Skye Warren's Blog, page 22

Censorship

Last week, Paypal sent letters to several small-ish online booksellers, demanding that they cease the sale of certain erotic books. Bookstrand was the first to fold, and they did so with a bang, by removing all or most of their indie titles. All Romance Ebooks re-emphasized their existing terms (though I don't think they changed them) and did some reorganization to the site, basically hiding the erotica titles. Finally, Smashwords sent a letter saying that they were also complying to the demands.

The subjects that are being banned are barely legal (erotica containing 18-21 year olds), incest AND pseudo incest (step mom/son, uncle/niece, not related by blood, etc, adoption unclear), bestiality for non-natural animals (werewolves, yes, porcupines, no) and rape as titillation.

A 20 year old woman can have sex. She can even appear in and watch pornography. But what she can't do, according to Paypal, is buy or sell fiction about a 20-year-old having sex. Because THAT would be wrong. So you can actually write about something that is legal to do, but you can't sell it. What if they don't like gay relationships, will they ban M/M? What about interracial sex? Can we get a demographic of the Paypal execs so we can see what we're dealing with here?

A woman can get raped, but she can't write about it, at least, not if she wants to sell it. Best to pretend it doesn't happen. Write about knitting or cooking and then the world will be a safer place, right? Even though the people who were buying nonconsent books were women. Just don't talk about it.

Actually, you can write about it, but it just can't be for the purpose of arousing. It's called rape as titillation. But how are you even going to define it? After all, if you are titillated by my descriptions of rape, doesn't that make you the disturbed one? Not that I believe that, but if you go by their logic…

I have read some seriously hot nonconsent scenes in historicals that have been published for decades by the Big 6 (New York publishers). It's actually MORE taboo in erotica situations, because consent is so explicit. What about dubious consent, does that count? For example, what if they don't say the word "no" or they don't physically fight it. Does that count? What about survival sex, which is pretty darn common in a certain HQN category, does that count? What if they consent but don't really want it, as is the case in my latest release, Trust in Me, does that count? But by all means, let's hash this kind of stuff out with a BANK, because they should definitely be calling the morality shots.

Many of my readers have told me that they don't find the dubious consent situations described in my books arousing. I am fine with that. I did not intend them to be arousing. They don't turn me on to read them, either. So it's not, by definition, "rape as titillation" since I am not intending for it to be, nor does usually end up being, titillating. However, they are explicit, and some people find them hot. Does that count!? Wait a minute, if I tell you which Big 6 published books have nonconsent scenes that I find hot, will they be pulled, too!? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Look, anyone who's checked out some of what is popular will see some crap out there in the Land of Erotica. That is assuming that you don't think my work is crap, which some people do. But there is stuff out there with crazy covers and no editing and a barely there plot. But that's a quality issue, not a morality issue. It's an issue that the market should sort out, not banks. Paypal is the leading vendor for online payments. Their widespread adoption and trust makes switching over very difficult for these small shops. One such store, No Boundaries Press, did step up and switch processing companies and I applaud them for it.

My books were removed from Bookstrand, although my understanding is that they removed all or most indie books. I have also pulled all my books from Smashwords. Only 2 out of 5 of my books would have been affected at all (and as I described earlier, I would argue those), but I was offended by their letter. It started off much more sympathetic than the whole Bookstrand mess, but I expected better of a company that claims to be devoted to indie publishing. While it stated that censorship is bad, the undertone of the letter was "yeah, but I don't really like those topics anyways, so no big loss," which completely misses the point. Smashwords had a big opportunity to make a stand against censorship and they folded in like a wet bag.

But all of this is just the opening act if Amazon decides to follow suit. The fact is, pretty much no one was getting rich of Bookstrand or even Smashwords. I certainly wasn't. Even B&N is hit or miss, but Amazon is big bucks. The Amazon rules related to morality have always been sketchy. No outright (ie. blood related) incest is allowed and, strictly speaking, rape as titillation is not allowed (though they provide a wide berth on that one). If they decided to adopt Paypal's definition, that would mean a whole lot of books would be unshelved and those authors would lose their major/only sources of revenue. And I think they would have to address the fact that these topics are in mainstream books as well. Maybe that's an upside.

This round goes to censorship. Amazon, it's your call.

Six Sentence Sunday #6

Mia, our heroine, is in the clutches Carlos, her sadistic crime lord lover, when she meets Tyler, her childhood crush.

"So Carlos just gives his girlfriend to anyone who asks?" he said in a low tone.

From somewhere deep I pulled a careless laugh. "I'm not his girlfriend."

He raised one eyebrow. "That's not how it looked to me."

God, the innocence.

Someone's got a lot to learn. I'll give you one guess as to who

Thanks for playing and be sure to visit the other sixers here.

Lisa Kleypas Release and Giveaway!

Welcome to the Skye Warren Edition of the Corsets, Kisses and Lisa Kleypas Bloghop!

I'm a huge Lisa Kleypas fan, including both her historicals and contemporaries. Maybe I love her contemporaries just a tad more, because they are so unique, with that women's fiction voice but retaining all her strong romance and sexy elements. Yes!

My giveaway is going to be a hardcopy or digital version of her new release on February 28th, Rainshadow Road along with a $15 Amazon gift card!

All you have to do is comment and tell me which is your favorite Kleypas hero!

Not your mother's kink shaming

In the old days, kink shaming was simple. Any woman who read, thought about, or was associated with kink was a dirty slut who should be shunned, or worse. Now, with the proliferation of BDSM romance, that's not the case. No, at least in the online reader/writer community, it's cool to be a sub…. but only in bed. And with very hard, very strict limits that never include real pain. And if you mouth of regularly to your Dom/boyfriend, just to show him who's really in charge. And if you have a kick-ass career that you would never consider giving up for your man.

Because if you do any of that, then you're one of those women, those slutty, abused women with daddy issues who clearly needs a therapist. That's all kink shaming, folks. It's great that we've come this far, but we have a long road to walk.

Naughty After Dark Giveaway

Note: Congratulations to Stella who won The Book Boyfriend giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by! Because it is naughty and very, very dark, I'm giving away a copy of my new release, the dark erotica thriller, Trust in Me. Check out the blurb:

Can love be found between a whore and a knight in tarnished armor?

Mia longs for the daily torture to end, but one last task keeps her holding on. In a betrayal of the crime lord who pulled her from the gutter, she'll free the shipment of human cargo, and if she's lucky, die in the process. The alternative is unfathomable, even to a woman well-versed in erotic torture. But luck abandons her yet again when she meets the security expert in charge of the shipment and finds herself face to face with her childhood crush. The man she once begged for help. The man who failed her.

Tyler Martinez is an undercover FBI agent with one chance to right the wrongs of his past. Thrust deep into the seedy world of human trafficking, he must put aside his guilt over abandoning Mia all those years ago in order to save her now.

Someone's pulling the strings in this sadistic play on trust, but Tyler and Mia may not live long enough to see the curtain fall. Trust in Me is a story of erotic pain and incipient romance, spiraling ever faster toward betrayal or redemption.

WARNING:

This book contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence and sex. It also depicts abuse and captivity situations. Not appropriate for anyone uncomfortable with these situations or anyone under the age of eighteen. This is a work of fiction.

AND because I am feeling amorous (it's that time of year, you know?) I am also giving away a bwarm sensual massage candle:



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Sexy, right? Here's a little usage idea:

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Have you used one of these? I have and I'll just say that they're messy… but sometimes that's part of the fun. What are your V-Day plans? Leave a comment to enter!

Trust in Me Release!

Trust in Me is officially out and available at all the major e-tailers:

Amazon | B&N | All Romance | Bookstrand | Goodreads

In other amazing news, Kitty Thomas blurbed my book. Kitty Thomas, the author of Comfort Food, Guilty Pleasures, Tender Mercies, and very shortly, The Last Girl.

"Dark, disturbing, haunting, and beautiful, Skye Warren will take you into the depths of depravity but bring you home, safe in the end."

- Kitty Thomas, author of "The Last Girl"

Holy shit! I'm freaking out. And frantically adding it everywhere, including my full sized cover:

I need to check a few other blurbed books to make sure I'm getting the syntax right, but then up it will go!

Today also marks the kick off of my blog tour. I have a post up at Kinky Ever After, the group blog of Annabel Joseph, Anneke Jacob and other BDSM superstars wherein I talk about the difference between BDSM and nonconsent erotica. Go check it out and leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway.

There's about twenty stops in total over the next couple of weeks and this is one of my favorite stops. I won't post every single one here, but I'm also going to be at Forbidden Bookshelf, Erotica for All, Riverina Romantics and other reader/review/author blogs. Very excited.

Six Sentence Sunday #5

(By the way, Trust in Me is out! Officially!)

So, the past two weeks we were introduced to our heroine, Mia, and her sadistic, crime lord lover. Today Carlos shares her with a man. Nothing out of the ordinary there, until she looks up into the face of her childhood crush.

Those blue eyes widened as he looked at me, mirroring my own shock. His lips formed my name, Mia, but thank God, no sound emerged. I couldn't believe he recognized me. It had been—what?—ten years. I couldn't believe he even remembered me.

I must look different, all grown up. And—oh God—I'd just sucked a guy off in front of him.

Oh yes, I totally see an HEA in these pair's future. What – it's just me? And this is why I write dark erotica Be sure to visit the other sixers here.

First Chapter of Trust in Me

A quick note: Keep Me Safe has broken into the top #50 books on Amazon in Erotica! I am so psyched about that! What does a good ranking mean? Hell, I'm not sure, but I take whatever change for celebration I get =)

Its sequel, Trust in Me, is out in T minus 6 days. Just a reminder that I have the book trailer up, an excerpt and reader comments up over at the book page.

And I've also put up the first chapter for your reading pleasure. I highly recommend reading it before you buy it! Some readers ask me about dark erotica and I try to help, but nothing will make it more clear than trying it out for yourself.

Read the First Chapter of Trust in Me

I will also be starting up a blog tour come next week so stay tuned for links to those spots where I will be sharing lots of stuff about the making of the book and offering giveaways.

Thanks all!

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Love Is In The Air: Trust in Me Giveaway

In honor of a day for love, I'm giving away one copy of my dark erotica, Trust in Me, which releases on February 14th. Note that this is very dark, graphic and violent, so think of it as love for the kinky, disturbed set

Can love be found between a whore and a knight in tarnished armor?

Mia longs for the daily torture to end, but one last task keeps her holding on. In a betrayal of the crime lord who pulled her from the gutter, she'll free the shipment of human cargo, and if she's lucky, die in the process. The alternative is unfathomable, even to a woman well-versed in erotic torture. But luck abandons her yet again when she meets the security expert in charge of the shipment and finds herself face to face with her childhood crush. The man she once begged for help. The man who failed her.

Tyler Martinez is an undercover FBI agent with one chance to right the wrongs of his past. Thrust deep into the seedy world of human trafficking, he must put aside his guilt over abandoning Mia all those years ago in order to save her now.

Someone's pulling the strings in this sadistic play on trust, but Tyler and Mia may not live long enough to see the curtain fall. Trust in Me is a story of erotic pain and incipient romance, spiraling ever faster toward betrayal or redemption.

WARNING:

This book contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence and sex. It also depicts abuse and captivity situations. Not appropriate for anyone uncomfortable with these situations or anyone under the age of eighteen. This is a work of fiction.

Have you read any dark erotica? Who are your favorite authors who tackle dark themes (erotica or just plain romance)? Comment to win and happy Valentine's Day to ya!

Six Sentence Sunday #4

[image error]This week I'm again sharing excerpts from my upcoming dark erotica release, Trust In Me. In the last snippet, we met our heroine, Mia, and her boyfriend/owner/crime lord, Carlos. In this scene, Carlos is in a business meeting, but that isn't going to stop him from using her…

Carlos unzipped his pants, and the guy sucked in a quiet breath, as if we'd shocked him.

That wouldn't stop Carlos. He wasn't an exhibitionist. He was a sadist, and the only thing better than causing someone physical pain was causing  emotional discomfort. Every pinch was designed to humiliate, every blow to subjugate. You're not worthy, they said, and I lapped up every blow to my shrunken ego like the masochist I'd learned to be.

Thanks and be sure to visit the other sixers here.