It feels like forever that I have been working on Sasha and Finn but this story started off as 10k and now it’s hovering between 55k and 65k and it needs a bit more work. The question of how much “realness” can I put into a piece of smexy fiction always crosses my mind. I feel like in some cases, I’ve held back, not wanting to cross into erotica- to try and stay in one genre that is more on the contemporary romance/ romantic suspense side. And then there is the balance of the suspense arc and wanting the suspense arcs to have their storylines intact.
On the good days, I feel like my books have done that. On the days when I read a fine smutty-erotica book, I want to unpublish mine; but I can only make the next book better. And on the very crummy days, I go read about the kind things Ivy Whitaker has said about my books here.
I might just frame this quote so I have it to look at when I have doubts about this series and these two arcs that are written in every book. “I love the balance of kink and the overarching storylines that surround a private security company. It’s difficult to keep those two plot lines going without sacrificing the other, and I have to admit, I’m impressed with how Damson balances these developments.” ~Ivy Whitaker
In Sasha and Finn’s story, I did use a piece of real life, and I plunked into the setting of Club Bandit. And friends, it doesn’t work.
My beta readers thought it did for various reasons; but here’s the thing, I want to write good stories with lots of kink and spicy things; not reinvent the kink wheel.
In a group of friends one evening, a “hey check this out”, the photo was passed around and I thought about that for a long while, mostly because I am in awe of people’s astounding flexibility; you know, when you have none you kind of murmur in admiration and two, it looked beautiful.
It was a photo of a friend of a friend, suspended by aerial silks, and tied in bondage, using the aerial silks.
And when I went to add another theme room to Club Bandit as one does, this entered my mind. But it really doesn’t work. For so many reasons, not the least of which I actually didn’t write a bondage scene, but I used the aerial silks more hammock-like, as something to hold Sasha on, then tie her with, and in the recent edit, bondage is a hard limit for her anyways.
Okay, so maybe you don’t know a circus performer, certified aerial yoga teacher who likes to be a rope bunny on her off nights; fair point.
And maybe it’s a stretch to think that an aerial silk theme room would be in a BDSM Club but I liked it.
So I have to rewrite this chapter and then Sasha & Finn have to be set aside again as I turn my attention back to Book Four.
