You may have noticed that I have been a little quiet for the last week. Now a week in the working life of a writer is not a long time. The image of a writer sitting at a typewriter, now a computer screen, bashing out a thousand word story and handing it to a smiling editor for publication is a fallacy. Or at least it should be.
I have the utmost respect for journalists who cover breaking news stories as they happen. Being able to sum up an evolving situation in a few words in a piece to camera or a front page article is a rare talent but many of the stories you read inside the paper are investigated, researched, written and edited which takes time.
Think of longer articles, short stories and books as hand-crafted. Something produced with attention to detail, to the best of the maker’s ability and then finished and polished until it shines. I once spoke to the manager of a pile ‘em high and sell them cheap furniture store who said everything he sold was crap; the frames of the sofas were cobbled together from recycled packing cases and the cheap coverings would probably last about a year. Quality costs a little more in time and money.
There are some writers who work on the fish and chip principle (fish and chips sold in the UK used to be wrapped in a layer of clean paper and then layers of newspaper. Journalists would say that today’s great story was tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper). There are others who spend forever trying to perfect the written version of the perfect Michelin starred meal that rarely gets tasted.
The final group, which includes many of the writers I admire and hope I fit into, produce good quality fare, have a varied menu and are proud of our output. To continue the restaurant analogy we are probably more pop-ups than establishments that are open every day (find some of them in Erotica With Style).
My restaurant will pop up again soon. The third part of Painted Stripes will be released today and there is still the full menu of The Donnington Chronicles and The Mistress’ Pet Show available to paid subscribers. You can read the first episodes as free tasters and there are some excerpts from The Donnington Chronicles on my website that give you a flavour of the book.
I am currently working on extending my Goldilocks Series. The first series is free to read and starts here. The sequel will be deeper in the erotic horror genre. Sophie is now half demon half human and she has just rescued a submissive human male. She takes him back to their lair where he meets Leana, her demon lover who switches from female to male - that could lead to some interesting threesomes or is that foursomes?
I have also joined the editorial team if Redemption Magazine on Medium. This fits perfectly with the dark, edgy style of some of my writing so if you are looking for something darker, more transgressive head over to Medium and see what they offer.
I am also working on a couple of dark BDSM themed stories, but beware, my aim is not just to turn you on but also to provide you with a meal that you will remember.