People visit this blog for many reasons. Some are here because they surf in looking for something random and Google plops them here. Some pop in to see what goofy thing I’m blabbing about. However, some of you come here because of Love’s Forbidden Flower and the relationship depicted. Of those, some are curious, and some get it—like, you really get it because you are there, or you have been there, or you want to go there and are scared. Maybe you just want to know if I am one of them—or rather, one of you.
Here are your answers.
Click here for why I wrote these books.
For Those Wondering How People React or Who Are here to Cringe
Since I pushed the publish button on Love’s Forbidden Flower, I have been both praised and condemned. The praise comes from those who don’t see a problem with any consensual adult relationship, those who do see a problem but strive to understand, and most importantly in my eyes, those who are involved in these forbidden relationships. There seem to be only one type that truly bash the subject—those who find it icky. I’ll be frank, I wrote Love’s Forbidden Flower because I wanted to correct society’s misconception. While some consanguinamorous relationships do involve abuse or people who are dysfunctional, the vast majority do not. Readers of this blog and Love’s Forbidden Flower know that 10-15% of all college-age adults have had some kind of sexual contact with a close relative. It is common. Odds are you know someone in this situation and have no clue at all.
Love’s Forbidden Flower is a love story involving two people who happen to be siblings. I don’t treat it like anything but that. In many love stories, the sparks start flying in the first chapter. This book is no different. Some say I should have eased the reader into Lily’s revelation. Why would I want to do that? How often do you read romance novels that take chapters and chapters for the reader to slowly discover that the guy in front of the heroine has a special effect on her heart? Rarely, right? This is a romance novel, and these characters are just like everybody else.
Yes, I have gotten some nasty responses. (I’m not bashing a few bad reviews. I respect those. It happens. No one writes for everyone.) I’m talking about nasty comments from people who either take on a “how dare you not see where this is wrong” or a “how dare you treat people in such a sensitive situation as if they are normal” approach. To those few who have been rude, I’ll be honest: you got to me at first. You really did. You threw me into tears and had me thinking I had insulted the people I was trying to help, but I have to tell you all a story.
The very day I got my harshest piece of criticism ever, one that damn near killed me inside, I was also contacted by a very special group of people. People who understood why I did things the way I did because they are Lilys and Donovans. They praised my understanding and how I have handled the subject by treating them as the good and functional people they are. They told me that I have paralleled their lives and called the coincidences in my book uncanny. Most importantly, some of these people have gone on to become treasured friends. Suddenly, those nasty comments from the few who don’t understand rolled off my back and drifted off into another universe. They no longer matter. What matter are my friends, and I love every last one of them, no matter who they are or how I met them.
I have to say that the most humbling compliment ever came a few days ago when someone coined the phase Friend of Lily to be akin to the phrase Friend of Dorothy. It’s humbling to learn that you had a positive impact on people. When I heard the phrase Friend of Lily, I knew in no uncertain terms that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
If you find consensual adult incest icky, my Forbidden Flower series is simply not for you, and I respect that. (Seriously, you will hate it.)
For those of you thinking you might want to test the water, please read Chapter One.
For those of you who seek understanding, thank you for coming here and for trusting me to guide you in the right direction. The Friends of Lily section on this blog is for you.
Dorothy slipped on sparkly red shoes and charged forward. Lily did it in black stilettos with little bows on the back. Whatever shoes you find yourself in, I wish you love.