite how bad they are.

Sue T: While I can sympathize with your frustration, I have to say that your post comes off as unbelievably arrogant and more than a little petulant and whiny. Readers and reviewers are individuals, with individual likes and dislikes. Just because this book didn’t work for the Guest Reviewer doesn’t mean that it WON’T work for another reader…or several other readers. One person’s “drivel” is another person’s “good book” and all that. This reviewer disliked the book and gave it a D. Over on AAR, they reviewed it and gave it a B. Am I supposed to believe, then, that one review is RIGHT while the other review is WRONG? And who gets to make that kind of decision for the masses?

I also get the impression that you’re blaming readers for your current professional standing. I don’t know who you are, so I have no idea if you’ve sold lots of books…or no books at all. But blaming readers for your successes or failures is just silly. All you can do is write the best book you can and hope for the best. Period.

I get what you are saying, but Passion was an enormously popular book when it was published a few years ago. And not because it was “bad” (although many people think so), but a lot of people really LOVE this book and are anxiously awaiting the sequel (Patience). Passion made the AAR Top 100 romances of all time poll so it has a lot of fans out there.

The first half of the book is straight up erotica and the second half is old-fashioned weepy romance. The people who bought it thinking it was regular romance were disgusted by the graphic sex and the people who wanted plain erotica were annoyed by the sappy romance. And some people just thought the “moving cervix” stuff was just weird and enjoyed the book anyway. Or not. It evokes strong reactions all around.