Already one month down in the new year. Can you believe it? It's time for this month's edition of the Roadmap, in which I update those who care (myself) about the promises I'll be breaking, the ruin of more fictional people's lives, and the things that will make you scratch your head and wonder if the cheese has finally slid off the cracker.
To begin, I offer you all my sincere thanks for your continued support of what we have going on here. The site's moving in positive directions, gaining momentum, and seeing an increase in visitation and interaction. Let's dive in.
Reviews:
You will notice that after placing orders, you will get a follow-up email to add your honest review of a book. A couple of people have chosen to do so, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate any reviews, good or bad. You can check a box to leave reviews anonymously. You don't need to write anything. A star rating will suffice. Without feedback, I'm just kind of stumbling along and writing the dark and terrible things that come to my own mind. Sometimes that's a good thing. Other times, I stray into the weeds and we get things like Holes or The Genesis Crossing. Sometimes it really goes too far and we get Reared in Birchbark Falls. So, yeah, I guess leave reviews or I'll write a ReReared in Birchbark Falls!
Feedback is invaluable to determining if I've gone too far, gotten too dark, or gone too fluffy. On that note, I'm delighted to say that one of the books got picked up on the All The Filthy Details podcast recently. If you're not familiar, they're a popular erotica podcast that does book reads, audio porn, and reviews. If you would like to hear their reviewers get up in arms over Edge, you can find the podcast here.
If you want the summary, they thought the writing was great, but the content was far too dark. How can anyone get off to things like nonconsent and incest? Why would anyone write a lesbian sex shower scene, and follow it with a girl watching her best friend suck off her brother? It's just too much. One of their reviewers refused to even read it. However, they did have an audio actress with a rather sexy English accent read a bit of it aloud, so that was nice.
Were I to give a response, it would be: "That is what we do here." Perhaps you should pay a visit to the NewYou clinic, in which we will change your mind. In this place, we like reluctantly seduced and slutty girls, who ultimately get off on being turned into sex toys. It's all in fictional fun. Don't take it too seriously.
These things, however, are exactly the kind of things any writer needs to hear. All the Filthy Details has my sincere thanks for picking up the book and expanding their erotic horizons with my word poison. I truly appreciate the feedback and the press. The lack of kink-shaming is further appreciated. Very classy ladies over there, if just a touch vanilla. 😉
Collaborations:
I completed my first collaborative work with Lisa X Lopez, The Demon Chain. I know that some of you (or most of you) are looking at this kind of thing and wondering if I've gone all weird again.
I can assure you that I have not. I have always been weird. The collaborations are a chance to break out of what I normally do and create fresh ideas, without having to do all the work. I get to add my little bits to the story and go on my way, letting someone else finish up the rest of the work. It's hard to classify that story. There is some dirty, noncon, and reluctant sex in it, but it also has fantasy and horror elements, so it's a bit of a mix. Storywise, though, it's a solid win. I am totally in love with the finished product.
Lisa is a fantastic storyteller who can really do emotionally impactful characters well. Every single one of her books, small as they are right now, is a tear-jerker. She has some darker stuff coming down the pipe, too, including one that I feel the folks on this site are going to love. No romance, no fluffy characters, just a horde of backstabbing sluts vying for their place in a prominent social club.
Guest Posts:
I'm continuing to work on getting other guest posters for the site. I've recently worked up a cross-promotion with Ed Leather from EroticFantasies.ca, so some of my shorts and book promos will be appearing over there. He has a small group of good writers that produce a lot of free content, and I'm hoping that we'll have some guest writers over here from that deal.
AllTheseRoadworks and I are continuing to work together, and you'll be seeing more of him over here. Some of my books are appearing on his site, as well, through a partnership program he runs. Like my deal with Lisa, he has another writer, Pixie Isobella, who does some great noncon/reluctance stories, most of them sex slave related. If that's your thing, I encourage you to give her a follow and a look at her site.
Serial Finishes
I just put one of the serial shorts to rest with the conclusion of Gooner Girl. I also produced a cover for it that I'm really proud of. I have a few little series like that floating around, and as I stated in the last roadmap, I don't want to move forward letting things languish like that. So, I'll be knocking those out in short order, starting with the quickest to put to rest. So, in this order, here are the serials that will get wrapped up first.