Switches: Yes, we really exist. (And no, we're not confused.)

I did a guest post today for Tara Rose's BDSM Blitz that she's doing over on her blog. I talk about being a switch, what it is that we do, and why we're not "confused" about what we do (like some won twue way fucktards would love to claim).

Please stop by and check it out:

http://www.tararoseromanceauthor.com/

The voices are rarely wrong.

I'd had this one WIP (work in progress) that I'd been sitting on for several years. Mostly written, I just hadn't gotten back around to working on it. Because it was a MF, with thriller/mystery elements, I thought I'd probably end up self-publishing it eventually.

Then it called to me, but not as it was. It had changed.

It now insisted it was actually a BDSM book (which it had not been before) and suddenly, I saw a depth to the story I'd missed before.

Being a writer, especially a pantster like me, means stuff like this can happen.

So now I'm finishing the poor little orphan to submit to my publisher. And yes, as a BDSM story, one of the Suncoast Society world, it works FAR better than it did simply as a story with romantic elements to it.

And because it sat for several years, I'm seeing the story with a completely fresh eye. The skeleton of the story remains, but with this new element, the conflict is amped up immensely.

Long story short, a woman is attacked and at the beginning of the story she awakes from being in a coma several days, and has complete amnesia. Her fiance is immediately cleared because he was at work.

So there is a two-prong conflict now. He doesn't dare tell her up front they were a BDSM Master/slave couple. And most of their friends are in the lifestyle. (And yes, all your old favorites from the Suncoast Society books will be making walk-throughs, if not major appearances.) He has to try to help her regain her memories while winning her heart all over again, in addition to the psycho that's still on the loose and wants to kill her.

Yeppers, it's got me by the throat now as I'm going through the edit/writing process. I can't wait for y'all to get your hands on this one! :)

(Tymber's website is http://tymberdalton.com and her Suncoast Society books are available through Siren-BookStrand at http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton as well as at Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and other major third-party book retailers.)

I believe I've been insulted...

I went to a branch of our local library system the other day with my daughter, and decided to ask what the process was for getting my paperbacks into their catalog. I'd gladly donate a copy of each of my paperbacks (that's $75 total - eek! - when did I get so many paperbacks?) to the library system. They have something like 65 libraries, but hey, at least they'd be there if someone searched for them. I do have readers in this area. I know I do - they've contacted me. :-P

This one would be okay, since it's non-erotic.
But wait, he's shirtless & you can see his undies.
Abort! Abort!

But I digress.

Things were going swimmingly and I was encouraged that maybe my books could be part of my local library system. Then I asked about the raciness aspect. The library director put her hand down on the counter and said, "At one end of the spectrum we have those Harlequins your grandmother would read, and at the other end of the spectrum we have Fifty Shades of Grey," and moved her hand to the other side of the counter.

My head exploded. Here was my thought process as I tried to recover. "Oh my God, she thinks FSOG is at the END of the spectrum? And she's a library director?!?"

The blow job scene w/in the first 10
pages would've caused a swoon, I'm sure.

I managed to tell her I had books from about the middle of the road (I do publish some non-erotic titles) to the Fifty Shades side. I chose not to mention just how far past the FSOG line some of my work was. Here's how she responded. She pursed her lips - I don't think I've ever seen someone actually do that, and wrinkled her nose like she'd smelled something bad. Then she said, "Oh, I don't allow books with THAT KIND OF CONTENT."

Seriously? Who made you judge and jury about what types of work readers should have access to? I thought this was 2013. We can't handle a little sex with our love stories?

Apparently not. Censorship is alive and well.

But I know when to fight the battle and when to retreat, so I retreated. I'm going to contact the central library acquisition department to see if their policy reflects the archaic attitude of that library director. I hope not. I can't say I have much confidence, though.

-- Cassandra

To see more about me and my books with THAT KIND OF CONTENT, check out my website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com.