Time's Forbidden Flower
by Diane Rinella
(Book 2 in the "Love's Forbidden Flower Series"
(Book 2 in the "Love's Forbidden Flower Series"
An eternity of passion cannot be quelled by society.
Once upon a time Donovan assured Lily all of her dreams would come true. But how could he keep the promise of a fairy tale when her truest goals could not involve him, though her deepest desires did? Now, Lily has it all—love, passion, a family, and the career of her dreams—with Christopher. But something is lacking. She and Donovan have spent the last ten years living apart, and the soul mates are eager to reunite. Can Donovan keep his promise to give Lily all she desires, even with Christopher in the way?
For Lily and Donovan, the past is a mirror to the future that cannot be shattered.
Donovan is convinced Lily has been his love for all eternity. Determined to unravel the past, they embark on a journey to discover where it all began. For centuries Donovan has stolen Lily’s heart while forced to suffer for his love. How much can a soul endure before the breaking point is reached and a monster emerges? Can the demons of the past be combated to pave the way for happiness in the next life? Or has the abuse suffered in this life already turned Donovan hell bound? Time and again, one woman has destroyed their happiness. It’s time to silence her once and for all
Buy links:
Warning: This title contains graphic language and raunchy sexual situations. It is intended for those 18 years of age and older.
Love’s Forbidden Flower
Love’s Erotic Flower
Time’s Forbidden Flower
The light of the alarm clock covers my face in
a soft glow while its progressing numbers remind me that life is passing by.
Finally, Christopher's breath deepens into a low snore. Like a paranoid ninja I
slip out of bed and head down the stairs.
Is
the frigidity of the knob on the library door brought about by the weather
outside, or the betrayal I feel stepping through this portal, knowing a letter
from a former lover awaits?
Grabbing
the designated book off of the shelf, excitement and apprehension course
through my nervous system. Hidden in the section on making gum paste lilies is
a sheet of stationary that bares an uncanny resemblance to the stationary on
which I once wrote letters to Donovan, sharing in the madness of an alternate
reality.
To My Lovely Lady,
You are, and will always be, the force
that drives and inspires me. On my brightest days, you are the warmth that
shines upon me. In the darkest nights, you provide the voice that soothes me.
Because of you I face each day knowing who I am and the good I bring into the
world. Because of you, I am whole.
Until the end of forever,
Donovan
Placing
the book back on the shelf, I head for the family room, unable to bring myself
to return to Christopher. Curling up on the sofa I turn on the TV where the A
Christmas Story marathon continues. Quickly I change the channel, only to
return to it, and then flee again. Finally I settle on an infomercial, staring
blankly, striving to force myself into panic over the details of the New Year’s
Eve party to come. The diversion proves to be a terrible idea. This will be the
first New Year’s Eve Donovan and I have spent together since we split. How do I
move past the impending pain of the night while finding a way to heal?
“Cannoli,”
I softly mutter aloud. “I’ll switch from cream puffs to cannoli. Maybe I should
stuff the cream puffs with cannoli filling…”
Author
Bio
Enjoying San Francisco as a backdrop, the ghosts in Diane’s 150-year old
GUEST POST:
Selling your controversial book and a
conservative world
When I started writing Love’s Forbidden Flower, I knew it would be a hard sell. The up
side is that though the subject of siblings in love is normally handled as
erotica or the characters are made dysfunctional, mine are simply soul mates
who are born into a world of cruel realities. The down side is, well, you saw
that part about them being siblings, right? I spent a very long time polishing
the query and gathered a lot of feedback. I was told it was beautiful crafted, as
was my entire pitch for the story. Despite the black cloud over the subject
matter, I went into the agent querying process with confidence.
It's pretty well known that the turnaround
time for a query response is several weeks, sometimes months. For me, the
turnaround time was so short it seemed like I hadn't even hit the send button.
Two responses were common: “No, thank you.” and “Your writing is very eloquent,
but we are unable to publish your story given the relationship of those
involved. Feel free to submit again if changes are made.”
While I was certainly open to the
possibility that Love’s Forbidden Flower
could use some sprucing up, some things were sacred, like the part about Lily
and Donovan being siblings. That was the biggest complaint, and without that
key element, the story would not work. Meaning, in order to get published I’d
easily have to change over half of the book.
No, thank you.
So, I self-published. Now I was left to face
a big issue all by my lonesome: How do you market a book that agents and
publishers don’t want to touch because of its subject matter?
I tried to get blogs to write about it, but
it was really hard to get traction. I was very upfront about the subject matter
and many people wouldn't respond to me. It was interesting to feel the push of
discrimination.
Then I reached out to people at Goodreads
who had read other books that contain the topic and asked them for honest
reviews in exchange for free copies. The support was absolutely overwhelming.
It was phenomenal how quickly my book took off within that community. Still,
the bloggers wouldn’t bite.
I took a chance and signed up for blog tour.
The problem here is that the book blurb for Love’s
Forbidden Flower does not mention the relationship of the characters
because I wanted to appeal to the reader’s emotions, not to fetishes.
Instead, a disclaimer was attached. Apparently quite a few people missed
the disclaimer. Thus, the majority of the people who reviewed had absolutely no
idea what they were getting themselves into. Of those, the vast majority
absolutely loved the book! The common response was: Had I known what it was
about, I never would have picked it up. I’m so glad that I didn’t miss out on
an amazing journey.
So, how do you market a controversial novel?
A great question. I’m still learning. It all comes down to finding your
audience. I had to put a disclaimer on it stating it's not a work of erotica,
because people commonly think any type of romance involving siblings would
naturally be just about sex. However, in learning that, I found that audiences
who enjoy erotica are much more likely to read Love’s Forbidden Flower.
The disclaimer seems to be the way to go.
The blurb reflects the spirit of the story while the disclaimer lets the reader
know what they are getting themselves into. I made the first chapter available
on my website, and I post links to it on Twitter and Facebook often. By the end
of that chapter, you fully know what you are in for. Sometimes I get flack for
throwing the reader into the relationship so quickly, but you know what? I'd
rather get a little bit of flack than mislead people into reading fifty pages
before they see where everything is going and quickly decide they are done.
The final thing that helps is letting others
know the mission—the whole reason why I wrote what I did: Love’s Forbidden Flower is a controversial, civil rights piece,
about siblings that makes you ask the question, “Why do we make love laws?”
Buy links:
Warning: This title contains graphic language and
raunchy sexual situations. It is intended for those 18 years of age and older.
Love’s Forbidden Flower
Love’s Erotic Flower
Time’s Forbidden Flower
