A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

[WriterDom]

A huge influence on me.

 

[MissTaken]

Cool.

I rather enjoyed the first part of the Sleeping Beauty trilogy.

I haven't read the other two yet though. They are on my reading list.

 

[lark sparrow]

A huge influence on me.

I adored the Vampire series at one point - the first three, then she began to lose me.

I have the Beauty as well but I have to admit to only skimming through the series for the "good parts".

 

[WriterDom]

It was 5 years ago. I had read the witches and the vampires. But the first few chapters of Beauty changed me forever.

 

[MissTaken]

What I found enlightening was how far Beauty would go to please the ever absent prince.


And, that she enjoyed being used and trained for him.

It really struck home for me with the scene in the Queen's chambers.

I am not slave material, by any stretch, but there was much to be gained by reading Anne.

 

[lark sparrow]

She writes some stunningly beautiful passages! Once it got to the whole Sultan thing I completely lost the plot, but there is "goodness" in much of what she writes.

Anyone think she is into D/s? Or does she just have a fabulous imagination?

 

[P. B. Walker]

Is Anne Rice really a woman?

PBW

 

[lark sparrow]

Is Anne Rice really a woman?

PBW

LOL well, I've heard that her daughter died young and perhaps this is partially where her Vampire series idea began. Eternal life and youth, the living dead, internal struggle and more psycho-babble.

I was just curious. As there were brilliant moments in there.

 

[P. B. Walker]

Well I've never read her. But I hear she can be pretty freaky. Gotta appreciate that.

PBW

 

[SexyChele]

I bought the "Beauty" triology with the intent of reading all three books. Never finished the first one, and I am normally obssessive about finishing a book no matter how badly it is written.

Quite frankly, I found it to be - boring. Yeah, there were a couple of more interesting episodes, such as the pony girls, but beyond that it was simply a spank fest. Now, I enjoy a good spanking as well as the next sub, but about halfway through the book, I was finding it very difficult to understand why Beauty kept crying this river of tears. Sheesh! I mean she was getting her ass whipped every night, you think she would have built up some resistance to the whole thing.

Granted, this is the only book I've read by this author (gave the entire triology away free of charge to another Literotican, as I simply did not want it in my home any longer), but Anne Rice strikes me as some one who has heard a few interesting things involving S/M and attempted to incorporate them into a story. I know I may be wrong, but for the limited imagination shown, I would suspect she is not into BDSM, nor is she inclined towards it. She simply played on the idea of people being curious, and eventually her own notoriety. (Most people never even heard of the "Beauty" series until after Rice's name became attached to them)

 

[TantaLiza]

I was at a local book resale and I found a companion to Anne Rice's erotica...it's been interesting and am about half way thru it...she was raised in a Catholic city, New Orleans, taught by nuns and priests. Her "religious education was filled with sensuality and preoccupations over good and evil." The book also says that she learned about the punishing exercises of the midieval flagelants, how they stretched the resources of their bodies to increase their pleasure in God by increasing the degree of pain they could bear. She states that the lives of the saints were very sadomasochistic, driving themselves into a state of ecstasy that was erotic to extremes. She was so transfixed by the lives of saints that she begged her father to design an oratory for prayer and meditation. She admits to having very conflicting emotions as a child that were repressed by the ideas from her mother.... she even said that Lisa from Exit to Eden was sort of based on herself....

Anyway...it's been quite an interesting read so far...sorry about the lesson... just happens when I get into a book...

Liza

 

[Skitten]

re

I found the beauty series to be very thrilling series. Yes, some parts are hard to follow, but after reading the whole series it was very informative. About how she was willing to give into her ever desire and to please those who had claimed her. I enjoyed learning all the aspects, but agree that the spanking on a daily basis were a bit much, but for the most part it was eye opening.

 

[WriterDom]

I bought the "Beauty" triology with the intent of reading all three books. Never finished the first one, and I am normally obssessive about finishing a book no matter how badly it is written.

Granted, this is the only book I've read by this author (gave the entire triology away free of charge to another Literotican, as I simply did not want it in my home any longer), but Anne Rice strikes me as some one who has heard a few interesting things involving S/M and attempted to incorporate them into a story

I guess coming from a bdsm perspective, the books aren't that great. But stumbling upon them as a vanilla, the first few chapters did ignite a fire inside me.

Don't judge her by that series. Read "The Witching Hour" and if you don't enjoy it, I'll give you your money back.

 

[skye in silk]

Agrees with Writer Dom here. i read the series really young think i was 16 or so. was facinated for some reason. had to read them all the way through. but from a literary perspective. the three books are basically the same thing. it got a bit old and boring after one. but the topic was intriquing for me. and now i know why. lol.


A side note, recommendation:

if anyone likes Rice...her more mainstream stuff...then they will like laurell k hamiton. She has a series. Anita Blake Vampire Executioner that simply ROCKS! there are 10 books in the series. and i had to read them all in order the minute i read the first. They blend eroticism, horror, suspense in a great package. Loves Anita, she always kicks ass and i would highly recommend Hamiltons books for anyone.

lol tis funny Hamilton's last book Narcissus in Chains got panned by her fans because it is considered way too BDSM. not really, a couple of scenes in a leather club and some overet sensuality but pretty tame.

if anyone reads them...or has read them be sure to let me know what you think

Skye

 

[lady-kat]

A side note, recommendation:

if anyone likes Rice...her more mainstream stuff...then they will like laurell k hamiton. She has a series. Anita Blake Vampire Executioner that simply ROCKS! there are 10 books in the series. and i had to read them all in order the minute i read the first. They blend eroticism, horror, suspense in a great package. Loves Anita, she always kicks ass and i would highly recommend Hamiltons books for anyone.

lol tis funny Hamilton's last book Narcissus in Chains got panned by her fans because it is considered way too BDSM. not really, a couple of scenes in a leather club and some overet sensuality but pretty tame.

if anyone reads them...or has read them be sure to let me know what you think

Skye

Yep. L.K.Hamilton is awsome, IMHO. lol. Been hooked on her for years. Anita Blake absolutely kicks butt.....

The Beauty series was a good read for me. (after reading all 25 Gor novels, I was ready for books written from a woman's perspective *grin*)

But I loved A. Rice's "Exit to Eden" even better. That one resonated more with me than the Beauty series. Not exactly sure why.
*shrug*

My all time favorite is still "Story of O". I read that when I was a teenager.

 

[serijules]

I bought the "Beauty" triology with the intent of reading all three books. Never finished the first one, and I am normally obssessive about finishing a book no matter how badly it is written.

Quite frankly, I found it to be - boring. Yeah, there were a couple of more interesting episodes, such as the pony girls, but beyond that it was simply a spank fest. Now, I enjoy a good spanking as well as the next sub, but about halfway through the book, I was finding it very difficult to understand why Beauty kept crying this river of tears. Sheesh! I mean she was getting her ass whipped every night, you think she would have built up some resistance to the whole thing.

Granted, this is the only book I've read by this author (gave the entire triology away free of charge to another Literotican, as I simply did not want it in my home any longer), but Anne Rice strikes me as some one who has heard a few interesting things involving S/M and attempted to incorporate them into a story. I know I may be wrong, but for the limited imagination shown, I would suspect she is not into BDSM, nor is she inclined towards it. She simply played on the idea of people being curious, and eventually her own notoriety. (Most people never even heard of the "Beauty" series until after Rice's name became attached to them)

I agree with SC here...I did finish the whole series, but it took me a damn long time and normally I read a book in a matter of hours. It all seemed so horridly overdramatic and well....silly. There were some really well written lines and descriptions, but too many of them packed together...after awhile, I was just rolling my eyes. Granted, it's a fantasy/fiction, but I still like my fiction to have a solid grip on reality...and too many things in the book were just not safely possible and I had a hard time getting past that and just enjoying the fantasy of it.

I do not think Anne has any real interest in BDSM either, because her descriptions and whatnot come across far too cliche` to be based on real feelings or real experience. It all reminds me of the attitude that some more open minded 'vanilla's' have towards BDSM sometimes...pick out the most dramatic and extreme things to focus on and completely leave out the softer, more emotional and real parts. If I'm reading a fiction on BDSM, I want it all and I want it real...or I'll just be satisfied with living it myself and stick with John Grisham for entertainment <g>

But, that being said, if you don't have high expectations and like a dramatic, sappy, porn/romance sorta thing...read the books, you might even get off on a few of the scenes, because there ARE a fair share of very erotic parts. Woulda worked better as short stories though.

 

[skye in silk]

If I'm reading a fiction on BDSM, I want it all and I want it real...or I'll just be satisfied with living it myself and stick with John Grisham for entertainment <g>

agrees with you here serijules. its hard to read about BDSM except in a romantic/fantasy way. any recommendations for "real" books? would love any recs you or others may have.

another fantasy recommendation i would have would be Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. excellent book, a bit better in my opinion than the beauty series. In this book the Heroine is a bottom, she was born this way. and spends most of the book trying to understand why she craves to be topped and coming to terms with this fact. but also written along the fantasy realm, but delves a bit deeper than "oh baby, spank me...humiliate me please" i highly recommend it.

my 2 cents.

Thanks

Skye

 

[Richard49]

LOL well, I've heard that her daughter died young and perhaps this is partially where her Vampire series idea began. Eternal life and youth, the living dead, internal struggle and more psycho-babble.

I was just curious. As there were brilliant moments in there.

Her husband is dying now

 

[Rubyfruit]

A huge influence on me.

Me too.

 

[Never]

Boring and painful to read.

skye in silk:
"another fantasy recommendation i would have would be Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. excellent book, a bit better in my opinion than the beauty series. In this book the Heroine is a bottom, she was born this way. and spends most of the book trying to understand why she craves to be topped and coming to terms with this fact. but also written along the fantasy realm, but delves a bit deeper than "oh baby, spank me...humiliate me please" i highly recommend it. "

Kushiel's Dart (The first part of a trilogy) puts the Beauty Trilogy to shame. Then again, I’ve had root canals that have put the Beauty series to shame.

I disagree with out about the main character being a bottom, though I’d definitely call her a masochist.

 

[skye in silk]

Boring and painful to read.

skye in silk:
"another fantasy recommendation i would have would be Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. excellent book, a bit better in my opinion than the beauty series. In this book the Heroine is a bottom, she was born this way. and spends most of the book trying to understand why she craves to be topped and coming to terms with this fact. but also written along the fantasy realm, but delves a bit deeper than "oh baby, spank me...humiliate me please" i highly recommend it. "

Kushiel's Dart (The first part of a trilogy) puts the Beauty Trilogy to shame. Then again, I’ve had root canals that have put the Beauty series to shame.

I disagree with out about the main character being a bottom, though I’d definitely call her a masochist.

hmmm you are correct Never. she is a masochist and i should have said "comes to terms with her enjoyment of pain. not being a bottom... " but why wouldn't you consider her a bottom? interested here. . and admit i probably shouldn't express opinions about something i know so little about. lol

Thanks Skye

 

[lark sparrow]

Well, we're not talking "great literature" in Anne Rice, but as an influence, especially when younger or coming out in BDSM, I can definitely see their place. As with writers like Stephen King she has a large following.

Has anyone read Laura Antoniou's The Marketplace Series? Not quite as flowery, bordering on romance novellas. I "read" these as well - skimming through to intriguing passages, but as for novels that I would read all the way through - they never grabbed me enough in plot, character and writing style. Pat Califia has some interesting BDSM fiction as well with a bit more grit.

 

[TantaLiza]

Admittedly, I read Exit to Eden before I read the Beauty Series... Beauty was a bit more harsh for my 'nilla mind to expound upon but it did make me question quite a bit and even begin research online...was led to Story of O and have been most eager ever since...

I've just begun SM 101....that should answer all the questions I have from here....

Thanks for all the other suggestions of authors to check out...

Liza

 

[RomanHans]

Interesting comments...

My impression of Anne Rice is also that she's more of a dabbler in BDSM themes than a practitioner...although I've seen her in person (at a book signing) as well as on TV and she's likes to project a dark and mysterious image. On the other hand, I think that she's done something of a service by writing on BDSM themes and therefore attracting some more 'mainstream' folks (like myself) to the topic. My wife and I probably would never have read the 'Beauty' trilogy or 'Exit to Eden' if the publisher had not identified the author as 'Anne Rice writing as (A.N. Rocquelaire/Anne Rampling).'

I thought that Exit to Eden was somewhat more engaging, but then I'm more interested in novels with somewhat more modern settings (although I like the fantasy genre as well). Anyhow, re-reading the books ten years hence, plus after the popularity of the Web and all of its diverse content (such as this site), makes her plots seem a bit more pedestrian...but you have to admit that she has a remarkable ability to evoke strong images with language.

Thanks for the thread!

RomanHans

 

[LadyHeart]

Stan Rice

Thought some people might be interested in seeing this.


LadyHeart

NEW ORLEANS December 10, 2002 (AP)--Poet and painter Stan Rice, the husband of novelist Anne Rice, has died at age 60.

He died Monday of brain cancer.

Born in Dallas, Rice met his future wife in a high school journalism class.

They married in 1961 and enrolled at San Francisco State University, where he went on to become assistant director of the Poetry Center and later headed the creative writing department.

In 1988, the couple moved to New Orleans, where Rice eventually opened the Stan Rice Gallery.

In ``Prism of the Night,' a 1992 biography of Anne Rice, she said of her husband: ``He's a model to me of a man who doesn't look to heaven or hell to justify his feelings about life itself. His capacity for action is admirable. Very early on he said to me, 'What more could you ask for than life itself?''

Victoria Wilson of the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, who edits Anne Rice's novels and worked with Rice on his 1997 book, ``Paintings,' said Rice refused to sell his artworks.

``The great thing about Stan is that he refused to play the game as a painter, and he refused to play the game as a poet,' Wilson said.

Rice's seven poetry collections attracted numerous honors, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award of the Academy of American Poets, the Joseph Henry Jackson Award and a writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his son, Christopher, as well as his mother, a brother and two sisters.



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