Linda Thomas
twitter: @TheNewsChick
Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio. This is her local news blog, with an emphasis on social media, technology, Northwest companies, education, parenting, and anything else that grabs her attention.If you have a news tip or story idea, I'd love to hear from you...
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Bonneville Seattle is raising funds for the construction of a second Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma and we need your help.Women devour 'Fifty Shades' books
April 22, 2012 @ 6:01 pm (Updated: 10:43 am - 4/26/12 )
"I shudder at the thought of being flogged or whipped. Spanking probably wouldn't be so bad; humiliating though. And tied up? Why am I even thinking about this?"
Anastasia Steele is confused about an unusual relationship she finds herself in. Ana, a new college graduate from WSU's Vancouver, Washington campus has an improbable meeting with a billionaire Seattle businessman. Christian Grey is "the richest, most elusive, most enigmatic bachelor" in Washington, who runs a company that employs 40,000.
Their relationship is not the stuff of typical romance novels. It involves bondage, blindfolds, domination, submission and Grey's "red room of pain." It's also about the conflicted emotions both of them feel as they negotiate a mutually beneficial association, or fall in love.
Readers, mostly women, can't get enough of this couple.
Steele and Grey are both from the imagination of E. L. James. The British woman wrote "Fifty Shades of Grey" "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" as a hobby.
"It's all my fantasies, in one thing," James recently told the Today Show. "This is my mid-life crisis, writ large. All my fantasises are out there."
James says she's as surprised as anyone that the erotic romance trilogy is a success.
"The story is a complex mix of anger and happiness and fear and courage and ultimately love," says Michelle Lucas. "I have been telling all of my girlfriends to read these books."
Word of mouth has led to huge sales.
James has three of the top five New York Times best- sellers list with her fictional "50 Shades" book series.
Her books are number 1, 2, and 3 on Amazon's sales list. More than 2 million copies of the erotic romance novels sold in one month.
"I love the dynamic between the two characters. It feels real. It feels rugged. It makes me want to be that way with my husband," says Joan Barr, a self-described Seattle soccer mom. "These are things I've never thought about, but would be willing to try. It's exciting."
Alternative sexual lifestyles might be new to many "Fifty Shades" readers, but they're not fiction for members of the Center for Sex Positive Culture in Seattle. Director Allena Gabosch says the books give women permission to live vicariously the life they might secretly want to live.
"I think that it's so popular because more women than would ever admit, are turned on by so called kinky sex," Gabosch says.
A couple of years ago Gabosch gave me a tour of the bondage rooms and cages at her center, for the story Seattle's kinky side. She said then up to 16 percent of the population are involved in some kind of power exchange relationship.
Another reason for the popularity? E-readers. Women who might be too embarrassed to read a copy of an erotic romance novel during a lunch break or on a plane, can secretly turn the electronic pages of Kindle and smile.
The quality of the writing has been criticized, and even James doesn't think she's a good writer. That doesn't matter to Hollywood. She's signed a deal with Universal Pictures to have her books made into movies.
By LINDA THOMAS
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.
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Jeddite wrote..."mostly women"April 22, 2012 10:09 pm{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }- Reply
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MarkA wrote...This series got mentioned on cracked.com (a humor site)April 22, 2012 11:24 pm{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }- Reply
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anotherfencewalker wrote...They're back and they're bad...April 23, 2012 7:10 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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mnpat wrote...Commonly referred to as "Crotch Novels"April 23, 2012 8:13 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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cliffice wrote...QuestionApril 23, 2012 9:17 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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Moondoggie wrote...CosmoApril 23, 2012 9:30 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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Matt Lattanzi wrote...Mommy pornApril 23, 2012 11:25 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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Snout wrote...To steal from SNL. (Dana Carvey as Strom Thurmond)April 23, 2012 11:31 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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CH wrote...Bill out of "50 new sex positions" . . . .April 24, 2012 4:58 am{ "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }- Reply
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