The Antithesis of Fifty – Anchored and Meaningful Plenty

Why do I tout my book as the antithesis to Fifty?  For a number of reasons: plot,
message, pace, merit and genre. Plenty
de-glamorizes sex kitten training, and strips away the fairy tale sheen, a theme
popularized by Fifty. Plenty chronicles the dark, ugly, gritty
side of contract intimacy with a dominant
male and shatters glossy Pretty Woman
perceptions. Plenty can’t be
categorized as an endearing “acceptable” romance novel between an injured dominant
male and a naïve female. Moreover, it doesn’t encourage a submissive female and
dominant male dynamic. Plenty doesn’t
begin with a stumble but with a shudder. To some readers, the pace of the story
may be jarring but to an adrenaline junkie who watched jolting intense James
Bond movies for decades, it’s a perfect fit.

Finally, in contrast to Fifty,
merit knits the threads of this suspense
thriller together. Merit drives the plot in many ways via car crashes,
impulsive decisions and opportunities for empowerment through friendship and
skills training. First, car crashes in the book drive the plot forward but also
impart important messages about driving and tolerance. Merit weaves its way
throughout the plot through Mark’s mantra, the horses, the bees and conversations
about road rage. Merit eventually galvanizes acceptance plus understanding of
an unconventional but well-matched loving couple.

While, ultimately, Plenty
doesn’t popularize, encourage the objectification of women or glorify sex
kitten training, it does focus on a wounded
woman secure male dynamic that holds many fascinating surprises for the
reader. Other plot differences include the rural versus city setting, the
number of suitors involved, education and
family life separate the female protagonists – Anastasia and Camille, the gender
of the teacher/trainer, the boyfriend’s
agenda and the sex scenes from Chapter
one to the final chapters. In fact, all represent major differences between the two books.

For readers seeking a sleepy, slow, romance story about a
wealthy man who plucks a sexually inexperienced young woman from a life of
obscurity to become his well-trained plaything/princess, I suggest another
story besides Plenty, the powerful, feminist,
flip side of Fifty.

In closing, as the mother of a son, probably slated to be a mother-in-law one day, I think often about the life partner he may choose. I hope that he chooses a loving, kind, good-hearted, strong woman who rescues herself, a woman who values her ability to function independently in the world like my niece who recently graduated as a Marine officer. By the way, she dates an Army Ranger. So proud of my family’s military service and ties. So proud to live in an era when female empowerment, exempliary and exalt belong in the same sentence.