Wednesday, April 15, 2009

All of a sudden, Mormons are HOT.

Who'd a thunk it? The Osmonds wanted to be perceived as hot but failed. Quite miserably. Nevertheless, they set the stage. Then Mit (Mitt? Mitttttt?) Romney came along and tried to be -- in an appropriately understated way, of course -- Mr. Hottie of the American political scene. (What the hell does Mit stand for, anyway? Or is it German, as in "With" Romney? Sind Sie mit Romney oder gegen Romney? ) Anyway, he didn't quite make the cut, although he definitely caught our interest.

But in the world of books? WHOA. Jump back, Jack!

First, Stephenie Meyer, bored hausfrau and reluctant author extraordinaire, decides to kill some time by trying her hand at writing. Why not, eh? She doesn't have to work thanks to hubby's considerable earning capacity, and since she really doesn't give a rat's ass about the craft of fiction, she can just go ahead and dabble around to entertain herself. But something entirely unexpected happens. Whoosh! -- down comes the angel Moroni with more golden plates, but on this set are inscribed holy words called the "Twilight" series. Young girl gettin' jiggy with a hungry vampire, both quivering with unspent passion. Meyer looks at the first book and says, "Jiminy, will I have to claim this came out of me?" And the angel answers, "First of all, my name isn't Jiminy. And you betcha, babe. The book sucks too bad for me to claim it, but you'll be well compensated for your embarrassment."

It isn't only in the realm of hetero romance where Mormon sizzle has been sending out steam signals. James Buchanan's most recent release, Hard Fall from MLR Press, features a gay Mormon hero (and, from everything I've read, is an infinitely better book than Meyer's dreck). Then that incomparable greenhouse of eroticism, Ravenous Romance, followed suit by publishing a most provocatively titled short story, "The Missionary and the Artist," which also features a gay Saint.

Makes me want to move to Utah, I'll tell ya.

I wonder which religion or denomination will generate the next eruption of verbal smexxin'. Got any ideas?

4 comments:

Katrina Strauss said...

It's interesting to note some of the more prolific "emo" bands came out of the Mormon scene in both Utah and Vegas. Panic! at the Disco, The Used, as well as not-so-emo The Killers. It's an interesting sociological trend to be sure.

K. Z. Snow said...

Hi, Katrina. I wasn't aware of those bands. Now I'm wondering more than ever how to account for this trend...and why Mormon "hotness" is emerging both in m/m fiction and emo musical groups.

Fascinating.

jessewave said...

In terms of Mormon "hotness" I can say that the character in James' book was indeed hawt and I loved the book muchly. But I had better not say that too loud or someone else will take me to task. *g*

K. Z. Snow said...

Wave, I won't let anybody take you to task ... unless they pay me lots of money and deliver Ashton Kutcher to keep Nathan, and me, entertained. (Yeah, okay, I'm a hypocrite.)