K.C. Decker's Blog

What the heck happened to 720 Linden Street?

In the event you are wondering why you can no longer find the second book in the Jessie Hayes Series on Amazon, allow me to explain.

It’s been banned by Amazon.

Why? Because of a sexual assault that occurs, which apparently violates Amazon’s incredibly subjective and entirely inconsistent content guidelines. Book Ban—now, on the surface that might not sound like much, but I’d like to invite you to look a little deeper. There are two main issues at play here, and I’m afraid of what each one of them says about our society. First, is the fact that suppressing such material only emboldens a rape culture that already quiets 3 out of 4 sexual assault victims (Statistic from the National Crime Victimization Survey NCVS). And secondly, as readers, we have a right to read whatever we choose to. If a book contains controversial content, whether it be racism, sexism, violence, homophobia, suicide, a sexual assault, etc—we can decide for ourselves to read it or move along.

What we as readers need to understand, is that there is controversial content everywhere. There is also racism, sexism, violence, homophobia, suicide and sexual assaults in our world. Suppressing that specific content does not erase the plague on society, but it affects your First Amendment rights drastically.

Let’s also acknowledge the voice Jessie gives to other victims of sexual assault. She shines a light on the parasitic remnants of rape that linger long after the attack is over. Guilt, shame, self-doubt, fear, and anxiety are all intense emotions felt by victims, and it’s important to recognize the mental elements as well as the physical ones. Notice Jessie didn’t just snap out of it after she realized she knew her attacker. No, there was real, authentic trauma that she had to work through. The book also serves to un-blur the lines between “Consensual non-consent” and straight-up “Non-consent.”

Were the circumstances of her attack typical? NO. Did you want to castrate Silas? MAYBE. But, here’s the thing, there is no one formula to sexual assault. There are many variations to consider, such as diminished capacity, statutory, acquaintance/date, partner, stranger, incest, hate crime, aggravated….and so on—but guess what? They are all still rape. A one-sided, fictitious rape fantasy is still a bonafide sexual assault.

Do miscommunications happen in books, and do characters deviate from the trajectory we expect them to be on? YES. Not every character is going to behave as you think they should. And frankly, if they did, books would be sorely redundant and lack creativity entirely. They would be boring, and we wouldn’t bother holding on for the ride.

Speaking of the ride. The Jessie Hayes Series is a four-book, chronological series where there are many different layers. To define the series by one controversial event negates the other poignant messages in the books. Even if you ignore Jessie and Silas altogether, think of the magic that is Devin and Corey! I’ve never had such a demand for a spinoff book—They are adored by readers, and just imagine how they may have opened people’s eyes to LGBTQ struggles. Think about Salinger, we can ALL relate to his heartbreak—and seeing him emerge from the rubble is what readers are dying for all through the series. The characters are rich and multi-dimensional, and they are constantly evolving.

I think it’s a mistake to remove 720 Linden Street from Amazon, and if you agree—by all means, let them know. What I’d like to ask of you, is if you feel strongly about 720 Linden Street, one way or another, please let your voice be heard. Social media is an incredibly powerful outlet, and Jessie’s story deserves to be read. To construe her attack as “titillating” simply because the book is an erotic romance is outrageous, and frankly, my readers are smarter than that.

Now, be warned, these books are classified as erotic romance, and they are explicit. They also deal with a softer version of BDSM and kink that you may not be used to. It is important to me that I acknowledge everyone in the middle of the road regarding BDSM and kink. I present it as fun and adventurous instead of deviant or brooding. So, if on the kinky spectrum, you fall on either the strictly vanilla, or the heavy BDSM ends, these books might not be for you. However, if you are somewhere in the middle, or open to some new ideas…


Thank you for reading this, your support means everything to me!

—KC

So, here's the thing. Silas was never written to be this huge, intense Dom. There. I said it. I'm getting tons of feedback about him not being Alpha enough, strong enough, Dom enough, communicative enough...

My humble intention with the Jessie Hayes series was to show another side to BDSM/kink.

We all know Doms are often portrayed as ruthless, demanding, powerful men—and a lot of them are...but not all. In the world of kink, there is a HUGE segment of society that is interested in BDSM, just on a smaller scale. Many, many, many women like to be blindfolded, or tied to a bed, or spanked, or bound for sensory play, or bossed around in the bedroom, or talked dirty to. However, those same women are not necessarily interested in being flogged, or bound into complete submission, or bossed around 24/7 by a ruthless, imposing man.

My books are intended for the middle-of-the-road-ers. The ones who are curious and interested, but not ALL IN and certainly not 100% submissive 100% of the time. I myself am a middle-of-the-road-er. I appreciate a man who is strong and incredibly capable sexually. I like the sexy side of an Alpha male, but I also dislike a domineering, oppressive man who needs to swing his dick around while demanding total compliance.

For me, Silas is the perfect type of Alpha. He is hot AF, intensely skilled with a women's body, smart, funny, sensitive, successful, confident, and, most importantly—he's real. Not real, like REAL real, but in that he has issues, flaws, and weaknesses just like everyone else. Is he a great communicator? No. Is he a stringent Dom? No. Is he smart for listening to Parker? Hell no. But he IS real.

In the end, would I kick him out of bed for not being Dom enough? Nope... Not unless Salinger was waiting for me.

NOW, DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED about Jessie not being submissive enough....because she illustrates the dichotomy in all of us—and that's exactly what I was going for.

Mwah,

KC

Two bits of feedback I get quite a bit about the book Little Dove are, one—why does Stephen Otis call Etta, "Little Dove?" and two, why didn't I give more back story and foreshadowing about that crazy dude. So, here goes....

First of all, regarding the name "Little Dove," I find it creepy as hell that he would have a term of endearment for her (his victim) at all. I'm not exactly sure what serial killer etiquette is when addressing their victims, but for me, something that would sound sweet coming from someone else, yet dripping with malice from him, was what I was shooting for. I also wanted the scene of Etta sing-songing it back to him (when she identified him) to be a pretty heavy moment. As far as why readers are not told why he called her that, and not giving them more of his backstory, the answer is simple. The story was told from Etta's POV. It would not have been authentic to her character to have any of his backstory or any insight as to why he chose that term. That's it. That's the reason. The scenes with the logger would have lost some of their impact if he had paused his attack in order to explain his terminology.

Now, on to why I didn't foreshadow Stephen Otis as a serial killer (such as having a news report on the TV in the bar about a bunch of missing women, for example.) It was really important to me that the logger fly under the radar. I wanted him to walk among everyone (except Etta) completely undetected because, in real life, people like him don't carry around signs or wear scarlet letters. The idea that nobody suspected his psycho-ness makes it all the more chilling to me. Also, I like for a story to unfold as you read it. That is why I am purposely vague when writing my blurbs, and why I cringe whenever a reviewer lays out the whole story in their spoiler-y review. I want Dallas to be a mystery until it's time for him not to be. I want Etta's gift to invite skepticism before revealing the accuracy of it. I want the reader to look back and think, oh yeah, now that makes sense.

So, there it is. I love giving insight to my thought process and why I make the choices I do, so if you have thoughts, questions, ideas, rants, concerns, or anything else—I would love to hear from you!

XOXO,

KC

January 2019!





A Sexy, New Standalone by National Award-Winning Author, KC Decker

Justin:
I have never had a therapist I didn’t want to murder where they sat. As a collective group they all say there is no way around grief, only through it, but for me, grief has become who I am. The idea of shedding it is as ludicrous as stepping outside of my own skin.
The fact is, some things can break you. I mean shatter your soul and cast it into the wind in a billion tiny pieces. To think you might one day be able to find all those infinite pieces of yourself, patch everything back together, and move on with life—well, I don’t even need to dignify that with a response.

Norah:
A few months ago, I shaved off a hundred and eighty-five-pound parasite. Then, once I was rid of him, I wondered why I didn’t just stick it out because the dating world is treacherous these days. Turns out, so is unemployment.
I suppose, to offset all the swiping left and Netflix binging in my life, I should take this job. There is a massive problem with the position though.

The problem’s name is, Justin Abernathy.

Of Ash and Angels

Have you ever done something and then looked back only to think to yourself, "Yeah, you did that totally wrong....pretty sure a four-year-old could have done it better." ?

Well..... for me that thought has crossed my mind about a billion times as a new author.

First of all, I like to write books. I LOATHE the other aspects of publishing them. Mostly because I have no clue how to do the rest of it, and I have literally had to learn by fire. Book formatting? Huh? Precision marketing, wha--? Social media...I'm drowning. Never mind the endless little things like Oxford commas, affect vs effect, and the fact that I can never spell definitely correctly the first time.

The single biggest mistake I have made as a new author is starting with a series. Yes, you read that right. Your beloved Jessie, Silas, Salinger and Devin nearly sunk my author ship. The reason for this is because in my scramble to finish the series, I did nothing for pre-release buzz, I didn't send out a single ARC or do any cover reveals, and I most certainly didn't try to market them, not until I was finished with the series, which is entirely too late. *insert groan.

So here I am, the underdog climbing uphill both ways. Let me begin by saying my first book was never meant to be a series. There, I said it. I initially wanted to see if I could even write a book, because 80,000 words is a mountain of letters to string together. What I ended up realizing, is that 80,000 words is not nearly enough to tell the story how I wanted to, and to properly develop the characters. So, the Jessie Hayes series was born.

When I won first place in the prestigious National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award in 2017, I was THE ONLY author who didn't have an agent, a publisher, an editor, a formatter, a street team, and a professional cover designer. I won that award despite my crappy self-made cover, my missed edits, and my lack-luster social media following.

My point is that we all struggle. We all learn things the hard way. But sometimes, we get lucky too. Sometimes a path is lit to show us the way.

If I admitted that I was struggling with my second book and unsure if anyone would ever read a single thing I wrote, at the very time I received the call about my NERFA win, you would know that was my defining moment as a would-be author. That was the moment when I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and accepted that the road would be exceedingly difficult, but more importantly, that I could do it.

In the end, Jessie Silas, Salinger, and Devin would not be the fan favorites they are had I followed the rules and published a standalone. So, I'm ok learning along the way by being thrown to the wolves. Nothing has come easy for me on my path to being an author. I have had to dig in and fight for every book I have published, while limping along next to authors backed by huge publishing houses and massive marketing teams. But I don't begrudge those authors any of that because I know EXACTLY how hard they worked to get there.

In the end, being an underdog in the market may not be bad. I'll just have to work that much harder for each review and treasure each fan that much more. I'm ok with that, because my dad might be right, "If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it."

Love,

KC

Remember when I finished the Jessie Hayes series, I said the next book was going to be a little dark?

Well, now I give you...Little Dove!

I can't really say it's completely dark, in fact, it doesn't cleanly fit into any category. I prefer to call it GRITTY. Yes, it's a little dark, a little suspenseful, a little bit of a thriller, but it's still a sweet love story.

Many of the early reviews mention how it stirs emotions. I didn't expect to hear that, but I'm thrilled because that means that readers are connecting with the characters passionately and emotionally.

While not setting out to poke and prod at emotions, I do strive to create very real characters, both primary and secondary. One thing I can say about my writing is that every single book will be character driven. If I can create characters that feel real and that the reader can empathize with and get fired up for, then perhaps this writing gig is not just a phase after all. *wink

—KC

Now that the Jessie Hayes Series is over and you all have massive book hangovers...and I have a book hangover times a thousand, what's next?

First, you should know that I cried like a baby when I wrote the end of 945 Cedar Avenue. Not because it was sad, because it wasn't, but because it was so damn touching...and because it was over. To have the whole series come together like that was everything I had worked for, and I love how I left each the characters...but I miss them. They were all so real to me, they had to be, so I could put them out into the world and share them with everyone. Now I feel like I need to limp around without a major part of me, but the beauty of (figuratively) closing one book, is that you get to open another one.

So, get ready to open another book, because I need to fill the hole left by Jessie, Silas, Salinger, Devin & Corey! I'm already hard at work on my next book, which might surprise you because it will be a little darker. More on that later.....

Book 4 Coming March 28, 2018! I am SO excited to bring you Book 4 in the Jessie Hayes Series. You will notice something different right away, and that's that Salinger has taken the stage... But book 4, 945 Cedar Avenue, picks up right where 1700 Grant Street left off, so readers won't miss a beat.

I had so much fun writing from Salinger's perspective because I have a big, fat crush on him. Don't get me wrong, I love Silas...but Salinger's story really needed to be told...and I do love him the most.

So....here it is, I give you 945 Cedar Avenue!

Here is the cover that didn't make the cut. I was told readers need to have their own vision of Salinger, so that got me to thinking...what does Salinger look like to you? Or more accurately, who?

And then I REALLY got to thinking, so now I want to see all of your ideas about how the characters look in your mind. I want to see who you picture as Jessie, Silas, Devin, Corey & Salinger.

So get out there and post your images on Instagram! Make sure to @ me so I get a notification @Author_KC_Decker and Hashtag #KCDeckerCharacters along with your character, for example #Silas or #Jessie. I'm dying to see where your imagination takes you!

Almost all of my reader correspondence has to do with massive book hangovers, and the most important question of all..."When is your next book coming out?" There are varying levels of desperation accompanying these inquires, but the answer is the same.....Soon. I promise.

I am hard at work crafting a delicious story around, Salinger! In the event that your heart is breaking for him, well...so is mine. We all love Silas, but there is just something about Salinger. I like to refer to that something as a gnawing hunger, and yes, it gnaws at us doesn't it?

I think you will all be surprised by the new perspective, but it's sooooooooooo sexy!

So get ready Team Salinger! You won't want to miss this! I can't wait to unveil book four in the next few months! But don't worry, there is just enough time to re-read 1462 South Broadway, 720 Linden Street, and 1700 Grant Street, and if you would like to champion for me from the sidelines, I would absolutely love to see all those reviews on Amazon and Goodreads! Remember, I respond to all fan correspondence personally...so be patient with me.

XOXO,
KC