The Summer Splash Blog Hop Asks. . . Who is Christian Grey Anyway?

SUMMER SPLASH BLOG HOP

This is your chance to win LOTS of prizes.  Enter my own giveaway at right through Rafflecopter.  Click on the Summer Splash Blog Hop tour at the right and it will take you to 80 other authors doing their own giveaways AND the home page where you can win Grand Prizes!  Seriously, check it out!!

Now on to the the question. . . who is Christian Grey?

There is a very good possibility that I am the only woman left in the country who has not read The Fifty Shades of Grey.  That is not to say that I haven't heard all about it, couldn't identify the cover at 200 paces or that I am unaware of the draw of Christian Grey.  I have been led to believe that the book is a woman's best friend.  I figure the draw is the tantalizing sex, right?  And E.L James' books are flying off the shelves.  Far be if for me to criticize that!

It got me to thinking though, why THAT book does so well and MY book (In The Name of The Father) which also has some sex (albiet not a driving theme and not gratuitous. . .I don't think) had garnered some 1 star reviews because of the sex.  Seriously.  I even have a warning in the description that there is some adult content involving drug use and sex and yet I still get comments like this:

"read reviews and thought I would enjoy it. I was not prepared for the second chapter filled with drugs, graphic sex and "f" words. I do not plan to finish it. There are too many other books that I want to read that won't involve having to skim over words or descriptions I don't want to read."

I checked the reviews for "Fifty Shades"and it has its fair share of stars across the board.  I figure it would be listed under erotica, but was surprised to find it was categorized as Contemporary Women. Hmmm.  I was pretty sure mine was listed in Mystery/Thriller. . . until I checked.  Religious Fiction?  Uh, oh.  Maybe that's the issue.  Yes, the main characters are a pastor and his son.  Yes, the pivotal point takes place in a church, but religious fiction?  No.  Think I'm going to put it under Contemporary Women, that seems to be working for E.L James!

My Big Secret

You might have noticed that I haven’t paid much attention to my blog lately. . .then again, maybe you haven’t.  I’m not sure which is worse.  

Most of you know that I have written another book and spent the summer getting it ready to launch.  I have had exciting feedback on this new book - and in case you haven’t heard me talk about it ad nauseum, it’s called In The Name Of The Father.  This book is 180˚ out from the first book.  It was intentional.  If I may speak confidentially, may I?  I wrote the first book because I knew it would be easy for me.  That’s right, I said easy.  It’s not tough to comment on the human condition when it comes to the differences in men and women, they smack me in the face every single day.  Or, to ruminate on my aging body, and justify why I believe wine should be covered by health insurance (that should be a no-brainer!) or share my mishaps with a bag of pot.  So, yeah, in the big picture. . .it was easy.  The big question was, would it sell?  As a control freak, this looming question mark mocked me at every turn.  But, it did. . .and well.  I am proud to say it is still in the Amazon top 10 in humor, parenting and marriage - even after a year.  I learned a lot writing that book, putting it together, marketing it and figuring out what works and what doesn’t.  The one thing I learned was the best thing a writer can do it to write another book.  Luckily, I had one on the back burner of my brain with some haphazard starts on my hard drive.  People would ask, are you writing another book?  I’d answer in the affirmative and they’d just assume it was volume 2 of the first book.  They plied me with stories, suggestions, and ideas and I would listen, all the while knowing I wasn’t writing humor this time.  They were busy regaling me with funny and I was busy killing people off.  

So, on August 10th, a year to the day that I released Is It Just Me? or Is Everyone a Little Nuts!, I released In The Name Of The Father.  I am proud of both books, but this one is where my passion has always been and, I am here to tell you, it is a better book.   As I said, the feedback has been phenomenal.  There’s sex, drugs, language, murder, and even a love story, not your general humorous fare, right?  So, imagine my reaction when, among all of the obvious "thriller" comments, I get a reader who commented, “I thought it was a cute story.”    Cute? 

Huh.

http://www.amazon.com/Name-Father-ebook/dp/B005H0XM4E/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316284598&sr=1-3

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-name-of-the-father-judi-coltman/1104814593?ean=2940013120273&itm=2&usri=judi%2bcoltman

It's The Big Time Now!

Is It Just Me? or Is Everyone a Little Nuts! has been chosen as a book club selection for clubs in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.  

Upon notification that my book had been selected, I created a set of questions for club discussion - I’m not without a serious side, you know.  Reports back from the Pennsylvania group were positive with the representative telling me that the over all consensus was that they enjoyed the book and were glad for a break from “real”  reading.  

The Texas representative indicated that they, too, laughed their way through the book and used the questions as place mats for their cookies and margaritas.  The rep said, “they don’t like to put too much thought into reading.”

And to top it all off, I was approached by a highly regarded local citizen and asked to speak at the next meeting of one of the highly regarded service groups in town.  While I was thrilled to be asked, I had to decline due to another commitment.  His response? “Well, I guess I don’t have to read it yet then, huh?!”

Does it get better than that?