Twisted: Bondage with an Edge, Edited by Alison Tyler

My story, Be There with Bells On is in this one (along with stories by people with far more impressive resumes than me! Seriously, my bio looks so inconsequential in the list of awesome.)

No publication date yet, but squeeeeeee.

There’s a reason!

This will be out June 30th!

Katie-bug

What was the working title of this book?

It was Taking Care of Yourself, but I decided that just sounded entirely too much like masturbation porn.

Where did the idea for this book come from?

I am a deeply cynical person. It’s inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey. I wanted to write my version of what happens when someone much wealthier and dominant actually ends up with someone broke and unsuspecting.

What genre does your book fall under?

Smut! What else! It’s erotica. The last one actually sort of nudged up against erotic romance. This one is more ambiguous.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This is going to sound weird, but I can see Bobby Cannavale and Jennifer Hudson, though, really? I wouldn’t inflict this sort of thing on either of them. They seem like perfectly nice people.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It’s pretty much about how one woman feels about selling her soul.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I don’t recall. 10 days, maybe?

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Gang bangs and threesomes, people. Gang bangs and threesomes.

I’m sorry. Menage.

Katie-bug. Available June 30th!

It’s a delicate balance–the book needs to stand out, but not too much. It needs to imply a tone and entice the reader, but everyone’s tastes are different.

I’ve noticed several different trends.

The “I HAVE PIRATED PHOTOSHOP AND ACQUIRED A TEENER OF METH, WHEEEEE!” Cover

You can tell that someone gave the artist a blurb and let them run wild and free through the artistic meadows.  ”It’s got threesomes, and it’s set in space, huh? Let me see what I can do.” I’d like to think this is all freebie work from someone’s wayward cousin, but actual “publishing companies” produce these things, too.

The Totally Phoned-in Porn Cover

Do I need to explain this one?

I can’t believe what people get away with on Amazon, sometimes.

The Fifty Shades of Gray Rip-off

There are a bunch of these. Many include masks and/or ribbons, and another big chunk are shoes.  If the designer is feeling particularly daring, it’ll be some mildly off-putting object.  If it’s really, really full of “BDSM,” and someone has to call someone else ‘Sir’ or there’s light spanking, there might be cuffs or something.

But, usually not.  It’s not in the “tee hee hee” spirit of the thing.

The “Body Parts Imply Sex” Cover

A huge, huge number of these types of covers feature lonely, beheaded male torsos, which is both awesome and kind of creepy.

Some readers are only in it for the ripped pecs, people. The Female Gaze lives on.

There’s another sizable percentage of female legs in heels or the top half of a woman’s blindfolded face.

The “Hot People Have Better Sex” Cover

This is easily the most popular format for “erotic romance” covers.  Models + color wash + gradiant fades = “hot.” I assume they sell well.

The fun thing there is that the heroines of these books are almost universally described “girl next door” types.

Business on the top, party on the bottom, aka The Doctor Jeckyll and Mister Hyde Cover

These are, for the most part, “erotic suspense” books.

I don’t know why the horn picture exists, but you can’t expect me to not use it in a post. I’m only human.

Sometimes it’s the guy on the top, the woman on the bottom. Sometimes it’s a cityscape on top, and a couple of the bottom. In general, you know that there’s probably going to be a chase scene and maybe some hacking.

Did I miss any?