Jan 28, 2024
I have some super spicy gossip about a pair of books you may or may not have heard or read about. I wrote them.
Back in 2019, I was working with an agent who brought me an interesting opportunity. Entangled Publishing was looking for short, erotic, regency romances for an anthology. She asked me if I wanted to contribute something.
I wrote a very racy story about a woman who spends a night with a duke to settle her husband’s debts. I was quickly told the publisher liked it and wanted to chat.
Both my agent and I thought this was a multi-author project. To my shock, they were looking for one author to write all twelve stories. “Something for everyone,” they said. They didn’t all have to be romance, but they had to be super-spicy.
The suggestion was made to publish it under ‘Anonymous.’ Since this project was a departure for me, writing historical, short stories, and very explicit, I embraced the disguise. I stepped out of my usual lane and wrote same-sex, thruples, menage, and nonbinary characters.
It was titled Aphrodite in Bloom and came out in 2021. I waited with nail-biting suspense for the reviews.
“All of the praise for this historical & erotic read! It came highly recommended to me, & for very good reason.” ~ 5 stars, Hannah on Goodreads
By this time, they had asked for a second collection, which they wanted to call Fetish. Guess why?
This project really stretched my wings. Instead of the Regency period, I went Victorian. Instead of staying in the UK, I set the stories around the globe.
I had to restrict these stories to couples, though. Some are same-sex, but I found that the fetish itself became a third in every relationship. If these were novels, I would have had more room to explore those dynamics, but it wasn’t possible in a short story.
The reviews were also very positive when that collection came out in 2022.
“I thought Aphrodite in Bloom was full of sensual surprises, well folks… This is not the Victorian romance you’re used too. At all.” ~ 5 stars, Permanently Booked on Goodreads
Why am I revealing now that I’m the author? A few reasons.
First, I want you, my loyal reader, to know I have books out there that you might not have seen. If erotic romance with menage and fetishes is not your cup of tea, no problem! Give it a pass. But if you enjoy diverse, explicit historical romance, please check these out.
My second reason for telling you is that the foreign rights for Aphrodite in Bloom were returned to me, so I’m self-publishing those stories in German. (The first one releases on Feb 6th!) Those covers have my name on them so it seemed silly to hide my identity from my English readers.
Mostly, however, I wanted you to know about these collections because I’m really proud of these stories. I hope you’ll check them out and love them as much as I do.
