What Do Readers Want? One Reader Responds

As an author, I often try to figure out what readers want. But, reading tastes vary from person to person. Today, I am thrilled to have Rhonda, a voracious reader, here to share her thoughts. 

Celeste Jones: Rhonda, please tell us a bit about yourself and how you started reading spanking fiction. 

Rhonda: First, thank you so much Celeste for asking me to do this. I am truly honored to be a part of your interview. As crazy as it might sound, until about 5 1/2 years ago I wouldn’t read an email that was longer than a paragraph or two. HAHAHA! I made fun of a friend of mine that read romance books for years. She finally talked me into reading one. I did not want to like it, but I did, and here I am today. My first spanking book I read was “Unexpected Consequences” book 1 of Cara Bristol’s “Rod and Cane Society” series. I’ve loved this genre ever since.   

Celeste Jones: How do you choose the books you read? Author? Title? Blurb?

Rhonda: If the title or the cover art catches my eye I will read the blurb. If it’s an author that I have never read before, I will go to their website and see exactly what kind of books they write and read different reviews about the book in question. If the author is one of my favorites, it doesn’t matter what anyone says about the book, I will buy the book and read it anyway. 

Celeste Jones: Do you re-read books? If so, what makes a book worthy of a second (or third) read? 

Rhonda: I have only re-read two books ever. That’s because I didn’t research the book good enough and didn’t realize it was in the middle of a series. Naturally, if I read one book, and it’s in the middle of a series, I will have to read the whole series so I will know what’s going on. Then, and only then, would I re-read a book. My problem is, there are so many books I want to read, I don’t have time to go back and re-read anything. I’m moving on to the next great book on my ever growing book list. 

Celeste Jones: What are your thoughts on short stories? 

Rhonda: I read short stories, but I’m not crazy about them. Some of them seem really rushed and to me there’s a lot of really good stuff that could happen in the missing chapters. I end up really liking the characters, therefore I want their story to be longer. 

Celeste Jones: Do you finish every book you start? If not, what will cause you to give up on a book? 

Rhonda: Yes ma’am, I read the whole book. I have never just put one down because I didn’t like the first half. There’s been a few that started off really slow and I thought I’d never get done, but then the last half is really good and I hate that it’s over. If I didn’t finish the book, I’d always wonder what happened, and my OCD would kick in and it would make me nuts. HAHA!

Celeste Jones: What about price? Does that factor into your decision to buy a book? 

Rhonda: I couldn’t care less about the price of a book. I have two authors that when one of their books are released, I buy it on my nook and again when it comes out in paper back. I have bought books that range from $0.99 to $15 and never once wished I hadn’t bought them.

Celeste Jones: Do editing or grammar errors bother you? 

Rhonda: OH MY Goodness! It drives me absolutely crazy. As I said earlier, I’m a little OCD about some things so it does seem to make my eye twitch when there are numerous errors. I can over look some, but if there is a lot, I start wondering who proofed the book and usually will think twice before I buy another book by that author.

Celeste Jones: Do you have a favorite type of spanking book---historical, boss/employee, cowboy etc? 

Rhonda: I am a country girl, who grew up and lives in Texas, so I’m very partial to anything Cowboy. That being said, I love the old west and contemporary cowboy stories. On the other hand, I’m a big fan of historical regencies. I really like it when an American cowboy ends up inheriting a title and falls in love with an English Princess, and they both turns England society upside down. Of course these are usually erotic/spanking books.  [Hmmm...this sounds a little bit like a couple of my books..... :) ]

Celeste Jones: Do people in your life know you read spanking fiction? If so, what do they think? 

Rhonda: Yes ma’am. My whole family (husband, kids, parents, etc) know that I read spanking fiction. For my family it's whatever, they don't care. Some of them still will mess with me about it, but its all done in fun. It wouldn't matter what they think anyway. I’m not forcing them to read them. I enjoy reading spanking, BDSM, erotic romance, and, more recently, Sci-fi. I received several opinions from some family members at first but I just told them, “Don't judge me for the books I read or tell me they are wrong until you read one yourself. Then and only then you can give me an honest opinion.” Since then, I have three nieces who are now reading my kind of romance and loving it as much as I do:) [Sounds like you're the favorite aunt for sure!]

Celeste Jones: If you could give some advice to writers, what would you say? 

Rhonda: Oh man, this is a hard question. I’m not an author so therefore I don’t feel entitled to give you or any other author advice. I enjoy many different types of books, by many different authors. I respect what y’all do and the time it takes y’all to write a good book for your fans. Therefore, it’s very difficult for me to critique the work y’all do. So far, the authors that I have chosen to read really know how to pull me into the story. Y’all seem to do y’all’s research when writing, and the stories are believable to me. Therefore all I can say is “keep up the GREAT work.”

Again I’d like to thank you Celeste for allowing me to be apart of this interview. I really enjoyed the whole experience. I look forward to reading more of your books soon:)

Rhonda R. Griffith:)

Thank YOU Rhonda!

Rhonda will be leading a discussion of Maggie Carpenter's The Cowboy's Rules for Spanking Stories Book Club on April 4. Looking forward to it!