MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-29-2011, 08:29 PM

I'd written a book a few years ago about a mystery that led the investigator into a Goth and bondage scene in Nashville (Lambs Hide, Tigers Seek). The story included some sexy moments, but I basically wrote past them (kiss-to-cigarette scenes), including a scene which was a major turning point for one character.

I released the book, but because of the bondage element, most potential customers said, "I think I'll pass, that's not my thing." Even though I tried to explain that the story was not a heavy-handed XXX dungeons-and-chains kind of story, the book was read by very few people, and I never heard a peep out of any of them.

Now I'm re-editing the book (boy, did it need it!), and in the process, I've decided to go ahead and put the turning-point sex scene in. Put it this way: I've read much racier stuff in major published series, so it's nothing outlandish or overly-shocking (though bondage figures in it, it's not whips-and-chains hardcore). I think it really helps to flesh

out the characters involved and give complete clarity to the moment.

Well, now that I've done it... I find myself wondering if I should re-release the book.

It's interesting: The line that used to exist between sexy scenes and what most people call "porn" has become almost razor-thin or even invisible; shows on pay-cable now feature sex and nudity that would never have been accepted on TV just a few years ago, except after midnight; and the same thing has happened with literature. Yet I find myself reluctant to release the book, even though it isn't nearly as hardcore or shocking as other material out there on bookshelves, legal to sell to anyone of any age.

I've already re-released a few of my other books, with sex scenes rewritten from kiss-to-cigarette moments to more detailed descriptions, and haven't had a complaint about it (nor a complement, I admit). But when combined with the bondage element, I expect many to assume it goes too far and avoid reading it.

Any thoughts about my situation? Should I just release the book? Or hide it away? How do I convince readers that this book will entertain without shocking them, that it's not just another stereotypical porn ebook?

09-29-2011, 08:29 PM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Playing the sex card I'd written a book a few years ago about a mystery that led the investigator into a Goth and bondage scene in Nashville (Lambs Hide, Tigers Seek). The story included some sexy moments, but I basically wrote past them (kiss-to-cigarette scenes), including a scene which was a major turning point for one character. I released the book, but because of the bondage element, most potential customers said, "I think I'll pass, that's not my thing." Even though I tried to explain that the story was not a heavy-handed XXX dungeons-and-chains kind of story, the book was read by very few people, and I never heard a peep out of any of them. Now I'm re-editing the book (boy, did it need it!), and in the process, I've decided to go ahead and put the turning-point sex scene in. Put it this way: I've read much racier stuff in major published series, so it's nothing outlandish or overly-shocking (though bondage figures in it, it's not whips-and-chains hardcore). I think it really helps to flesh out the characters involved and give complete clarity to the moment. Well, now that I've done it... I find myself wondering if I should re-release the book. It's interesting: The line that used to exist between sexy scenes and what most people call "porn" has become almost razor-thin or even invisible; shows on pay-cable now feature sex and nudity that would never have been accepted on TV just a few years ago, except after midnight; and the same thing has happened with literature. Yet I find myself reluctant to release the book, even though it isn't nearly as hardcore or shocking as other material out there on bookshelves, legal to sell to anyone of any age. I've already re-released a few of my other books, with sex scenes rewritten from kiss-to-cigarette moments to more detailed descriptions, and haven't had a complaint about it (nor a complement, I admit). But when combined with the bondage element, I expect many to assume it goes too far and avoid reading it. Any thoughts about my situation? Should I just release the book? Or hide it away? How do I convince readers that this book will entertain without shocking them, that it's not just another stereotypical porn ebook?