(Above: TheNewest Gunsmiths)
50 SHADES OF GUNSMITH
by Robert J. Randisi
Okay believe me, this is NOT sour grapes, but the success of 50 SHADE SOF GREY makes one wonder—why does a book offering nothing new become a best seller?
Essentially, what 50 Shades offers is sex. For 30 years I’ve been writing The Gunsmith series as “J.R. Roberts,” for The Berkley Publishing Group. It began in January of 1982, during a time when “Adult” westerns flooded the market, and has been appearing monthly since then. What’s an Adult Western? It’s a western novel with sex in it. That’s right, the cowboy has sex with women. A new idea? Probably not, but heretofore this had not been seen in western novels (certainly not by Max Brand, Zane Grey, Owen Wister or Louis L’Amour). What these books actually showed was that men and women really did have sex in the old west. (Back when I started the series a rigidly traditional western writer of my acquaintance insisted to me that “women did not have orgasms in the old west.”). Clint Adams, the Gunsmith, has had sex over the past 30 years with many women of different sizes and shapes, and in many different ways. That’s why I say the kind of sex depicted in 50 SHADES is nothing new.
So if you’re one of the people who ran out to buy 50 SHADES when you heard about it, then run right out again and buy some Gunsmith books. The flood of Adult Westerns in the market during the 80’s has slowed to a trickle. There are 4 left, but The Gunsmith remains the only such series still being written by a single author.
It’s a fact that there is a current resurgence in Westerns. The Gunsmith series, in particular, has experienced increased sales. But if a combination of action and sex appeals to you, then get yourself 50 Shades of Gunsmith—or 350.
-------------------------------------------And I say to hell with it.
Judy's getting a PET scan on Monday, too. We know all too well about those long days. Hope all goes okay for you.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gone through everything Judy has, Bill. I've been spared a lot of what my fellow multiple myeloma patients have suffered. too. So far anyway. You know how much I like and admire the Criders, Bill. You are fine and decent people in a world that doesn't celebrate those virtues way enough. I'll be thinking of Judy Monday morning. BTW One day on steroids and I bench pressed a Buick tonight!
ReplyDeleteSending good thoughts out all around. Stay strong.
ReplyDeleteI do hope all goes well for you, Mr Gorman, and you regain good health very soon.
ReplyDeleteI have read a few of Randisi's paperbacks and found them both racy and, well, spicy. One series by one author for 30 years is a terrific record. I wonder how his books have evolved since 1982. It'd be interesting to read the first and the last in the series so far.
Get better soon.
ReplyDeletePeter
Yikes. That was not your father's Buick, I gather. Hope all goes well, Ed. - Matt
ReplyDeletePrashant, I don't think the photos came out, but there should be a copy of the first cover, and the newest cover above. Check Amazon and B&N.com.
ReplyDeleteRJR
What I think made 50 Shades successful was its origins as Twilight fanfic. Remember, it was a bestseller BEFORE any publisher showed any interest in it, other than the small Australian epublisher who initially put it out. That's really what's different about it, not the content ... it's basically a romance with strong BDSM elements, and romance novels have a lot traditional of dominant/submissive relationships going back to the old "bodice ripper" days.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your treatments, hope you recover fully and feel well.