Knight

Author’s Note and Acknowledgements

Knight is a departure from my usual novels in so far as it is shorter as well as more erotic, exploring the building of trust and connection between two people falling in love. Head’s up, there are heavy elements of control and erotic punishment in this novel.

It is my goal as a female writer to send a message through my novels that no matter how whacky, zany, shy or wounded you may be, you need to stop listening to that demon that sits in your head and start to pay attention to those around you who love you.

Embrace yourself, even your faults, and understand you have something to contribute and more, people want it, love it, crave it.

Further, baby can have back, an awesome rack and a Buddha belly and still find a wonderful man who makes her melt because she has all she has and is all she is. The media bombards us with images that we take in as desirable, our inner demon absorbs these and tells us that is what we should strive to be.

And it is impossible.

This is damaging.

And I don’t like that. Because my inner demon tells me the same thing and I fight it all the time. And my work is one of the ways I do that.

My books won’t change the world, I know. But if they inject just a little bit of steel in your spine that lets you go forth into the world as you, only you, and expect what you should expect, that you are beautiful and worthwhile and people see that, my job is done.

Further, if you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know I feel that a healthy sex life with a compatible partner is crucial to a relationship. In this book, I explore this further.

All of it.

Just as every woman should feel beautiful and worthwhile, she should feel desirable and explore her sexuality with a partner who makes this safe and protects her and their relationship along the way. This, too, is a theme in all my books but especially this one.

Writing is my passion. It is also my livelihood. So I was understandably anxious about making my already racy books even racier. In an effort not to offend my readers, I reached out to a posse of women, readers and friends, to read this with me as I wrote it. The pouring forth of support, encouragement, excitement, friendship and love was un-be-freaking-leivable. They gave me the strength to tell Knight and Anya’s story to its fullest. It is not erotica, it is a love story. But it is an erotic one.

So I would like to thank these women who took my back. They know how much it meant to me but you should too. So Jenny Aspinall, Sali Benbow-Powers, Gitte Doherty, Shelley Egerton, Lori Francis and Nikki Griffiths, thank you, my Secret Project Action Team. You made this fun and beautiful. Love you, my girlies, straight to the bottom of my heart.

And lastly, to Chasity Jenkins-Patrick who was my first cheerleader in this project and who always takes my back, if you don’t know already, God shined his light on me when you hit send on those emails. Know it.

To everyone else, I give you Knight. I hope you love it as much as me and my girlies.