Tuesday News: Women are portrayed as frequently aggressive, always willing, and seemingly insatiable says Judge of werewolf erotica
Publishing NewsFirst-Amendment / lawsuits / self-published11 Comments
Melanie, Cleo, Ellen, and Angela
We had a great time last night in Anderson’s Bookshop at the Nalini Singh signing. Here is a crew of Dear Author readers. Ellen came all the way from Alabama. Angela drove down from Madison. Melanie is a native (and a recent convert of RT). Ellen and Cleo were accompanied by their husbands. I thought it was particularly romantic that these gentlemen accompanied their wives to a 2 hour Q&A and signing. Cleo’s husband, Bill, said that it was the least he could do after all the times his wife has sat through a number of events with his friends but romance is in the small gestures and these two husbands sure seemed to be the epitome of romantic heroes in accompanying their wives last.
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California court affirms prisoner’s right to werewolf erotica – I reported earlier about the inmate who won the right to read an erotic werewolf novel but I hadn’t seen the decision. Donna Thorland emailed me a link to the LA Times article that reports on the decision itself. latimes.com
“The sex is sometimes rough but always consensual,” Justice James Richman wrote. “Women are portrayed as frequently aggressive, always willing, and seemingly insatiable. Men are portrayed as frequently demanding, always ready, and seemingly inexhaustible.”
The Neurochemistry of Empathy, Storytelling, and the Dramatic Arc, Animated – A short film documents research on how fiction reading can trigger neuropathic responses. Brain Pickings
What he found is that even the simplest narrative can elicit powerful empathic response my triggering the release of neurochemicals like cortisol and oxytocin, provided it is highly engaging and follows the classic dramatic arc outlined by the German playwright Gustav Freytag 150 years ago.
Bowker: self-published e-books 12% of sales – Based on the most recent Bowker’s survey of book buyers, self publishing is making up than 20% of sales in some genres like romance and 12% of overall sales. Overall, e-books made up 13% of consumer book purchases in the first quarter of 2013, the highest level it has reached since figures were first recorded in 2010. The Bookseller
In volume terms, e-books make up more than 20% of sales in genres such as crime fiction, romance and classic fiction, and between 16-20% for popular fiction, erotic fiction and sci-fi and fantasy.” I’m curious as to how many readers know if they are buying self published books or traditionally published books.
Scarlett Johansson Sues French Publisher for Use of Her Name – Scarlett Johansson is suing a publisher because an author used the her name in a book. I’m not sure what the law is in France, but this is pretty ridiculous The Hollywood Reporter
In the novel The First Thing We Look At, a woman shows up at the door of a mechanic in the northern village of Somme seeking help. At first the mechanic believes she is ‘Scarlett Johansson,’ though sixty pages later it is revealed she is not the actress but simply a doppelganger named Jeanine Foucaprez.
The q&a and book signing was a lot of fun. I was almost as excited about meeting Jane and other DA readers as I was about Nalini.
LOL, cleo – the same for me :) It was fantastic to meet you all!
In the other news – I really don’t know what Scarlett Johannson is trying to accomplish here.
I wish I’d been able to make the signing. It sounds like it was a lot of fun.
Dang, I live about 25 minutes from Anderson Bookstore. I’m heading to Naperville tonight for another event.
The Scarlet Johannsen thing was on another site as well. She’s upset because a male character in a fictional book described a woman as being sexy like Scarlett Johannssen. So now she doesn’t want to be known as a gorgeous, curvy blonde sex symbol? O-kay.
Jane, I don’t think I ever told you my name as we dived right in to talking about books. I’m the one on the far left who lives in Naperville.
It was so great to talk with you last night, and meet the other women who came, even from Alabama! Thanks for making the long drive for the event with Nalini. I think your moderating made it even more special and informative for everyone there. Since you are also a big fan of the books, you had great questions for Nalini. I’ve heard her speak more than once, but I certainly learned quite a few new things I hadn’t heard from her before.
And Scarlett Johansson — see John Malkovich in “Being John Malkovich” for an example of someone being gracious at the use of his name and persona.
The article about Scarlet Johansson says “At first the mechanic believes she is ‘Scarlett Johansson,’ though sixty pages later it is revealed she is not the actress but simply a doppelganger named Jeanine Foucaprez.”
Sounds like it’s more than just a comparison or name-dropping. It may seem like she’s a character in the book, which is a no-no. I haven’t read the book or know if her case has merit since it’s revealed later she’s not Johansson, though.
The article about the prisoner getting his book back has pleased me to no end. Hopefully it was worth the wait.
@Melanie – Thank you for coming and commenting! I didn’t remember if you introduced yourself and I felt like a heel for not remembering your name. Won’t ever forget it now. I’m so glad that you came. Wasn’t Nalini fantastic? I really enjoyed listening to her as well. And meeting the four of you was icing on the cake!
Unfortunately I usually work nights. Can you all arrange to have a book signing at Andersons that gets publicized weeks in advance, so those of us with crappy retail jobs can request the night off? I’d love to have a face/person to put with the writers here that I enjoy being mentally stimulated by so often.