My Worthless 50 Cents on 50 Shades of Grey

First, a disclaimer: I have not read 50 Shades of Grey, but I consistently attest that any reading is good reading, even if every writing is not good writing. At best, I did a skim and scan of the novel. I have, however, like most, inhaled the second-hand smoke the novel emits in any gathering of two or more women who have read E.L. James’s novel, and you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a woman, age 16 to 86, who hasn’t. I therefore feel as if I have a fairly thorough understanding of the novel’s characters, plot, and themes.

In my brief reading of 50 Shades, I did not find James’s prose to be of particular genius, nor did I find it appallingly amateurish, especially compared to the tripe available for free on your preferred e-reader. James has been a convenient punching bag for many literary snobs, who, to be frank, I believe are more jealous than fair. Whether one likes her writing style or not, it is impossible to deny that she has struck a chord with female readers that resonates as loudly as Harry Potter did with child readers; Twilight and The Hunger Games did with YA readers and beyond; and Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander trilogy has with adult readers of all sorts. It is obviously a chord that was in long need of strumming.

I find it a healthy and long overdue development for women to be able to openly explore and and discuss sexuality in such numbers and in so many public forums, especially in a work of fiction rather than in some clinical textbook. I can hardly wait to see to see the impact the film Magic Mike has on these same women. I think it is infinitely silly that so many women feel embarrassed to hand 50 Shades to the sales clerk at the bookstore check-out or to the librarian at the circulation desk or to be seen holding or reading it in public. This unnecessary shame illustrates just how deeply sexual neuroses have been embedded into American women’s psyches thanks to our fun-muffling Puritan forefathers and to Christian (note the irony) misogynists. The fact that so many readers have fallen in love with the fictional Christian Grey speaks to their lack of fulfillment in their own love lives. In my limited understanding of Christian, he seems first to meet many women’s desire for ravishment and, later, their desire to mother. It’s a killer combination, very Oedipal for you Freudians. If the reading of the novel leads to improved fantasy lives, playfulness in the bedroom, honest conversation regarding sexuality among partners, and women embracing their right to be sexualized human beings, than I’m one-hundred percent supportive of it. I think it is great that men are squirming in their inability to “measure up” to Christian. Perhaps, it’s about time that men realize their wives’/girlfriends’ dissatisfactions and feel the pressure to meet the unrealistic sexual and body type expectations from women who have dealt with those fantastical standards forever. However, women readers of 50 Shades cannot deny that their reading is tantamount, no better or worse, than their men searching the Internet for porn. The fact that the fantasies inspired by the novel are textual rather than pictoral doesn’t differentiate it. I think, then, that 50 Shades is a great equalizer.

On the flip side, as an ardent feminist, I am bothered by the compliant submissiveness of the female protagonsit, Anastasia, and the violent domination of her by Christian. I do not find the argument made by those who excuse his behavior as being the result of his own treatment at the hands of a depraved female pedophile convincing or defensible. It might be his motivation for his behavior, but it is not an excuse for it. I’ve heard some women suggest that this submissive/dominant relationship is natural and evolutionary, which I find incredibly disturbing and even dangerous to the advancement of women in a society that remains stubbornly sexist. If you don’t believe me, count the number of women on the Supreme Court, in Congress, in corporate board rooms, in any position of significant influence and prestige. Then, compare that number to the ratio of women to men in this country, and you will see how grossly out of proportion women are represented in those halls of power.

If anyone is interested in a truly hilarious, satirical, literary, and erotic companion piece to 50 Shades, I’d recommend Nicholson Baker’s House of Holes. As the author’s name and title clearly indicates, it’s a collection of fantasies written from the male perspective. Baker is a highly revered novelist, whose work has won the prestigious National Book Critics Circle award, and his work has appeared in such revered literary magazines as The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. The book’s jacket declares: “Brimful of good nature, wit, and surreal sexual vocabulary, House of Holes is a modern-day Hieronymous Boschian bacchanal that is sure to surprise, amuse, and arouse. If you do decide to read it, be prepared to be shocked, and, please, don’t take it too seriously.

In the end, I say good for E.L. James and for all of the readers of 50 Shades. If critics or men don’t understand so many womens’ fascination with the novel, who cares? Not every female author has to be Virgina Woolf nor must we all read capital-L literature. If the novel were no more than a “smut book,” it would not be the 32nd highest selling book of all time since Neilsen began Bookscan in 1998. That many readers could not be duped into buying that which is no more than salacious trash.

 

Puchase my novel So Shelly: http://www.amazon.com/So-Shelly-Ty-Roth/dp/0385739583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289513948&sr=8-1

My Favorite Young Adult Novels

Most definitions of young adult literature do little more than identify the genre’s intended audience and its major characters as ranging anywhere from ten to twenty-five years old, which is a little like defining a short story as a story that is short. With that simplistic understanding in mind, I thought I’d make a list of my ten favorite young adult novels of all time.

10. R.A. Nelson’s Days of Little Texas

9.   Ruta Sepetys’s Between Shades of Grey

8.   Thomas Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons

7.   Melissa Bank’s The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing

6.   Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

5.  Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief

4.  Harper Lee’s  To Kill a Mockingbird

3.  Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

2.  J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye

1.  Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine

I have an obvious preference for the classics but a growing interest and respect for more contemporary works. For what it’s worth, I’d highly recommend each of the above titles for readers of all ages.

A Step Forward

I’ve just received agency edits for what I hope will be my second published novel. I’m thrilled to report that her response has been very positive. This means that after I consider and incorporate her line edits and suggestions and re-imagine the story and its execution one more time, she will be submitting it to my editor for her consideration.

This may seem like a small step forward in the process; however, as I’ve shared here before, in the past eighteen months, I’ve had one complete novel rejected by the publishing house and a near complete manuscript rejected by my agent. Therefore, the fact that my agent will soon be willing to place her stamp of approval on and pitch this novel is no small accomplishment. And, yes, if you’re counting, that’s nearly three complete novels written in what amounts to two years.

I am very proud of this yet unnamed novel. My last attempt had been a nightmare from the start. Once the publisher rejected my first post-Shelly submission, I tried writing a “big, break through” novel of the Hunger Games sort. In so doing, I lost my voice. With this most recent effort, however, I think I’ve found it. I’ve learned that I can only write the kind of stories that resonate with me. I do not deny the quality of books like the Hunger Games, they’re just not me. I have no interest in reading them, so why would I want to or even think myself capable of writing one?

The goal now is to complete my revisions and edits and hopefull have it ready for submission sometime this summer.

From the Columbus-Dispatch

Ohioana finalists named

Twenty-eight finalists in five categories have been announced for the annual Ohioana Book Awards.

The winning writers of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, juvenile literature and works about Ohio or Ohioans will be revealed at the end of August, with recipients honored at the Ohioana Awards Ceremony in mid-October.

The finalists for fiction are Linda Castillo, Ernest Cline, Paula McLain, Donald Ray Pollock, Mary Doria Russell and Tom Wilson; and for nonfiction: Jill Bialosky, Peter Morton Coan, Jacqui Greene Haas, Gene Kritsky and Susan Orlean.

Finalists for books about Ohio or Ohioans: Dale Brown, Michael Charry, Tony Horwitz, Candice Millard and Don Heinrich Tolzmann.

Also: Arnold Adoff, Rae Carson, Andrea Cheng, Sandra Dutton, Sandra Markle, Ty Roth, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, for juvenile audiences; and John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep, Dave Lucas, Robert Miltner, Doug Ramspeck

Self-Publishing vs. Mainstream Publishing

The more often I attend literary fairs and book festivals around the country and meet other authors, the more I’m aware of the divide that exists between those whose books have been published traditionally and those who have self-published. As a member of the former group, I’ve sensed among my fellows a palpable snobbery to which, if I’m being honest, I must admit to myself. I’m not proud of it, and I try desperately to conceal it whenever I encounter a self-published writer; nonetheless, a snob I remain.

I do not deny that there are a fair number of very talented writers who, for a variety of reasons, have chosen self-publication. The sheer number of unpublished writers seeking agency representation and publication are so large as to guarantee that a few deserving authors/texts are being missed. What are these authors to do who, in pursuit of their dream and believing wholeheartedly in the quality of their work, have had all avenues to mainstream publication blocked? Trust me. I understand their frustration. My debut novel SO SHELLY was actually the fourth novel that I penned after four years and three rejected novels. It seems only reasonable that such frustrated writers go “off road” and blaze their own trail to publication. Why should a few gatekeepers at literary agencies and publishing houses be the only ones to decide which texts make it to print and into the hands of the reading public? The system itself seems elitist and un-democratic. In addition, it is impossible to deny that a handful of self-published authors have successfully utilized sales of their works to wedge their foot into the doors of mainstream publishers. It’s also true that an even smaller number have been so successful as to find themselves in a position to spurn the very publishing industry which had rejected them.

Why then does such arrogance exist amongst the published few? I believe that the answer is found in the previous question itself in the word “few.” When a writer earns the representation of an agent and the endorsement of an editor and the “go ahead” from a publishing house’s editorial board, he has reached rarified air. The ascendency to each one of these Olympian steps has been a validation of the expenditure of his time, energy, and talent – truly a Herculean achievement that leaves him crowned a Published Author. Therefore, when other  writers – typically out of impatience and/or frustration born of rejection – choose to circumvent the system in pursuit of the same crowning, it should be more-than-understandable that we cry, “Foul!” (Note. I said, “understandable,” not charitable or gracious.)

As in most experiences of the adult world, the dynamics at work in the mingling of the traditionally and self-published at book festivals that cater to both remain those found on the playground. The “un-picked” self-published often find themselves and their books  (which they have lugged in themselves) pushed to the periphery of the event floor, out of the primary flow of traffic and often removed from the invited published authors and their books (supplied, inventoried, and sold by a major bookseller). It’s not unusual for we cool, advanced, and royalty-earning writers to walk past our country cousins with cold shoulders turned while sneaking a peek at the cheaply-produced covers – a telltale sign of a self-published text. If we find a table unmanned, it’s great fun to flip through a few pages in search of amateurish phrasings and clunky punctuation, which, if I’m being honest, typically doesn’t take long to find.

I’m not proud of my snobbishness; in fact, I find it quite unbecoming, thin-skinned, and shortsighted on my part. I can’t, however, deny my snobbery towards or my antipathy for the ever-growing number of incompetent writers hawking their vanity projects for free in every available e-reader outlet. There exists an “old school” side of me that doesn’t believe every kid who participates should receive a trophy or that you can always get what you want merely because you want it. Some things need to be tried in the crucibles of competition and excellence. If truth be told, when everyone’s a winner, no one is a winner. When becoming a published author is as easy as the writing of a check to any of the dream-selling con artists who operate houses catering to self-publishing authors or when the path to publication is as simple as learning to run any of the various software programs for uploading text to compatible e-readers, what happens to the prestige of being an author? I choose to honor and admire those who continue to struggle in anonymity and in all likelihood of continued failure rather than to recognize as commensurate the specious “achievement” of self publication.

Although I’d concede that long-established institutions sometimes need to be destroyed, I do not believe for a second that the traditional publishing model is broken, unfair, or in need of overhaul. It is now and always has rightfully been a meritocracy. If you want admittance, write a great book that agents and editors must have. If you want to stay in, write books that the reading public purchases. The currently laying of siege to the publishing industry by self-published vandals has done and will do little to enhance the quality of the reading lives of the general public. In fact, in flooding the e-market with a glut of un-vetted and inferior texts, it has already begun to facilitate anarchy, not democracy.

The ultimate reality is that the publishing industry is undergoing rapid and dramatic re-definition. A fair number of authors who once swore never to go the self-published route (many of whom have already been published in the traditional manner) are doing so every day and changing the tune they whistle as they go. Clearly, the last laugh is yet to be had over this contentious divide, and in the end, the joke may be on me.

So Shelly Honored by Ohioana Book Festival

So Shelly has been selected one of the six 2012 Ohioana Book Award finalists in the category of Juvenile books.

The mission of the Ohioana Library Association is to: recognize and encourage the creative accomplishments of Ohioans, preserve, and expand a permanent archive of books, sheet music, manuscripts, and other materials by Ohioans and about Ohio, and disseminate information about the work of Ohio writers, musicians, and other artists to researchers, schools, and the general public.

I am flattered by the selection. Added to being named on of the top New New Voices by the American Booksellers Association, and SHELLY being identifiied as one of the top YA books by the American Library Association, Bank Street College, and now by the Ohioana Library, I couldn’t be more humbled or proud.

The Bank Street College of Education Selects SO SHELLY as One of 2012′s Best

I was notified by my editor at Random house today that SO SHELLY has been named to the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Books of the Year list for 2012. In choosing books for the annual list, reviewers consider literary quality and e…xcellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes. Nonfiction titles are further evaluated for accuracy and clarity. Each book accepted for the list is read and reviewed by at least two committee members and then discussed by the committee as a whole. I’m humbled and honored by the selection.

Days of Little Texas Thrills and Haunts

I just finished and highly recommend R. A. Nelson’s novel, Days of Little Texas. Ronald Earl, known as Little Texas, is a sixteen-year-old itinerant preacher and faith healer. Little Texas finds himself drawn into an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil, both human and supernatural, after he is unable to save an attractive, similarly-aged girl who soon after begins to simultaneously seduce/haunt him and to enlist him in the aforementioned epic struggle. Nelson, an Alabama native, is a master of the Southern gothic and of dialect and setting. Typically averse to stories of the paranormal, I found myself completely buying into both the characters and premise. The novel subtly challenges the reader to examine his/her own most sacredly held beliefs regarding religion, spirituality, and all that inhabits the material and spiritual world. Nelson also bravely explores the notion of the communal sin that stains the inherited collective unconscious of white America for its longtime enslavement of Africans, an act worthy of perdition that the mere passing of time cannot expatiate and for which proper atonement or a day of reckoning has yet to take place. R.A. Nelson is a gifted storyteller and an important voice in fiction today, and Days of Little Texas is a smart, provocative, and beautifully-written narrative.

http://www.amazon.com/Days-Little-Texas-R-Nelson/dp/0375855939#_

University of Toledo Shapiro Writing Awards Banquet

I was recently honored to be a keynote speaker at the University of Toledo’s English Department-sponsored Shapiro Writing Awards banquet. I’ve posted the speech below.

I’d like to begin by thanking Tim Geiger, the English faculty, and the university for inviting me tonight and, especially, those of you who participated in this year’s Shapiro Writing Competition. To write is a difficult enough endeavor; to submit what you write for others’ to judge is plain courageous.

For the sake of providing some perspective on my writing career, last fall, I participated in a literary fair along with Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help. Two weeks ago, I was in Orlando participating in the University of Central Florida’s Book Festival. There, I served on a discussion panel and held a book signing. Among the authors in attendance were James McBride, the author of the bestselling memoir The Color of Water and Miracle at St. Anna; Ellen Hopkins, one of the bestselling authors of Young Adult literature and of some of the most frequently banned novels in libraries and schools (for which she is a personal hero of mine), and Lauren Groff, a rising rock star in literary fiction. Her most recent novel Arcadia has received rave reviews from nearly every major review publication, including the New York Times. Next weekend, I will be appearing at a book festival with Carl Hiaasen, the journalist and bestselling novelist for both adults and children. My purpose is not only to drop names; although, it is kind of fun, but to share that, simply put, without my Masters of Literature Degree from UT, I would never have found myself having beers and making friends with such august company.

Seven years ago, when I determined to pursue a writing career in earnest, I decided that I first needed to spend time listening to smart people talking about smart literature. That’s when I applied for admission at UT, and for the next three years, my professors (Russ Reising, Melissa Gregory, Christina Fitzgerald, Tom Barden, Jamie Barlowe, amongst others) more than met that need. In fact, it was in Melissa Gregory’s class that the idea for my novel So Shelly first flitted across my consciousness. I should actually apologize to them all, for at the time, I was teaching full-time and raising three elementary-school aged children and was never quite able to give the amount of attention to my studies as was appropriate.

It’s truly an honor for me to be given the opportunity to address this particular audience. It’s an absolute joy to be among my people, my kind of people: you English Majors, you purposeful idlers, you unapologetic romantics, you erudite thinkers, you iconoclastic throwers of conceptual bricks, you rejecters of the status quo, and, most importantly tonight, those among you about-to-become members of the 99% – not the 99% of economic have nots but the 99% of those who will seek mainstream publication for their writing but never see it on their local bookstore or library shelf. I cite this deflating statistic not to discourage you; rather, by standing in front of you tonight as a 1 percenter (in the published sense, not the financial), I hope to convince you that you too can make that transition. Early in Sophocles’ Antigone, Ismene, the title character’s timid sister, asserts that “things impossible, ‘tis wrong to attempt at all.” But if I had believed such nonsense, I’d have never bothered to defy the absurd odds against achieving mainstream publication, yet here I am. But, not so long ago, I was you – attending classes here at UT, and since this is a celebration of writers, it’s to them that I wish to address the remainder of my talk. Know this, if I can do it, trust me, so can you. I have no preternatural gift for writing. As a writer, I compare myself to the type of hockey player known as a “grinder” – not a particularly graceful skater or stick handler but one willing to muck it up in the corners, throw a few elbows, and, in general, do whatever needs to be done to put the puck in the net. When I started, I didn’t have a single contact in the publishing industry. I was a nobody from nowhere, but I possessed a stubborn determination to succeed, and I resolved that I would never stop trying until someone told me I was good enough. And after four years and three failed novels, someone finally did.

However, I must warn you that the world of mainstream publishing is not for the thin-skinned or the easily-discouraged. And, you will most likely fail if you do not learn to make friends with the devil that is REJECTION.

Actually, you should be more than mere friends with REJECTION but lovers – with all of the sublimity, ecstasies, frustrations, masochism, and neuroses that mark any halfway-decent love affair.

As English majors, you should already be well on your way to forging this relationship, because, for if I can assume you’re anything like me, for many of you, REJECTION has been a lifelong companion:

A)  As children, we were rejected by potential playmates who grew weary of waiting for us to “put down that stupid book,” so that we would come out and play.

B)   We were rejected by potential romantic partners who were less-than-impressed by our pale skins and under-toned bodies, which resulted from so many hours spent indoors with books and journals.

C)   We were rejected by those who were mortified by our choices in fashion and hair styles, both irrelevant considerations as we read and wrote in our favored nooks and crannies.

D)  We’ve been rejected by potential romantic hook-ups who immediately disconnected when the inevitable question arose: “What’s your major?”

E)   Some of us were even rejected by those more widely-esteemed major programs themselves and only “settled” for the English department as a second choice because “I like to read,” or because “I did ‘good’ in English in high school.”

F)   I know of some rejected by their parents who refused to pay the tuition for such a “worthless degree.” I mean, “What are you going to do with an English major?”

G)  As undergrads and grad students, we’ve had draft after draft rejected for being either too original or too derivative; too under-sourced or too over-sourced; too obvious or too obscure; too predictable or too unconventional; too timid or too overreaching.

H)  We apply to numerous grad schools and MFA programs hoping that just one will take us and allow us to borrow even more money that will take a decade to pay back – if we can pay it back at all.

I)     In pursuit of academic publication, we’ve had papers and articles rejected by the most arcane, yet somehow significant, literary journals.

J)     Chasing mainstream publication, we’ve been rejected, novel after novel and by agent after agent (In my case over a hundred), and, once represented, by editor after editor at publishing house after publishing house.

K)  Once published, the rejection doesn’t stop. We brace ourselves against not only the rejection of the trade publications (Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Book List, to name a few) but also against the myriad of amateur bloggers and the dreaded and spiteful reviews at Amazon and GoodReads.

L)   We face the almost certain rejection of the general reading public who prefer their pot boiler stories of paranormal beings, soccer mom erotica, political thrillers by right wing talk show hosts – hell, anything by right wing talk show hosts, ghost-written celebrity novels and tell alls, and the story of a five-year old, raised in a shack, who recounts his journey to heaven and the five people he met there (I may be guilty of conflation there.) to anything remotely literary or nuanced.

M) Finally, we find our books rejected by the slew of e-readers who prefer the un-vetted crap they can download for free to the painstakingly-edited pieces that require an investment of nine dollars.

So, if any of you intend to advance farther into the world of mainstream publication, I heartily encourage you to do so and, as I earlier noted, I’m living proof that anyone from anywhere can make it; however, proceed with full knowledge that the devil of rejection lurks. If he is unable to simply tempt you away from your goal with the Internet and television and fancy Smartphones, he will test your resolve with the constant reminder that the odds of publishing are too great and your talent too lacking. So, thicken your skin, steel your nerve, trust in your talents, think of my example, and stubbornly resolve to disarm rejection by embracing it.

Book Festivals

 

Ellen Hopkins addresses the audience at the UCF Book Festival. Pictured seated from left to right are Ty Roth, Jessica Martinez, and moderator Jeffrey Kaplan.

Book Festivals

One of the best parts of being an author is being invited to the various book fairs and literary festivals that are held around the country throughout the year. As an author in a small town, it’s very difficult to find other published authors with whom to share experiences and commiserate over the vicissitudes of the writer’s life. In addition to the opportunity to meet readers, these fairs provide the opportunity for authors to connect, to socialize, to network, and to share strategies and experiences. In the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of attending two such gatherings.

UCF Book Festival

Over the last weekend in March, I attended the University of Central Florida Book Festival in Orlando, Florida. It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had as a writer. From being met by a driver at the airport, to meeting with readers who actually recognized me and praised So Shelly, to rubbing shoulders with some of the most talented writers of the day, I’ve never felt like such a rock star. I participated on a writer’s panel with Ellen Hopkins, the bestselling author of both YA and adult novel (My favorite is Perfect), and Jessica Martinez, YA author of Virtuosity. Our topic was “Embracing Imperfections” to which my response was “What other choice does one have.” I also had the opportunity to meet and speak with Lauren Groff, author of the current critics’ favorite: Arcadia; Allan Wolf, a madly-talented performance poet and novelist (The Watch That Ends the Night: A Novel of the Titanic; and Terri Witek, whose reading from her most recent poetry collection: Exit Island, simply blew me away. All of the authors and the many others I met, could not have been more nice, humble, or helpful.

Southern Kentucky Book Festival

This past weekend, I traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Western Kentucky University to attend the Southern Kentucky Book Festival. Once more, I served on a writers’ panel. This time, I was paired with Jackson Pearce, whose reading from her current novel Purity had me laughing out loud and marveling at her talents. I read from So Shelly, then we took great questions from the audience. Other than meeting once more with fans (always the highlight of any festival), I made friends with another group of diverse and talented authors including R.A. Nelson (Throat, and my favorite, Days of Little Texas); Rachel Hawkins, yes, THAT Rachel Hawkins of the bestselling Hex Hall series; Victoria Schwab (The Near Witch – which were flying off her table at an enviable pace); Alecia Whitaker, The Queen of Kentucky; children’s, Middle-grade, and YA author, Cynthea Liu; and crowd favorite and illustrator extraordinaire, Mark Wayne Adams.

For all of you book lovers, I strongly recommend attending such book events in your communities. I hope I’ll see you there.