• #BlackGirlMagic,  Adult Novellas,  Contemporary Romance,  E books,  New Adult

    Trigger Warnings

    Free Sneak Peeks go into effect tomorrow, Oct 31st until Wednesday, Nov. 2nd for the upcoming ebooks Ivy League and The Gorgeous Nothings, Bree and Stone.

    I’ve got a couple of books that I’ve decided to label with a trigger warning.

    Here’s the definition of a trigger warning:

    A statement at the start of a piece of writing, video, etc., alerting the reader or viewer to the fact that it contains potentially distressing material (often used to introduce a description of such content).

    The Gorgeous Nothings deals with sexual assault on a college campus. Since the assault happens to the lead character, I think its only fair to warn readers who may find the subject matter upsetting, especially if they have experienced rape. The Sneak Peek doesn’t contain the assault scene, that’s why there’s no trigger warning on it.

     

    Pictured: Bree Silvestre and Stone Ulrich, from the IR erotic romance The Gorgeous Nothings

     

    I’m debating whether I should put a trigger warning on SENSEI, since the lead character experiences both rape and sexual trafficking. However, in SENSEI, I don’t use first person or have the main character describe in detail what happened to her.

    As I familiarize myself with Amazon’s publishing process again (it’s been almost a year since I uploaded a manuscript), the Sneak Peeks serve a number of purposes for me. While Sneak Peeks are for marketing purposes, I’m able to correct format errors and process any changes Amazon has made. All my books, from the covers to the blurbs, are created in-house.

     

    IVY League is a love story that begins in college and continues on Capitol Hill. Kenya Paul is a liberal and active in the LGBTQ community. Brandon is conservative, and has just been elected to the House of Representatives when they re-connect in Washington, DC.

    ivy-league-kenya-and-brandon_edited
    Pictured: Kenya Paul and Brandon Wingate, lead characters from the IR romance IVY LEAGUE
  • Contemporary Romance,  E books,  IR erotic romance,  New Adult

    All the Fine Young Cannibals

    I’m ready to start marketing upcoming releases, so this weekend I’ll have a number of FREE extended chapter excerpts on Amazon and SCRIBD. I use excerpts as promotional tools for my books.

    The other reason I use Sneak Peeks (especially on Amazon) is because periodically, the company changes it algorithms. If you are a new writer its important to be aware of this.  Here are two recent articles on the subject (be sure to read the comments section also):

    http://selfpublishingadvice.org/amazon-sales-rank-taming-the-algorithm/

     

    http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2016/04/mythbusting-the-amazon-algorithm-reviews-and-ranking-for-authors/

     

     

     

    I’ve had some plot details to iron out (I mean, who could’ve predicted the rise of Donald Trump?), but I plan on releasing extended SNEAK PEEKS for:

     

    brandon-and-kenya5a-new-promo-in-tux-and-gown1
    Kenya Paul and Brandon Jefferson Wingate take on Capitol Hill as a couple

     

    Bisexual LGBTQ activist Kenya Paul falls for conservative Brandon J. Wingate

     

     

     

    ivy-league-promo-page-resized
    Promos from IVY LEAGUE

     

     

     

    new-sensei-promo_2016-watermarked
    Click the photo to read an excerpt of the erotic romance SENSEI

     

     

    New Adult erotic romance SNEAK PEEK will also be up:

    bree-and-stone-gif2

     

  • #BlackGirlMagic,  Adult Novella,  Contemporary Romance,  E books,  Excerpts,  Women's fiction

    Nigerian Girl

    Free extended excerpt promo of SENSEI coming shortly on Amazon!

     

    She will teach him how to love . . . He will teach her how to feel. Pictured: Nyesha and Takeshi, IR lovers from the erotic ebook SENSEI

     

     

    promo2-for-sensei-with-japanese-saying-edited

     

    SENSEI Excerpt:

     

    Kabukichō 歌舞伎町

     

    Just north of Yasukuni-dori Avenue, Shibuya’s Kabukichō was a red light district made up of maze like streets crammed with all sorts of adult entertainment. Neon lit candy colored shop fronts beckoned like Venus Fly traps. There were any number of sex shops, massage parlors, host and hostess clubs, love hotels, and places to eat, sleep and shop. It was a seedy fantasy land with Lego like buildings stacked one on top of another, buildings that seemed to be there to simply house ads and jumbo-tron screens. Androgynous pretty boys and anime cartoon character females enticed visitors to come on in. Towering over it all was the iconic monster Godzilla, with his gleaming, demon orange eyes, illuminated talons and mouth widened in a fang filled roar. The streets were overcrowded, noisy and energized with gawkers and the adventurous. Every few steps a pushy Nigerian lad would try to get males to frequent his host club. This area was like home to Nyesha. It infused her with life and renewed her spirits. With so many attractions packed together the whole place was akin to being inside a life-sized pinball machine, where she was the ball.

    People got around on foot, scooters and bicycles. Many of the streets weren’t large enough for two cars, but there was always a stretch limo slowly cruising by. In the daytime Kabukichō was a dreary place, like a vampire confined to his coffin until the night sets him free. While police would sweep through the area in their black and red vests, the Yakuza ran Kabukichō.

    Ojiro Mori, aka Mr. O stood by his Ferrari 458 Speciale convertible, his eyes shielded by sunglasses, his skin reddened instead of tanned. In the passenger side of his white sports car was a stunning black girl wearing a floral headscarf. Nyesha guessed the girl’s age to be less than 21, but over 12.

    “Ojiro,” Nyesha said, one of the only people who dared to call him by his first name.

    Instead of speaking he simply nodded. The girl in the car caught his cue, lowering her head.

    Nyesha fought against feelings of revulsion and anger over the girl’s situation. What she couldn’t control were the images of the past that came roaring into her mind. “Kimochii” was a word she’d have to whisper in a childish, high pitched squeal to let the client know what he was doing felt good. Even when it didn’t.