On my very normal twentieth birthday, the king’s enforcers try to arrest me for necromancy.
One of them helps me escape then collapses at my feet, badly wounded and beautifully naked, but unable to shift. This mountain of a fae is an immortal dragonshifter, and he’s vowed to kill me if I turn evil. Are the darkthings that whisper to me from the shadows evil? Was my attempted healing that? While he was unconscious, I tried something to help him. I changed something … inside him. Despite the vow and his arrogance, one reckless kiss pulls me into his embrace. The kingdom is in turmoil, and our desires and growing fascination with each other teeter dangerously on the edge of the unknown. I can guess his secrets, but he doesn’t know mine. When the king plays his cruelest card, only one option remains. Learn necromancy or die. A kickass, enemies-to-lovers romance between an innocent necromancer and a ruthless dragonshifter set in a complex and unique fantasy world. The eBook is HERE and on Kindle Unlimited Get the Paperback of Deadly Maiden
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Killer Bones is a dark and nasty CNC Fraternity Prequel Romance, and Book ONE in the series. It is standalone and features no one from the following books, apart from a tiny cameo from one character - an Easter egg of sorts - that only one reviewer has spotted, so far. It has a HEA that some prefer to call a HFN, and is a very brutal story, with a serial killer theme, so I advise people to check the Book Content warnings that are on this site. (There are 2 endings. NOTE: Only the Killer Bones, Evil Edition paperback contains both endings, due to this eBook going into Kindle Unlimited after June 21st.) *** My online rants targeted men dealing in the filthiest crimes. I thought I was untouchable. Until the day I’m dragged before Montez Flores, my worst enemy, and he gives me to a scarred man. Instructed to degrade then kill me in front of Montez, his mistress, and a roomful of bodyguards, this Mister Smith takes me exactly how he wants to. He delays my death by promising he will do worse to me tomorrow. Then they lock me in with him at the bottom of a yacht. I’m alive when I should already be dead. What does the scarred man want from me? My soul in exchange for my life? AMAZON Buylink On GOODREADS The Evil Edition paperback on AMAZON This new cover for Their Cruel Love is to match the first two books set in the CNC Fraternity.
Some seem unwilling to try a book in a series if the series appears 'incomplete.' For a day, I trialed publishing this as a standalone spin-off book, with the same setting as the others - which is exactly what it is. I then backflipped and placed it in the series again. However, the plot does not continue on from the previous books and none of the characters are in previous books, except for Razor, who appears in one scene in His Talisman. I wasn't going to add any more to this on social media. I stepped into the wrong review on Goodreads, thinking they wouldn't mind and stirred up some controversy and subsequent review bombing on my latest book. I was a mix of amused, amazed, and sometimes horrified by events. So bizarre to have a reddit thread about myself. Believe it or not, I am just a person, like you. However, when someone on my temporary street team asked me to address a rumor that I had bullied someone, I realised it would (probably) be best to say what happened. Thank you Amy, for that question. For anyone not in the know, I pointed out a hair color fact the reviewer had wrong. I'm a bit anal about facts. (screenshot below) After which I apologized for intruding and said, thank you, when she amended the review, though really just agreeing in comments would have been enough for me. Goodreads deleted my comments on her review, as well my own review and graphic - I never rate my own, it's a promotional thing that some authors do. I have OODLES of low-starred reviews (1s and 2s) after decades of writing and may have commented on 2 of those over ten years??? I tend to read them all, good and bad - many times I have said this on Facebook. Many authors read reviews. Some, like me, read them all. My 2 following comments on her review I have no copy of, but approximately those said this ~> Comment 2: Thank you for amending the review. That, yes, the hair color was mentioned in just one descriptive passage in my book, but that it was also a fairly large part of her review - which was why I asked her whether it was in her version of the book. (And it was late at night when I made that first comment and early morning when I made the 2nd and 3rd (bad idea).) THEN I read her review more thoroughly and saw she was alarmed that Cecile commented. Comment 3 I said I had reread, that I'd missed some of her main points due to skimming. I said "Karma?" thinking I'd just done what she had done in the book (selfdeprecating, as I do, but I can see some might misinterpret that.) I explained I hadnt asked Cecile to comment, but that she is devoted reader. I can't recall the rest well, but I know I said something like I read reviews like a crack wh*re, because it now seems someone saw that as an insult to the reviewer? (I've said this about myself a few times, prior to this) I do read reviews like an addict. lol My bad habit. Also an awful simile, but I've no idea how anyone saw that as anything but me explaining my addiction to reviews. Then I said "I won't comment again. Promise." I also said thank you once (?), apologized for intruding, once. I was trying to be VERY polite. After it was deleted, I redid my 'review' of my book with less 'confrontation' - the Goodreads Support word. However, here is the original full transcript that was on my review, GR emailed me THIS after deletion. I feel this says everything way better than I have above. ORIGINAL POSTI'm aware of the posts? going around about authors not commenting on reviews, specifically me, this time. I am amazed someone thought to make a reddit thread on this! I haven't read it, hah, but I do have an imagination. Holy cow. Cannot believe that one. If you want to have a discussion here, rather than on the review that began this, have at it. Just please don't get too heated. Possibly the original reviewer is getting tired of the attention? I won't be mediating the discussion though. To add even more context. I read all my reviews, always have, since over ten years ago. Yes, I regard reviews as being for everyone. You might disagree but I LOVE reading them. I don't know where I would be without them. If you have written one for one of my books, 99 percent of those I have read. I read because it lifts me up, it makes writing worthwhile - and yes, although the 'bad' reviews (and what exactly IS bad?) don't do it as much as the good ones, I WILL NOT DISPUTE your right to review how you wish to. Every book gets hated on by someone. Have I commented on reviews here? Yes, probably 10s of times. Once, it was because the reader didn't understand that books may get re-released once the publishing rights return to the author. Generally, we just chat in comments. Considering the discomfort of this latest reviewer, I will stick to ones in the upper ratings bracket, if I do comment. My fans see it all the time. If anything, I avoid ones I feel are too heated, so commenting means I think you will be okay with me doing that. I've already been super polite on that review, so I will leave it be, and not say more there. However, when I commented, I just wished to - A/ Correct a fact. B/ I was also a tad worried I might have edited out that part of the book (hence the question mark after that quote I left). I thought not, but still, I am a worrier. I've definitely uploaded over 6 new ebook versions, and I do correct small errors if readers inform me of them. Just to give you some insight into me running about like a mad squirrel during release time. I am open to people telling me of mistakes inside my books. Please do. If I can fix an error, I will do so. As for the review bombing...or is it ratings bombing? I'm bemused. Reviews are prose and some of them are SO WELL WRITTEN they are works of art in themselves. Thank you for all the reviews, people. (Not the bomb versions, sadly) I'll still be reading reviews, because I'm addicted to them, because they validate me, they make me feel like I have written a book that is worth being in the world. Not a masterpiece necessarily, but a BOOK. If I'm unsure if you'll welcome a comment on a review, I'll definitely try to ask first, with a small comment. For all those wanna-be authors out there, do it. Write that book. Just do it and make yourself into a writer. I know I'm unlikely to change your opinion on this, whichever way you fall, so please don't come on here just to yell about it. Either way. Let's be civil. END OF ORIGINAL POSTIn the interest of full disclosure, I could add the link to the reddit - but I gather it's easy to find on search with my name. I could link to her review, but I prefer if people who like me, or even those who dislike me due to my rabid reading of reviews, to simply leave it be. I'm not a bully, though I am a pita over facts. For that I will apologise. So that is it. The saga laid out from my side. I can see some detest authors commenting on reviews, and some are horrified we even READ them. Many of my fans do like me commenting but I will be sticking to those higher reviews in future. Just remember, strangers are reading everything you write... Leaving this here on that note of horror. (If this blows up, I'll be in my nuclear bunker) ![]() This is a repost of an article, from 2017, that used to be on the Under the Covers Review blog, but I think they've archived that series about 'writing on the edge of consent'.The Rise and Rise of Dark Erotic Romance
I was going to discuss how our notions of dark erotic romance (hereafter called DE) have changed over the years but with all the banning going on by Amazon and Smashwords (Smashwords distributes to B & N, iBooks, Kobo, etc) it seems a good time to talk about what is getting banned also. The latest book banned that I know of was Dubious by Charmain Paul. When I started writing DE it was at the start of 2013 and this sort of fiction was not well known or well read. Early writers were Claire Thompson, CJ Roberts (Captive in the Dark), and Kitty Thomas (Comfort Food). After this the tide rose, slowly at first, but there is a huge appetite for these books among women. Pepper Winters (Tears for Tess) and Aleatha Romig (Consequences) are probably two of the biggest-selling authors who came next, though Consequences is barely erotic. The tide rose some more. All of these earlier books written by romance authors, or all that I know of, had stories with capture fantasy. Capture fantasy revolves around dubious consent sex scenes and often some nonconsent too: No, I don’t want this sex. Yes, yes, I do! Bodice rippers done better. Back then, I tried to define what I was writing and I went to Wikipedia, only to find a definition that reduced DE to erotic horror. Not so fast Wikipedia. To me, horror was a minor component of these stories, if present at all. Here is where and when the waters got muddy. Press 2014 and FAST-FORWARD. A tsunami of DE washed in. What we have now is a mish-mash of all sorts of different types of stories and no single definition that all readers agree on. Why???? Lots of reasons. Even by 2014, DE was selling so well that labelling your book dark, even if you weren’t sure what it was, even if it barely touched on the genre, might help your sales. Can you blame anyone for doing this? No, I guess not. Partly because what the hell is dark? The term is impossible to pin down…unlike my heroines. Muddy labelling is because the term can’t be defined and the mislabelling in itself muddied the water even more. You can get all anal – please do – and try to use a dictionary but that will not help you. Please don’t do actual anal with a dictionary. Again, what the hell is dark? Dark Romance or DE has come to mean, to different readers, anything from… Bad boy romances, where the man is mean and kills people, but still loves his woman madly and would die for her. These don’t really need to be called anything new, but calling them dark sounds cool. You can probably think of other books with dark themes that fit here in this slot that do not need to have a new label. Taboo romances – where someone fucks their stepbrother, or adopted child, or maybe their stepbro werewolf, or their sheep, or maybe even a ménage with a bunch of mafia bosses who are werewolves. The boundaries can blur with all romances, of course. Eg The Wild by K Webster BDSM romance – yes, for some readers a sadistic Dom whipping then fucking his submissive is dark, even though this is totally consensual. Erotic Horror romance – you have erotic scenes but the sex scenes written to arouse are consensual. Rape may appear but not to titillate. Overall these are horror stories and you are meant to be left gasping over the extreme violence and horrible things done. The main characters may be the ones doing the violent acts, perhaps in revenge, such as in Sick Fux by Tillie Cole. Or they may have horrible things done to them – as in Pretty Broken Doll. Capture Fantasy Romance – the sex in these stories can range from dubious consent to nonconsent – often men kidnap women or force them into sexual servitude. Alien scifi is a big part of this genre, as is contemporary. Slaves are easier to imagine in science fiction settings. Some readers find capture fantasy more fun and palatable if not set in ‘real life’. Right now, I see a huge rise in the number of erotic horror romances being released. Some authors mix horror with other categories. So this broadening of what is dark romance has happened over many years, and this is why nobody agrees on the definition of dark romance, and why we never ever will agree. Dark in fiction can mean scary, immoral, or plain ol’ not full of goodness. You could call Bonnie and Clyde a dark romance and you would not be wrong. It completely annoys me but then my definition annoys others too. We are all going to have to agree to annoy each other. Dark is a blurry, fluffy, dumb-ass, and too broadly defined word to mean much when applied to stories. What’s dark to you might not be dark to me. And that is how it always will be. You can make up new words like Pitch Black Dark as did AA Dark. But since most haven’t a clue what that is, and you can’t deduce the specifics by looking at the words, it doesn’t help anyone except her fans. As for censorship… If you want to reduce the risk of banning, you cannot label your dark books correctly. If you want readers to know what they are getting – assuming they read blurbs – you add labels. Guess which wins out? Authors are mostly too scared to add precise warnings and labels to DE. The one BIG advantage of writing erotic horror is that it does not run the risk of banning, as long as the sex that is titillating is consensual. The world is perfectly happy to consume pornographic violence where people are maimed and murdered in the weirdest ways. So this might be why we are seeing more of it written? Partly? But I think it is that people love pushing themselves. They love seeing how horrified they can be by fiction. They love the thrill. Hannibal Lector eat your heart out. That same voyeuristic thrill is why people watch horror movies like Saw and Hostel. To me, such thrills are akin to sexual arousal, which is why it’s ironic that some sexual fantasies are seen as terrible but mincing someone’s face is not. Will Amazon reach for the broader ban-hammer next? Possibly. They stock centaur and T-rex rape books but ban titillating rape in other books. Such a mess. Whatever they try to implement, authors are unlikely to trust the justice of any method that tries to corral certain books into a ‘Naughty Dark’ category. END OF QUOTED & COPIED ARTICLE And below is my next 'dark' book out January 24th, 2024... and I don't think it is that dark, because the sex is 99 percent consensual. It's gory, murderous, has a snuff film background, there are tinges of horror, but to me it's closer to a thriller romance with a vigilante justice undertone. I'll leave it to readers to decide. A spin-off from the CNC Fraternity seriesAn inferno hot, dark standalone romance from New York Times & USA Today bestselling author, Cari Silverwood
THE NIGHTMARES COME TO ME, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT A stone table, hooded men, and a woman dying. Have I killed my friend? To find out, I apply for the same CNC training course I sent her to. Two men agree to take me on and teach me how to be theirs. Theirs… It’s such a powerful word. If I say yes to all that they wish to do, Will my heart still be mine or will it be theirs? I must remember my true purpose – to find Milli or to avenge her. Even if I have to paint the walls with blood. Preferably, it won’t be my own. MARCUS THOMPSON Phoebe Bartholemew, my god, I have her. She’s mine to destroy. I will grind her into the dirt beneath my feet, same as her family did to ours. RAZOR Handling Marcus and Phoebe is fun, if a little like juggling d*ldos and knives. But this beautiful island is toxic and deviant killers hide among the guests. To leave this place alive, we need to unearth them before they put us six feet under. Things to know about Their Cruel Love Secret society of millionaires and billionaires One woman shares the embrace of two men (MfM) Enemies to Lovers Smutty Murder mystery TW Find them here This romance has dark themes that may be triggering. This book can be read standalone but the books that came before it in this series are: His Keepsake His Talisman The third and final book in the Kings of Sorrows and Dreams series is here.
The Love of my Life is dying. Though Val wears the body of the Nightmare King, the creature who violated me, I will not let him die. Bloodied and bruised, I enter the halfway realm, and I drag him from the Gates of Hell, or maybe Heaven. Yet my actions have drastic consequences. Gods, demons, a creature called Death, and even a minotaur, all want a piece of Val. Being possessed by them seems the only way to keep him powered up and alive. To stop the Nightmare King, Val and I have joined a haphazardly formed company of soldiers, CIA, immortals and Stitched warriors. But there is a problem I did not foresee. There are side effects to being possessed… Val has something inside him, and I’m afraid of what it might be. Can I save my love again? And is it safe to go near him? This is not a standalone romance. Book 2, Nightmare Rising, is the beginning of Val and Zara's romance. Book 1, The Bride Collector is a separate romance, but it is the start of the story of the Nightmare King. This is a Spicy Multi-Monster Romance in an urban fantasy setting. Tropes include: Tentacles; danger-boning; Dominant Hero; magic; I’ll burn the world down for you, flipped (she does it for him); and marking-her possessiveness. Find on: Amazon USA All the Amazons Goodreads This is a prequel, of sorts. It's the Book 1 to Nightmare Rising (which becomes Book 2), that I cowrote and published in 2017 with Nicolette Hugo , who then stopped writing.
I've finally decided to finish the series - it's been difficult due to her unique prose that I adored. The Bride Collector is less gritty and dark than that book, and I've added more humour too - because I can't resist the snark. The series is now called Kings of Sorrows and Dreams. The Bride Collector: A mash-up of Urban Fantasy and Monster Romance Someone—something—is hunting brides, and I need answers. Centuries ago, monsters from our myths, fairytales, and nightmares invaded our world. To most they are invisible, but not to me. From my elegant campervan headquarters, with my sidekick demon cat, Lump, I investigate paranormal problems. In my search for the truth, I break into a bookshop owned by Harrow. He easily traps me, but Harrow is a Stitched soldier, given enhanced abilities for the sole purpose of killing the creatures not of our world. Two monsters share possession of his scarred body. Drawn into their carnal maelstrom, I am taken and owned by all three. A man caressing me, the lure of the incubus, the tentacles of a kraken – I have found a love I could never have imagined. Yet our love may be shattered, for the hunt is still on. The Bride Collector has another victim in his sights. Me. We four must destroy this immortal or die trying. “Mysteries are solved, demons are banished, epic battles are fought and there’s still time for lots of k*nky, smutty, tentacle, incubus, and supernatural human s*x.” Goodreads reviewer. Amazon USA All the Amazons Merry Christmas to everyone. I have a sale of my Santa with a K (Krampus). A smutty twisted Xmas tale. 🎄🎄🎄 Not all Christmas wishes go to Santa. The adult ones are redirected to the other guy: He who came before Santa. Dear Santa, I want a dominant man who will tie me up, do naughty things to me, and punish me until I’m good. Now Florence has the 12 days of Christmas to prove that she really can be a good girl, if she ever wants to see her home again. But where is she? Can she really go home again if she's good enough? Contains kink, MfM, and a lot of craziness. Even the reindeer harness gets a workout, and the gimp mask, the ornaments, and the two red-uniformed soldiers. So much naughtiness... Find Santa with a K on AMAZON "The elves needed therapy after reading this. One is hiding under a pile of toys and I can't get him out."
~ Real Santa Claus ~ "The Xmas tree strap-on featured is on my must-buy list." Mr. C. Gray "Way too much Naughty. Had to scrub my eyes, mouth, and nether regions, with ginger." Sister Prudence White, the Nunnery “The flagellation scenes were exquisite.” Marquis de Sade “Whoahhhhh.” Anonymous Elf “My egg nog will never be safe to drink again.” Mrs. Claus The girl cover wasn't working as well as I'd like, so despite adoring it, I have replaced her with this man cover.
I must admit he buffed up well! Purty man ... *purr purr* New blurb: HIS TASTES ARE DARK AND DEPRAVED. HIS METHODS UNIQUE. THE DOCTOR / HULK I have another lost girl, after I'd told myself to stop doing this. I meant to walk away and leave her, alone in her locked room. I couldn't resist the pretty thing - the twitch of her rear, the curve of her lips, the way she lies down on the table when instructed to do so. I might keep this one. CHARITY I'm hurt but not broken, and now I know how steeped in evil is the CNC Fraternity. I have said yes to the doctor. I will be his toy in return for a little freedom on his island. I have so many doubts, especially when Cassius, an ex-soldier, joins us. They make me whimper and beg. They take me whenever and however they wish to. And yet … I can't stop myself from wanting more. Yes, I am falling for these cruel monsters. But some of the lost girls from the past have gone missing. The doctor once promised not to cut out my heart and eat it. That macabre joke echoes in my mind. I will find out the truth about him and this island. I’m partial to my heart staying inside of me, while it is still beating. Especially that last part. Dark unearthly secrets will be brought into the light. HIS TALISMAN is a new inferno-hot, Dark Captive Romance from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Cari Silverwood. Other details you may wish to know: Secret society Two men. One woman. Standalone romance, though Charity is in the previous book as a side character WARNING Contains flashbacks to sexual assault. Link to the full trigger warnings list is inside the book All the links: AMAZON GOODREADS BOOKBUB |
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Copyright Cari Silverwood 2011. All rights reserved. No part of these publications may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author.
Cari Silverwood is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. AuthorCari Silverwood is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling writer of kinky darkness or sometimes of dark kinkiness, depending on her moods and the amount of time she's spent staring into the night. Follow Cari Silverwood on...
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