Concentrating on M&M of Restraint now.
Yes, I promised Warped before I took a hiatus from Blended and concentrated on M&M.
Yes, I am reneging.
Why?
#1: I’ve published nearly 1,800 pages of Blended in 2014. I think I’ve earned a pass.
#2: I tend to emulate my characters. Writing a Bipolar drug addicted police officer is not a small feat while maintaining your own level of sanity. As of late, I’ve been suffering with the manic portion of my character’s condition. I cannot concentrate on anything for longer than a few moments. To write, one must be able to sit for large amounts of time and be completely within their minds. I can only read the beginning of a book, and then I lose interest at this point. It’s like my mind has been invaded by a swarm of thoughts that just will NOT settle down into something conhesive.
#3: I’ve already written over 100,000 words of Warped. (Restraint is 97,000 in its current state). Warped will be nearly 1,000 pages in length if I write it while inspired, with patience, and without rushing. I want to enjoy what I write, but if I don’t, the readers will feel the emotions infusing the page.
#4: I promised myself I’d NEVER rush-write again, and that is a promise to myself I will never break. I wouldn’t be in this situation if I hadn’t wrote how I did earlier in my career. But I can call upon my ignorance. I. Am. NOT. Ignorant any longer. I have been wizened beyond my years through trial and error and shit writing.
#5: I’ve written well-over a million words since I began Restraint. I’m positive I’ve evolved in my craft, and M&M deserves better. The series deserves the level of writing I am currently at, not what is currently published, silently embarrassing me.
#6: we are coming up to the one-year anniversary to the release of Integrated, the last M&M book I published. If I were to take my time, making Warped as incredible as I believe it will be (hard-hitting, raw- gripping, and emotional), it would be nearing 2 years for the next M&M book. Some authors don’t write a 1000 pages in several years, and to expect me to crank it out in a few months without harsh consequences is madness.
#7: Erica needs a break. I’m drained. Tapped out. The muse is not amused, or inspired, or awake. I slept for hours last night, finally, realizing it’s been ages since I slept longer than 4 hours at a time. It isn’t healthy. It’s a delicate balance: creating books to sell to the masses, versus taking care of yourself. I write book that my fans are hungry to read, but I don’t have a lot of devoted fans in my niche writing. So it takes a LOT of releases to earn squat. But at what cost? My sanity? My health?
#7.5: see refusal to speed-write to crank out books to earn more money. I’d rather write a great book, the first time, and be proud of what I’ve given to the public, than to pad my bank account. I deserve more. The reader deserves more. But most importantly, the STORY deserves more.
#8: Sometimes I just can’t write anew. Sometimes I find immense joy in fixing what I’ve previously written, finding pride in making it better- more. Obviously this is obvious, since I can never leave well-enough alone. Which is why I’m going into Print books. Once in print, it’s permanent, a stopping point for my never-ending obsession with perfection.
#9: I don’t cater to the masses. My books are not for the mainstream. A notion I’m completely ditching during my M&M rewrite. Maybe if I wasn’t trying to straddle the line of normalcy versus how twisted my mind truly is, the readers would feel it, connect with the story, and want to share it with the world. So instead of trying to crank out books to sell more books to a handful of devotees, I’m going to try to write the best books to my ability, to my standards, and perhaps gain some more fans in the process. I think the payoff for all those involved will be greater.
#10: Restraint is getting refurbished: A new cover. A new blurb. A new price point. Both in print and in ebook form. It’s getting completely rewritten, restructured. Because if I demand more of myself as a writer, to write my flagship book to be one of the best books I’ve written, then I should not discount it. As with self-respect, you get what you project. If I give my own version of a masterpiece away for free, in hopes someone will one-click it, and may or may not ever even open it to read its contents, then I’m belittling my own work. If I want readers to know it’s worthy, then I’ll make sure they know its worth. I’m not saying I will never sale price the title, I’m promising it will never be FREE.
#11: I can give a way a lot of books for free or next to nothing, and they may or may not ever be read. But this avid reader/one-clicker/bookwhore, hardly ever reads the free books she collects, but one thing that is for damned sure: if I BUY it, I READ it. If I READ it, I REVIEW it.
#12: I’m pulling myself out of the rabbit hole. If I sell 10 books at the higher price point, it’s still worth more than giving away thousands of books no one will ever read. I will keep the Kindle Lending, Prime, and Unlimited. I will sale price my books for promotions. Books, just because they are offered in ebook form, does not make them any less valuable than one sitting upon the shelves. It still took the same amount of time to write, edit, buy the cover, pay the cover artist, pay Uncle Sam his cut, maintain an at-home office. If the writer is good, then the book will be better. The good writer with the better book shouldn’t have to lower their prices to compete with books of a lower caliber.
I’m not speaking of price gouging; I’m speaking of worth. To say Good Girl is only worth 99 cents is madness. To say when it’s in its print form it will be worth ten bucks just because of the paper it’s printed on is lunacy. It’s 700 pages of my blood, sweat, and tears, of ME on the pages, and to give it away for free, or to only get 30 cents BEFORE taxes per copy…
Yes, anyone can type up a book and slap a price on it, but it takes money to be a writer and survive. It takes even more money to be a damned good writer and show it in your work. We’re all worth more. I’ve just finally figured that out.
#13: My plan, which is subject to change: All of M&M of Restraint, rewritten and republished in both print and ebook, with every book published thereafter as a permanent book. Only one try this time for the Wicked Writer. No more do-overs. I can’t survive it. I either respect and feel proud of the work I’m publishing, or it won’t be published. The first time. No rush-writing. No getting books out to have a new release and keep my links on ppl’s Twitter, Fb, and Goodreads feeds.
#14: Hero will be my next new release.
#15: My apologies, Blended Fans, but I released 4 Blended books, back-to-back, in less than nine months (1,800 pages). It’s The Mistress & Master of Restraint’s turn. But I will never go longer than 2 books per series without going back to the other. No more years of one series without giving a voice to the other.
#16: Blended is finite for a reason. It’s heavily outlined. I even know the final sentence of “THE END”. M&M could be infinite, as along as I have a palate cleanser, affording me the opportunity to give my muse room to grow and play.
17: When I catch up, or when the muse demands some space, you’ll be hearing from my pseudonym. The mystery and the suspense will be that I will NOT tell you who it is. I’ll wait, announce it, and let you all scour goodreads & Amazon until you figure it out. I call myself the Wicked Writer for a reason, and I will derive perverse pleasure as I watch you reason out who my other half is…
New Release Blended Series Sale: Wanton
Buy Links:
Good Girl (FREE 9/19-9/23 ONLY)
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B3V6Q2G
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B3V6Q2G
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00B3V6Q2G
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00B3V6Q2G
Wildly Wedded Wife: (FREE 9/19-9/23 ONLY)
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBITZPQ
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007X6GZDK
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00LBITZPQ
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00LBITZPQ
Widow: ($2.99 9/19-9/23 ONLY. $4.99 after)
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KVNGPIM
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KVNGPIM
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00KVNGPIM
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00KVNGPIM
Wanton: (New Release Price $2.99)
Amazon US – http://amzn.to/1qmKHRp
Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/1qNn6qN
Amazon AU – www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00NHB60SK
Amazon CA – www.amazon.ca/dp/B00NHB60SK
Wanton: Where is it? & Beta Drive info
Wanton was set to release the last week of July. Erica, where the hell is it?
I had to take a step back from my insane writing schedule. Which is laughable, since I started writing Warped instead. My New Year’s resolution was to slow down, not to rush-write to get books out to the readers, which always ends up in regret (mine) and rewrites with revamped released editions. Not going there again, Deviants. With that saying, I’ve released 1,500 pages to-date this year, with another 200+ in Wanton coming up, and Lord knows how many in Warped. So I’m guaranteed 2,000+ pages released in 2014- a new record for me, and totally contradicting my resolution.
Where is Wanton? Shelved for a few weeks for its betterment. Wanton evolved into a full-length book. On the short side of full-length, but longer than Restraint was when I first released it. Meaning, it’s not classified as a novella. It’s also not truly a half-book in the series any longer, either. Unlike Wildly Wedded Wife, Wanton will be necessary in the lineup in the Blended Series. I have 3 chapters to write, edits, and beta edits before it’s ready for publishing. Sometime in September. I want Wanton to be the best it can be, and if I’d rushed, it wouldn’t have been.
Warped: Flowing like water… in five days, I wrote over 40,000 words on Warped. As with the title, and the cover, Warped will be dark. Definitely the darkest book in the Blended Series. 50% Devon Mason. 25% Essie Prynne. 20% Kieren Mason, & 5% Willow Prynne. We’ve already had 700 pages from Willow’s POV. We’ve been deep inside her mind, I wanted readers to be one with the other characters now, but spotlight important scenes for Willow while inside her head. Outlook on Warped: I have no idea how long it will be. It’s writing itself. I’ve heavily outlined, but all 40,000+ words I’ve written thus far, were NOT outlined. I’m sure it will live up to the development and the length of its predecessors. Release date: Late September/October. It depends on how much of itself it wants to write. LMAO (my muse is trying to kill me, I swear)
BETA DRIVE: The beta drive is still in effect. Late August/Early September. I will sort through the submissions, email the beta test, and choose a roster of betas. It should be in time for Wanton & Warped’s beta reads. Here is the submission form for those interested in becoming a Wicked Writer’s Beta. Thank you for the interest, and the help!
Widow Blog Tour Hosts & Dates
Widow, Blended #2, Blog Tour Stops and Dates. Please visit for excerpts, teasers, and reviews.
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July 11th:
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July 12th:
Breaking that Kindle Budget Book Blog
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
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July 13th:
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July 14th:
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July 15th:
Life, Books, and More Books Blog
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July 16th:
Come to the Darkside. We Have books
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July 17th
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July 18th
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July 19th
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July 20th
Abibliophobia Anonymous Books Reviews
~Thank You for hosting Widow’s Blog Tour~
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!!A HUGE THANK YOU to ANGELA & Wicked Reads for organizing the tour!!
Blended Series Sale: FREE/.99/2.99
In honor of the newly released sequel to Good Girl, Widow. For Widow’s Blog Tour & her BIRTHDAY, author Erica Chilson is offering all the books currently in release in the Blended Series at a heavily discounted Rate. Combined, ONLY $3.99 for 1,500 PAGES of angsty twistedness.
Begin your Blended Family epic saga with Good Girl– FREE for a limited time only, July 10th-14th. Follow Willow Prynne as she grows into her own woman, all the while introducing you to the Blended Series’ cast of characters. Willow’s journey is a coming-of-age tale that dives deep into the darkest recesses of a young mind, while maintaining a feeling of growth and hope.
Erica Chilson is all about the balance. To lighten the darkness within Good Girl, Wildly Wedded Wife, the Blended Series first novella, spotlights Bethany & Rory. Only *99 pennies* Cute, sweet, romantic, and enlightening, Beth & Rory take the reader on a wild ride from Auggie’s hedonistic Playroom all the way to Las Vegas- wee… wee… wee…
Widow parallels events in Good Girl, while showing the reader a more mature and different side of the story. Clover Webster & Malcolm Mason are proof that second chances do in fact exist, even when the world is against you. Widow is an emotional journey through all aspects of life, leaving the reader with a sense of hope and redemption for the future. Grab a copy July 10th-17th for $2.99 and save off the regular price of $4.99.
Please visit author Erica Chilson’s Amazon page to buy your copy today at a heavily discounted rate.
Disclaimer: The Blended Series is for mature audiences only. 18+ Contemporary Romance with an erotic twist. Good Girl features bisexual themes and sexual content that some may find disturbing. Drug Use is prevalent, without being Pro-Drug or Anti-Drug. Recreational Drug users and abusers are in our everyday life, and the Blended Series is nothing if not reality. Wildly Wedded Wife contains sexually explicit content, with a scene featuring a wicked male/male sex toll into the Playroom. Widow features sensual erotic themes, guaranteed to leave you jonesing for a sensual massage.
NOTICE: If you already own a copy of Good Girl, and the title page does not list the Revamped edition as February 2014, then you must update your copy before continuing on with the series. The author made major changes to the foundation of the Blended Series. You do NOT have to re-purchase. Please visit *Updated Editions* for details.
Impatient for more from the Blended Series? You don’t have long to wait. Coming late July, Wanton (Blended #2.5), Opal Fischer & Ginny Jamison’s tale, diving deeper into the cast of characters than your average novella. Coming late September, Warped (Blended #3). In Warped, delve into the mind of Devon & Kieren Mason, & Willow & Essie Prynne.
With much appreciation, could you please spread the word of The Blended Series S*A*L*E. Word-of-mouth is an indie author’s bread&butter. For less than the price of a Frappe, you can spend days, if not more than a week, reading 1,500 pages of angsty twistedness. Show your thanks to the author by sharing the sale and leaving an honest review on Amazon & Goodreads.
!!THANK YOU!!
The wicked Writer sings,“Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday, dear Erica. Happy Birthday to me!” *passes out FREE Kindle copies of Good Girl to her readers as birthday presents*
Wildly Wedded Wife (Blended #1.5) LIVE on Amazon for 99 pennies
Wildly Wedded Wife (Blended #1.5)
Bethany Oman: Another six months and my thesis will be finished, and then I can stop this suffocating charade. My dream is to become a therapist specializing in sexual dysfunction. What better way to write my thesis than in a Playroom filled with sexual deviants? Only problem, I had to become a deviant in order to gain entrance to the Playroom… and then I had to explain my motivations to Augustus Kline, who offered me protection for a very steep toll.
My other dream is standing before me, smirking with anticipation. My original, lifelong-dream, who could easily destroy any hope of my becoming a therapist if I’m not careful.
And Rory Essex makes me feel anything but careful.
Willing to do anything it takes to gain the woman he loves, Rory makes a deal with Beth, which forces him to bargain with the Devil Himself.
Accepting Augustus Kline’s toll into the Playroom, Rory gains the key to making Bethany his Wildly Wedded Wife.
Wildly Wedded Wife is Book #1.5 in the Blended Series. Contemporary Romance with erotic themes. 18+. Warning: content may be too steamy for those with delicate sensibilities. WWW is approximately 35,000 words.
Click the image to be rerouted to Amazon US to purchase for only 99 pennies.
Widow: Live on Amazon
Widow (Blended #2), the long awaited sequel to Good Girl is now available for purchase on Amazon. Please click the image to be rerouted to Widow’s sales page.
Trying to overcome insurmountable odds: lifelong secrets plaguing both families, the failed, bitter romance between their eldest born, the ghosts of their deceased spouses, and the addiction that taints everything it touches. Will Malcolm Mason and Clover Webster be able to forge an unbreakable bond in order to traverse this landmine of a blended family?
Widow is book #2 in the Blended Series, the sequel to Good Girl. Not suitable for younger readers: 18 +. Contemporary romance involving sensual, erotic themes. Prepare for a roller coaster ride of emotions: devastating loss, the mourning of death, the renewal of hope, the awakening of love, the unexpected humor of watching one’s loved ones fall down, get back up, and dust themselves off. Blended is the chaotic calamity of everyday life.
Information
Title: Widow
Series: Blended
Book in series: #2
# of pages: 617
Price: $4.99
WIDOW: read an ARC for FREE
Curious to see what happened after Good Girl ended, way before other readers get a chance? Are you a blogger or page/group administrator, or just a ravenous fan? Here is your chance to not only read Widow early & for free, but obtain a copy of Good Girl too.
Wicked Reads is organizing a Blog Tour for Widow July 7th- July 20th. & is also providing 10 lucky readers with ARC copies of Widow too!
Bloggers & page/group administrators: *click here* for details
Fans: *click here* for details
I hope you will join us!
I’d also love to thank Angela over at Wicked Reads for organizing Widow’s promotions :-*
As always, feel free to email me: wickedwriter.ericachilson@gmail.com
Diatribe: Good Girl rants, and Widow.
As of this morning I hit 200,000 words on Widow. I’m now on the downwards slope towards the ending, where I’m tying all the loose threads from the entire book while adding insight for the books to come.
Since I published Integrated, I took a step back to reevaluate myself as a writer. I am determined to eliminate my bad habits, writing-wise, and slow down. A major thread of Widow is regret, and that is channeled from its author. My biggest regret is rushing a story.
When Good Girl was first published, I was proud of it. I thought it complete. I was wrong. I had written 70% of Widow shortly after Good Girl’s completion. I then took a step back and wrote KING, Faithless, The Hunter, Integrated, Hero, and found myself back to square one with Good Girl.
The foundation of the entire Blended series wasn’t right, which made me rethink all of my choices.
The day I had to delete over 200 pages of Widow… was a sad day, indeed.
Originally Widow began where Good Girl ended- that explosive cliffhanger of a scene that changed their family dynamic. I will prove a point now: Rushing would have killed the book and the subsequent books if I had released it over a year ago. All 200,000 of Widow’s words thus far, are before that end scene. It is the entirety of the book itself, with only a handful of scenes wrapping up the novel. Widow, as it is now, with the way the family’s lives have evolved, would never have been written. Warped would have been dead in the water, unable to be written.
After this major change, Warped will be one of my most challenging books. Picking up with Devon in rehab and showing the aftermath of Widow for the entire Blended family.
I’ve had some flack over Good Girl for a few things, things I wish to address now.
DRUG USE: I’m not advocating it, nor am I preaching about it. I’m showing it from both perspectives, and both are very real. I don’t write fairy tales. Drug and alcohol abuse are very present in our everyday lives. It’s not pretty because it’s reality. If this presses a trigger for you, then perhaps you’ve been affected by it at some point, and you should continue to read to see how I show it from the different angles. If you believe I’m advocating use, then perhaps you should continue to read to find out that is not the case. If you don’t believe drugs are everywhere, and as such, they shouldn’t be in books, then perhaps you are living in a world of your own creation. If you just don’t like reading about reality, then the Blended series isn’t for you, so don’t penalize me for it.
S-E-X: If you are on this earth, you were created through sex. If sex offends you, see above post in DRUG USE about reality. I DO NOT write closed-door romance. Nowhere do I say I do. Everywhere I say I don’t. 2 seconds of research through the reviews or my backlist will inform you that I write contemporary romance, erotic romance, suspense, LGBT, and BDSM. Unless I’m living in an alternate universe, I’d expect those to have sexual situations, and I wouldn’t expect the author to be penalized because of it. To me, it makes about as much sense as buying Science Fiction, reading Science Fiction, and then writing a 1 star review because it was Science Fiction. NOTE: for my deviants, Widow is more mild because of its characters. If you are a long-time reader of mine, you know I don’t write sex-fests.
Length: I’ve had readers complain of the length of Good Girl, with the irony being those same readers complain about spending their hard earned money buying what I call episodic series. (a series of novellas or short stories, all ending with a cliffhanger, forcing readers to wait for what comes next while it’s being written or to buy the next episode to see what happens next) While as lucrative for those authors as it is frustrating for its readers, I am not those authors. As a writer, the only thing I can do is write the way my muse programmed me. For me, a book has a beginning, middle, and an ending, and I will write that book the way it tells me to write it.
Yes, I’ve had cliffhangers. But the ending was to change the POV of the character, optimizing the readers’ experiences by telling the story in the voice best to relay the story. Good Girl was the length it was because it chose its length, ending because it was Clover and Malcolm’s turn to voice their story. Widow is the length it is to give you an entire story from start to finish, where the children will pick up the story to show you a new side in this journey.
As a reader, if long books aren’t for you, that is not my issue. I know there are so many amazing stories being written, and we, as readers, will never read them all. So we rush like kids trying to earn BOOK-IT points for Pizza Hut. But there is no gold star for reading the most books the fastest. I used to rush-read as well, until I realized I was short-changing my own entertainment. Reading isn’t a job; it’s for pleasure. A pleasure we pay for, so the faster you read, the more expensive the hobby. So when I get negative flack for a 700 page book you received for free or for only 99 cents, I get insulted. So if my writing style isn’t for you… I will not change, nor be penalized for it.
3rd person vs 1st person: I’ve heard this one many times: If only Ms. Chilson wrote in 3rd person… usually followed by, the book would be much shorter, and we’d know what so&so was thinking. 1st: I’ll let you know what they were thinking when I want you to know. Otherwise, it ruins any surprises, and I’m all about the surprises. Second: Well, that’s great that you enjoy 3rd person, but Ms. Chilson is the one who has to write the book. Ms. Chilson doesn’t write 3rd person. She also isn’t a fan of 3rd person narratives.
As a reader, you can choose what you read. As a writer, you CAN’T choose what you write.
This works for both my reading and writing styles: I must become one with the narrator, so 1st person present tense draws me into them. An overview isn’t intimate enough for me to connect with the characters. I’m in too many characters’ heads, and not deep enough. There is no deep connection when the internal monologue is disconnected from the readers. Also, past tense confuses me. I feel like saying, “I’m reading this RIGHT NOW, but it’s past tense.” I want to be walking around with the character, not hearing about how they walked around five minutes ago or ten years ago.
We all read differently because we are different people. Since I am the one writing the book, I can only write it the way I write. To each their own. To the joys of individual expression. *cheers*
Long story short: expect Widow to be a 700 page book in 1st person narrative in the present tense. Whether you find that boring, drawn-out, is not my issue. There are no unnecessary scenes written as filler in these pages. I don’t have time for that, not with all the characters screaming in my head. No shopping trips, car rides, or incessant decorator or fashion descriptions. Every scene is to propel the story or character development. There will be no doubting who the characters are on a soul-deep level. You, as the reader, will be able to predict their future actions as if they were your own. Why? Because I’ve bared their souls to you while you read, connected you, through the 1st person, present tense narrative.
Angry diatribe complete!
In other news. Widow will be released mid-June. Angela is organizing a Blog tour for Widow’s release, with ARCs for both Good Girl and Widow for review, as well as a Blitz and cover/blurb reveal. (All foreign language to me) So if you wish to join the fun, I’ll post the information when it becomes available.
As of mid-June, I will have publish 1,500 pages in the first half of 2014. I am stepping back again, reevaluating how Warped should proceed. In my leisure, I will be editing the M&M series, as well as writing a novella titled Wanton. Wanton is a (for Amber, who requested a BBW) BBW Lesbian romance centered around two females in Blended’s cast of characters. I will release the details on this title after Widow’s release. This book is my version of a test- a test to see if I can write about two people, centering the entire book around their connection, and manage to fit it into 120 pages or less.
Gauntlet thrown down: the Deviants over at M&M of Restraint don’t think I can do it. Anyone who reads my books knows I’m a challenge-taker. I’ll do it because you guys think I can’t, whether said in jest or not (I wasn’t offended. First, it made me laugh, and then it made me get down to business. As I end Widow, that novella has been writing itself in my head)
Off to finish Widow’s draft in the next week or so, and then the betas will work their magic while I put my editor hat on… and then things get really serious.
Widow: Release Date
Since I’ve received a high-volume of traffic to my website asking for Widow, this is for y’all 😀
Here’s the lowdown. I’m actively writing Widow, and I am trying my damnedest to meet my deadlines. With luck, Widow will be out on June 15th.
The cover is everywhere, but I will be posting an updated blurb within a week or so.
Estimation on length: 500+ pages (a conservative guesstimate)
If you’re a deviant soul & you don’t mind adult content, join us at M&M of Restraint– a closed group on FB dedicated to my fans. I post teasers and such, along with a healthy dose of naughty images and group conversations. We will welcome you to the dark side with open arms, but only if you have a twisted, open mind. You’ve been warned.
Back to writing Widow.
Restraint’s 2nd Birthday: Sale & Freebie
Katya Waters is aging gracefully, as her book has reached its 2nd year in publication milestone. If you’re a fan of the Mistress & Master of Restraint Series, tell your friends about this limited-time discounted rate of 99 pennies: April 23-30th only. Mistress & Master of Restraint Series is filled with dark twists and suspense-filled plots that keep you guessing and hungry for more. Restraint is book #1 of the 11 books currently in release.
Good Girl is Restraint’s less dark, but no less twisted, little sister. The debut in the contemporary/erotic romance Blended Series is free for a limited-time only: April 24-28th.
This birthday promotion is the best way to take a chance on author Erica Chilson, the Wicked Writer, without wasting a penny. Sample her writing style by delving in, and experience her warped sense of emotional torture while shining a bright light of hope within the shadowy darkness, promising a brighter future for her characters.
***Check price before you one-click***
Restraint: .99 cents 4/23-4/30
Save $3.00 on this 300 page wicked read by buying today.
http://tinyurl.com/kjma3ea
Good Girl: FREE 4/24-4/28
Discount price at 99 cents in anticipation of its sequel, Widow, list price will be $4.99 as of July. Save $4.99 by downloading this 700 page saga for free today.
http://tinyurl.com/knqmrko
***Support Indie Authors by sharing promotions, and reading and reviewing. & Most importantly, word of mouth, by telling your book buds about this amazing steal***
Reading tastes evolving my writing style
Question: Do you find your reading tastes evolving as your life changes? (not that any genre is better than another, just differing from before). Please answer this for me via the comments on this blog, email at wickedwriter.ericachilson@gmail.com or M&M of Restraint closed group on FB. My curiosity is getting the better of me. I want to know if I’m somehow… broken.
My long-winded answer, with a side of defensiveness over some comments over Good Girl NOT being Erotica: (must never read another comment or review, because to me it’s like telling a mother her kid is homely. I’m sick of explaining myself, as if I have a reason that I should be defensive. My book. My rules)
As a child, I was a reluctant reader. My teachers were beside themselves because I didn’t want to read ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ or other books children my age thought were entertaining. I looked older than I was, and apparently I thought older than I was as well. This was decades ago, way before Kindles and ebooks. Books for the tween-aged girl were The Baby Sitter’s Club or the classics. Easily bored, it took a lot to entertain me and keep me engaged- still true to this day. My parents were at a loss, so that is when I received my first magazine subscription in my name at age 8: Mad Magazine. <- My father’s idea. 😉 Somehow he knew I’d turn out to be a closeted pervert who thought violence was humorous. “Spy vs Spy”
When I began reading novels at 10 years old, I read VC Andrews and Stephen King. Horror, mystery & suspense, with a side of sex, was the only thing that would capture my attention. Too mature for most kids my age, I’m sure. I’m no worse for wear, but highly well-read. Mom wouldn’t budge on Anne Rice, though. If a stranger had found my library card, they would have thought I was a grown woman. Good thing the librarian was my aunt and didn’t bat an eyelash at my selections. I never really thought about that until now… what did my aunt think? “Strange Kid,” I bet.
My early 20s were dedicated to VC Andrews and Oprah’s book club selections. In my late 20s through early 30s, I read Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Yes, you can thank the over-criticized Twilight to that obsession, and I’m not ashamed. It’s still one of my guilty pleasures.I was entertained; what more can I say?
For some reason I’ve yet to explore, I moved onto Dark Erotica, mixed with Young Adult as a palate cleanser. This is when I began writing. Although I was leaving UF & PNR behind, my first book was UF, and that’s why it’s my first book- the shelved Chrysalis that may never see the light of day. My second attempt was a mix of BDSM and Crime.
Restraint was a whim that I thought would never come to fruition, and less than 3 months after I started writing it, it was published. Obviously after this I read many books in the Dark Erotica and Erotica genres. Yes, I wrote Restraint way before I ever read a book it would be classified alongside. For me it was about control, and the lack of control I felt over my life, and had absolutely nothing to do with sex. Sex was just a metaphor to express how trapped I felt. While I had to categorize Restraint as Dark and Erotica because of its explicit nature, it was never smut. Never sex for the sake of sex. It was human behavior- a cerebral fucking.
Good Girl was another precipice in my life. A hybrid of contemporary and non-sexual BDSM(control over your own life and actions) with playful sex added into the mix. I was no longer reading Erotica or Dark Erotica. I’m not sure why my tastes have changed yet again. But I can’t read this type of book, and I haven’t for almost two years now. When readers recommend books that are in a similar genre as my own, I try, truly try, to read them. But I can’t. My tastes are now story-driven. It’s why I always liked YA so much. I want 100% story with amazing chemistry between well-fleshed-out characters, not 10% story with repetitive sex. Once sex is introduced, I get bored and check out, or want the story to end.
While many enjoy this: the following statement is about what I enjoy. You can debate me if you wish, but this is about personal preference and how it affects my writing style. What is sex without buildup? If it’s just input a character name here, put peg A into slot B, it doesn’t hold my attention. A hot, smooth talking dude just makes me groan. Give him some kickass name that I think is beyond ridiculous, make him heavily muscled, borderline abusive, and without any true characteristics, add a whiny woman without any self-respect, and make them screw in between 5 pages of storyline, and then screw again and again and again. Maybe add another cookie-cutter character into a menage. Don’t forget to add the Baby/Babe. Sorry, no! I can’t swallow it. I just can’t.
I understand the appeal of smut, why readers long to read it. It just doesn’t hold any appeal for me. Erica longs for… more.
In real life, that same douche wouldn’t do a thing for me, either. If he’s the abusive ass, I’d find him as an abusive ass. If he flashes me a bullshit grin… charm to me is false, lies, and highly annoying and predicable. To me it’s like small talk- I don’t have time for that waste of time… I am nothing if not serious. Debate me; that will get me hot and bothered, or just bothered. But either way, you’ll get an honest reaction out of me vs polite bullshit uttered out of social obligation.
When I read a book, I want to be left wounded, raw. I want real- real in all its glorious, pain-filled flaws. I want my emotions warped until I feel what the character is feeling, until the character becomes a true entity, and that is what I hope I achieve with my writing.
So now I find myself reading cheesy Historical Romance. Why? Why the hell would a woman who writes the M&M Series read about that era, an era that goes against her core belief system with its maltreatment to women? Easily answered: because it’s the same as when she was a child; Erica wants to read the opposite of her situation. She wants anti-reality. I’m also reading contemporary. Why you ask: because Erica also wants to read about reality. The mind that creates stories is complex enough to have to read varying genres to fight ennui.
Never fear: nothing will EVER inspire me to write historical. I love it, but just like novellas and short stories, I couldn’t write it if my life depended on it.
What does this mean for my writing future: I don’t know. M&M holds my undivided attention because it is so involved, twisted, character-driven. And as you can see from earlier books in the series vs later books, I refuse to add sex for the sake of sex. Any and all sex is to drive the story.
So I find myself with some negativity on Good Girl, not only for the addiction theme, but for the lack of erotica. Nowhere do I list this book as a sex-fest. I know readers do like smut, and I have nothing against it. I do not enjoy smut, so therefore I cannot write smut. So to negatively rate Good Girl because you are judging it against M&M or books in differing genres, is ludicrous. Good Girl, the Blended series, is NOT erotica, so to judge it against erotic is like judging Harry Potter against Fifty Shades. While Good Girl has sexual situations and themes, because real life has those, it is not a sex book. Never was, never will be, and I will make no apologies for it either. Other books in the Blended series, the sex will vary by the character. I’m not cookie-cutter. My characters are complex and different than the others. One book will not be a repeat of the last with the names and locations changed.
Is there anything I haven’t written? Any line I’ve refused to cross? I can understand why M&M readers would be blindsided by… borderline normal in Blended, but that doesn’t change a dang thing. I am the immovable object, and the only unstoppable force I will ever concede to is my own mind. Negativity will NEVER get me to move. It will only get me to become even more unbending. I’m always baffled by some comments and emails I get. My characters are dominant being. Who do you think created them? Exactly.
While many of my hardcore M&M fans will NOT enjoy Good Girl, the small following of Blended fans will NOT like Restraint. Why, you ask: because Erica Chilson is not a one-trick-pony. I have the capacity to write differing genres with equal fervor. I can write both, and I don’t ask my readers to read both. I’m good with two separate followings with a group of readers that straddle the genres. Just as my tastes have evolved over time, my writing does as well. Just as I was as a child, I am easily bored. I need both anti-reality and reality to keep myself interested… and an interested Wicked Writer writes better books than a writer that feels pressured into writing what readers want.
Wicked Reads Giveaway
Hey Wicked Readers it’s Giveaway Time!!!
As you may know (or not), over here at Wicked Reads, Erica is our President, Queen, King, Goddess, or whatever hat she chooses to wear, so we’re giving away copies of Restraint & Good Girl to 2 of our lucky readers.
How do you enter?
1. Like our Facebook page
2. Like Erica’s Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Erica-Chilson/e/B007X9QDRK
3. Like Erica Chilson‘s Facebook page & tell her that:
a. Wicked Reads says congratulations on Revamping Good Girl!!
b. Tag Wicked Reads when you leave the comment for an extra entry.
5. Comment on this post that you’re done & what Like # you were on Amazon.
You can earn extra entries by:
Liking this Post (1 entry); Sharing this Post (1 entry per page you share it on); & Tagging your friends (1 friend per comment; 1 entry for each comment with a tagged friend).
Our President’s Day Giveaway will run until 10:00 pm EST on 2/17/2014. Two winners will be chosen and announced by 11:00 pm.
Books will be gifted via Amazon US only.
Facebook is neither affiliate with nor responsible for this post or giveaway.
Restraint 99 Cent Sale
Restraint is on sale for 99 cents until February 21st. Save three dollars by grabbing the first in the long-standing Mistress & Master of Restraint series at a discounted rate.
(click the photo to purchase)
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The Revamped edition of Good Girl is also on sale for a limited time only. Begin the Blended Series at a discounted rate and save four dollars.
(click photo to purchase)
If you own the previous edition of Good Girl and need information on how to update *click here*
I would appreciate it if you would please share this information on book pages you frequent.
***THANK YOU***
Good Girl: UPDATE Your Kindle Copy
Good Girl’s revamped edition is now available on Amazon at a special republish sale price of 99 pennies. *limited time only* List Price: $4.99 **Purchase on Amazon**
Q&A:
Do I need to reread the revamped edition if I previously read Good Girl: Yes. GG’s 1st edition was 120,000 words & 50 chapters. GG’s Revamped edition is 220,000 words and 86 chapters. Storyline threads have been deleted. Every scene has been rewritten with many deleted. The main premise has been changed. Characters have evolved. The genre has changed from Erotica to Romance. The series title has changed from Playroom to Blended. Major editing. My apologies. GG is the foundation of the Blended series, and while writing Widow I hit major roadblocks that needed eliminated. GG will go through one more major edit when I edit the print proof for publishing into paper, but nothing will change other than those pesky errors. So if you find mistakes… after thousands of hours of staring at GG, sorry, I’m not touching it for at least a month.
Do I need to repurchase a copy of Good Girl: NO! Please, do not repurchase. I don’t wish to be paid twice for the same book, even though it is vastly different. Repurchasing GG will NOT give you the latest edition. Even if you delete GG off of your Kindle Library/Account, Amazon’s database still sees it as just re-downloading the previous copy while taking your hard-earned money. DO NOT REPURCHASE!!! I tried this myself, and was saddled with the same copy after spending a buck.
Will deleting the copy off of my device and re-downloading update my copy: No. I also tried this in the past.
Will an update be available through Amazon: Yes. Patience, please. At the bottom of this posting, I will c/p my email correspondence with Amazon to keep you informed.
Is there a way to update my copy until Amazon issues an official update: Yes. Manually through Amazon’s customer service. I will list a tutorial that Angela prepared for us from her experience. She said it took a total of 8 minutes from start to finish. So do not be intimidated by the steps.
How will I know if I have the updated edition: The title page will list that this is the Revamped/revised Edition February, 2014 & the Kindle Copies will say this on top of every page: Good Girl (Blended)
What do I do if I want to keep my old edition of Good Girl but also obtain the revamped edition: Screen shot your kindle library with Good Girl showing as proof of purchase, email me the image at: wickedwriter.ericachilson@gmail.com. I will email you the newest copy.
Here is my email from Amazon:
We received your request to provide updated content to customers who purchased your book. Thanks for providing specific details about the changes made. We’ll perform a review of the changes to determine the most appropriate way to describe the updates to your customers. This review will complete within four weeks, and the possible results of our review are listed below.
1. If the changes made to your content are considered critical, we’ll email all customers who own the book to notify them of the update and improvements made. These customers will be able to choose to opt in to receive the update through the Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.com. www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/manage
2. If the changes made to your content are considered minor, we won’t be able to notify all customers by email, but we will activate their ability to update the content through the Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.com.
3. If the changes made to your content have caused unexpected critical issues with the book content, we’ll temporarily remove your book from sale. We’ll notify you of any issues found so you can fix them. Once the improvements are made, just let us know and we’ll then email customers as in case 1.
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While researching, I also see that you’ve already purchased the book “Good Girl” and a content update is available for your device.
At this time, customers who have purchased a Kindle book cannot automatically download the revised content. Our technical team is aware of this issue, and are working towards automating this process.
In the meantime, we can manually send the updated content to your device. Before we send it, you should be aware that once the new content is received, features such as Highlights, Last Page Read and Bookmarks will be removed and the locations of notes may not match in the updated copy of your book.
Erica again: as you can see from my email, you can manually have Amazon update your edition for you. Below will be the steps in how to go about this. You can do chat as below, or call Amazon for assistance. Please give Angela a huge thank you for writing this up for us. 😀
OK Everyone, here is the tutorial. It took me longer to write it up than it did to actually do the steps.
How to get Amazon to Push a Revised Edition of a book to your Kindle via Chat
1. Delete Good Girl from your Kindle device. Do NOT delete it from your Kindle Library.
2. Go to Manage Your Kindle (Link on Your Account drop down menu)
3. Allow Your Kindle Library to load for a minute and then type in “Good Girl” in the Search your library box.
a. “Good Girl (Blended) – Chilson, Erica” should appear in the drop down menu & click on it.
b. Right Click on the Order Details link & Open in a New Window or Tab
c. Go back to the Your Kindle Library page and move your mouse to hover over the Kindle Help link (located on the upper right side of the page below your Wish List tab).
d. Click on the Contact Us link. This should take you to the Help & Customer Service for Kindle page.
e. On the left side of that page, there is a Quick Solutions menu. Click on the Contact Us button. (You may be prompted to log into your account again.)
4. On the Contact Us Page,
a. Section 1 should have the Kindle tab active, so chose your Kindle Device.
b. Section 2, make the following selections:
i. Select an issue: My Kindle Books & Periodicals
ii. Select issue details: Managing/transferring content
iii. Select additional details: Using Archived Items
iv. Ignore the Did You Know? Section that pops up.
c. Section 3, Click on the “Start Chatting” Tab
5. When the Chat Window pops up and prompts you to explain your issue, enter the following info.
a. Hi, I need the revised edition of Good Girl by Erica Chilson pushed to my Kindle Account. Here is the corresponding Digital Order Summary #D01-5255260-6444807. I have deleted the previous version from Angela’s 2nd FIRE.
b. Be sure to change the Digital Order # to your order number (which can be found in the other open window or tab from step 2b) and your Kindle’s Nickname.
6. You should be connected with a Kindle Customer Service Rep rather quickly who can help you out.
a. Warning: I have on one occasion gotten a CS rep who did NOT know what he was doing. If the CS rep asks you to delete the book from your Kindle Library, tell him/her NO, that you need the revised edition pushed to your Kindle and ask for a different rep if necessary.
b. Be sure to open the newly arrived copy of Good Girl and make sure the header at the top of the page reads GOOD GIRL (BLENDED) before you end your chat.
The Evolution of a novel: Good Girl
Many know that I’m editing Good Girl, but few know I’m completely rewriting it for publication into paper. The rewrite has been an eye-opener into my growth as a writer. I could go into great detail over the changes I’m making, the scenes added or subtracted, the abundance of words deleted, and the total restructuring of, not only the novel, but, the series as a whole. I’m not going to bore my readers(new & my faithful followers from the beginning) with over-explanation since it starts to sound like bragging or like I’m putting down my own work. I’m nothing if not humble… because this rewrite is a humbling experience to say the least. But I take great comfort in seeing my growth over the past sixteen months since I began writing Good Girl.
I’ve said time and time again that I was releasing Widow by such and such a date, only to go back on my word. Subconsciously I was stalling because something felt off… and then I knew. I knew what I needed to change for the betterment.
When I announced my rewrite in the M&M of Restraint group on Facebook, I was asked why I’d change a novel that was currently published. My answer was that as I grow as a writer, I want my books to evolve with me, and it would be disrespectful to the story and the readers to leave it… as less than it could be. But the reality of it is, Good Girl is the foundation of a 7 book series. If a foundation is weak, the entire series could crumble. I don’t work as hard as I do; I don’t create these characters, their worlds, and breathe life into them only to fail.
A story starts with a single thought and is fostered over thousands upon thousands of hours… and that’s not when you’re writing. Willow and company have been in my mind since their conception, over sixteen months ago.
Every. Single. Day.
As a constant reminder of failure, I retain a few glaringly detrimental plot devices from the M&M of Restraint series. I’m currently writing book 12 in that series, and I’d love. LOVE. to fix some things that are set in stone. My only recourse was to slowly arc the story in the correct direction… lesson learned, I’m not doing that to the Blended series. I’m fixing it in the beginning before I make more work for myself in a later installment.
I will announce that the Playroom series is now the Blended series, because the premise revolves entirely around a blended family, not the roving environment of Augustus Kline’s creation. I also changed the genre from Erotica to Contemporary Romance and Erotic Romance, also because the focus is not on the lifestyle. M&M is hardcore, dark and twisted, mysterious and suspenseful, with a hefty dose of kink. That is not what I want from the Blended series.
My thoughts: if I wanted my two series to be identical, I’d just write more books in a particular series. In the beginning, before I knew better, I’d read reviews. A handful of reviews stated Good Girl wasn’t like the M&M series, and this was in a negative tone. No, Good Girl is not like the M&M series… because it’s NOT the M&M series. It’s the Blended series and they are nothing alike.
I needed completely opposite ends of the spectrum from my series. M&M is the scandalous tales of the rich and twisted. Blended is the real life issues of a blended family struggling to survive in mainstream America, while they endure the stresses of combining a two large families while one of their own battles drug and alcohol addiction. Blended is regular folks… and I’m okay with that. Sometimes you need to experience heartbreak and triumph from a source outside of your personal life so you can deal when real shit hits the fan- a story to draw strength from.
Each and every one of these characters is connected through blood or blended through marriage. The ties that bind have absolutely nothing to do with the roving playroom and everything to do with the blending of a family; hence my decision to change the series title. Their ages range from fourteen to forty and, with the exception of Good Girl, every book is an HEA book; hence the need to change the genre to Contemporary Romance.
The Blended series begins with Willow Prynne’s journey from a disillusioned teenager to a mature young woman. Good Girl has a brand-spanking new synopsis:
There aren’t many options for a girl who falls in the middle. I wasn’t an athlete or a geek. I wasn’t an artist or a musician. I didn’t shake my pom-poms along with my ass. I was just a good girl who got good grades and kept her mouth shut. I didn’t date my high school sweetheart and promptly get married the second I was handed my diploma. I’m not shiny enough to attract notice, nor dark enough to be a problem.
I don’t have a tragic sob story. My daddy didn’t leave us destitute and I’m not a victim of a bad neighborhood. I am a middle-America, middle of the road, middle class girl with both parents fussing over their youngest daughter, who has no aspirations or goals. I’ve had every opportunity to succeed- supportive parents, stability, and a strong upbringing. I’m wayward and everyone looks at me like I’m an alien.
My philosophy: how should I know what I want to do with the rest of my life the day I graduate? How am I supposed to know the second I turn eighteen what I am destined to become? One moment you are a disillusioned seventeen-year-old with the world at your fingertips, and the next, congratulations, you’re eighteen and you’re on your own.
With all the changes, I hope that the series appeals to the mainstream and deviants alike. The Blended series rides the edge of both categories and I believe it will be mind-opening for the former group and entertaining for the latter.
While writing Widow, I found many stumbling blocks. One was an event that was hard to swallow. The Widower sickened the Widow when she found out what transpired, creating a major point of contention within their budding marriage. From a parental standpoint: it was beyond disturbing. From a teenaged idiot standpoint: it was fun and exciting, thrilling, and equally fucking stupid… just like a real teenager would behave.
While I didn’t regret the scene, (it wasn’t one of those plot devices I wished out of existence), it was difficult to write and read. I didn’t want it to be sexy even though it’s perceived in that light. I wrote it in a impersonal, clinical manner with little to no description, and it barely took the length of one page. This scenes was the catalyst for every mistake thereafter… and responsible for the majority of Willow’s growth.
Willow’s future view on this moment in time vastly differs from how she felt in the moment. I added a caveat to appease my reservations. For the first time ever, I added a passage written in the future tense about the present tense, and I hope I accomplished my goal. For those of you who read Good Girl in any of its editions, you’ll know where this occurs in the timeline. .. and if you can’t place it, then that shows you just how much I’ve altered Good Girl.
There are moments in your life that you can never get back- the tipping point. These are the moments you simultaneously wish you could change yet keep forever the same. A time when your older self wants to transport back in time and scream STOP at your younger self, and perhaps slap the stupid out of you while you visit. You tell yourself pretty lies to cover the agony of betrayal. At some point, your future self accepts reality as it is and no longer believes the lie. But in present time, the only thing that saves you from life’s bitter truths is the lie you weave for yourself- the altered perception of reality that blinds you to the mistake you’re making. It’s a knife’s edge that can either be wielded to protect you or cut you, and either way it alters the core of who you are, who you were meant to be, and who you become.
This is the first of those moments for me- the first of many.
Days, weeks, years from now, I’ll wish I had analyzed what was happening and put an end to it. I won’t regret, because tonight’s actions, and those after, lead me on a path of enlightenment- a path I earned through mistakes. I’ll forever rue my teenage ignorance in trusting when I shouldn’t. As it is now, my mind is spinning, unable to light on one thought, let alone the dozens flitting around in a stew of confusion and unbridled lust.
The Blended series revolves around the following main characters, each of whom will get a voice within the series:
*titles listed in series order and subject to change, with all books after Good Girl sharing narration*
*shared narration does not equate romantic entanglements*
Good Girl:Willow Prynne.
Widow: Clover Webster & Malcolm Mason.
Wayward: Robin Prynne, Isis Mason, & Augustus Kline.
Waver: Willow Prynne, Devon Mason, & Kieren Mason.
Warped: Essie Prynne & TBA.
Wicked: Violet Webster & Raven Mason.
Wanted: Seth Webster & Weston Mason.
… and yes, I was tempted to either change Good Girl to Willow or Wanton to follow suit with the rest of the titles. But as the foundation of the Blended series, I wanted Good Girl to stick out, just as its single narration and lack of an HEA. Good Girl was merely an introduction to a vast cast of characters that longed to tell you their stories.
Erica Chilson: The Wicked Writer 