Announcing Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset
I'm proud to announce my next novel, Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset. The central theme is separating abuse and BDSM. I wrote it in response to the glamorisation of psychological abuse in the Fifty Shades trilogy by EL James.
It will appeal to people who enjoy thrillers, romantic suspense and erotica. However, there are also descriptions of sexual violence, so bear that in mind if you choose to read it.
Provisional cover for Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset
Here's the blurb:
As Nat gets his claws deeper into Willow, she becomes distant from her friends and family - the very people she must rely upon to get out of her relationship alive.
In contrast, her sister Dylan enjoys an intoxicating, yet loving power play relationship with Nat's friend Ross.
Provocative, sometimes gritty and with intentional parallels to the Fifty Shades trilogy, Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset is an eye-opening alternative to modern 'alpha-male' romances.
Whilst millions of people enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, a number of writers have criticised its portrayal of a Dom-sub relationship.
Sophie Morgan, author of The Diary of a Submissive, wrote a piece for the Guardian in which she writes, "One of my big frustrations with the success of Fifty Shades of Grey is that there is so much of the main relationship that plays into the misconception that a sexual relationship based around BDSM is, at its core, an abusive one."
50shadesofabuse.wordpress.com is a blog devoted to backing up accusations of abuse in EL James's writing. It's written by a therapist trained to recognise unhealthy and abusive relationships. She writes that BDSM itself is not abusive, "Fifty Shades is actually an awful example of a Dom/sub relationship ... people who rely solely on Fifty Shades for information on BDSM could potentially find themselves hurt."
Mrs Maniacs, creator of theramblingcurl.blogspot.co.uk compiled a list of fifty examples of abuse and warning signs of abuse in the triology before she ran out of time, ranging from stalking to coersive consent.
Fifty Shades of Grey is just a book, so why does it matter?
The trilogy has demonstrated that Dom-sum relationships and light BDSM turns people on. I have no problem with that. Spanking, for example is not abuse if it's genuinely consensual and welcomed by both (or indeed all!) parties.
My issue with Fifty Shades is that the kinky sex goes hand in hand with the possessive and manipulative behaviour that characterises a bully. This desensitises people to bullying, leading people to ignore early warning signs when getting into a relationship and makes it harder for victims to identify abuse, and thus leave a destructive partner.
Originally, Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset was intended to be a short story or novella, but when I started writing, I realised that I needed at least 50,000 words to do the subject justice.
Is the book just an angry rant?
No. It's a proper piece of fiction with a beginning, a middle and an end. It follows the journeys of two sisters who get into new relationships at the same time, and their very different progressions. There's suspense, romance, erotic scenes and a little mystery. Basically, you don't have to dislike Fifty Shades of Grey to enjoy Two Shades of the Lilac Sunset. (But you might find you've changed your view of Christian Grey by the time you finish.)
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