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!

Er, whoops!

Has it been almost two months? It's been almost exactly two months.

The book(s) - AKA 'Babysitter' - are still coming. Down to final stages. You'll see excerpts soon, then publishing. Life got in the way a bit. But soon! Promise!

Unhappy Holidays

With Christmas two days away, it's pretty clear that 'Babysitter' isn't going to be finished and on virtual shelves by then. I just haven't had as much time to devote to it as hoped. Boo.

However, editing continues. I think I've said before that I think this mammoth tale is going to be split into two books, and I think I've found the perfect point to do that. In the little free time I have in the next week or so, I'm going to crack on and get to a completed, revised draft. Then it'll be time for covers, ebook creation and all that jazz. With fingers crossed, you'll see it in January.

I have plans for 2016, though. Pretty big plans. Stay tuned.

For now; happy holidays or merry Christmas or hopefully 'enjoy your time off'.

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.

The last two years and oh hey I finished a book

No, not that one. No the other one. Yeah, that.

Alright, I forgive you for having no freaking clue what I'm talking about. Let's recap:

Last week - in the same cafe I'm writing at now, as it happens - I finished the first draft of what I've previously referred to as 'The Babysitter' (which is not the title). From the looks of it, it took about six years to complete, from first words to last. Of course, plenty of distractions along the way.

But more importantly, it's done. Finally. To say this thing felt like a millstone around my neck - wait, let's back up again.

In the summer of 2013 I finished Practice to Deceive, which had long been also known as 'Housesitting' in proto-form. I published it then too. I had been storing ideas up for a sequel (in fact, sequels, plural) but when the dust settled on it, I decided I wanted to finish off one of my other half-done projects instead of starting fresh on said sequel.

Eventually I settled on 'Babysitter' and started hacking away. And then, as usual, my world turned upside down. For not the first time in the last few years, I experienced a layoff, had to get temporary work, then job-hunt, get a new job, move house and then start said new job. Nothing like that to stop you writing for a while.

Unfortunately for me things didn't get much better. Over the course of 2014 I began, I now recognize, to slip into serious depression. Near the end of the year I left new job behind, and at last, got professional help for the depression. Starting 2015 I was in a better place in a lot of ways, but I still wasn't writing much.

It's taken a few more months to get anywhere close to an even keel. If you've ever heard me expound on this previously - I don't really believe in writer's block. However I now do believe that there can be legitimate and very real reasons that prevent you from writing. It's not the lack of muse, or lack of ideas, or whatever romantic reasons you attach to it. It's just the inability to write, and in my case, it was very much linked to depression.

I make you read this boring summary of my life for the past two years, give or take, to get you to this point.

So as I said, I finished a book. And it's not that one - the sequel to Practice to Deceive - it's the other one, 'The Babysitter'. (Which I previously published a sort of 'teaser' of, which really doesn't have jack-all to do with the actual book, so don't take it as a real preview.)

And like I say, it was a millstone. For those of you not into medieval allegory, it was a struggle, as you might have noticed before. A pain. Especially in the last section, and especially the fucking ending, not to mince my fucking words. I'm still not sure about it. Like the last book, now it's done I'm letting it sit. I'm letting it marinate. After all this is a first draft. It might be total bollocks.

By the way I say 'book' but it might end up being 'books'. I have a feeling it may be separated into two or even three. Partially that's because it's actually longer than Practice to Deceive. In normal paperback terms it's about two books in length. Partially it's also because of the self-publishing market (see my previous post on that) but also partially it's because I'm not convinced this will be everyone's cup of tea, so I want to give you an 'out' if you don't like it. It's pretty different from Practice to Deceive. Yes of course it still involves female masking and disguise and sex, but of course, however it's still quite a different story with a different couple of protagonists.

Hey for all I know, I might show the cleaned up draft to my test readers and they may tell me to lock it in a (digital) drawer for a decade and never reveal it to anyone. In which case this prick tease will have been for naught.

Anyway, the millstoney-struggle of this book has been partially why it's taken so long to do, although see also layoff, depression, job hunting and so on. It's definitely been part of why I've been so silent. But I'm hoping to be slightly less silent from now on. A promise I'll probably break.

What next? I'm not sure. In part I know I have to work harder on 'other' writing. My years are advancing (alright, I'm not exactly ancient but it has been - gulp - about 16 years since I started publicly writing this stuff) and I'm getting cranky about only being able to talk about my work with, well, you, you anonymous faceless (kinky) crowd, you. So I'll be taking time to write Real Stuff.

However, the masked mistress, she is a sly seductress. Even the other day, thinking about what I've scribbled on Practice to Deceive 2 - Electric Boogaloo, I wanted to keep going. Wanted to see what I could come up with next for Billy and friends. (Spoiler: I totally know. The whole book's plotted. Then again, so was Babysitter for a while and look at that bitch.)

My rambling point is probably; I won't stop writing entirely. That is, as long as you keep buying stuff occasionally.

Right. That'll do. I finished my lunch ages ago. I recommend this place. Wherever I may be.

Practice to Deceive: now half-price

Last summer (which in my brain, means summer last year, not the summer that finished a couple of months ago) I published Practice to Deceive via Amazon and Gumroad.

To my surprise and continuing warm feelings, people bought the book. I got some really nice emails. Some very nice Amazon reviews. I felt glad that people were digging it, and it was very validating to see the small payments I'd get from Amazon and Gumroad.

I also felt, after a decent amount of research, that I priced the book fairly at $8.99. It had taken up the better part of 2013 in terms of my writing; it was over 400 'real' pages in length (almost 130,000 words) and frankly... $8.99 ain't a lot. A month of Netflix or World of WarCraft. I was worth that, right? I knew I wasn't going to get rich, but I felt that if you picked up my book in a bookshop and saw $8.99 on the back, it wouldn't break the bank.

A year and a bit later, I'm changing my tune. Tomorrow (or whenever Amazon catches up) I'm dropping the price to $3.99. (The price is actually already changed on Gumroad - which sells the PDF version, if you hate Kindle - to $4. Yes, I know it's one-whole-cent more. I like round numbers where it makes sense.)

Why? The short answer is: the wacky pricing models on the Kindle store. Basically, there's no real market for 'higher priced' books. In a store where the slimmest of pamphlets (seriously - I'm talking about 15 page books here) can be priced at $2, a book at $8.99 in the land of the blind is king. Or something. In other words, I'm just too expensive. The casual buyer will just pass the book by and go look for something cheap to get their rocks off to. Why risk it, right?

So, there you go. It's cheaper. If you ever wondered "Should I buy it?" you're now able to get a full novel, packed full of the sexy disguises, kinky masks and the hot sex I love to write... for about the price of a decent latte.

(And yeah, I'm not going to $2.99. I have some standards, dammit. I'm worth the extra buck!)

To everyone who bought Practice to Deceive to this point: I want to say a sincere and honest thank you. You're all amazing people who made me believe that yes, people would pay to read my work, and I really, really appreciate it. Feel free to lord it over the latecomers.

If for some reason you've never heard of the book, or me, or are wondering "Why the hell is he going on about book pricing?" then feel free to read a few excerpts here, and then forgo that latte for one day, and buy my book instead.

Sex scenes are hard

And I don't mean in the nudge-nudge, wink-wink, innuendo laden way either. Although that is part of the point of sex scenes, I guess.

Sex scenes are hard to write. Really hard. There's a reason why a lot of writers just draw a veil over sex scenes and skip to the post-coital bliss; getting a sex scene to feel right is difficult. Getting a sex scene to feel erotic, as in erotic fiction, is even more difficult - you're trying to get a very specific reaction out of the reader.

And those sex scenes get even harder when they're not 'normal' sex, too - when you're trying to encapsulate thoughts and feelings and, well, urges about someone's fetishes. You've got to imagine yourself in a situation that many of us may have never even been in, or indeed, could never be in.

All this leads me here, to a sentence from a plot summary I wrote, probably about four years ago:

"At hotel, they check in and have rampant sex, all that pent-up tension."

Sounds simple, right? Two consenting adults getting it on. But for some reason (and if I'm being honest, it probably has very little to do with the sex) this scene has blocked me for months. Tonight, I finally finished it. And now, I hope, I can get back to writing the rest of the book. Let's hope.

PS: The book in question isn't the sequel to Practice to Deceive. That's on hold for now. In my foolish wisdom, I told myself last year that I could just 'finish off' The Babysitter. So that's what I've been trying to do. For about nine months.

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).