What 'A Lie Within A Lie' is, and what it isn't

I've been a bit hesitant to write this post, but I decided in the end I needed to be honest and open. Here's the TL;DR version:

Don't buy A Lie Within A Lie expecting a retread of Practice to Deceive. It's a different book with a different 'feel', and for some, it might not be exactly what you want. Specifically: it doesn't contain transformation scenes from the protagonist's point of view.

Here's my longer thoughts. I think A Lie Within A Lie is a great story, and sexy as hell. So do my early readers (stick around for some quotes). I hope you trust me, and I hope you love the book. But, I wanted to be clear about this so no-one buys it and then screams at me for not making it obvious. (I tried to do what I could with the description, although that might have passed some by.)

To get more technical for a second: A Lie Within A Lie was always, always going to be the story of a man being seduced by a 'woman' who could potentially be any woman he desired. Ergo, the protagonist of the story - our main character - was going to be the man, in this case, Ethan, the teenager who meets a very special woman while on vacation. Our antagonist (sort of, if we're splitting dramatic hairs here) would be said 'woman', who's introduced as Marla in the story.

While I know many of you enjoy mask fiction for the thrill of imagining that you are the person able to transform themselves, that's not the only attraction for me of the fetish. I've had the fantasy that Ethan has for pretty much my entire life; that's why I wrote the book. (Strictly speaking my fantasy was for a woman beneath the mask, but then again, I cater to the audience! Yes, I know some of you want F2F... I did write 25 'issues' of Spider-Girl fanfic after all.) I am guessing many of you will feel the same way. And I'm also guessing as a result, you'll enjoy the book.

I'll also point out that while part 1 - The Singer - is light on transformation scenes, part 2 - The Spy - is heavier. And kinkier. In all sorts of ways.

Speaking of which, I'd better get back to it. But I'll leave you with this. If, for example, you pre-ordered A Lie Within A Lie and then read the book and were deeply disappointed, please let me know, or get a refund. But please, only do that if you're really, deeply disappointed. And I doubt you will be. Fingers crossed for you.

Oh I almost forgot! Those quotes. Here's a few!

From Sally Bend's review over at Bending the Bookshelf (you can't see, but I'm blushing here):

There is a passion for detail here that you do not often come across in even the most polished, professionally published erotic literature. Ghostly Writer makes the reader see and feel each aspect of the disguise, painting a series of vivid pictures that amaze as they arouse. Readers with a fetish for masking, dollification, female impersonation, or simple crossdressing will find a lot to admire and appreciate here. The sex is equally succulent, vibrant and intense, but never vulgar. Given how many genders are sometimes mixed in a single intimate encounter, it really is a story that crosses orientations as well as genders.

From Victor G, AKA 'the man who wrote The Substitute before I came in and messed it up':

Yet again, Ghostly Writer proves why he is the "Godfather of Online Female Mask Fiction". His detailed, erotic transformation scenes are some of the best-written I've ever read.

Last but not least, from fellow mask fiction author, Circe:

Brilliantly imaginative, deliciously erotic, and full of suspense this story is a masterclass of the genre - read it now!

Hopefully that's enough to tide you over. I would absolutely love to hear what you think of A Lie Within A Lie, and look forward to reading your reviews, too! (Oh and in case you hadn't heard, it's on sale now. Ish.)

Now is the time for... reviews!

I thought I was being so clever by putting A Lie Within A Lie up for pre-order! Buying myself all that extra time. Which is why my body decided to contract flu, keeping me bed-ridden for a few days and effectively losing me all that time I had stored up.

Well, shit.

That also slowed down my rollout/building for the new GhostlyWriter.com - but it's coming, honest! (Have you given me your email over there? It'll be worth it.) And God willing, even if it looks a bit crap at the edges, it'll be live on Thursday too.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about!

Right now ol' Ghostly might well be on your mind. You might even be thinking nicely about me! Which is lovely. But thinking about me don't pay the bills! (Nor does selling books, yet, but one day....)

While you're thinking those nice thoughts, however, you can channel them in a productive and really, really helpful way! That's right, you can write a review of Practice to Deceive or Her Smile, or even both, over on Amazon!

Why does this help? Well, Amazon is all about algorithms. Books with more reviews get seen more often! If those books get seen more often, I might make more sales! Which means I get to buy that gold-plated horse I've always wanted. Did I say horse? I meant mask. Did I say gold? I meant, uh... water? Whatever's cheap.

I know for a fact that waaaaay more of you have bought a book (at least dozens!) than have left a review. And I know that it's a hassle and a chore, but it really really helps me.

So while you're waiting for Thursday: write me a review! I'll remember you in my will.

And hey if you write reviews maybe I'll even have something to give you when I'm rich and famous.

A Lie Within A Lie release date....

... should be April 14th. This is Part 1 of A Lie Within A Lie.

The book's going through Amazon's clearing process now. Assuming it doesn't get flagged, it'll be live for pre-order in a day or two.

Edit: They're quick. It's live now for pre-order.

Why pre-order? It gives me another 10 days to continue edit Part 2, so that hopefully part 2 comes out soon(ish) after Part 1...

Also worth noting: A Lie Within A Lie will be Amazon-exclusive for 90 days (at least). That means if you're a member of Kindle Unlimited you'll be able to download and read it free (yes, I still get paid, but it's based on you reading rather than a flat fee). After 90 days I will probably shop it elsewhere.

I'm still planning a paperback, by the way, but I've not done that before so I have to learn the process.

Last but not least... now is as good a time as any to mention that ghostlywriter.com is a thing that exists.

EDIT: There might be some confusion so to be completely clear. A Lie Within A Lie: The Singer - which is Part 1 of the complete story - is out April 14th.

A Lie Within A Lie: The Spy is Part 2, and that'll be out... when it's out. (About 40% done editing. It's about twice the size of The Singer....)

Title reveal, possible publication and more

It's the last day of March! Dammit, better give you an update. I'll try to make this quick. Especially for whoever left a 'Dull' reaction on my last post... ya dick.

Title!

The official title for what was long known as 'The Babysitter' is.... A Lie Within A Lie.

(I know, a little pretentious sounding, but what can you do? I love this title. I'm not going to call my books 'Seduced by a Masker' or 'My Wife, The Man' or something. I have some principles! I shall take them to my pauper's grave!)

There's two books, as I've said a few times before. Book one is subtitled The Singer. Book two is subtitled The Spy. Figure that one out.

Release?!

Good news! Book one is done. Like, done done. Like, Kindle-ready-done. Like, I could put it live on Amazon this week... done.

Bad news! Book two is not done. And book two is twice the size of book one. Like, 100K words. So it's taking a while to edit! I am ploughing through (roughly one-third done) but it's taking time.

So here's the question to you: do I...

a) Release A Lie Within A Lie: The Singer ASAP and leave you hanging for a bit on The Spy?

or

b) Hold off until both books are done (I hope a few weeks, max...) and then release both at once so you can gobble them up together?

or

c) Do whatever the heck I want.

Feel free to cast your vote below in comments.

Cover!

With a name, I have a cover! And I have a pretty image of said cover! So here it is. Oooooh. And yes! If possible this will be a paperback. Just think of it, right now, as a virtual one.

Oooh it's a book innit.

There's one more thing but I'm saving it. Just wanted to get this out before April 1st so you know, you believe me.

It's coming... honestly...

Yes, I'm getting impatient now too.

Editing on the 'Babysitter' is taking a while. I have a lot of other stuff going on right now and fitting it in is tricky. It doesn't help that parts of the book - especially the earlier stuff - was written years ago and my style is... a little different.

But it's going. I am this close to wrapping the first book and then I know book two will take a lot less time. I am unlikely to finish in March. However, I am pretty damn sure I can finish in April.

Along with that, I'm also... doing... something else... that will, I promise, be of benefit to you. Mysterious I know. All will be revealed etc.

You've been so lovely and patient that I want to give you an excerpt. I really do. But while editing book one I've realized that so much of it relies on being at least a little bit surprised. There's some surprises in here! (At least, I hope they will be. There's a tendency amongst mask fiction readers to assume everyone is in disguise, which means you're never surprised....) So this will have to do. One piece of fun, hot little dialogue.

She bent forward, as one of her own hands snaked around and smacked her butt cheek, hard. “Oooh… that’s right. I like it hard. I like it when you treat me rough.” She smacked her ass cheek again, then a third time, each time moaning in pleasure. “That’s it. Make me your bitch, Ethan. Make your aunt beg for you… and for your cock.”

That dirty, dirty woman. There's a lot more of that to come. Now, back to editing!

Status update... again... and what was the secret book?

... I know I know. It's been a while. I have a mixture of news, both good and maybe not-so-good. That is, if you're the impatient type. Here we go!

The Babysitter (not the title)

First Draft: complete
Reader comments: received
Editing: Happening now!
Publication: Before end of 2015... probably

I've been busy with other stuff (see below) so editing has taken a long time to get around to. I'm finally ready, and I'm finally doing it. The good news (so far) is that the book seems to work. We'll see what you think when it's done. Also I have a real title now, but I'll leave that for reveal for a cover or something.

Secret Book That Was Secret (er, also not the title)

First draft: complete
Reader comments: received
Publication: Early 2016

This is finished. Surprise! Two books in the can. And hold on to your hats because there's another surprise which is that this book is...

... a re-telling of Victor G's The Substitute... except from Darien's point of view.

If you've never read Vic's story, shame on you; good news is you can read it here. I regard it as an early classic of our 'genre'.

What you may know - either from reading at that link, or because you've got a good memory - is that The Substitute was never actually finished. However with Vic's full help and cooperation, I've finished out the story and retold the entire thing from Darien's perspective. Wondering who Darien is and why his perspective matters? Hint: he's the guy wearing a mask. Go ahead and read the original. I think you'll get an idea of what I could do with it.

Like I said, I doubt you expected that. There's a whole story behind why I came to 'reimagine' The Substitute, but I'll save that for another post.

That's it. I know I'm a slow bastard, but hopefully having two books worth of material should keep you happy for a while!

Status update, AKA "Where's that book?"

Yeah, I wrote a book. But where is it? Well, let's give you a status update on that and other stuff.

Since last time: got busy with a bunch of other stuff. Good stuff, productive stuff, but not stuff you need to (or probably want to) hear about.

The Babysitter (Working title) AKA The Book or Most Recent Book

First Draft: complete
Reader comments: received
Editing: Starting soon
Publication: Before end of 2015

This was the last thing I posted about. I've had some great feedback from my 'trusted circle' of early readers and I'm ready to start editing and revising. Once that's done, I'll start formatting for publication.

I'm aiming to publish this in two parts, probably. Bought together, both books will roughly equal the cost of Practice to Deceive (which went on sale originally at $8.99). Yes, each book will be shorter than PtD was, but this means their individual cost will be more in-line with usual Kindle pricing and arguably, I've got more chance at more sales.

I'm also hoping to do a paperback version of this, if I can. If that works out, I'll also go back and do a paperback version of Practice to Deceive as well, and of course, paperbacks going forward. Hint: the ebook version will still be cheapest.

Secret Book That's Secret (Umm, working title)

First draft: about 65% complete
Reader comments: in progress
Publication: Early 2016

I'm pretty sure I've never spoken about this. I don't want to spoil it, but it's probably not what you'd expect. It IS what you'd expect in that it's M2F masking... but I doubt you'll see it coming. There's a reason this has come together quick. Fingers crossed I want to finish the first draft this month.

Practice to Deceive sequel

First draft: about 25% complete
Publication: before end of 2016

The continuing adventures of Billy and friends, on the road to Comic-Con. Sequel to this, if you came in late. M2F masking, primarily, from the protagonist's PoV.

Back in 2013 I was ready to dive into this, but for various reasons I didn't. The good news on this one is that it's pretty tightly plotted all the way to the end (and I think it makes sense, which is a bonus) so I really just need to get the time and sit down and knock it out. That time, however, probably won't be available to me until early next year, and that's assuming I don't see any other major bumps. I won't forget about it though. There's way too much good stuff in this book to forget...

Anyway, that's that. I appreciate your ongoing patience and hope you stick with me. More stuff to come.

Where'd August go?

Gak! An entire month without an update. I'm truly sorry. The truth is, I just haven't had a heck of a lot to talk about. I spent some time away, spent some time doing other things, blah blah.

Here's the sort-of-good news: I've spent a decent amount of time plotting the sequel to Practice to Deceive, and I've even started writing. I'm not in the proper writing groove yet, but I'll get there, I imagine. I'm also noodling around on a few other things at the same time. Basically, I'm procrastinating a bit, trying to decide what I commit to next. It may be the sequel, it may be something else. I shall go where the muse takes me.

In the meantime, I'd encourage all of you to visit Kitty Mayer's new site, which went live a week or so ago. I've raved about it before. So far it looks like my suspicions are correct and that yes, there are people willing to pay for masking-related content (surprise!) so congrats again to Kitty. I have another suspicion that she's making a lot bigger profit than I am on Practice to Deceive - but ah well, not all of us can be female or have admirable figures!

At the same time over on YouTube Jasmine Moarly has returned, another 'genetic girl', who's picked up a CFX mask. I haven't got it in me to talk in this post about the advances in silicon based masks but suffice to say, they're getting better all the time. I think inside my lifetime... we could see some incredibly realistic masks. We'll see... and with that inspiring thought, here's Jasmine's latest video, where she 'pranks' her girlfriend (or maybe... pranks us).

First novel (AKA Housesitting) out this week

I have my cover (well, almost), I have my title (well, almost) and I've done my due diligence. A little late in the month, I know, but Housesitting will be out to buy on Kindle this week - before the end of June.

More soon.

Edit: In case you missed it, the novel is now on-sale.

Getting closer

My readers are still reading Housesitting, so I sit and I wait and I hope for feedback. I've had some great feedback already that I've already acted on - one scene is staring at me defiantly, waiting to be hacked from the main narrative (which may end up in a 'deleted scenes' section, or something), and there are other things I'm thinking about.

But really, I just want to get this thing published.

I've been thinking about various options for publishing; I will definitely be using Amazon, no question on that, so there will be a Kindle version. I'll probably also use another couple of services - Lulu.com is possible and I've found at least one that will sell a watermarked individual PDF. While I know the mask fiction reading community is very small, there's a little bit of paranoia in me that fears the possibility of piracy, because let's face it - everything's pirated. Ultimately I can't do a lot about it except trust you, but in a community that's just about 100% anonymous, that's a big thing to ask.

Anyway. I've got a lot going on personally so I can't guarantee publication soon, but I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get some more feedback, polish off the thing and get things moving.

In the interim - be very happy to hear your requests for excerpts. What will get you to buy this thing, I wonder....

Reader draft of Housesitting... now sent

I just pushed 'send' on an email sending what I'm calling the 'reader draft' of Housesitting to a select number of people. If you didn't get a copy please don't be offended (or ask for one)!

This is a very important step to publication. I finally got the book to where I wanted it this week (thanks to a long plane ride and a dark corner to write it!). It turned out I rewrote and added to a number of scenes throughout the book, got a few continuity details ironed out and, I hope, brought the overall quality upwards. With the gestation of this thing taking roughly 5 years it's unsurprising that a lot of the changes happened near the beginning of the book, but I think now the characters at the beginning match the characters at the end.

While there may still be some revisions and rewriting - there's a couple of scenes I'm looking at to potentially cut entirely - the current word count is a shade over 130,000 words, which is crazy long, really. I've got more thoughts on this and will probably bore you on it later, but suffice to say, the 'shape' of a book like this is a bit wacky... longer in places than any normal book would be, and when you combine that with my plot... well it gets long.

We'll see what my readers think. And once they express an opinion, the hopefully short ride to publication begins....

Market research

You may have missed my previous mention of this, so let's recap: almost any* piece of writing I release in future is going to be sold, not given away.

Thanks to the meteoric rise of ebook publishing, this is a hell of a lot easier to accomplish than it might have been even five years ago. It's almost literally click-and-publish now. That's great news for folk like me. All my efforts, all my hours and days of writing can be easily converted into a format that can be sold to you directly and discreetly. Heck, if you want a paperback book, you can get one.

Apparently though, I'm late to the party - real late. I went for a casual search on Amazon tonight and found absolutely boatloads of Kindle books with tags like 'transgender', 'crossdressing', 'erotica', 'hardcore'... and so on.

Here's what I find interesting though: a lot of these 'books' aren't even that. They're barely short stories. Many of them are less than 5,000 words in length - I've written multiple chapters in Housesitting that are more than 5,000 words in length. The first chapter is over 5,000 words! I've got transformation scenes that are almost 2,500 long!

And many of these 'books'... are selling at 99c each.

That's not my plan. I plan to complete a novel (arguably, I already have) and I plan to sell it at a similar price to what you'd pay for a paperback (of a similar size) in a bookstore. I aim to give you damn good value for money. Trust me, there's very little 'fluff' in what I'm writing.

But I'll tell you this; it's damn likely I'll put some of my earlier, shorter pieces (Beneath the Veil, Psych, maybe Her Smile) online for sale soon. Why wait? Time to dip my toe in.

I would love to hear your opinions on this. Are all of us just chumps? Should every mask fiction author be selling their work, rather than just giving it away? Let me know here in a comment or by email.

* Anything that doesn't involve characters created by others. In other words, none of my fan fiction (which is, ultimately, is what BBSSG is) will be sold.

Project target: Housesitting

This is a screenshot of today's project target for Housesitting:

Good day (well, morning) writing wise. I subscribe to the theory that when you sit down to write, it's a 'good session' if you manage to complete 1,000 words or more. That might sound like a lot, but when you're 'in the zone' it's pretty easy to churn them out. Today was one of those days, so that felt good.

You might have noticed something else: my deadline, as well as my projected word count. While it started as a short story, Housesitting has expanded, and about a month ago I decided to make it a full-fledged project - a novel, in the strictest definition of the term. I added a few plot twists and some other fun stuff to my overall plan, and now I feel pretty confident I can get to that word count without it feeling stretched. If I'm lucky, it'll go longer than that.

I share this with you because I've decided enough is enough. I'm fed up of my inner critic preventing me from finishing stuff and I'm fed up of complaining about it. So this is what I'm pledging to myself and also to you, as a potential consumer: Housesitting will be complete (at least in first draft) by March 1st, 2013. It'll be available to buy (yes, buy - it will not be free) sometime shortly after that.

More soon.

The real reason for a four month gap

Yep, still haven't released the 'missing' SG issues I mentioned last time. I have a pretty good excuse. Excuses, actually.

First the big one. Some time after I wrote the last post, I was laid off from my job. Unexpectedly, as tends to be the case with layoffs. It's not a good feeling and it tends to throw your life into disarray. I was lucky to find another job not too long afterwards, but that came with a lot of life changes. Needless to say I didn't want to sit in front of the keyboard much after that.

Second. The truth is when I dashed off that post in May I wasn't actually done with 25. I was really close. In fact I'm still not done; there's one last scene. It's probably 30 minutes of work. I also need to edit and rewrite 23, 24 and 25 itself, although I'm almost done with that process. So, bit of work still to be done. But why haven't I done it in the last few months?

Ah, excuse the third. Truth is, I have no damn idea what I'm doing any more, and not much of a clue why I'm doing it, either.

The series could run indefinitely. I know that now. I have plotlines that could run forever. I have major arcs, minor arcs and all sorts of crazy ideas. I have long term plans. I could even throw in a 'Brand New Day' or a 'Marvel Knights' style reboot (or even, as I contemplated a while back, a MAX version of the series - AKA 'all the sex, swearing and violence I want').

Here's the problem: right now, I gain nothing from this. Absolutely zero. Allow me to get very 'real' for the rest of this post.

Cracked it... I think

The reason you haven't seen the remaining issues of Spider-Girl? Well it's because my plot tied itself in knots.

I think I just figured it out. That said, I've thought I've had it figured out before. Let's hope.

Messin' with the blog

I came home ready to write tonight, but for some reason when I hit the keyboard, it wasn't coming. It's not writer's block - I'll get back to it later - but it was a good excuse to spring-clean the blog here, which I'd been meaning to do for a while.

Apart from re-arranging, cleaning out the clutter on the right hand side and giving the whole thing a damn good thrashing (ahem) I added yet another exciting way for you to interact with me here. Under every post now you'll see something called 'Reactions' where you can check a box and leave an opinion on the post. It doesn't require a login or anything, it's totally anonymous... so for all you lurkers, here's a chance to say something. Without... saying something.

Of course, I always love to hear from people via email (ghostlywriter AT g mail DOT com) and in comments - but here's a new alternative. So tick those boxes! (And also let me know if you want alternative... reactions. Like, say, 'Meh'.)

Right, back to the real work.

Twittering

I like Twitter. I use Twitter a lot. No, I won't tell you who I really am on Twitter. But I will create an account on there so you can stalk me there.

I could go into the various reasons why I want to use Twitter, but that'd be boring, would waste time I could spend Twittering - er, writing - and it's easier to just, um, do that on Twitter.

So if you like, sign on up to Twitter and follow me. Or alternatively, just come back here now and again and check out the big honking box on the top right. Or just look on Twitter. It's free. It's open to all. I won't tell.

Oh and don't moan at me that you need to sign up. Just sign up using the email address you use for all the other places we frequent where we don't want our real email address being used. You know the ones.

Here's me, on Twitter. (By the way: this is definitely not me. It's some squatter.)

Here we go a-bloody-gain

Patience! We all have it, especially in this small community, and I thank you for it. I thank you because when I get my weekly stat report on this tiny blog I see to my astonishment that you're still visiting, even when I have nothing to say.

And guess what? I have nothing much to say tonight. But I'll try and tell you what's happening.

As is my usual bent, even though a few months ago I seemed to be going in one direction I have in fact gone totally off in a different way. First off, I've made a certain amount of progress on the story that's still titled 'The Babysitter', although that won't be the final title. I'm nowhere near ready to share it with you, but hey, at least I'm writing it.

Second... she's sucked me back in. Partly because I hate leaving a promising story undone, and partly because I can see this future image of what she will end up being, I'm writing Betty's adventures as Spider-Girl again. However! I won't be releasing anything until I have at least an issue or two done - just because the way these issues are shaping up, I often need to go back and revise things (sometimes radically) and I can't do that if I've already released something.

God. Some days, you must just want to frigging strangle me. But honest - hand on heart, swear to everything holy - I am writing.

Just, umm, possibly not what you want to read.

Whoops

Ah, sorry about that little three month break there. Nothing you're not used to, I figure, but I also figure it's worth popping up here and saying something now and again.

Here's where I stand; my life is about to change in a very big way, but I don't want to elaborate on just how. (Although I will shoot down a couple of obvious things: no, I'm not having a kid; no, I'm not getting divorced; and no, I'm not having sex change. Alright, the last one's not so obvious.) That's partially led to my invisibility over the last few months.

The good news for you is that I am, occasionally, still writing, but Other Stuff has gotten in the way. I'm still interested in continuing/finishing things I have going, though, with The Babysitter (working title) and quite possibly Teya (also a working title) being the most important ones.

For the handful of Betty Brant/Spider-Girl fans out there, well, that's not going anywhere fast. I have ideas of where I want to go with her, but honestly, right now it's not appealing. That could change.

I know it's a bit crappy of me to write another "Oh I'm writing stuff, but there's nothing to see here - yet" post but personally, I prefer to hear something from people in our little 'circle' instead of nothing at all. Hope you feel the same.

That's it. I'll try and make sure next time I post, I've got something to share, too. In the meantime feel free to sound off below, or send me an email just to say 'hi'.

Oh, and happy July 4th, for those who care about these things!

Going around and around in circles

For those keeping track, I'm trying to write. And it's proving tough.

At the moment I've got a few things on the go. I've actually started writing The Babysitter, which is now very much a working title, after I was inspired randomly one day to put down the thoughts of the main character. That turned into a sort-of prologue which will probably never be used, but established what I wanted to do in the story early on, which has led to a productive streak... that's now hit a bit of a wall, as I've come to A Big Scene and seem a bit scared to write it. What a wuss, eh? For those who like to dig around, I talked about the origins of this (gulp) over a year ago.

Second, I'm trying to move Betty Brant's adventures onwards, but man oh man, that's proving tough. I have been plotting and re-plotting and re-plotting the next issue forever; I have almost 6,000 words of it written, but have probably thrown away half of that. It's driving me kind of nuts. I can't even tell you why it's driving me nuts - half because it'll spoil it, and half because I don't know why!! Still, I think the destination I have in mind is worth getting to, so, I continue to slam my head against this particular wall.