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Sunday 3 August 2008

Flaming heck…


Flaming heck it was cold in the mountains on the weekend….it’s just wrong for winter.

Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.” –Alan Dean Foster

I came home to a messy house. No one to blame but myself. I am a messy person. A friend of mine said what happens when you die and someone has to sort through your assorted junk? Well, I’ll be dead…it won’t be my problem will it?

The other day I got this email from someone I had not spoken to in ages. It came out of the blue and I still don’t know what this person was on about. The email rambled on about nothing that meant anything to me because I had cut ties with this person ages ago. So why the email? Yes – it was one of those WTF moments. I was pissed off at first because I thought who is this person to be disturbing my peace with their childish ramblings about nothing? Why do I have to try and waste my time and decode it? Maybe they were having a cathartic moment. Maybe they were just having a hissy fit. Maybe their undies were too tight. Whatever….next time I am just hitting the delete button because life is too short to deal with people who disturb your peace.

However, a rational friend pointed out that the person who emailed could be venting. Okay – venting I understand. Venting is good. I love a good vent. The thing with a good vent is that it does not have to mean anything to anyone but the ventor. A vent can be about something that happened today or three years ago. A vent doesn’t have to make sense. It’s just about getting all the aggro out by kicking and screaming and swearing and shouting your frustration. My mother used to hold anger in. Sometimes all of a sudden she would just lose the plot and vent angrily about a bunch of things. I would then say to her – ‘how long have you been holding that in?’ I love a good vent but I will do it then and there. I am not one to hold in anger. So, yeah, this email person was probably spitting the dummy about something that has been on her mind and now she decided to have the urge to purge. I just wished she chosen someone who knew what the hell she was talking about because it was lost on me.

There is nothing more galling to angry people than the coolness of those on whom they wish to vent their spleenAlexandre Dumas Père

Flames…are more flames better than one? What am I talking about? The other night I got this email asking was I happy with one flame or two? Yes – it has been a confusing couple of days for me. I eventually worked out that I was not being asked if I was a pyromaniac – it was about sex. Yes, tricky huh? Flames equal sex. Remember in the old soap operas when the camera used to pan to a burning candle in the bedroom of the lovers and you knew from that they were having sex? Sort of similar.


My Cerridwen Press books – under the name Janet Davies – where released at All Romance e-books. Click here if you want to see the flame thing. They have one flame. That indicates heat level – as in sex – not as in my toes are cold and I am cranky. One flame means pretty tame. Well, yes – my Cerridwen Press books have tame sex. For more sex see the Amarinda books. Interestingly enough, I get feedback from readers who say that they have read my Cerridwen books after the Elloras Cave books and apart from the level of sex, they have the same feel as the Amarinda books. Well – yes – I am the same person but I recognize some people want different things in books. So, I give you a choice between genres.

Back to the flame thingy. I said I was okay with the one flame. Some authors are not though. I asked some writers why they felt they needed the extra couple of flames. One author pointed out that some of her books, although tamer sex than an erotic novel, needed to be changed in heat level to stop unsuspecting readers picking up a one flame book and getting a two flame book. In essence not getting what they paid for. Fair enough. Another author emailed me privately and said it was all about sales and that the more flames they had the more the book they would sell because people wanted to buy books with sex in them. O-kay. At least that is in-your-face-honesty. She wants to make money so she wants more flames on her book to induce people to buy. I can’t fault that logic. And yes, writers write for money. You all know that. I hope that her readers aren’t too pissed when they get a 1 flame book expecting 3.

So what’s in a flame? Any opinions? Are you a one flamer like me or do you demand the whole match box be lit up?

One thing I don't understand is sex is legal and selling things is legal but selling sex is illegal.
--
George Carlin quotes

I mentioned I was going to the Australian Romance Readers Convention in Feb 09 in Melbourne, Australia. Click here to find out more. I just have been speaking to a bunch of Aussie Authors on a Yahoo loop. It good to see so many Aussies writing romance and doing bloody well at it.

That’s it. I am going out now to get the washing off the clothes line – no - please do not get too excited at the glamour of my life.

Sunday – may yours be peaceful and housework free.

www.amarindajones.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmarindaJonesNewsletter/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?

5 comments:

barbara huffert said...

Love the Chaos quote.

Today will definitely be housework free because I don't feel like doing any, therefore I won't. That's what tomorrow is for unless something better comes along.

Um, *preparing to duck*, isn't winter supposed to be cold? I thought you were brokering us a trade on that?

Sandra Cox said...

Welcome back! I'm a one flamer. Its a fair assessment, but I think it will probably affect sales.

Regina Carlysle said...

I have a couple of books over there. I didn't check the FLAMES. Hmm. Maybe I'd better do that. Personally, I think there's a market for our books at any heat level. There seem to be plenty of readers who want sweet, behind-closed-doors stuff. I don't read them but lots do.

Sorry you froze your boo-tay off but from my vantage point it sounds wonderful. Glad you're home safe and sound.

Venting is a good thing. Gets it off your chest, ya know. I tend toward the calm, laid back side and let it bottle up until I can't take it any more and have to yell at someone.

Anny Cook said...

Hmmm. Well if I vent in your direction, I'll be sure to explain it first to you, although I'm not usually a venter. I can see how it would be confusing, though.

No housework here. I'm houseworked out, though there will be plenty of laundry on Tuesday from all my company. Sigh.

As for flames... My books are not at that other site. But if they were, I suspect that they would certainly be more than one flame, primarily for the warning value.

Glad your trip was safe!

Unknown said...

Venting... I'm the recipient of a lot of venting being a customer service rep. I'm sure you get the same thing as I recall you are in the same profession.

I guess people feel it's safe to vent to someone on the phone they don't know and won't ever meet - either that we have to take it or that we don't seem real so we're fair game. Here, I guess I'm venting about being vented on.

Your post reminds me of a post I just wrote but scheduled for a few days from now, next Friday, I think. About friends and ex-friends.

As per flames, some of my books are very hot and some aren't at all. As I don't want readers to be disappointed, I publish under my own name for the sweet ones - which hasn't been lately.