Cara Faith Donvovan's Blog, page 104

Celebrating! Top 100 Book on Amazon!

 Woke up this morning to the best gift any author can ever have (at least in my opinion) and I can't thank the friends of Crimson enough.  It's been on my bucket list since I began writing and today I'm celebrating for the first time a book I penned in the top overall 100 on Amazon!  As a self-published author I am still amazed that this book has done so well.  Oddly enough it's seven in the morning and I live in the middle of nowhere so my celebration will be a great cup of coffee.  That's how it usually is with book accomplishments.  But personally I'm having a party in my mind and all of you are there!

So once again, thank you to all the great people who believed I could write a book worthy enough to be considered for the top 100.  Let me just say that one more time, or write it?  Top 100 book on Amazon!  Seriously, I'm not excited at all if you can't tell.  Like all great things, I know it can't last but I have this one moment forever immortalized on the site to look back at!  I hope your 2014 is starting out just as incredible!

Love,
Michelle


New Adult college romanceThanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Click If You're a Book Whore!

An unexpected surprise with the five book bundle set we released last month!  Currently it resides on Amazon at #134 Paid in Kindle Store.  So very close to the top 100 and all I can say is thank you.  Five Nights is 5 full length stories in one collection.  As most of you will recall, a name change was planned that went awry, so Cara Faith Donovan never came to be.  Our original intention was to release this boxed set to bring in the new name.  So our minds were completely blown when it seemed to flourish on Amazon!

We've decided to keep the price at 99 cents.  These were some of our favorite stories and giving our friends a chance to read them was all that really mattered. If you still haven't gotten your copy yet you can stop in at Amazon here.  We wanted to offer this in paperback but were told that 848 pages was not doable.  We'll be working on that issue. 




So what else is going on?  Whore starts the book blog tour on January 14th.  If you've been keeping up you'll know that this book has given us some serious issues over the title.  Finally those problems have been ironed out and it's on sale under the RIGHT category instead of erotica where Amazon tried to hide it.  This is definitely a New Adult Contemporary Romance, but the Whore threw the warning lights off.  Guess we need to be a little more careful with titles?  Doubtful!  Whore was what the book was meant to be and a Whore it will stay.  Seriously the tagline:  Embrace Your Inner Whore... why would we want to give that up?

That's the problem with a Whore *grins*  but seriously we hope you'll stop in on the blog tour stops and at least say thanks to some of these great people for letting us take up a little space!  We're listing the links we have below. Hopefully if we've missed someone they'll smack us around so we can share their links!
You can purchase Whore on Amazon here.



Whore Blog Tour Starting January 14th
http://alphasauthorsbooksohmy.info/
http://sassygirlbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/theloveofagoodbook
http://readingbythebook.com
http://beccaannesbookreviews.blogspot.com
http://beaniebrainreader.blogspot.com/
www.thebookhookers.com
www.chapterbreak.com
http://bookjunkygirls.com
http://bookienookiereviews.blogspot.com/
http://loveussomebooks.blogspot.com
http://foxylutely.blogspot.co.uk/
http://broadwaygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com
http://tiffanytalksbooks.com
http://www.xscapefromreality.com
http://onceuponadreamreviews.blogspot.com/
Http://thelovelybooksbookblog.blogspot.com
http://www.herjuicyreads.com
http://www.reviewingromance.com
http://rosesbooksnobs.weebly.com/index.html
http://swoonworthybooks.com
www.facebook.com/boundbybooksbookreview
http://rumpledsheetsblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.sookie72.wordpress.com
http://bookconsumeddiva.wordpress.com
http://www.madeforyoubookreviews.com
https://www.facebook.com/jtonellafiorentini
http://rustysreading.com
http://booklunaticramblings.blogspot.com
http://brendasbookbeat.blogspot.com/
http://obsessionisabook.blogspot.co.uk
www.mommyslatenightbookup.blogspot.com
http://meangirlsluvbooks.blogspot.com
http://sweetsbooks.wordpress.com
http://metineleven.blogspot.sg/
http://www.randommusesomy.blogpspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/jackiereviewsbooksforyou
http://jessbookblog.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/SammiesBookClub
http://www.thelemonreview.com/
www.tiffsbookhangover.blogspot.com

Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Holy Shite, What a Year!

If you haven't noticed by the title of this post we've been watching a little too much Sons of Anarchy in December!  Obviously we fell in love with the Irish! Seriously though, it's Charlie Hunnam that has given us a biker addiction!  With the crew being down most of the month we've had a huge amount of time to watch all six seasons.  Did we mention we get a little obsessive over things we love here?

One of our readers said she was a Hunnam Angel for life, and now we get why.  A few of the folks around here are now ready to start their own MC! The only problem with that scenario is none of us ride, but we'd make some great old ladies! Jail time doesn't seem like much fun either so our club would have to be strictly legit!  If you haven't watched the show you can catch the first five seasons on Netflix and then the sixth on Amazon.  It's worth the ride!

So what made us want to watch the show?  We started working on a new Biker Romance a few months ago and the research for the background in nonfiction was interesting but we wanted to get a feel about what people were relating to on a fiction level.  Someone suggested SOA and that's all it took.  Yes we were six years late, which we really regret now, but it was made up for!  Michelle's family is regretting that finding since now she's decided leather is pretty cool!

Vampires, Rock Stars, BDSM and now Bikers!  Things definitely never get dull around Tears of Crimson! Now if only we can remind our fearless leader that she doesn't need to go out and experience all these scenarios to write about them!  Five kids and a husband might just keep her grounded enough to realize she might have more fun writing about it instead!

We hooked up with Rachel Mizer of Shoutlines designs to get the lowdown on a possible new cover for the biker romance and can't wait to see what she comes up with.  Maybe she can come up with a Patch for all our Tears of Crimson friends?  2013 has been one hell of a year and we're looking at a 2014 that's packed with just as much excitement!  We're really hoping to finish out the Tears of Crimson series in 2014 as well, if we can get Michelle to stop whining about ending her baby!  Make sure you send her some encouragement and tell her you won't stop visiting just because the final book in the vampire series hits the shelves.

Sending out love to all our Tears of Crimson friends with best wishes for an incredible 2014!  Let's see what we can make happen this year!

Love,

The Tears of Crimson CrewThanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Merry Christmas from Tears of Crimson!

 From everyone at Tears of Crimson, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
2013 was a wonderful year for us and we hope as you look back it had many memorable times for you as well.  Even with all the battles that were fought this year we made it through with our head held high and filled with love for all those that supported us.  The truth is nothing can stop what is meant to be and the readers of Tears helped us prove that!  We can only hope that 2014 shows the same pattern.

Heading into 2014 there are already five projects ready to be kicked off, including the final book in the Tears of Crimson series.  "God willing and the creek don't rise" things will stay on course for those adventures and many more.  As we end this year, Five nights remains in the top 100 of New Adult College romances and Whore is still digging it's way out from under the witch hunt on Amazon for the title and starting to gain ground.  It's been one heck of a ride, but as we said earlier, what's meant to be, will be!
As you go about spending time with your family and friends this Christmas season, we wish you nothing but joy and love.  Be safe and thankful for all the gifts given to you!  Each day that we breathe is a new chance to share a dream.  Much of our time was focused on bringing new books to readers this year, and the promotion behind them.  We hope in 2014 we'll have a little more time to help others!  If you'd like to share your releases with Tears, please get them in at least thirty days in advance.  We aren't doing reviews but we will spotlight books from authors with guest posts. 
Thank you again for all the love and support.  May 2014 be your year to shine and for all your dreams to come true! Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

We Stand With Phil of Duck Dynasty - A&E

 

I support Phil Robertson and his right to express his faith and beliefs. #nophilnoshow pic.twitter.com/tfTQleYM8e

— Justin Flom (@justinflom) December 19, 2013

Our opinion is everyone has the right to Freedom of Speech.  A&E knew going in that Phil was a Christian and he made no qualms about how he would speak his mind.  Intolerance goes both ways and regardless of what our personal opinions are, Phil has the right to share his.  
Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Cover Reveal for Body Language: Dahlia Salvatore

Coming January 17, 2013 a beautiful story that you don't want to miss by Dahlia Salvatore!  I was fortunate enough to receive the ARC of this book and I was blown away.  It's one of those books that I believe will find a place on a bestseller list quickly! Without giving away spoilers, let me just say that this one will find a way into your heart and pull on those strings.  But it's so much more!  It's about overcoming great odds and fighting back when life has dealt you a hand that makes it seem impossible!  I was so emotionally moved by this novel!

Blurb:  

Carmen Andrews hasn't spoken for a year, not since she was viciously tortured by a psychopath.  Forced into silence by the trauma, she finds a new life in a new town.  As a dancer, she can get away with her silence.  In her head is a mess of memories, withheld frustrations, and a host of wingless dreams.  When her new psychiatrist sends her to a speech therapist to help loosen her tongue, she meets Jacob Weller.

Fresh out of graduate school, Jacob is eager to help those who are suffering from mutism and other speech and language disorders.  When he meets Carmen, he finds her attractive but his high ethical standards keep him from mentioning it.  But when he's blown away by another woman, his thoughts wander back to the hauntingly beautiful face of Carmen, of the emotive way she looks through him and seems to know him.

As Jacob begins to treat her, he finds himself drawn more and more to her, and even begins to confide in her about himself.  As his actions border on the unprofessional, with no visible changes in Carmen, he faces an emotional and professional dilemma.

Carmen struggles with her demons and secrets... secrets that keep her mouth firmly shut and her heart desperately wanting.


Cover Design by:  Shoutlines
Visit us on the web - http://www.shoutlinesdesign.com
Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Shoutlinesdesign
Follow us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ShoutlinesdesThanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

The Phoenix Takes Over Tears of Crimson

Erotica I present to you a twisted tale, born of politics, sex and music in a time we like to call the nineties. It was early in that decade, with vigorous campaigning for the 1992 presidential election taking a special place in the media. Go ahead and get started.
MTV, the music television channel was still in the habit of playing music videos back then and was championing the cause of Miami bass group 2 Live Crew in the name of free speech. Because of the graphically explicit lyrics on the group’s “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” album, 2 Live Crew had been the target of an obscenity trial and the album became the first ever to be ruled legally obscene (although one would think “illegally obscene” would be the proper term). Under the spotlight of Tipper Gore’s Parents’ Music Resource Committee (PMRC) and the Broward County Sheriff, the Crew was subjected to album seizures and arrest after a live performance. MTV played their videos, gave their ongoing situation plenty of MTV News coverage and tied the whole thing into their “Rock the Vote” effort to get their viewers interested in voting. In addition to campaign coverage, music luminaries like Madonna participated in attention-grabbing public service spots prompting people to vote.

I know it may be hard to believe since recent political party activities have actually tried to discourage select demographics of potential voters, but the 1992 campaign had a special focus on trying to draw younger voters. George Bush was seen as having an unassailable position, largely because of older, conservative voters. Bill Clinton made his play for the younger, more liberal citizens. The day after he received the Democratic Party nomination, he appeared on Arsenio Hall’s late-night talk show and played “Heartbreak Hotel” on the saxophone. His cool factor instantly skyrocketed. Clinton became a darling of both young and minority Americans and leapt ahead of Bush in the polls. That was June. “Rock the Vote” became even bigger and MTV kept shouting self-righteously about standing behind 2 Live Crew.

In October, things changed. The aforementioned Madonna released a book titled “Sex” in conjunction with her much anticipated “Erotica” album and the single “Justify My Love”. As usual, many loved it and some hated it. Leading the controversy, “Justify My Love” had a video that didn’t shy away from Madonna engaging in homoerotic activity. Pitchforks were taken up and torches were lit. Some critics said Madonna had killed her career. Naturally, no one remembers those critics because they’re irrelevant. Ted Koppel did a Nightline episode on the controversy, showed the video, then had an open talk about it. Something was missing, though…

Oh, right! MTV. If anybody was going to stand with Madonna, it should’ve been MTV. She was a music powerhouse. She was one of MTV’s key attractions. Siding with Madonna was a no-brainer, especially after all the First Amendment rants and 2 Live Crew support MTV had engaged in over the previous year. So, MTV mouthpieces quickly announced that MTV wasn’t going to run Madonna’s new video. Wait a minute! Was there a typo? Did someone misspeak?

MTV wasn’t going to run Madonna’s new video. Baffling. More than a little hypocritical. This made no sense.  So…without the convenience of the internet, (yes, welcome to the dark age of pre-worldwide web) I grabbed my land line phone and dove into the task of tracking down a phone number for MTV. Finding it, I called New York City and got as far as the MTV receptionist of whom I demanded to be connected with someone who could provide me with an explanation of their indefensible position. As it turned out, that person was the receptionist. Apparently, MTV had gotten a lot of phone calls from people demanding the same thing I was and so the execs prepared the poor woman with a single tool: the explanatory statement that “It’s just not for us.”

Seriously? That was it? I left her with a message for her employers: MTV is just not for me.
That ended our exchange with all the satisfaction it was going to bring. I turned MTV off my TV and didn’t look back. The folks at MTV had decided that they couldn’t predict which side of the issue was going to be the cool one nor, more importantly, which was going to be best for the bottom line, so the decision was to just stay out of it. That struck me as supremely uncool.
　
Afterglow

Free expression is important to me. When it comes to words, images and music, I continue to stand by the opinion that if you don’t like them, don’t look or listen. Not liking them, though doesn’t give you the right to suppress someone else’s expression. One of the things I don’t like at present is Amazon’s current book listing procedure that makes a writer’s work subject to special scrutiny by the company’s personnel. Much like the motion picture rating process, there are parts of the system that remain mysterious to those of us attempting to use it. In this case, it means creators must pass the scrutiny of unknown eyes that have the capacity to literally judge books by their covers and reclassify them based upon image or title no matter what the writer has to say about the content. It means that self-publishing writers are left without key controls over the marketing disposition of their own creations.

In theory, this seemingly subtle form of censorship can place a book on a virtual shelf where a writer never intended it to be. Having your deeply religious work end up labeled as philosophy or self-help and your scholarly documentary placed as a children’s book may not seem like much to someone who’s not a writer, but it’s a few exponential steps beyond any of those arguments you ever had with your parents those times when they were being arbitrarily unfair about anything you wanted to do. Fighting with Amazon personnel over it as an adult will leave you feeling about as impotent.

What seems to be the most extreme result of this is that Amazon has the power to relegate a book to the obscurity of a virtual pornography closet if it is deemed that any element of it is too dangerously adult unless it is changed. Again, to some it may not sound like much, but if you’ve been told by some government clerk that the carefully crafted name you’ve bestowed upon your love child (in honor of your beloved grandparents) has to be changed to something the clerk likes, you’re going to be upset. You could decide to stay with your original decision, but when it comes to a book that obscure placement can have a tremendous impact. Suppose that it had been decided that “Moby Dick” could only have been sold in adult bookstores because of its title because…come on, we know what that title means. No, it doesn’t matter what you say the story is about, just look at that title. Seriously? You want high school students reading porn? Now, imagine that “The Scarlet Letter” or “Lady Chatterly’s Lover” had been released under the name “Whore”. How many people would’ve found it on the shelf of the adult bookstores it was hidden in because they were the only places that could carry it? Should some disinterested functionary have had the power to change their titles to “A Small Town Scandal” because it sounded less offensive?

In realm of independent publishing supposedly governed by free expression, the correct answer is “No.”  If you’re writing, take heed, because the righteousness of your fight is going to matter less than you’d like. Unfortunately, the reality of it all comes down to this: whether you’re pouring your heart into a tragic chronicle of a prostitute’s life on the streets or a passionate virgin’s sexual awakening, don’t name it “Whore”. Sure, you know it’s a biography or a romance or a literary adventure or even a religious redemption, but you may not like how it ends.


Discover Phoenix Writing!

Phoenix Writing Blog  Twitter @BennuWright



What would it mean to your perception of self to not know key details of your own past? 
How does it affect your decision making when you learn that gods have taken interest in the things you do? 
Where do you place your loyalty when your own people will not stand with you in your most dire moments? 
Lar Kwa is the Lost Prince of Alban, absent from his frozen homeland of proud warriors for twenty years. Bearing Tshan’casai, the ancient sword of his fathers, he is determined to use its potent magics to become savior to his troubled people. From the Crimson Throne, with Princess Treutelaar, Light of the People, at his side and advanced technology at his command, he plans to accomplish nothing short of the reformation of the fragmented empire forged by his family in days long past. Many oppose Lar Kwa’s ambitions, content with maintaining the status quo, but the prince has opened himself to guidance by forces beyond mortal ken. Of what consequence then are the wishes of mankind, the power of dragons, the intervention of isolationist warlords or the concerns of neighboring nations to a monarch willing to plunge half the world into war in order to rule it? Can the disturbing visions of one young misfit be of significance as elements of strange prophecies continue to manifest? As truths struggle to find their way to light, they will threaten not only the sanity of those involved, but to unravel the very fabric of reality. Myth and magic born of ancient gods and lost cities continue to shape a world of science and ambitious mortals. 
Who will survive?



Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Whore: To Hot for Amazon and Facebook but Deflowered is Even Worse?

If you can't beat them.... scream yourself into oblivion then change the title?  This was the only option that I could come up with for Whore, which as you can see by the book cover, I attempted to rename!  My first problem began when Facebook refused to let me advertise, claiming the title was against policy.

I was pretty ticked about that but decided if Facebook didn't want my advertising dollars, it was there loss.  So I released Whore and got several comments from loyal readers that they couldn't find my book without typing in the exact title along with my name.  I let that slide for a week, thinking it just hadn't had time to go through Amazon's search preferences.

Then I noticed the category for my book.  Erotic?  I didn't list it as erotic.  It was listed as a Contemporary Romance.  I went back through KDP and checked my categories just to make sure I hadn't inadvertently put the wrong thing in.  Nope.  The title was listed just the way I meant it to be, Contemporary Romance.  So I emailed them.  This was the tidbit of advice I got that shocked me.  If a book has been listed as Erotic it can't be listed in any other category.

Well I didn't list it as Erotic and since my people have clothes on the only deduction I could come up with for this was they didn't approve of the Title.  Whore was meant to be a play on words for the book, the (h) is a virgin for the love of Christmas! While I could get by without advertising on facebook, readers not being able to find my book because it was deemed pornography was unacceptable.  I mean come on... I write about virgins and strong men for heaven's sake!

I feel like I had no choice.  Amazon was obviously on a witch hunt and my book got screwed.  Selena Kitt did a great post on this: Selena's Post.  For my other author friends I highly suggest you go here http://www.salesrankexpress.com/ and see if your book has a red adult tagging.  If it does you might be forced to do exactly what I've done.  

So low and behold I get this nice little email from Amazon after I changed the title to Deflowered:

Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>
11:13 PM (7 hours ago)


Hello,

We’re contacting you regarding the following book(s), which are in violation of our content guidelines (see list below for details):

Deflowered by Hughes, Michelle (AUTHOR) (ID:4332246) - title

If you wish, you may make changes to your book (images, title, description, and interior content) to comply with the KDP Content Guidelines and re-submit it for publishing.

You can find our content guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing website: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishin...

We’ve set your book to an editable state. Upon changing your content, please re-submit your book for publishing and respond to this email at title-submission@amazon.com in order for your book to be made available for sale in the Kindle Store.

Best regards,

Kindle Direct Publishing

kdp.amazon.com


So Whore is an acceptable Title, but if I use it then Amazon will make it an ADULT book refusing to let it be seen in normal book searches and it can't be categorized as Romance since they deem it Erotic?  So after going through ALL that frustration I get an email back from Amazon saying they've reconsidered Whore and it is now no longer Adult.  Here's that email:

Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>

Hello,

We’ve reviewed your response concerning the following book(s):

ASIN: B00H3T3GS4

After further review, we have decided to remove the search restrictions so your book(s) will now be found in our general product search results. This may take up to 24 hours to process.

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this temporary restriction.

Best Regards,

Beatrice K
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.



So here I am back where I started originally.  With a Contemporary Romance Novel that was never erotic to begin with, not that I agree with what they are doing to Erotic Authors, hoping that since I resubmitted that it won't get red flagged as ADULT again.  If this book doesn't get flagged as an inappropriate title (trust me I'm not holding my breath there) it should be available for sale again tomorrow. 
This may not be considered Book Banning, but it definitely is holding a book hostage!  And let me just say that I find it somewhat ironic that if you're E.L James who's making them millions, you can have a book in Erotic and Contemporary Romance and NOT get red flagged.  Of course Amazon would NEVER play favorites like that.  Right?  Just had to say it.  You can check out that little tidbit of information out for yourself by using the Sales Rank Express Link above.  
 I'm a glass half full kind of person and try to see the positives in every negative situation.  So what have I taken away from all this?  Never title a book with a word that might be considered offensive (although Whore and Deflowered are words even my seventeen year old daughters could say without getting in trouble), even if it perfectly fits your book.  
I have no idea what's going to happen with this book, but let me say this has been an eye-opening experience. 
Love Always,
Michelle Hughes Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Real Christmas Joy Is a Child's Smiling Face

Every year I'm reminded of the true gift of the Christmas season when I see my children smile.  It's a magical time of year when wishes and dreams come true.  These are my little angels and I've been blessed beyond belief.  Christmas to me is all about children and it's hard not to think about the children that will be waiting for Santa to come when families have fallen upon hard times.

There's one organization that brings smiles to these little dreamers and I hope you'll consider them this year when you open your heart. Toys For Tots.  Why do I ask for your support?  Years ago, before I met the second love of my life I'd fallen on such hard times.  I was the single mother who wondered how she was going to keep the Christmas dream alive when I was doing the best I could to keep food on the table.

Toys For Tots gave my children the magic of Christmas that year and it still brings tears to my eyes to remember that gift.  So while you're enjoying all the blessings that life has given to you, I hope you'll remember those that are struggling and bring the Christmas Miracle into the little hearts that need to be reminded of the good things in life.


U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program
MISSION:The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
GOAL:The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
OBJECTIVES:The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.
ACTIVITIES:The principal Toys for Tots activity which takes place each year is the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located.  In communities without a Reserve Unit, the campaign can be conducted by a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign.  Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toys and monetary donations.
Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!

Competing with Fifty Shades? That's Not My Goal!

I got a review today on Goodreads about the new book Whore, which frankly disturbed me a little.  Not that I mind a person speaking their mind but the idea behind this was that all these authors were trying to rewrite Fifty Shades of Grey.  I thought the comment deserved to be brought up for further discussison and contrary to popular belief E.L. James wasn't the first person to write a romance novel with a BDSM theme.  Not taking anything away from Mrs. James on the success of her work, but the person I hold as the person who started this genre was Anne Rice.

Anne wrote a great series called the Sleeping Beauty trilogy and it was my first introduction to BDSM themed romance.  Trust me when I say Christian had nothing on her characters when it came to sadomasochism!  The first book came out in 1999 and I have to say it changed my life in ways I won't get into in this posting.  I obviously don't know the mindset Anne Rice was trying to portray with this series, but it spoke to the darkest part of my soul and I was fascinated.

Another point that was raised in this review was the Virgin/Millionaire scenario.  Again let me share my view that E.L  James didn't create that phenomenon either.  Harlequin Romance brought that out into the field and I remember reading my grandmother's four box set that came every month (I was only eight at the time) so giving credit where it's due is deserved.  Trust me I'm not downing the Fifty Shades phenomenon.  I enjoyed all of those books and I'm very happy for James on her success, but saying that she has already done the theme is a little ridiculous.

I've been writing virgin/alpha romances since 2009 myself and that was years before James published her book.  The truth is that's what I enjoy writing and there are still readers out there that want to read books along that theme.  If you as a reader don't that's your reading privilege but saying that an author is copying someone else is ludicrous when no author has the rights to the topic.  It also shows that the reviewer didn't actually read my book because Whore has very little to do with the issues of BDSM.


Taylor Ross wasn't abused as a child, nor does he have the need to control every facet of Laura's life.  He is rich and powerful and believes he can pay for sex.  He doesn't believe in relationships and he has a very good reason for wanting Laura to be his whore.  That reason comes out throughout the book, and I won't spoil it here.

Laura is struggling in life after being abandoned by her mother and she has to make a decision about what's important to her.  She's definitely not had an easy life and here's this strong male accustomed to getting what he wants not only in business but his personal life as well.  He offers her the opportunity to better herself but in doing so she will have to give up who she is as a person.  I consider this to be a coming of age, new adult romance, because the decisions she's faced with deal more with finding out who she is as a person.

What I'm hoping readers will take away from this book is her internal struggle.  There are some sexy scenes that might be a little much for some readers, but to me it's all about Laura's ability to see past what she thinks is right and her own sexuality.  She isn't taken to a dungeon, whipped into submission or anything of the like.  Taylor is just a true Alpha Male who likes to push buttons and he's going to see just how far she'll bend.

The ultimate question this book tries to answer is can a virgin be a whore?  I have my own ideas about this and after reading it, I'm hoping that readers might question there thoughts about the question.  This entire book started because of that question.  I love how the muse throws things at me (when it doesn't wake me up from a sound sleep to write).  Whore was my nanowrimo challenge as well and I'm proud to say I managed 52,000 words in 14 days to meet it!

In closing let me just say that while I support E.L James and her great success, she didn't create this genre and people have been writing about Alpha Male/Virgin scenarios long before either one of us ever typed our first manuscript.  The Pioneers of this genre have given me incredible books to fantasize about over the years and I  hope the theme never dies!Thanks for joining us at Tears of Crimson. Home to Bestselling Author Michelle Hughes, Cara Faith Donovan and all the Friends of Crimson!