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***
Phenomenon: Katya Hate-On
This is an odd posting, but in light of The Hunter premise, recent activity on my fan page, and my feelings as I write Integrated, I felt the need to get something off of my chest. I’m sure I will piss some readers off, and perhaps spoil some shit. You can dissect my words for clues on Integrated and so forth. But this is simply in defense of Katya Waters.
As I’ve interacted with readers and read reviews… People HATE Katya’s f’ing guts. It’s an everyday occurrence that I get an ‘I hate Katya’ from someone on my various pages. I’ve had actual death-threat emails over this, I shit you not. Katya is a fictitious character… ya know. I mean, kill her? Yes, death-threats. *smh*
It’s an interesting dynamic for me. I’m not trying to sway your feelings over the character. I actually want to know your view, because it helps me with character development in the future. I’m curious to see where I went wrong, or if it is simply a case of we see ‘this character‘ with ‘this character‘ and will accept nothing less.
It’s a phenomenon in psychology, how we gloss over the huge shit going on but pick on a character that has blended into the background as we hear about her through a tainted lens.
At first, I was waiting for someone, anyone, to stand up for Katya… when readers kept hating on her, I kept making it more obvious… and still… nothing. No one said, “Help Katya. This isn’t right. Why are you doing this?” Since I am a maniacal bitch, I started bashing Katya through the narration of other characters just to see if anyone would say anything.
You are aware that Katya is Ezra’s WIFE, right? No? Because we don’t seem to care that Ezra has NEVER acted like a husband…
My stories have STRONG females. Females who believe in empowerment and are borderline cock haters. A few are huge feminists. The readers love Faith and Regina. LOVE. & this pleases me to no end. I’m proud to make inspiring characters…
BUT, and yes, this is a huge but, it’s okay for said strong females spouting empowerment to bully Katya- both of the favorites do. They bully Katya for actions out of her control. & I had Faith say some nasty shit about a Tonka truck… and ya know what? That wasn’t even about Katya, that was about EZRA & CORTEZ… yes, that’s right. It was the disrespect they showed Katya. But, nope, the readers blamed Kat. And while written with a humorous twist, it was rather gross of Faith to think those thoughts about Katya and not blame the men. Again, no one noticed, or Faith was applauded for being nasty.
For me, it just shows how women think and behave. No matter what, we pit ourselves against one another. We won’t stick up for each other. But we will fight over a cock, even a worthless and faithless cock. Time and time again, I made it to where Regina and Faith could have stepped in and rescued Kat, but I didn’t have them do it to show how women do not stick up for each other…
I wrote the story this way for a reason. It was on design for what is to come. I’m known for cerebral fuckage. But I was astonished by the hate-on the readers had for Katya, how they felt no compassion towards her but felt it for her abusers and bullies.
It’s interesting. Lends to the blame the victim mentality. By no means should behaviors be forgiven because you were once a victim. But what about those victimizers that are so nonredeemable but we seem to love them anyway…
I just really feel the need to defend my creation. I just don’t see where this anger is coming from- this hypocrisy… and as I continue to write a story that Katya hovers around, I’m left feeling frustrated. Yes, I wrote it this way. It’s the readers’ perceptions that are baffling me…
I mean, it’s not like Kat is a whore, a murderer, a serial rapist, a criminal, a drug lord… that’s all good, right? I mean. we can just forgive that shit, right?
Kat’s only crime is that she wants to be the best at her profession instead of staying at home with the kids.. It’s the only thing Kat has any control over, and even then, it’s only perceived control. I’ve heard the mother complaints from a lot from readers. I’m a huge advocate for stay-at-home moms, I was raised by one. We are all different. Some ppl are not meant to be mommies. Neither is better than the other, it’s just lifestyle choices… choices written in a series about alternative lifestyles, I might add. Ironically, what’s perfectly fine for the beloved women in my series isn’t for Katya. Think on that for a moment… …. …. okay, Regina and Faith have careers. I actually did that to see if anyone would bitch, but they never did. Just about Katya.
Kat has sex. OMG! Yes, why, yes, she does… It’s dark erotica… aren’t they all fucking someone? But Katya isn’t banging husbands behind their wives’ backs… that’s okay for the beloved characters to betray Katya with Ezra, though, right? & the readers don’t even blame Ezra or Regina. That’s perfectly acceptable behavior… if your name isn’t Katya.
But Kat is dog shit because she doesn’t want to be humiliated and disrespected by the very women that spout empowerment and feminism? Everyone is huge Regina and Faith fans. While I love and respect my creations, I love them equally, and I made them equally as flawed as they are good.
This is something I’ve been examining for well over a year, and when I went back to fix Restraint & Unleashed… I was like, “wow. I never noticed that before.” I just want to give Katya a fucking hug.
& yes, this is raw in my mind because I wrote a 6,000 word chapter today on this very subject within Integrated. & I could list the merits of Katya Waters vs her bullies or copy/paste segments of what I’d written. But I won’t because I don’t want to taint your view of the books. I go into great depth with this, and I could now. But if you don’t realize Katya’s motivations right now, I’d rather you just read about it in Integrated.
I hope when you read Integrated that you regain your compassion and actually see things clearly. if not, I tried my damnedest through 6,000 words of my character bleeding out…
Katya is my stalking horse… You guys might not love Kat, but she is my creation… my very first creation… and more than 75% of her personality traits, physical characteristics, and even the town she lived in and the life she had led… was all me. I’ve used her to express how I’ve felt: violated, trapped, confused, lost, alone, trapped, scared, and tortured. Kat has been living how I lived, in a much more fanatical way, obviously. Right now, she is lost and trapped, and stepped on…I’ve been there- we all have. That is what is baffling me- the lack of empathy and compassion as we praise the victimizer and blame the victim… just step back and truly think on this. Your feelings of all the characters and why.
I use Katya as an example of life. We all overlook what the cocks do… and we will take sides with the vaginas, even if it’s the wrong side. But there is always one person that we hate for no fucking reason at all. Think about it… it’s true in all walks of life, every part of the world, and in every age group… and for some fucked up reason, just among the vaginas.
Interesting… as I said, never forget, I write by perception. One person’s lens may be tainted because they aren’t in the other character’s head. And everything I write is for a reason- and most likely, a psychological reason.
Please, feel free to tell me your thoughts. It’s why I wrote this. Join us in the M&M of Restraint Closed group on Facebook or email me: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
Erica Chilson’s 35th Birthday Bash!
ERICA CHILSON’S 35th Birthday, Wicked Giveaway!
Help Erica celebrate her birthday by downloading a free copy of Restraint & Good Girl from Amazon. Enter to win a $35 Amazon Gift Card, A digital bundle of all Erica Chilson’s titles that are currently published ($45 value), a digital copy of the newly released Faithless, or a digital copy of KING!
To enter, simply click on the image above!
This giveaway is Erica’s way of giving a gift of thanks to her readers & fan! As a birthday gift to her, she would appreciate it if you could spread the word! The more books given away for FREE, the more future readers and fans.
Many thanks!
Giveaway Link: http://rafl.es/XFMiDy
Restraint Kindle Freebie Link: http://www.amazon.com/Restraint-Mistress-Master-ebook/dp/B007X6GZDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371847838&sr=8-1&keywords=restraint+erica+chilson
Good Girl Kindle Freebie Link: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Girl-Playroom-ebook/dp/B00B3V6Q2G/ref=pd_sim_kstore_15
What’s doing?
Yeah, I just totally jacked that ‘What’s doing?’ tagline from Butch O’Neil of the BDB. *snorts* My favorite brother…
What’s doing is what am I doing… thought I’d give you all a heads up. The above picture gives you all a huge clue 😉
First, if you’d love a chance to win a KINDLE PAPERWHITE & a massive amount of sexy wicked reads, go *here* and enter. Sinfully Sexy Summer Bonanza Giveaway. A digital bundle of my titles are in the giveaway. Great way to get some summer reading for free!
July 11-15 Restraint & Good Girl will be free on Amazon for the Kindle & its apps. & that is also why you will not be able to purchase those titles on B&N until September. July 11-15 I will also be holding a Rafflecopter Giveaway. Prizes: $35 Amazon Gift Card. Digital Bundle of Erica Chilson titles ($45 value) Restraint-Unleashed-Dexter-Dalton-Queen Omnibus-KING-Faithless-Good Girl. An ecopy of KING & Faithless. (click the pretty blue links to direct you to the free books and the giveaway) I will post on July 11, so it will be a fresh posting!
In preparation for the Free Promotion, I am reformatting/re-editing Restraint & Good Girl. This led me to why I want to tear my hair out. I first published Restraint on April 24th, 2012. I then went back and rewrote it in October and released the updated version on Nov. 1st, 2012. Restraint was my first book, so it has a LOT of major issues. As I’ve grown in my craft, I’ve changed my writing style. This chick has logged in almost a million words in the past year- that is a lot of growth. Wednesday night, I opened up the doc for Restraint, planning on just looking for errors and such, reformatting issues. You didn’t want to be in my thoughts… yeah… you didn’t. So yet again, I find myself REWRITING Restraint, because I feel like it sucks. I want my readers to get the best possible experience from me, and I feel like this was just shoddy writing.
Original Restraint: was only 88 pages in PDF format. I think it came out to be 120-something for Kindle and Nook. It was 52,000 words, I believe.
Revised copy: 217 Kindle & Nook pages. 70,000 words.
Now: I’m about a quarter way thru the rewrite and I’ve added 6,000 words.
I just didn’t like the flow of the story, how the scenes played out, or Katya’s lack of internal dialogue. And when she did think something, her actions belied the thoughts. God, I found that annoying as all hell. It’s doubtful I will add scenes, but I changed the dialogue, sentence structure, added description, and internal dialogue. Katya shouldn’t be a contradiction. I want the story to flow smoothly and with limited errors. I will never be able to find all of those suckers, but each one I eliminate is one less error that will break a reader from the story. You know what I mean, you’re reading along and it’s like hitting a pothole while driving, it jars you.
If you want to reread the newest version, just update your copy or download the free copy on July 11-15. I haven’t updated to the newest edition yet, because I’m not finished, so don’t go looking for it yet. It will also be formatted differently, so that’s a plus
Basically, I just didn’t want to be embarrassed by my first book… it’s the anchor of the M&M of Restraint series, after all.
Good Girl… Willow will get checked for errors, formatting issues, and sentence structure. Not much should change. And if you haven’t started the Playroom series, now’s your chance to get it for free on July 11th-15!
Faithless… is currently being read by the betas. When they give me their questionnaires and edits back and I will get back to work on Syn. The book will be $9.99 on Amazon & B&N. Why that price, you ask? Faithless spans three books: Faith, Faithless, and Syn. Think of it as an omnibus edition. It has 113 chapter… yes, 113 chapter & 330,000 words. Yes, it will take days to read! I promise you will be engrossed! Let’s hope I can find all the booboos in that many pages. Lots of chances for mishaps! My target Release is July 7th! Hopefully before then.
The Good Girl reread/re-edit/reformat is to prepare me for Widow. Widow is currently 75% completed, already over 100,000 words long. I need to add a storyline thread to it and write the ending. My target for book 2 in the Playroom series is the end of August.
I’m leaving on Vacation in a few days for a cross-country trip from Pennsylvania to New Mexico. That’s a long-ass ride, trust me. I will be working the rewrites and on Widow on the trip out. My parents and I, and our little dog, too, are going to Raton, New Mexico (NRA Whittington Center) for the BPCR Silhouette (scope & Iron sights) & the 22-caliber National Championships. My father is the returning 2012 National Champ for the Iron Sights, let’s hope he retains his title and captures the other two! Go, Dad, Go!
Send your positive thoughts to Brian Scott Chilson, because Saturday and Sunday he is shooting in the Pennsylvania State Championship! Aim true, Daddy-o!
Come next week, I will be in higher elevations dreaming of more oxygen and more humidity. This chick may live in the Appalachian mountains, but they be teeny-tiny mountains compared to the Rockies, and I love my thick swampy air. It’s an adventure, but my days are spent outside in the sweltering heat with hundreds of rifles firing. It’s a loud, hot, dirty day… and not the sexy kind. I get a lot of writing and reading done while on vacation. Once my rewrites are completed, I’ll break into my Kindle and nook Apps.
My 35th birthday is rapidly approaching… ugh… if someone could send me a dirty sexy hottie tied up in only a red bow…. yeah… But what I’d really like is for all of my fans to spread the word about my works. I’m trying my damnedest to provide intense entertainment. Word of mouth is a self-published author’s bread and butter. If you could share the links to the giveaway on Twitter and Facebook, add my books on your Goodreads profiles, and quickly tap out a review on Goodreads and Amazon, I would be thoroughly appreciative.
I love my fans, they offer me endless amounts of inspiration and encouragement. Writing is private. We bleed on the pages… but then we have to publish and be under constant assault. You never know if a message, comment, or email is a good one or one that will wreck you for an hour, a day, or a week. Total inspiration sappers, that. Plus, emotions do not transfer well in digital media. Meaning, I could write something and everyone will take it the wrong way… happened to day, in fact. But that’s how the msgs, emails, and comments are for me. So I thank you for keeping me real, down to earth, and firmly yanking my head out of my ass.
Peace out… off to rewrite Restraint for its betterment! Happy Wicked Reading!
WIP changes
Today has been a busy day. I created a giveaway for Wicked Reads reaching a goal of 2000 fans. Scroll down a post and enter as of Midnight. I tweaked, fixed some formatting issues, and reworded the epilogue of KING. Those who already have a copy, it’s worded slightly different, but still the same, story-wise. KING has been uploaded to B&N and Amazon. Within the next 12-48 hours it will be available for purchase. I’ll give a shout out when it’s live, and update the purchase links in the M&M of Restraint tab. I’ve also rearranged some things on this website, updated info and such. Lastly, updated Goodreads.
Now to the meat of this blog posting. What’s Erica up to lately.
I’ve been on the fence over quite a few things- disquiet- twitchy. KING was completed weeks ago. I had fixed the beta edits and reread the thing 7 times over. But I still didn’t publish. I wanted to do a scene that was needed, but not from Daniel’s POV. I decided on a epilogue. Here is one of my biggest issues. Faithless was going to be an info-dump book. For those of you who don’t know what that means, you’re inundated with a shit-load of info. I hate that. So KING’s epilogue is a two-for-one. Ezra narrates the epilogue and he dumps a ton of information that will help while reading the future books. In fact, I let so much info out that it is confusing. But who better to confuse you then our insane Dr. Lunatic? I think I will include this epilogue in the future books it impacts. Part two of the two-for-one epilogue, who doesn’t want to see Ez get his groove on? Hmm… he was so lonely, too. 😉
Warning: KING’s sex scenes are 90% gay, with only 1 straight scene and 1 bi scene. But if you didn’t know Daniel Whittenhower II was gay by now…. & frankly, I hope I broaden your horizons. Love is love, sex is sex, it shouldn’t matter who you’re with.
Back to my disquiet twitchiness… Something was just off. Widow is calling to me. “Hey, we’re over here. Click us and write!” I’m not feeling particularly romancy right now. Faithless was screaming, “Deadline! Deadline! Deadline.” & I was muttering to myself, “I don’t want to write you right now, stfu! Cort and I need to mind-meld for awhile.” I mean, who the hell wouldn’t want to converse with Cort?
My issue, King isn’t a new beginning, just a turning point. Queen’s books and Dalton closed out a mindset of the series. Using the word story-arc isn’t correct. King is just an introduction, a buffer between Dalton/Checkmate and Faithless. Just as how the story progressed timeline-wise with Jaded, Queened, Restraint/Unleashed/Dexter/Dalton/Checkmate, King bridges the gap of Faithless/The Hunter/Silence.
I have to write those three books at the same time. None of them can be released before the first draft of the next is completed. The current time, there is only a two-day gap between books, backstory not included. Silence will be as KING is, a change.
I will explain without too much detail.
Faithless: Faith Simpson as a fifteen-year-old thru the present day Syn. We see how her life brought her to the here and now. Her friendship with the Ezes and her entanglement with Wil. Syn’s book ends an hour after KING does. Daniel goes looking for Syn after the last line of chapter thirty-seven of KING. Final Chapter of Faithless, and then KING’s epilogue begins. So yeah… this is a difficult puzzle I’ve created.
The Hunter: Cortez Abernathy. The prologue is of a twelve-year-old Cort running through the woods playing with Ez. Chapter One, he awakes from his memory, a seventeen-year-old young man thrust into a nightmare. We experience that time frame in graphic detail. The King epilogue flows to the ending of The Hunter. Ez has some explaining to do.
Silence: Grant Whittenhower. He wants to tell you why he did the things he’s done. Since he no longer has a voice to call his own, he’s going to write about it. The Epilogue brings hell down on him. I only have a small bit of his book outlined, seeing as it’s books away. But about a third into the story, we progress into the present. Meaning, what happens in the epilogue, the rest of the book is the aftermath.
After that: No clue. Truly toying between Niel and Wil. I can’t say how much life is left in the series. But I can tell you, Marcus or Ezra will be the final book. Whoever isn’t last, comes just before. We have many characters before that. Whether novellas, shorts, or full-length novels. I didn’t create these character for them to fade into the aether without telling their story.
What this means for the Playroom series: It’s on hold until Silence is complete. It could be fall or closer to 2014. I don’t know. I do know that I will not write M&M book 12 until book 4 of the Playroom is published. As I said, Silenced is a turning point for M&M. I don’t know where I want to go from there. However, I do know where I want to go with the Playroom. I don’t foresee more than 6 or so books in this series. No side characters will be written about. I love the story. I just feel that the core group needs its due. This is how I see it. Obviously, I’ve been known to change my mind. *snickers* but in this case, it’s always been a solid vision. This is my HEA series. Good Girl ended as it did because Willow wasn’t ready yet…
*The names next to the title don’t denote a couple. Just narrators.*
Good Girl: Willow
Widow: Malcolm Mason, Clover Webster
Wayward: Isis Mason, Robin Prynne, Augustus Kline
4: Willow Prynne, Devon Mason, Kieren Mason
5: 1 of the Mason boys from book 4 & his sister Raven will share the narration of this book
6: Weston Mason, Seth Webster.
That’s all folks!
The completion of the Playroom will allow me to write anew. Either I will work on the two paranormal/fantasy series I’ve created or think of something fresh and original. I will only ever do 2 projects at a time. I already feel like Ezra most days. I can’t do 3 or 4 series at once.
When will what be done by when?
Guesstimates are highly tentative.
Faithless: May
The Hunter: July
Silence: August/September
Widow: September (75% written already)
Wayward & book 4: December-ish
My 2014 will be new, because I haven’t nary a clue on what I’m going to write. And yes, I get that today is April 1st. I might be creative, but my logical mind needs structure. So I’m all scheduled up for the next 8 months!
Off to ruin a trio of boys and a girl jogging along a wooded path. Told ya, not feeling romantic at the moment!
A look back…
A look back at the creation of Mistress and Master of Restraint series. I began writing Restraint, exactly one year ago… Wow. Time feels as if it flies by, but in reality, it’s burst of speed and moments where it slows to a crawl. When I remember my journey, some moments jump out at me, while other mute to the background.
Restraint was meant to be a novella at most. When it was completed, I thought it was over. I’d left it open to interpretation so that if I decided to enter that world again, I could. But I tied it up enough that readers would be satisfied.
Restraint was the first book that I’d completed.
It was the first book I had the nerve to publish.
It was totally unexpected. I was writing a fantasy novel. I remember waking up one morning with an idea. Huh? A book about a BDSM club? Really? Can I do that? Do I dare to even talk about it? I excitedly started writing. I wrote Restraint while my grandmother was staying with us. I wrote a dirty, sick and twisted book while sitting on the sofa next to my 93 yr old grandma. I shit you not!
I’d caught the writing bug after I published Restraint. Unleashed was written in a heartbeat. I was sad to see it end. So sad, in fact, that I couldn’t end it. Finally, inspiration struck. Who said I had to end it? I decided on a continual series narrated by different characters.
I published Unleashed and I still didn’t talk about it. It was like my books were some dirty secret I hid with the skeletons in my closet.
I started on Dexter. He was the obvious choice being that he was the nexus to several sets of characters. Midway through Dexter, Dalton was screaming at me. He was next, but he didn’t want to wait his turn. I wrote half of Dalton when Dexter was only a quarter finished. I wrote both books simultaneously. I published them both on my 34th birthday.
Still not talking about it. Still blushing when people ask what I do for a living. My mom was still smoothing it over, neglecting the fact that I write Dark Erotica.
Queen was next, but I knew Jack-shit about her. I knew her name, that’s it. On a long cross-country trip, I started Cortez (40 K that will hit the garbage when I butcher it) Suddenly, I knew who Queen was. One book turned into 3, with an omnibus edition.
Midway through book 3 of Queen’s, M&M #7… Dead-end. Good Girl was born to help me relax and lighten the dark within me. I proceeded to rewrite, restructure, re-edit, reformate, and butcher all the books from the very beginning. 7 books. Some major changes occurred.
After Checkmate, I was lost. I set up for a huge beginning on KING and I didn’t know how to write it… I didn’t want to let the readers down.
Good Girl again… I published it and began Widow. I was so enthusiastic about Widow, that I outlined Wayward.
The day I scheduled to start writing on Widow again, after a two week break, lightning struck. The most amazing thing happened; my mind cleared enough to allow new information to filter in. You can become blind in your writing, where you see only one possible path, but it’s not the right one. I knew the direction to take King.
KING is an important book and it was scaring me that I couldn’t do it. I’m not sure how I did it, or if the readers will enjoy it, but it flawlessly fused all the books together. What you thought you knew, you didn’t. KING has the foundation Restraint wasn’t. KING WILL hold the rest of the series without fail. I’m feeling closed-lipped about it. I want it to be a surprise.
One year since the conception of Restraint. I’m writing M&M #8- almost 40k (93 manuscript pages) in 4 days. I know the path that the next few books will take. The next books in the series will be: Faithless, M&M #9 (Syn). Untitled #10 (Cortez) and I believe #11 will be dedicated to Levi Wilson.
The series will maintain its dark edge, but it’s darker now. Mystery and intrigue. I’m curious to see where this takes me. We’ll see.
Happy conception, Restraint!!! Your 1st birthday is quickly approaching- April 24th.
In case you were wondering, when someone asks what I write, I proudly tell them. If anyone calls my books smut, I let the bitch-monster out. Be forewarned.
WIP: Widow/KING/Wayward
This is a quick Work in progress update since a large amount of readers have flocked to my blog wondering when KING will be released.
I’m halfway through Widow. Widow has a cover and a final outline. I guesstimate 3 weeks of writing time, a few weeks of beta reads, and a late March release.
I’d wanted to be a rockstar and have KING or Wayward released by the year anniversary of Restraint, April 24th. That would have put me at 11 full-length novels published within a year’s time. I’ll stick with 10. 10 books, almost 750,000 words is good enough of an accomplishment. I’m not going to rush my work. This was one of my resolutions.
While Widow is hanging out with my girls, being read, edited, & critiqued, I’m writing up a rough outline for Wayward. Wayward is the 3rd novel in the Playroom series featuring the point of views of Augustus Kline, Robin Prynne, & Isis Mason. I have a general idea of what needs written and a firm vision of the book cover. I already have the Untitled 4th book in the Playroom series spinning in my mind, it will be in the pov of our Willow-Monster/Good girl, our wounded Officer Devon Mason, and our stud/f*ckface- Kieren Mason.
KING! There will be KING! Whitt will have his chance at a happily ever after. I begin writing KING sometime mid-March. I need to reiterate- KING isn’t the Final book in the M&M of Restraint series. I’ve seen countless reviews stating they are waiting for the final book in the series and countless search terms directing readers to my site asking when KING or when the final book is released. There will be many, many more books in this series. I created a large universe with many characters that need their chance to express their stories and I won’t finish until every last one of them has spoken.
KING is a transition for the series and I’m on the fence of what direction I want to go. The book is the foundation of the rest of the series and it’s pivotal that I create a solid base- a base that Restraint wasn’t.
The Playroom, however, will be less than a 10 book series. The main characters surrounding the Webster/Mason union will have a book, but the supporting cast of characters will not. It’s doubtful I will change my mind on this.
Search terms are a handy tool. It allows me to know what brings viewers to my website. I will say that there are a few of you naughty, naughty bad monsters looking for free reads. A lot of read ‘Erica Chilson PDF free’ has popped up recently. Firstly, I’ve never published my work in PDF- mobi & epub only. Secondly, if you would like a copy, please contact me. I will refer you to my giveaways or I may feel charitable and email you a copy. Please do not try to pirate my work- it’s naughty!
Another viewer was searching for more info on Katya/Cortez/Ezra. Katya may or may not receive another chance to voice her thoughts. It’s doubtful at this point. She may or may not have a POV in future books. Cortez & Ezra will each get their own books. They have a huge backstory to tell. In fact, Cortez’s book will be after KING. I’ve written a large portion of it already.
Here is how my future endeavors look:
Widow (March)
KING (May/June)
Wayward (Summer)
Cortez (Late summer/early fall)
Untitled Playroom #4 (Fall/Winter)
That is firm. It’s up in the air after that, especially since it will be nearly a year from now before I finish off that list. I’m not sure who will get to be in the next M&M book. Perhaps, Syn. Playroom #5 will be one of the characters from #4.
If you’d like more info, comment on this posting or shoot me an email: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
Off to fill out my jury duty questionnaire, answer some correspondence, make dinner, and hopefully read something while watching Homeland.
I’ll be back to my Wicked Writing ways next week!!!
~Happy Wicked Reading~
Erica
Queen’s Journey
I’m procrastinating or simply reminiscing. I don’t know which, it may be a combination of the two. My hands are freaking killing me today and my migraine is pounding. Don’t ever look at a writer and think them lazy. My mind and hands are tortured by my craft.
I am near the bottom of Checkmate’s outline. I can see the bottom. You have no idea how this thrills me. So let’s take a reminiscent journey of Queen, shall we…
I started Queen, Mistress of Restraint on June 28th. Dexter and Dalton were with the Betas. Yeah, I did two books at once. What an undertaking. (I’m being sarcastic. It was torture at the time and little did I know I’d one up myself) I knew Queen had to be next in the series. Wanna know why? A glimpse into the strange inner-working of Erica Chilson’s mind. It’s not as intriguing as I’m making it sound. I’m in a mood today. I was staring at the characters I’d written on a piece of paper. Katya was out, she had two books just for her- she’s so selfish, hogging the limelight like that. (I’m still in Queen’s head. so yeah…) It had to be a girl since I’d done two of Kat and two of D&D. It couldn’t be a gay because some ppl are sensitive to that and I didn’t want two gay books back-to-back. Obviously you’ve figured out that personally I have absolutely no orientation- Erica likes connection and chemistry. But it couldn’t be a guy or a gay. Queen is a girl, but… I’d written her as a lesbian. Syn was out because I thought she should do something else later on… So at the time I had no other girls that were Masters. Queen… Queen… I quickly slapped a band aid on Dalton to fix Queen’s lesbianism. (shotty bandage. Bad, Erica)
I typed Queen, Mistress of Restraint and groaned. “What the fuck was I going to write? Who is she?” I knew nothing of Queen. I knew a few details I’d given her in regards to other characters and that was it. So I ignored her. We weren’t ready.
I did final edits on the July Release of Dexter & Dalton. We were driving cross-country from the PA/NY Border to New Mexico for a NRA national championship (Congrats to Brian Chilson on his 2012 National Champ title. GO DAD!) Cortez was crooning his naughty, charming words. I yanked out the laptop and by the end of our 5 day journey to NM, Cort was 40k in length. He’s a sweet talker. We had a blast.
July 10th, the day before my birthday. I still didn’t know anything about Queen, and Cort was being quiet (a first since he is ALWAYS with me.) I was uploading D&D to the sites for publication and my laptop died. It fucking died on me at 5am in a hotel room in rural NM. I mean rural. I live in a rural place but give me a half hour and it’s cities. I was a sad panda. I got the books to upload finally. I was a sad, sad panda as my dad practiced at the rifle range and I watched. I had no laptop, nothing to write or read since I couldn’t upload to the nook. The nook was dead because the charger was broke (again).
We got in the car and he started heading towards Colorado, land of stores. 🙂 Pueblo was the destination. Mom said happy birthday and pulled into Sam’s club. I left the parking lot with a new laptop pressed to my chest and a sad smile. I felt like a shit because that was tooooo much for a birthday, but my bank account was miniscule at best. Being a starving artist writer, who just separated with her husband that she’d been with since age 12 leaves you with little. They said suck it up, you need this for work. I still feel like a shit. So they went in to Home Depot looking for supplies. And I’m a techie. That box was torn open, the laptop booted up and plugged into the powerport in the car. I was installing updates off of HD’s wifi from the parking lot. The laptop was named, updated, and programs removed while they shopped. Half hour later I was downloading all the stuff I use.. Sugarsync, calibre, kindle, and nook when they came out.
Yeah… I’m a techie… My family thinks I’m a member of Geek Squad and I have the propensity to tell the tech support ppl on the phone to suck it. The technician from our internet company came to fix my router and laughed when he told me I was red-flagged. I’m a short, round chick, who’s quiet. He laughed at me when I told him how it took 5 calls to get him to visit…. and I was right all along. Told ya so, tech support- suck it! He was my first awed person who looked at me like I was a rockstar when he saw my books on my laptop. He thought I was getting a tattoo of a dudes name. (Dexter) He said, “No, don’t tattoo some dude’s name on your body.” He shook his head at me and scowled. So I got to laugh at him in return by telling him that those pictures were my creation. Good Times.
July 11th, birthday time!! I’m 34 *shrugs* I didn’t want to sit at the hot and dusty range so I sat on the bed at the hotel with three usb thumb drives taking info from the barely running laptop to the new one. It was a long wait for the pictures and book files. I started Queen.
I wrote, “Jaded” out of nowhere. I started typing a book about Queen, but she was an 18 yr-old Regina Regal. 12k later it was time for dinner and my parents and the doggie were back. I typed all through the night trying not to disturb my sleeping parents. Regina turned into a sad girl who hated handouts and was a techie… Heehee, wonder where that inspiration came from. The 12th I sat while they practiced and 10 pages later I realized that the book couldn’t be Queen, Mistress of Restraint, but rather, Jaded, Queened, and Checkmate. I’d release them singularly and together as an omnibus edition. When I say 10 page outline, I should explain my way of outlining. Single line scenes, they could be half a chapter or three. Each line was a scene, ten pages of them. Queen was born because a broke, separated Erica had to take a handout from her loving parents.
Jaded was written quickly and Queened too! About 30k into Checkmate I found a problem. An epically huge fucking problem. I was paralleling Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, and Dalton. I was dissatisfied and lost. So I went to bed. This is writer clarity of mind time. I woke up and Willow Pryne was born, my Good Girl. I wrote Good Girl in 10 days. I sent it off to the betas and a few readers. It’s not completed because I wrote more of the outline and have to do the final edits. 5 days tops and Willow will be ready to read.
I stared at Checkmate. What the fuck do I do? It’s not working and if I can’t fix it, the series is dead- total destruction! I did something I said I’d never do… I loaded Restraint and started butchering, re-editing, restructuring, rewriting, reformatting. If you can name it, I did it to my book! Everyone said Katya was cold. I warmed her up and lightened her up. I made Ezra more cryptic. I gave us more Cortez and I wrote Queen into the story. I knew her now and she needed in there.
I immediately started on Unleashed. The writing was so much better. I’d rewritten Restraint; it would have been easier from scratch. Unleashed flowed better, the English language wasn’t trashed, and the story made sense. I fixed minor errors and added some smexy scenes.
Dexter. I felt bad for my sadist. He didn’t really have a story. Dexter was the nexus to all the characters and the book was fucking fluff. I’m being hard on myself and I deserve it. I finally added the strife that was necessary for our game of Master of the Universe. Dexter was a different book from its original form. I did this to Dalton, too!
After a bunch of shit with uploading the new editions, plastering ‘get your updated copy here’ everywhere I could think, I went back to Jaded. I edited it and published it. It went through and I found a set of edits in the Queened folder that belonged to Jaded. I fixed it and upload it again to B&N and Amazon. It was BLOCKED from Amazon! JADED was dead in the water. I received no explanation. Phone calls got me nowhere, emails were auto-generated. So I said fuck you!!!! Really, I said it loud and a lot! I just republished it exactly how it was and waited. I cleared my mind and started on Queened. I edited it and no need for added scenes and rewrites. It was how I wanted it. I published it with no problem on both sites and it loaded within 5 hours.
Seven days later… waiting… waiting… waiting…. I started on Checkmate. I said FUCK YOU again when I saw it still said ‘in review’ for Jaded with the black-balled Jaded beneath it. I emailed them. 5 minutes later it was publishing. I almost pissed my pants. I didn’t want to cheer thinking that it would fuck it up somehow. So I yelled YAY a lot and knocked on my end table while my mom said, “I told you it’d work out alright.” And she was laughing at me… She may have even rolled her eyes a little bit too…
Checkmate… again…. I would get frustrated. I had this great outline. I knew the story in everyone’s point of view. But I would work so hard my mind would melt. 70k in 4 and a half days. I’d take a break and read or sleep. I get a few hours here and there since my mind wants to write to empty its contents. I’ve lost weight, a lot of weight because typing hands can’t put food to your mouth. My typing hands are taped up and my wrists are splinted. It hurts so bad that by age 35 I’m going to look like an old crone.
The weirdest thing happens… Restraint becomes popular in the beginning of November. It freaked me out. I was making money. Not a whole lot, but enough that this really constitutes as paying profession. I could see a future of independence and it scared me. I’ve been with my parents and then my husband and back to my parents since birth. I could really get a life… One I want… I am scared shitless. So all 6 books are selling, selling well. *Knock on wood*
Out of fear and the daunting deadlines, I froze. I couldn’t write. I was blocked. I read 20 books in a week with no sleep. I’d write 70k in a few days and then do the the reading thing… This is my present. This is what my life has become.
I sit here finding a compromise of writing 10k or so many scenes a day. When I get frustrated I open the book I’m reading and go back in a few hours. I started this the day before yesterday because I need rules or I’ll go insane. Last night I read a few chapters and went to sleep. It’s the first time in a while. Today I feel like shit. Migraine, hands and wrists are killing me, dizzy with a cloudy mind, and eyes that randomly roll around in my head. My outline is almost completed. The finish line is in sight.
Checkmate should be finished by Sunday night or Monday, depending on if I freak the fuck out again and freeze or if I get into a book and can’t stop reading. Hell, I have 6 episodes of the Vampire Diaries, Arrow, and two Revenges that are screaming from the DVR. They must wait and I pray no one erases them. All hell will be had! While Checkmate is off to the betas (who have a fast job ahead of them) I’ll fix Good Girl.
This has been a long, torturous journey to breathe light into Queen. My two book release of D&D was child’s play compared to a 3 book Queen and the debut of Good Girl, and formatting an omnibus edition.
I hope the readers think it’s worth it.
Have you hugged a writer today? They need one!!! {{Self-hugs}}
-Erica
Jaded&Queened Released. & Erica’s musings
Jaded and Queened are available for purchase from Amazon and B&N for $3.99. & not without great difficulty. Jaded was a week-long stress-fest. I can finally breathe and just do what I love- write my ass off!
I’m hard at work editing and writing Checkmate- the conclusion of Regina Regal’s (Queen) story arch. Judging by the length of my plot outline, Checkmate will be near the 150K word mark. It parallels the first 4 books in the M&M of Restraint series. You will see events through the perspective of Queen- questions will be answered and motivations will be revealed. I project Checkmate’s release in early December, possibly earlier depending on how hard the muse pushes me to work. & my muse is a wicked Mistress. She flexes her wrist and whips me into compliance and uses lack of sleep as a fitting punishment. She also denies me food and fun. But my stressed-ass is tens of pounds lighter thanks to her.
Upon the release of Checkmate, I will format and release the three titles (Jaded, Queened, Checkmate) in an omnibus edition, Queen Mistress of Restraint. You may wish to wait and read the 3-in-1 edition, unless you’re like me- extremely impatient.
Next up after Queen’s titles is the Debut book in a new series, Good Girl- Playroom. Good Girl will be released mid-December (depending on Checkmate’s progress) I have a few added scenes and revisions to edit- 3 days to a week, tops.
After these books are completed I’m taking a break. By the end of December, I will have written and released 9 books. That is 700,000 published words in 8 months. I’ve almost written a million words in less than a year. That is a conservative estimate considering the amount of scenes I’ve deleted, rewritten, and the unfinished manuscripts of 4 books I have waiting in the wings. I am tuckered out. I’ve learned so much and that knowledge has strengthened me, not only as a storyteller, but as a writer. I’ve made errors in judgement and I’ve also released books too early before their stories commulated into what it was meant to be. Lessons learned, risks taken, and I’m smarter for the lot of it.
Break or no break… It’s doubtful I can go more than a week or two without working… So my list of works most likely will be completed as follows:
Chrysalis (Lilies #1) Urban Fantasy
Untitled (Playroom #2) Erotic Romance
or Shattered(tentative title) (Atticus Fox #1) Genre to be determined
King (M&M of Restraint #8) Dark Erotica
After that is anyone’s guess- it’s entirely up to my muse. She demanded I write a new book out of nowhere mid-Checkmate. That’s how Good Girl was created! So we’ll see what she comes up with next.
Readers: Make sure you’ve read the most up-to-date version of the 1st 4 books in the series. The top of the title page informs you whether or not you are. It will have the first publication date followed by the revision date. It is imperative that you read the revised editions if you’ve previously read the originals. The storyline drastically changes during Dexter and Dalton. This would be one of the harsh lessons I’ve learned over the past few months. My growth demanded that I change Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, and Dalton. I apologize for the inconvenience and the reread, but it is for the readers benefit. It’s a much more enjoyable, informative, thrilling, and titillating read. I’ve Easter-egged the shit out of those books, so a reread will be filled with AH-HA! moments. Easter egg, for those who aren’t familiar with gamer-speak, is hints/clues/and awesomeness for those in the know and if you’re like me, it gives you a massive amount of foreshadowing!
If you don’t have the most recent edition and you purchased the book thru amazon or B&N an update is available for your downloading pleasure.
I am thankful that I’m fortunate enough to do what I love and earn a living off of it. November is the month of thanks. I am thankful to my parents for keeping me safe and secure, my friends for keeping me sane and happy, and my muse for allowing me to live my dream by creating a universe from the ether. I live my passion and no matter the obstacles and roadblocks that are in my way, or the stress I put upon myself, I get to live my dream and if that isn’t happiness, I don’t know what is…
My muse is cracking her whip… back to working and listening to music and that’s just what she loves!
*Dexter*
Dexter’s revised 2nd edition will be available on B&N and Amazon within the next 12-72 hours.
A note to readers:
I found a handful of minor errors with Dexter, so in that regard it hasn’t changed. And I was thankful that I finally could write and read without having to fix my atrocious writing and deal with my bad habits. I was pleased to see that my growth was evident in Dexter. However, I found the storyline too light and I am at the advantage of knowing how Queen’s books play out as they parallel Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, & Dalton. Dexter is now completely different storyline wise. It is the storyline that continues to flow throughout Queen. When I began Queen’s books she changed the direction of the storyline drastically. This is why I went back to the beginning and fortified the foundation of the series by editing all the books that are currently in release. I’m sure this will push my deadlines into December for the 5 book release I have scheduled. But it is for the best, especially for the reader.
Dalton:
I’m changing up Dalton’s journey as well. If you’ve read his story, don’t fret. He and his guy will not be messed with- tweaked. I think the readers will enjoy the direction I’ve taken Dexter and Dalton. *crosses fingers*
If you are a new reader. Please do NOT purchase a copy of Restraint, Unleashed, Dexter, or Dalton unless the top of the blub says it’s the 2nd edition. Amazon and B&N are different, but if you look at Amazon, the book page will state it as the 2nd edition in the list of information. B&N does not allow this distinction. So I added it to the top of the book’s blurb on both sites.
As always, I love hearing from readers. Email me: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
~Happy Wicked Reading~
-Erica Chilson
Unleashed News~ Covers Released~ Restraint .99
Restraint is .99 cents on Amazon & B&N as part of the Wicked Nights Sale until November 14th. Please pick up your Revised copy at this discounted rate! Please check out the other Authors who are participating in the sale. I will do a post on the 30th with more information.
The revised edition of Unleashed will be available soon. Mother Nature has a way of ruining plans, but I plan on uploading the revised Edition of Unleashed to B&N and Amazon Monday Night, power willing. It will be another 12-72 hours for the sites to post.
I added 8 additional scenes to Unleashed. It bypassed the 100k word mark. These scenes were pivotal to the series and the upcoming Queen books. I would recommend a reread of the series from the beginning, but if I were to select one book of the four currently in release of the M&M of Restraint series that is a must for a reread it would be Unleashed….
Also… The tabs have been updated on this blog this evening. Check them out. More information will be added when I write the Blurbs for the 5 books that will be released the last week of November.
As always, I love hearing from readers, please email me: thewickedwriter@yahoo.com
Happy Wicked Reading
& for those in the storm’s path- stay safe.
~Erica~
Restraint-Revised & Upcoming releases…
The Revised edition of Restraint is available on Amazon and within 24-hours on B&N. The original version of Restraint was 53,000 words. I butchered 10,000 words of poor writing and errors. I added scenes and expanded scenes. Restraint’s length is now over 70,000 words.
Restraint wasn’t the first book I’ve ever written. It, however, was the first book of that genre and the first I ever published. My inexperience was evident. My growth was obvious as you read my works. I didn’t want the foundation of the M&M of Restraint series to be weak and written poorly.
I wasn’t a big fan of large internal monologues. In some books it has the feel of filler. I wanted to avoid this in Restraint and it was to the book’s detriment. I have since went back and changed this. Katya Waters’ needed internal dialogue to explain her reasoning.
After a six-month hiatus and writing 7 books and 2 partial manuscripts, I went back to Restraint to re-edit it. I am so thankful of my decision. The revised edition flows smoother. Katya’s reasoning is evident. I was able to add more Easter eggs for the rereaders. It isn’t perfect because I am far from perfect. I’m sure there a ton of errors to be found. But it is light-years away from its original form.
I am currently doing the same restructuring to Unleashed- re-edit, revise, reformat, and edit, delete, and add scenes. I have 5 new scenes that I’ve outlined to go inside the book. Unleashed will surpass the 100,000 word mark.
I am doing this for all of my works. Dexter has 4 new scenes outlined. I’ve outline a few for Dalton, too.
This promises for a smoother read.
Errors throw the readers out of their imaginations and it stalls the story mid-scene. It reminds me of someone pressing pause on the TV during your favorites show, or it turns fuzzy and it ruins the experience. I am doing my best to alleviate this from my works.
My current projects: The Queen omnibus: Jaded, Queened, Checkmate. The books are written and receiving the same treatment as their predecessors. Jaded will be expanded greatly. Queened will not change much. Checkmate is being scrapped. The omnibus edition will be 300,000 words. The books will be available separately and in the omnibus edition at a discounted rate. I am pushing for a late November release. Don’t hit me if it doesn’t happen. I promise to release it as soon as it’s ready.
My perfectionism is rearing its ugly head, but it’s to the benefit of the readers. I took reviewers comments and changed things for them. More EZRA was screamed. Where’d Ezra go? Master Ez will have a greater role in Dexter and Dalton. Katya is cold in the beginning of Restraint. I fixed this issue by adding Kat’s internal dialogue. The reader will understand why she is doing as she is. Why she draws her Bitch Shield!!!
Exciting news!!!
A new series: Playroom. The first in the series is written and waiting in last place for its butchering and restructuring. I have 4 scenes to add to it. It’s a light, fun, sweet read. I believe that Erotic Romance is the best genre to place it within. Whereas M&M of Restraint is edgy and Dark, Playroom will be a fun, easy read without the stress that a Dark book gives the reader. Good Girl will be released with the Queen books. *fingers crossed*
Whatnots:
After all of this, I am returning to my first work, Chrysalis. I project its release for late January. The Lilies is an Urban Fantasy series of unknown origins (Psss.. It’s a secret ‘til you read it) Following this is my second work, Shattered (tentative title) The Atticus Fox series. Atticus will be in the erotic genre, subgenre to be determined. I have a spin I may put on Ol’ Attie, but that is far off.
From now on, I will not do multi-releases, even if it means leaving readers with a cliffhanger. I’m sorry folks, but it is beyond stressful. I pump the books out fast as it is. I’ve learned that sometimes you need to allow them to marinate. I will write a book and switch to one of my other series and then comeback to it after it’s marinated. I will write what my muse screams for me to write. No worries, though. I’m a fast writing bitch. I can’t stop. If I’m doing 1 book at a time, I’ll end up with a release at least every 2 months.
A word about Queen.:
I always know where my characters will lead me. Their lives play out in seconds within my imagination the moment I create them. Queen is the exception. As you can see from the first 4 books, she was elusive. She was elusive for me as well. I knew Queen’s book was next in the M&M series and I had no idea how to write it. I didn’t want to force myself, so I wrote Cort. 40K into Cortez, Queen was born. In seconds I knew what I needed to do. The character that evaded me turned into the most pivotal character in the M&M world.
She received 3 books, 300K worth of story and she impacted how the story was written inside my head. She completely threw my outlines out the window & Cort’s manuscript was scrapped. I am proud of what I wrote for her. Jaded is an exceptional book. I cried, bawled, and snotted all over myself as I typed the words. It was pure torture, but it made an exceptional read and I’m about to make it better when I get back to Jaded. See, books need to marinate.
My favorite character:
Cortez Abernathy is by far my favorite character in the M&M world and I believe that he is solidified in that position. My second favorites? Tied is Regina Regal & Marcus Zeitler. You’ll see why. But I love writing anything dealing with them. Cort is a blast when he is misbehaving and he’s always misbehaving. Marc is the best when he is controlling his minions and refusing to give into temptation. & Regina is just a well-rounded character. You may ask why I don’t say Katya…. She’s too much like me… Yes, she is.
Character Perspective
A beta who is helping me with my editing- Cherra- brought this to my attention. I thought I’d give some insight into the way I write. Writing a series when it is the same lead character is easier on the reader and the writer. I, however, love the twisted world of writing each book as a new character. This leads to some confusion for the reader. I want readers to reread my work. I want them to get their money’s worth out of me. I pepper my writing with clues and Easter eggs. Those who know my voice can pick some of it up clearly. Other times it’s so subtle that on the reread you will yell, “AH-HA!” That is what I want from my readers. I want to surprise them and shock them. I want to leave them hungry for more. I want them to reread my story.
This is an issue for the reader though, especially in the beginning of a series. I started this series thinking I would write a fun, flirty novella. It turned into a dark and twisted novel with a punch of humor to lighten the premise. As I wrote Unleashed an opportunity presented its self for me to write each additional book from a different character’s perspective. I chose Dexter as the nexus to all the characters. We knew him and his book helps us stay connected to all the characters we fell in love with during Katya’s books. I follow Dexter up with Dalton. I chose him because he is the nexus to the rest of the cast of characters. I feel that Dexter didn’t get a full length book because I used him to keep us in connection with the side characters and introduce a few more. He is perfect for this though since we know him so well from Book 1&2. This is where Cherra’s statements come into play.
Dexter seems stronger in 1&2 than he did in his own book. Perspective. This was Katya’s view on Dexter before she knew him. Also, we don’t walk around and think internal thoughts about ourselves- “I’m a badass sadist- run!”
Her next statement was that Ezra also seems weaker in his Masterdom. When Katya met Ezra she didn’t know him. She was slightly afraid of him. As she fell hard for him we heard her thoughts on him. Now we are on Dexter and Dalton- obviously they do not LOVE Ezra so their thoughts are different. It’s all about the perspective of the characters.
This presents another challenge. The Point of View Character can only know what he knows. He only sees things as he sees them. He can only interact with the characters in his circle. Dexter has strong ties to the “gang” from the Katya Waters books, so expect a lot of face time with these characters. Dalton doesn’t know them. He brings forth a different view with different characters.
Another issue is that people lie to each other and lie to themselves. Cherra questioned a few of the character’s motives. My only response to this is simply: we can’t know what we don’t see. My character’s aren’t one dimensional nor are they omnificent. But this does offer an opportunity to see things from everyone’s point of view. This is why a reread is important. I want my readers to know that I did not jump the shark. Your characters’ personalities are set in stone. I know them better than anyone else- I created them. They live in my imagination. So from say, Dexter’s prospective he hears or sees something you have to have faith in me. Know your characters. Know that I wrote them the way they should be. & when you finally delve into their thoughts it will become clear. A story is about mystery, suspense, love and lust. I want surprises. I want to be shocked. I do not want to be predictable. Have faith in me and reread when it’s complete. I am their puppet master and it’s a heady feeling.
I thank Cherra for asking me questions and making statements. It allows me to explore my reasoning and express it.
I want readers to know a bit about my characters. Here is some of their core personality traits and they NEVER will deviate from these.
Katya: Strong willed, fun, and compassionate.
Ezra: Controlled and never controlled by others. Have faith.
Cortez: Jealous, snarky, and loyal.
Marcus: Needs to control. Domineering. Family comes first.
A glimpse into our new Masters:
Dexter: Sees his sadism as a gift for a true masochist. Romantic and longs for a family.
Dalton: Dark, tortured, emo who is coming to terms with his true self.
Wicked Insanity
These past few months have been a wicked ride. In the past 8 weeks I have published two books and written two more that will be released on July 13th. To say I feel stressed would be an understatement.
The past week in the life of Erica Chilson: Brought to you by: AMP energy drinks.
In the past week alone I thought I’d lost my mind. I have nearly written a book in one week- it will be Thursday. & hopefully the book will be completed by then. In one week’s time I have fixed errors to both Restraint & Unleashed and loaded the revised editions on Amazon and B&N. I finished writing Dexter, edits, sent it to the betas, collected edits and made revisions. In this time I also wrote Dalton and helped create two book covers with my sister’s expertise. I revamped the Written Word blog. Held a Bloghop on two different blogs and already have the prizes sent to the winners. I revamped my personal Facebook page and created a new Facebook page specifically for fans of my writing. I loaded the information for both books on Goodreads. I also posted several blog posts. I maintained my connections on all the sites I frequent. I’m sure I am forgetting something. Oh, yeah…sleep. If I could turn the voices off in my head I could take a break, but they demand to have a voice. No one can accuse me of being lazy ever again. I broke two records for myself: Wrote a book in a week with all that stuff going on at the same time & breached the 14,000 word mark for words written in a day.
I was asked earlier if pushing out a book is a good idea- like with most things it creates an inferior product. That isn’t the case for me. It is about getting the first draft completed to get the information out of my head before I go crazy. It compounds on top of more and more info. I wrote a serialize storyline writer’s insanity in a previous blog. The first draft is just the first step. You write it. Edited it. Send it to betas and wait, while waiting I do promotions for the book and create covers. Then I write something else. As beta feedback trickles in I edit the mistakes. And go back to writing the new book. When the new book is finished I go back and do scene edits to the first book. And this is the vicious cycle of my life. Would I change it? NO. Would I slow down? Yes, if they voices in my head would shut up for a damn minute!
News:
Restraint will be free July 13-15 in celebration of the release of Dexter and Dalton. Also in celebration of my 34th birthday on July 11th. If you’d like to give me well wishes I would appreciate some word of mouth as presents. Just share or recommend my book- it will be free after all. I thank you in advance 😉
The reason I am releasing two books simultaneously was apparent when this evening I received two emails just minutes apart. Here they are. They made me giggle, so I have to share them.
I promise the word CUNT is a term of endearment. Just kidding. It’s an inside joke on authors who leave us wanting more in a bad way… It hurt so good.
I have some more stuff to say, but it would be better in its own posting.
Happy Wicked Reading
Hot Summer Nights Erotica BlogHop
Hot Summer Nights Erotica Bloghop begins June 20- June 24th. Please click the above photo for a list of links of the participating blogs. 112 Blogs are participating, each giving away their own prizes. Each comment also enters you into the two HUGE giveaways. A digital gift basket of over 40 books to fill your Kindle & a $100 gift card from Eden’s Fantasy. I am also giving away a copy of my books Restraint & Unleashed. Please just leave a comment and sign up to Follow Erica Chilson’s Written Word via Email. For additional entries follow me on Twitter and add my books on Goodreads. Please add in your comment that you did so for the additional entries. Please check out Wicked Reads for more chances to enter the HUGE giveaway as well as my books with additional chances to win by following via email and on Facebook. Here are the amazing prizes!!!
I would like to thank Skye Warren for organizing this event. Please give her your thanks as well!
June 2nd & 3rd Restraint is Free in Celebration of the Release of Unleashed
June 1st Unleashed is released on Amazon & B&N
June 2nd & 3rd Restraint is Free in Celebration of the Release of Unleashed.
Don’t miss the opportunity to read Restraint for FREE to follow Katya’s journey from the very beginning. Experience Katya’s present and a glimpse into her future during Unleashed.
RESTRAINT
Katya Waters dream has become reality until a mysterious admirer sets his sights on her pulling her into a game of self discovery. Follow her journey as she connects the mystery of her past with her thrilling present.
Includes the 1st chapter of Unleashed
Unleashed
Katya Waters finally made peace with her past.
Katya is unsure where she fits into the lives of the men who impact her so deeply. She seeks direction from an unlikely source with extreme complications. Her intuition screams that she isn’t safe and then the notes are delivered – written with words only the monster ever whispered.
Join Katya on her journey to self discovery as she pushes her boundaries unleashing her restraint.
Includes the 1st chapter of Dexter Master of Restraint. The 1st in a new and exciting series from the world of Katya Waters.
Restraint is available on Amazon for $2.99 (free June 2nd&3rd)
Unleashed will be available June 1st on Amazon & B&N
Add both titles on Goodreads
Unleashed Cover Art- H E L P & win a copy of Restraint!
I need some H E L P!
I am at the stage in the process where Unleashed needs a cover. I found a few picture that interest me. I need help deciding what to do… I am very indecisive at the moment, which is a very bad thing when it’s the permanent cover of a book. The first in the Katya Waters story is Restraint. I want Unleashed’s cover to complement it. Here is Restraint’s Cover:
Here are a few choices I have in consideration. I will briefly explain why I chose each underneath the picture. Ignore the logo from the stockphoto logos. I’m not buying the rights to the picture until I know which one makes the cut! I also fell in love with some pictures by the same artist. I will show those just for kicks. I’d love to use them but I doubt they would work. Maybe in the future.
This is my favorite of the three I chose. I’m not sure where to place the title or author name, tho. I would love suggestions. Obviously the picture is fitting with the theme of the story and the leash is excellent for the title Unleashed. I would make the burgundy cloth the same red as Restraint’s cover.
Similar to the one above theme wise. The leash and the clothing choice. Yet again, unsure of the title/author name placement. I would deepen the red highlights in her hair to match the red from Restraint.
The color and themes are very close to the Restraint cover. This was my least favorite of the three, but it depends on word placement of the title/author name and the minor tweaks that would be placed.
What do you think? Which picture do you like the best?
What suggestions do you have? P L E A S E!!!
Below are a few other considerations for the cover.
<— These picture I thought were Wicked, but they won’t work for Unleashed- perhaps another book later.
Please Help!!! I am going to post these picture on my Wicked Reads FaceBook page. Whoever offers the most help with this wins a copy of Restraint! If I choose your cover pic and suggestions I will send you an ebook copy of Restraint! Thanks so much for the help!
Unleashed- Betas wanted
Unleashed Betas wanted- New readers and ones who’ve read for Restraint.
I am almost finished with Unleashed. My projected date that betas would receive their copy is June 1st. This post is going out to all the people who have beta read for Restraint (Sass, Kris, Amber) and those who have expressed interest (Vicki and Leila) Please let me know if you are still interested in beta reading for me.
I need help making sure that the flow from Restraint to Unleashed is a smooth transition. I need my mistakes noted by listing the page # and an example of the issue and the correction. Since I wrote the story my mind roves over the mistakes and replaces it with what should be there. This is a common issue for a writer. I need an open dialogue and constructive criticism. I will not be angry; I look forward to discussing the issues. During the beta process for Restraint I took advice from a beta and replaced an entire scene that I had been on the fence about. One beta needed questions answered about terms used in the story. I placed stronger explanations inside the dialogue. These things make the book a better story for the reader. I truly appreciate all the help. Understanding that we all have lives to live I think a two week time frame is adequate for the beta reader to read through Unleashed and note any issues they may have came across. If you don’t think you can do it in that time frame I will still appreciate any thoughts you have on the story. If the book just isn’t for you, don’t fret, just tell me and I will understand. I write for several different genres and in the future I may ask you to beta read for a different book.
Requirements and considerations: The beta reader should read Restraint prior to Unleashed or the story will not make sense. These are not stand alone books. Also the content may be an issue for some readers. The story is erotica; readers must be 18+. Restraint falls into the “Dark” sub-genre of Erotica because of the catalyst that started the story. Unleashed is considered erotic romance. One last consideration: This is a kink novel which includes, but is not limited to, bisexual themes(f/f- m/m/f- m/f/m- f/m), menage, and the bdsm lifestyle. I wanted to inform readers of this. Everyone has a comfort level when reading erotica. The genre is very broad from HEA style romance to the opposite end of the spectrum with non-consensual themes. This is the reason the sub-genres were created. I want my beta readers to be comfortable with all the content, so please heed my warnings. You do not need to be a grammar expert or spelling wiz to beta read. Many different points of view are necessary during the beta reading process. A newbies to the genre would be welcome since it would allow me the perspective of a new reader that has questions. I want the story to be easy to read for new comers of the bdsm style books and complex enough to satisfy the kink loving pro. My mind is a lil bit jade so I don’t see what a more innocent reader would. I love Beta readers from every end of the spectrum- Innocent to Jaded- the average reader to seasoned writer.
Anyone who is interested in beta reading for me please email me @ thewickedwriter@yahoo.com or msg me on my personal Facebook page or Wicked Reads page. Please write “Unleashed Beta Reader” in the subject line.
Thanks and Happy Reading!!
Erica
Unleashed News
It amazes me how a story can evolve from such a small concept. When I began Restraint I never thought I would expand it from a novella, maybe 30,000 words. While writing Restraint the story expanded to a full length novel. When I completed it I toyed with the idea of a follow up book to wrap up any threads I left unwoven, and Unleashed was born. While I near the end of Unleashed I am saddened as I tie up Katya/Ezra/Cortez’s futures. I was drawn to many of the secondary characters that have so much story to give.
I was asked earlier this week whether or not I was a plotter or a panster- meaning do I plot the entire story out or do I allow it to grow as I write(fly by the seat of your pants). I am a mix of both. I know from the very first word where my main characters will end up at the end and who will join their happily ever after. It’s the journey in between the beginning and the end that I allow to grow organically. Sometimes my own mind impresses me. I will write something so minute that it has no impact on its scene. It could be 10 pages later or maybe 100 and I am shocked at what develops. Usually it is something dramatic that has me say to myself, “DAMN!” I didn’t even see the direction my own mind was leading me. This happened in Restraint. A scene where “Master Ez” does the unthinkable to Katya leaving her injured. At the time I wrote the scene for the true Master Ez, but my mind wanted something else. I changed my mind about how this impacted the story. I went back to add some foreshadowing for the readers and it was already written. My mind knew as I wrote that scene it should be the other Master Ez. It’s fascinating how the mind works. I will be impressed and feel slightly jealous, then I kick myself for the jealousy, “dumbass, it’s your mind, therefore, you wrote it!” Yes, I am a messed up idiot. This happened a few times while writing Chrysalis. I was brand new to writing and it frightened me.
So I’ve been moody for a myriad of reasons, but I think my subconscious was grieving the loss of the characters she has fostered these past few months. I wrote a scene a few days ago that came out of nowhere, it wasn’t created in my plotting. You could say my mind conjured it up to help me grieve. I created several new characters for this scene. I ignored what was flashing in my mind. Last night as I tossed and turned Mistress and Master of Restraint was born. I developed the characters in an instant, I already know their endings. My mind as I wrote Unleashed created their world and their connections. I will use Master Dexter as an example. We meet him during Restraint and he becomes a major character in Unleashed. Mistress and Master of Restraint series will begin with him. The Master of Restraint, Dexter. He is such a complex and intriguing character.
I don’t know if these books will be shorts, novellas, or full length novels. I will say that we will hear from Katya again. Without ruining a very dramatic scene that has a huge impact on the story, I will only say characters that were included in Restraint. Master Ezra, Master Dexter, Master Cortez, Mistress Queen, and Mistress Katya will be part of this series.
I am excited to begin this new journey of a story that is imprinted on my brain. The new voices that demand to be heard will have to quiet down for a bit. I have to finish and publish Unleashed. I also have to edit Chrysalis and publish it. My Atticus Fox story needs rewritten into the twisted fucker that he is. 😉 I originally slatted Chrysalis’ release for fall. I think it I keep on my path I can have my first work published by mid-summer. I visioned Atticus’ release in the early winter. I hope to push him to the fall depending on how demanding he is. After that I will begin Mistress and Master of Restraint. I am excited. I hope the muse keeps flowing stories into my mind.
Unleashed! I knew the story would be slightly longer than Restraints 52,000 words. My target was around 70,000. I am surprised to say that Unleashed will be near 100,000 words at it’s completion- almost double the length of Restraint. The flow of the story pours from me like water. I hope I do not disappoint fans with my path. Unleashed Target Release is around mid-June. Beta readers will receive it before this month’s end. Exciting! I need to do the cover art while my betas compile my mistakes and tell me what they think needs fixed. & I am grateful for those amazing ladies! Each one provides a different view covering all the aspects of the story and editing!
A footnote on Unleashed: A mystery will not be solved during the book and many people will want kick my ass. Know that it ties into one of the Master of Restraint books. And no, it will be at least the second book in the series until this mystery is revealed. It doesn’t take a genius to read my foreshadowing. The ladies closest to me should pick the answer right away. And it you don’t you will enjoy the painful pleasure in waiting to find out. *evil laugh*
I finally feel like a real writer now. We all have different views on our goals. I feel like I stuck the tip of my toe in the water when I wrote Restraint and published it. Now I am knee deep and loving the refreshingly, cool water. By years end I should have 4-6 books published. I’ve already written close to 300,000 words in less than a year. It’s a fantastic feeling and it drives me to write more. After a very difficult start to my adult life, finally in my early thirties I find my real passion- the driving force of my life and I feel fulfilled for it. It’s a heady feeling that could border on obsession if I’m not careful. Imaginary worlds are a fantastic place to dwell when reality is ordinary and lacking. I just hope my imaginary worlds bleed into the reality by allowing me to reach my dream. Would I like to make money from my stories? Yes! Will it deter me if I don’t? NO! I write for me. If a reader finds it inspiring or entertaining, it’s makes it so much sweeter.
~Erica
Erica Chilson: The Wicked Writer 