General – Page 132

Jan 1986 — ‘I think you’d got to just about here …’

‘WANT TO KNOW A SECRET’, by Sue Moorcroft is a story I enjoyed from beginning to end. Why am I reading ‘Chic Lit’ when my usual treat would be the adventurous tales of Wilbur Smith or the thrills of Chris Ryan or Lee Child? Simple really – I wanted to know how it was done. I’m writing a romance and having all the ‘How To …’ books in the world isn’t as good as getting right in there amongst a well written, well told story. If you want to know how something is done, then what could be better than checking an example of the best. No question mark – that one was rhetorical. Apart from being a respected author, Sue Moorcroft is also a competition judge, writing tutor and columnist for Writers’ Forum.

Lest I forget, the graphic I’ve used is one of my drawings from 1986, but the caption below it is a line from the book I’ve just read. I found the story so engrossing, because from the outset the characters were realistic. The opening paragraphs introduce Diane as she is informed by two policemen that her husband has been involved in a crash – a helicopter crash. Diane’s emotions are sent into a spin because as she sits in her modest little house out in the country she can’t imagine Gareth (her domineering husband) having anything to do with helicopters.

When it’s confirmed that it’s her husband in A & E and she goes to visit him, Diane’s world is turned upside down as she starts to discover things about her husband’s life that make the helicopter crash seem insignifcant by comparison. She finds out that Gareth was indeed in a helicopter crash and just along the corridor in the hospital is the seriously injured female pilot of the machine.

In the time that Diane is waiting to see her husband, who is wired up to equipment to maintain his hold on life, she is introduced to James … the husband of the pilot. It seems he knows Gareth and he also knows who Diane is … and so in a steady progression of snippets of information Diane learns many things about her husband and his life, his other life. I read this book in three days, which given the genre, is pretty damn fast for me. Apart from the entertainment value, I learned so much about style and technique from this single story, which is so well told – and yes, I know I’m repeating myself.

Thank you Sue.

I felt I had to read ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ for research purposes … no really, it was for that reason. I have a couple of ideas for writing romance and erotica but I wanted to know what was being published in the up to date market.

For weeks I’ve seen the three books of the ‘Fifty Shades …’ trilogy by E.L. James on the bookshelves and never lifted one down. I have a smug feeling of satisfaction now, in the the knowledge I had them pegged (no pun intended) just by the titles and covers. For the benefit of anyone wondering, my graphic is not related to the trilogy in that it is not a book cover for any of them.

I suppose there is a hint on the covers of the paperbacks. All the books have a black cover with a white/grey/silver item spotlighted under the white title. The first book features a woven grey/silver necktie, the second (Fifty Shades Darker) has a mask as might have been seen long ago in high society functions on the end of a small stick (not a full face mask) and the third book(Fifty Shades Freed), which actually gives the game away if you’re slow, features a key.

To the first in the trilogy, ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’. I read it with an open mind, not because I’m well-acquainted with the world of BDSM (Bondage, Domination/Discipline, Submission and Masochism), although I confess I’ve dabbled in certain aspects. No people or animals were injured or hurt in my experiments.

Anyway, I digress. The story features two main characters who in themselves are well-drawn, a pretty graduate called Anastasia Steele who is about as virginal as you could hope for – if that was your thing. Kissing a guy is her full sexual experience to date. Days before graduation she finds herself interviewing self-made millionaire Christian Gray, who is as good looking as he is rich. A bit of a dish for the ladies and a fine catch if you want a rich guy in your life, albeit with strange personal habits.

Where ‘Ana’ is virginal and totally unprepared for the big bad world, Christian is a man for whom sex is more about his penchant to inflict pain on his ‘lover’ which is how he gets his rocks off. In a magical/fantasy and physical way they are seriously attracted to each other and so the romance part of the story is born.

She falls in love with him. He desires her. It’s not really the same thing as the reader finds out quite rapidly. Ana finds herself under Christian’s spell and though he does warn her (more than once), she succumbs and begins to fall into the character of his ‘submissive’. Sadly, Ana believes that she is getting through to Christian and thinks she can change his ways and he’ll love her in a more conventional way. Get real Ana – the guy is a bloody sadist!

I found the sex scenes were over a bit too quick for my liking. If I’m going to read sex I want to feel it, get into it and enjoy it – not be taken in with the preamble and then find it’s all over – maybe too close to reality eh? On the subject of desire, the writing left a lot to be desired and I’m no expert, but I’ve checked reviews by those who are in the know – and their view was similar to mine.

Will I read the remainder of the trilogy?

No, not unless Mr. Grey sends around a couple of his beautiful blonde employees to tie me to a bed. Thinking along the lines of one holding the other two books in front of my eyes while the other ladies do unspeakably delicious things to me. I wasn’t disappointed by the end of the story … until I found out that the lovely and I have to add, gullable Miss Steele appears in not one, but both of the other books. Talk about jumping on the bandwagon.

Now, as I said at the start of this diatribe, I’m no expert in the field, but this trilogy looks like an excuse to explore in writing, the ascending levels of pleasure that the BDSM brigade would enjoy in their fun-filled lives.

Sorry Mrs. James, I’m only being honest. I will say thank you for one thing. You have by your success made me feel more like publishing my efforts on Kindle. So with that in mind, I’m off to imagine what I could get up to in the privacy of my own mind.

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