by Sandy B.
Well – that's a slight exaggeration on my part. Please let me explain.
Books and reading have always been a great love of
mine. An escape from the reality of everyday
life. I could be anyone, go anywhere, and
do anything within the pages of those books.
As we all know, life continues and reading fell further and further
behind to my family, my work and my friends.
Then these books called The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy came to my
attention. Everyone was talking about
them. They were all over the news and
social media. Everyone was reading them. They were “gasp!” erotica and talked of
whips, bondage and butt plugs. People
were now speaking of these things openly and not hiding their interest. I saw women reading them while running on the
treadmill at the gym, on the bus while riding to work – even while walking down
the street on their Kindles.
I must admit that my curiosity was killing me! Truth is – the commute back and forth to work
gave me 2 hours every day to indulge my curiosity. The author, EL James, gave an interview and I
was a little surprised at her attitude.
Despite criticisms about her writing – she was adamant that nothing was
going to be changed. She laughed off the
criticism. I liked her. On April 17, 2012, I went on Amazon and 1-Clicked
FSoG. I blushed, I laughed,
I gasped, not because I was shocked at the subject matter – because it was now
mainstream. Erotica was no longer a
dirty little secret to be whispered and giggled about with your
girlfriends. An avenue for open and
frank discussions between couples, a little something different to spice up a
stale bedroom life.
I admit that I enjoyed FSoG, then Fifty Shades
Darker – though by 50 Shades Freed, I was a little over Christian Grey. However, it opened the door to so many
wonderful authors, authors that I thoroughly enjoy. Are they all erotica –no. I enjoyed
historicals, paranormal, young adult and new adult. Once again, I regained my love of
reading. How could I have forgotten how
much it meant to me? The joy that it brought to me. I created a Facebook page and from that
Facebook page I joined book clubs and groups that enjoyed the same time of
author. FSoG opened the door to authors
like Sylvia Day, Jasinda Wilder, Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher, Claire
Contreras, EL Montes, SL Jennings, M. Leighton, Kristen Proby, S.C. Stephens,
Madeline Sheehan, Mia Asher, Ilsa Madden-Mills, Jenna Galicki, JB Hartnett and Crystal
Spears. I lived their stories! The book
clubs and groups allowed me to discuss these stories as if the characters were
real. I had a BBF (Book Boyfriend –
Gideon Cross). We quoted preferred passages
to each other. I made real friends,
like Danielle, because she lent me This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas. It was as if we’ve known each other all our
lives.
I was asked by a popular blogger if I wanted to do a guest
review. I agreed. It was so much fun! Then I started following the pages of my
favorite authors. Interacting with them
on a daily basis added another dimension to the books I was reading. Most of them written by independent authors
who were not backed by large publishing houses.
They were approachable, open, warm and friendly to their readers. Then I was asked by one of the popular
bloggers (Hi Jenn D.!) if I wanted to admin a blog. Of course, I was interested in everything
that it would entail. A few days later,
I said yes. Officially I became part of
The Book Blog in April of 2013. The other girls that admin the blog (Jenn N. &
Lesley) were kind and receptive. We
immediately clicked. It was a “marriage”
made in heaven. I learned. I grew.
I enjoyed. I now had an outlet
for my thoughts and an opportunity to indulge in writing – even if it’s just
reviews and articles. Funnily enough, it
was almost exactly a year to the day that I read 50 Shades of Grey.
Then in February of last year I was diagnosed with breast
cancer. I was faced with a mastectomy,
16 rounds of chemotherapy, 5 weeks of daily radiation and an entire year of
once a month antibody treatments. Oh, please
don’t feel sorry for me, and I am, by no means complaining. This is just a statement of fact. I knew what to expect and accepted it as the
price to pay for my survival. What I
didn’t expect was the love, compassion, generosity and support of the amazing
community that has become such an integral part of my life. That doesn’t mean that my family and friends haven’t
been loving and supportive – they have.
Understand this, a lot of these people I have never even met face to
face. Those bonds of friendship have
been forged over countless FB group chats, IM’s, author signings, endless
debates over which alpha male is the hottest.
At the core of all of there is one thing – LOVE. Love of a great story, love of that first
kiss, love of a well written sex scene, love of a good cry, love of the angst
that makes you want to fling your Kindle (yes I’m talking about you Mia
Asher), love of that leading man who makes us want to be his leading lady, love
of a cliffhanger, and ultimately the love of an HEA (Happily Ever After). Our common goal is to spread the word when we
find a great read. To then dissect and
discuss our favorite parts until we’ve had our fill. Some even tattoo their favorite line of a
book somewhere on their body. Yes, I
have thought about it. No, I haven’t done
it yet.
These amazing people have encouraged me, prayed for me, sent
me cards and care packages (#WeBlich/Ashley love you guys!) with everything
from signed books, nail polish, candles and popcorn. Our following on this blog, they make me smile (Hi Bookers!), I see myself in them
because they get me (#VixenLove). Each
and every one of them has made a huge beautiful positive difference in my
life. Thank you all!
Who knew my life would expand in such an amazing way. Who knew that all these FB friends would
become such an integral part of my life.
Who knew all this would come from reading FSoG! I wish I could tell EL
James myself, how her books have opened a door for me that brings me joy every
single day. I’m so very grateful.
In a few weeks we will get to “meet” Christian Grey as
embodied by Jamie Dornan. Many had VERY
strong opinions about the casting of the FSoG movie. Speaking for myself, I’m looking forward to
seeing it. Who was cast as CG or
Anastasia didn’t matter to me. My thrill
comes from seeing how words on a page translate to video on screen. This could not have been an easy task for
those screenwriters. Truth is not many writers
get an opportunity like this one. After all, we can’t all be Nicholas Sparks. ;-)
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