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| This one would be okay, since it's non-erotic. But wait, he's shirtless & you can see his undies. Abort! Abort! |
But I digress.
Things were going swimmingly and I was encouraged that maybe my books could be part of my local library system. Then I asked about the raciness aspect. The library director put her hand down on the counter and said, "At one end of the spectrum we have those Harlequins your grandmother would read, and at the other end of the spectrum we have Fifty Shades of Grey," and moved her hand to the other side of the counter.
My head exploded. Here was my thought process as I tried to recover. "Oh my God, she thinks FSOG is at the END of the spectrum? And she's a library director?!?"
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| The blow job scene w/in the first 10 pages would've caused a swoon, I'm sure. |
I managed to tell her I had books from about the middle of the road (I do publish some non-erotic titles) to the Fifty Shades side. I chose not to mention just how far past the FSOG line some of my work was. Here's how she responded. She pursed her lips - I don't think I've ever seen someone actually do that, and wrinkled her nose like she'd smelled something bad. Then she said, "Oh, I don't allow books with THAT KIND OF CONTENT."
Seriously? Who made you judge and jury about what types of work readers should have access to? I thought this was 2013. We can't handle a little sex with our love stories?
Apparently not. Censorship is alive and well.
But I know when to fight the battle and when to retreat, so I retreated. I'm going to contact the central library acquisition department to see if their policy reflects the archaic attitude of that library director. I hope not. I can't say I have much confidence, though.
-- Cassandra
To see more about me and my books with THAT KIND OF CONTENT, check out my website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com.
