Fun fact: Aphrodite in Bloom was almost titled Taboo. That would have made the title of this second collection, Fetish, seem a little more consistent with the first book.
That’s okay. Aside from one tiny easter egg in one story in Fetish, there are no story links between these two collections. Fetish takes place sixty-plus years after the stories in Aphrodite in Bloom and, within both collections, every story stands completely alone.
In Fetish, I was striving for diversity in every way. Since it was also a time of global expansion, it made sense to set these stories in places around the world. Two are set in England, several are set in Europe, including Bohemia, then we visit Brazil, Hong Kong, India, and New Zealand.
I’m going to tell you a secret. Very early in my career, I wrote a pair of erotic romances. (Playing the Master, Mastering Her Role.) I loved them, but I found that juggling two character arcs, the romantic arc, and the erotic arc became so challenging, I said, Never again. Keep it simple, stupid. I went on to write dozens of straight romances. (Pun intended.)
What did I do six years later? I signed up for two—two—erotic romance collections. Only this time, they also had a diverse cast and historical settings. And, because that didn’t seem difficult enough, in the second collection I added the running chainsaw of a fetish to my juggling act.
For that reason, there are only ten stories in Fetish, versus twelve in Aphrodite in Bloom. These stories run a little longer than the ones in Aphrodite in Bloom because I needed the space for all of these elements. Also, while I explored menage in Aphrodite in Bloom, I realized very quickly that the fetish is the third in these relationships so they’re all couples. This was purely a choice made due to story length constraints. If I’d had a full novel, I might have brought in poly relationships.
As challenging as this was, I had so much fun writing these. I’ll warn you again that they’re very different from my usual fare, but if you like explicit heat, unique (yet relatable) characters, and want to learn about fetishes you didn’t know existed, you might enjoy this collection. Happy reading!
