International Fan Mail!!

I received this letter early this morning from "C" in the UK...
and let me just say, that I do love to receive mail from my readers because that really helps to keep me motivated...

"C"'s letter starts here (in yellow) my thoughts (as I read are in red):
I am so glad you have responded with an address where I can write to you to let you know how much I enjoyed reading the first two books in the Chronicles series and the impact they made on me. (Okay, I admit it, I'm a voyeur at heart...I truly want the details...until then, I'm letting my imagination run wild with it!!)

I am an avid reader of books of all types -romance to classic, basically I'll read anything as long as it stimulates me. Having said that, I do of course have my preferences one of them being that as a rule I steer clear of novels written in the first person. (You can see where this is headed I'm sure!) So, imagine my surprise when trawling through "Fictionwise" recently I stumbled across "Sacred Secrets" and suddenly realised I had been sucked into the excerpt with no difficulty whatsoever, hardly recognising that it was written in the first person such was the quality of your writing.The rest as they say is history. (You know, "C", I totally get the trepidation about first person...I've read some amazing...and some horrid. There is some skill level to it and for you to tell me that you were "sucked in" is a huge compliment. Many of my readers know that I was in talks with St Martin's Press for Unholy Promises but that they had requested that I do rewrites in the third person before a final contract could come about...I wrote it...they loved it...I hated it...no contract...and the rest is my history. I'm taking charge of my own career by believing in myself and I know that there is value in what I am writing and the way I choose to write it...)

I read a fair number of Erotic Romance and in particular those which have BDSM as a theme. Few have given me as much to think about as Secrets and Revelations. I particularly liked the depth of characterisation of the main protagonists with all their neuroses and flaws just like the rest of us.I also thought telling the story from different points of view was inspired but must have been quite challenging for you. - How do you get into the male psyche and that of two such different and intriguing males? (I'm afraid it would take years of psychoanalyzing to release all of the demons that create my inner thoughts and releasing them would probably ruin my writing...so I'll pass...and just enjoy the bounty of amazing, if sometimes scary, voices in my head.)

I also felt that Secrets had one of the most powerfully written scenes I've read in a long time. Namely the scene with Kitten in the glass cage at Lewd. I was Kitten in that scene and went through the gamut of emotions with her such was the compelling force of your prose. (This is why I really like to get mail from reader's...because it lets me know which scenes touch them and which scenes leave them cold...or in some cases, angry...I will never forget the vehement letter from "D" who couldn't get past the coffee refusal scene...and after much begging and pleading from me...she did move past it and finish the book...but I left her so traumatized from that one scene...wow...and yes, I enjoyed writing the glass cage scene and I can honestly thank my AMAZING editor for seeing that this scene also needed Kitten's POV, because originally, it didn't...and as I wrote it...it did become a very emotional transient moment...and ultimately changed the course of the series to investigate the magnetism between Lord Fyre and Kitten.)

At the time of reading Revelations I hadn't appreciated there were more planned in the series but I do remember thinking at the end ,"I'd love to know what happens next," as I did feel there were more secrets to Thomas than met the eye so I was delighted to find out the story will be continued in "Promises." I am so glad you enjoyed both and it may interest you that there are now Dr. Psycho and a Mistress Morgana sequels in the works...titled "Vow of Silence" and "Hallowed Screams"...it will be a bit for both of them because to get into each character's head takes awhile...figuring out their phobias, drives, emotional needs...etc...but I am shooting for 2009 and 2010.

After that?
It's been suggested that Jackie have her own story...I would so love to do that...
and...
in Unholy Promises a new character is introduced...Thomas's twin brother...who I am totally in love with because he is so dark, so sinister...so deliciously twisted...I just get goosebumps...whew.

Can you believe it? Two of them...

I could wax lyrical and discuss at length the myriad of themes in these books but don't wish to take up too much of your time. Suffice to say your writing has brought me great pleasure and I look forward to the next in the series. (You have honored me with your comments. Thank you for sharing them!)

I am writing from England (U.K.) and Erotic Romance over here hasn't quite made into mainstream as it would appear to have done in the States. (That's a discussion in itself !!) As a result, most of what I read in this genre I have to read as an E- book but I'm a bit old fashioned and those books which I have truly enjoyed I still prefer as something concrete. So, when I am in the States on holiday in the summer I shall be taking a break from the usual "touristy travails" and heading to a bookshop where hopefully I will be able to purchase all three in print as they definitely deserve to be on my keeper shelf. I know that Sacred Secrets will be out in print by this time next year (it is a slow machine) and will then be available at Amazon online so I would think that even in the UK, you should be able to get it!

It's a funny thing that you said erotica is more mainstream in the US than the UK...because everyone here is telling me to get a UK agent and try to get a print contract through a publisher there...because the prospects here when it comes to erotica are slim to none...

Wishing you continued success. (From your mouth to goddess' ear, love:)