Yesterday’s post was an excerpt from Cosimo, a Families of the Empire Story As I mentioned with the excerpt, this book is one of the most problematic to advertise simply because it has explicit material, includes some BDSM, and has a culture that includes voluntary and involuntary indenture (i.e. slavery) for criminals. Putting these elements in a book automatically makes it hard to promote, since most platforms consider this to be triggering content which they don’t want to promote.
I get it. I even tend to agree with their stance, though I am a strong advocate for Freedom of Speech, even if you don’t agree with that speech.
But I do want to make a plug for the book. The main character struggles with some of the precepts of his culture, which makes for interesting character development. At its heart, the story is about a man coming of age and assuming the mantle of leadership for his family. Yes, there is explicit sex. There is also romance, heart-break, political intrigue, and some action all set in an interesting world and culture.
A few questions you might have after reading the excerpt include:
- What is the “high season”? This is the annual highlight of the empire’s social calendar and was originally started as both a celebration and an opportunity for the families of the ruling elite to mingle, make alliances, and find suitable matches for their children. Think of it as a mix of Victorian era social gatherings, Mardi Gras, and debutantes’ coming out parties.
- Where does this scene take place? Roughly half of the book, including this scene, is set in Cardino. Cardino is a rustic town situated on the west coast of the Empire. It is reminiscent of Italian Mediterranean coastal towns and climate. Cardino is also the home town of Cosimo’s family business.
- Who is Samantha Dennison? You’ll have to read the book to get her full background and understand how she fits in the story, but in this scene, she is a socialite from one of the Empire’s thirty ruling families. Her father is a Senator. She is the youngest daughter in the family and the last to be married.
- What was placed in Cosimo’s pocket? You’ll have to read the book to find out and understand. I will share that this brush-pass begins the move away from a focus on Cosimo and his unique family to the more mystery and political intrigue portions of the tale.
- If the story has so much mystery and political intrigue, why “taint” it with the explicit elements? The short answer is the story evolved from one chapter that was explicit and contained BDSM elements. It’s more graphic than Fifty Shades of Grey, but not by much. The premise of that story, which is a chapter in the book, forced me to create the broader world-scape and the clubs that Cosimo’s family runs. The story took on a life of its own from that beginning.
Cosimo is available on Amazon, as well as Smashwords and other ebook channels.
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CharlieFoxtrotWriter 