S@yr's Blog

Sense of Sin, Kelly’s First Time, and (Untitled Sophomore Novel); Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Writing

Here are the facts, as far as we know them. I say the facts, because I still can’t believe they are true until I see them in front of me.

On June 23, my debut novel, Sense of Sin, was released by American publishing house Solstice Publishing. Two days earlier my short story, Kelly’s First Time, appeared in the anthology Let’s Have Fun: Volume One. A week later, it was released as a standalone short.

To the best of my knowledge, I’m still alive. Still here, still struggling to believe I’ve had a book released. I’m now a published novelist at 22, a fact that I will never tire of typing.

So now what?

Sense of Sin was written in a 2 day daze, the way most of my writing is. Kelly’s First Time was drafted in a matter of hours. But both were stories which occupied some space in the further reaches of my mind for as long as I care to remember, as vague, cute concepts, log-lines-

“A BDSM rom com where the tough-guy, sweet-girl roles are reversed”

“A slasher story where the “dumb teens” are the ones in control of things”

Like anyone, I had a million such stories run through my mind, and had rarely given a second’s thought to making them a reality. There was something precious and pure about their status as ideas, as if they were worth millions until written down.

Now that’s all changed. Now Sense of Sin and Kelly’s First Time are immortalized in print, and all I can do is move onto the next project.

Right?

Right.

Except that it’s almost impossible to move onto the next project, my mind teeming with fears both fair and unfounded, my trigger finger tapping to refresh Amazon rankings once every couple of seconds. I’m terrified of losing the pace I had, scared I’ve already lost my momentum, afraid I’ll lose any remaining enthusiasm upon sight of my first royalty payment. I lie awake and wonder whether I should ever have become a writer, what I could have changed in the story or the novel to make it perfect, what I can do to get my words into the hands of readers who want to see them. I’m scared my writing will be lost in the flood of Amazon releases. I’m  scared I’ll never have a ranking, or never have one I’m happy with, or never know what ranking one should be happy with. I’m afraid no one will see the stories I have to tell, and I’m afraid I’ll never know if I told the stories the way they were in my mind.

That’s heavy (Doc). It’s real. But that’s what writing is. It’s being scared, and saying so, and still saying what you have to say. Simple as.

So, sophomore slump or comeback of the fucking century?

James Joyce was almost blind by the time he finished Finnegan’s Wake, and his previous novel was still banned in his home country at the time. Dan Harmon fought tooth and nail for dozens of projects before Community succeeded, than continued to fight tooth and nail for Community after that, and Rick and Morty after that. As Kanye warned us all, they expected The College Dropout to drop and then flop- check the charts a decade and a half later if you want to see how that prediction panned out.

So, am I ready to start writing my next novel? To keep screaming into the wind about why you need to read Sense of Sin, and Kelly’s First Time, and (this next thing)? To keep hustling and hammering out words as long as I can still stand?

Fuck, you couldn’t hope to stop me.

mybook.to/SenseofSin

mybook.to/Kellys1stTime

Sense of Sin: First Look! (Exclusive)

Seven days…

Seven days…

Seven days… Seven days… Seven days…

Sorry to go all Jack Torrance on you, I just thought it would be a good time to give you an insight into my thoughts right now. Unfortunately, as you can see, “my thoughts right now” consist entirely of the fact that there’s only seven days until my debut novel will be released!

Madness. If it seems like only a few weeks since I was another aspiring author on the verge of giving up on my dream- that’s because it was. Now, I don’t want to get too sentimental on you before Sense of Sin has even been released. Still, it would be wrong of me not to thank the wonderful KC Sprayberry, Kate Collins, Melissa Miller, and in fact the entire team at Solstice Publishing. Had they not taken a chance on me, Sense of Sin might still be languishing on their competitor’s to-be-read piles.

So, in the spirit of celebration, and to take my mind off the wait (Seven whole days! It’s like Christmas), I’ve decided to give you all a first look at Sense of Sin.

Below is an (exclusive) excerpt from the book’s prologue, a glance to the flirty, dirty fun Sense of Sin has to offer readers. A word of warning, though- things get quite hot, quite quick (yes, even in the prologue). You might not want to read this one at the work desk!

 

Sense of Sin

Prologue

Beth slid up onto the dorm room’s writing desk.

She hitched up her summer dress a little, knowing she could drive Adam wild with just the slightest peek of what was underneath.

The hard heels of her Doc Marten boots tapped against the smooth wood. As the purple leather rubbed against the desk, Adam noticed that a small scuff had appeared at her ankle. Without saying a word, Beth looked him in the eye and pointed at the little scuffmark. An impish smile played on her lips in a minor key, vanishing as quick as it appeared. Beth gave Adam a strict, severe look, her eyes hard and kind at the same time. He knew exactly what he was expected to do.

“Kiss me”

Her voice twinkled, sharp and bright at once. Shattered glass, Adam thought. He hesitated for a second, returning her gaze. For a moment, time stood perfectly still between them, frozen in the air. Neither party wanted to be the first to break, but everything between Beth and Adam seemed to have happened so suddenly; the hook-ups, the tutoring sessions, the exam-

As he leaned down, Adam could have sworn he saw a slight, sly smile.

Adam kissed her boot, his lips just above the small heel. Right on the scuffmark. He kissed, a slow movement, taking care as he gripped Beth’s smooth, small legs in his large, hard hands. Too slow? Too fast. Who knew with her?

Adam’s thought was answered by a sudden, vicious tug on his hair. Beth rammed his face into her foot, sick of his stalling. Fuck, she was ferocious.

His face pressed between her heel and the cold desk, Adam kissed her boot, then the pale bare flank of her shin, then the start of her legs. His eyes drifted between them, hungry. She was wet already, naked beneath the thin fabric of her light, loose dress. Her tanned thighs were parted to reveal all of herself, her sex soaked with her come, its thin, pink lips swollen reddish for him.

His cock stiffened as he licked, the thick, hard strip of muscle pressed against his tight jeans, aching for release.

At her command.

 

 

Sense of Sin: An Introduction

Well, the time has come. In the many years since I decided to become a writer, I never expected that my first release date would somehow manage to sneak up on me.

On June 23- yes, next Thursday- Solstice Publishing’s romance imprint Solstice After Dark will be releasing my debut novel, Sense of Sin.

So- What is it?

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked. The shortest answer has become my favorite- “It’s a femdom rom-com!”

If only that didn’t require even more explaining.

As an avid young reader, I fell in love with romance late, never discovering the genre until I was already a young adult. When I realized Fifty Shades and its imitators were all the general public knew of romance and erotica, I was more than a little troubled. What about all the great contemporaries I had enjoyed? The witty, light rom-coms, and the delicious high drama of the new adult genre? Even among those unfamiliar with BDSM, I could think of so many edgier, more interesting depictions of Safe, Sane, & Consensual kinkiness.

When I turned to writing myself, I wanted to create a story that could make a difference. Something which would challenge the “soft heroines, hard heroes” stereotype that so many had tried to reduce romance to. Seeing my generation begin to open up to the ideals of gender equality, I was inspired to write a romance which challenged the preconceptions which surround the genre.

I wrote a novel I had always wanted to read, a novel about an independent young woman coming to terms with herself and her sexuality. A novel about an alpha male who is successful, charming, and strong enough to enjoy both domination and submission. A novel about sex, yes- lots of it, and kinky sex, at that- but also a novel about love, and a novel about what happens when sex and love meet up and intertwine.

All of this to say, Sense of Sin is easy to categorize.

It’s a femdom rom-com- with some maledom sex, and some angsty, sad scenes. It’s a New Adult novel, and a contemporary, a spicy and sweet romance, dirty enough to be erotica and lovely enough to be romance. If that all sounds like a contradiction, it’s one that comes together better than expected.

Take my word for it, the first time a girl takes the reins from her lover, things can get crazy. For better or worse, it’s one first time you’re not likely to forget any time soon.