asylum

Pleasure House Tales On Sale Through Month Of January!

January 7, 2016 by scarletdarkwood

In 2015 I re-release all my novels, and included a new one, Taming Bad. That’s quite an accomplishment since being invited into a publishing house. And I’m soon to re-release another book. As a celebration, I’ve decided to offer my books for 99 cents and my full-length novel for $1.99. This is the first time I’ve ever run a sale.

These books aren’t your average read, and though there’s kink, it may or may not be your kind of kink, something that pulls your trigger. But there’s one thing I’ll say: the kink and scenes are tastefully written, their to-the-point, and the whole reason for them is for the character to build trust with her partner and to explore sexuality and all the facets of sex, even the most unusual. Sex is the driving force for self-exploration and the means for healing. The interesting theme in all these books is the world I’ve created, the world of The House.

Throughout time asylums have carried a certain mystique, a horror validated throughout history as the most terrifying places on earth, where nothing is the same but sameness, and the inmate never quite knowing if they’ll survive another day–or maybe fearing they will. The asylums broke your spirit, robbed you of your soul. You entered and never left. If you did, you were forever haunted by what went on. Staff were sadistic, un-caring, and almost reveled in their vile behavior, unchecked by superiors and lacking a moral compass.

Yes, there’s that side of The House, too, but I don’t really talk about that side. It’s dirty, unwholesome, and definitely not sexy. Nothing on that side stirs the lust and kicks in the libido. The staff there are ordinary, average, prudish. Any inkling of sex plays out in darkness, when others may not be looking, or merely turn a blind eye. Sex is forced upon the weak, the defenseless, the feeble-minded who don’t possess the ability to fight back.

On the other side of The House the opposite is embodied with beautiful people, skilled in sex, knowledgeable, and harboring a desire to help and heal those admitted to their care. And let’s face it, most of the inmates (called ‘admits’) are just as beautiful, carrying with them a need to be healed. What a better way than starting at the bottom and working up, embracing the most basic pleasure so the rest of the spirit grows up and out.

That’s the philosophy of the attendants on the other side. Their charges will leave, integrate back into the community, and take their skills with them, using them to their advantage to attract the right people. As they continue throughout life, they will carry that special knowing deep inside them. They will awaken others as they, too, have been awakened. And so the knowledge and enjoyment of sex slowly grows.

In this world nobody is harmed, but activities push the envelope regarding the wild, kinky, bizarre, and devilishly insane. No holds barred, and every opportunity that presents itself is just another opportunity for engaging in intercourse with another person with a different perspective.

Instead of being a series featuring one character on a journey with a goal to reach at the end, my tales are truly a collection, with each character wanting to share their journey and what The House did for them. They entered shy and meek, forlorn and in despair, but they leave changed forever. Each book takes the reader on that journey, allowing them to see fully the relationships and treatment as it unfolds, unabashed, unashamed.

Take advantage of the price of these books and immerse yourself into a dark world that has a light somewhere deep inside it. Let me know what your ideas are after reading the stories. I’d love to hear from you.

Frozen: Too Nervous To Pick Up The Pen And Write

June 21, 2014 by scarletdarkwood

Yes, I must admit I’m too nervous to pick up the pen right now. Or better described, too scared to start pecking away at the keyboard to start my next WIP. But let me clarify. There are actually two WIPs I have. Wait, come again? Two WIPs? Yes, TWO! I’ve just completed a new (and my first) paranormal romance, Destiny’s Last Chance, which is still in the editing process. Now I’m ready to start on a historical romance/romantic thriller, Mad Betrayal.

I need to put out some snippets from Destiny, but I want better edits before I tease a little. But Mad Betrayal, yes, yes, yes. What to say about that one? First of all, it will be set in Tennessee, both West and East. There will also be an asylum involved, train rides, and new romance. Claire, the MC in Mad Betrayal will get to test her wings as a woman on her own, in 1941, where women still viewed men as a social and economical life raft. But why the trepidation to start writing this one?

The problem with it is deciding how to start. I have an idea, but I want it to feel right before I put in the effort. I want to present the material so there’s no confusion, but I want it to be a little different than what I normally do. I think I can pull it off, and if I actually sat down and started to write, it all might come out like it usually does for me when I write. But I’m still holding back. The style of writing I want to present is also holding me back. You see, I’m reading a popular author’s book right now, and I really like her style a lot. However, there seems to be lots of repetition in the story as well as lots of “telly” stuff.

But here’s the thing. While I’m not really fond of the repetition, which I’ve been taught to avoid, I am fond of some of the “telly” stuff, which I’ve been taught to reduce. Maybe–just maybe–if I put my fingers on the keyboard and give it a whirl, something worthwhile might just come out, the right balance to give it all that special “umph.” So here I go. I think I’ll start tonight–or I might give it a go after I clean the shower!

The Name Game: Crazy, Fun Asylum Dancing

June 2, 2013 by scarletdarkwood

If you’ve read the works I’ve been creating, the scenes either take place in an asylum, or the character is leaving the asylum to return home. Though I try to hint at the time period without coming right out and saying it, the stories are set anywhere in the 1920’s and 1930’s, a time where anyone could be dumped off at the local “crazy house” and left there to stay–forever until death did they part.

You’d think when Asylum came on, I’d have watched that show like a hawk. But like I’ve said in other posts, I didn’t faithfully watch American Horror Story: Asylum, though I did catch a few episodes. If you read Pleasure House and Dance of Desire, you’ll notice that I include dancing as part of my work. When I present Master Of The House, you’ll still read scenes with dancing.

Why this intrigue with dance? Because it’s not only fun to watch, it’s fun to do. Dancing has been around since the creation of time, used in ritual and ceremony, including the ceremony of wooing someone of the opposite sex. Dancing is healthy, but it’s also sexy, alluring, and guaranteed to get the lust boiling, if performed a certain way.

From dancing in the buff to sparkling, flowing costumes, a dancer can express an array of emotions to happiness to sadness, to “come hither if you dare.” In Asylum, the creators added in the dance scene with Jessica Lange performing “The Name Game”–which she performed herself, if you hadn’t guessed already. I love this scene, not only because it’s dancing, but I like the way the creators of Asylum showed the craziness of the human mind, and how we all can free associate in an instant, with only a few words spoken or the vision of an item as a small hint to get the mind rolling in all kinds of directions. I’ve included a link to that Name Game scene performed by Jessica Lange. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Name Game: Asylum: American Horror Story

Baby Needs Colostrum

November 26, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

Surprising as this may seem, I have NOT been watching American Horror Story: Asylum. Since Pleasure House takes place in an asylum, you might be wondering why on earth I would not watch a new show featuring such a place. Honestly, I have no answer except, perhaps, this one: After watching the first of the Friday the 13th series, I swore off horror movies. And that was a LONG time ago, folks!

I have actually watched a couple of shows of Asylum, and I must admit I still love Jessica Lange. I love to see the older stars used in the entertainment industry, even though they have to play the roles of older characters. They’re still fantastic at entertaining, not to mention convincing in their roles.

In Pleasure House, there are no clergy, oddly enough (oh, well, that could be used in a future book, no?), and Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) is nowhere near the personality of Dr. James, the House physician. Dr. James is too lusty and willing to use sex as a teaching tool whenever possible. But I’m sure he has a way of making someone scream, if you know what I mean (oh, that’s in the second book! Yes, I’m writing a companion novel to Pleasure House–just so you know).

But when I heard the line from Dr. Thredson to Lana: “Baby needs colostrum,” I nearly fell out of my chair. Instead of being bemused, I was actually amused. Why? Because Pleasure House does feature lactating women. Actually there are whole erotica books focusing on this one condition: a lactating woman offering her substance to any horny person (man or woman) who’ll try it. Okay, I’m probably being cruel here. Not everyone who tries breast milk is horny; maybe they’re just curious, that’s all. *wink*

Anyway, that scene with Dr. Thredson and Lana was far from erotic, unless you get off on something like that, and I know you people are out there. Don’t think I don’t! But really, I think the scene would have been much more enhanced if Lana would have just reached down and grabbed Dr. Thredson’s crotch and went on from there. But then, my version of the scene would have rendered a completely different reaction. And if my memory serves me correctly, wasn’t Lana’s hands cuffed to the bed? I think so. Ha! Another similarity to Pleasure House. Nothing better than cuffing your charge to the bed, or other places for that matter. The House has all sorts of places where one can be tied up, and the attendants there will see to that!

So what do you readers think about American Horror Story: Asylum? Does it stimulate the senses, gross you out, confuse you with the editing style? Whatever you think, I’d love to hear it!

New Old Erotic Gadgets and Gizmos

October 29, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

For those of you reading Pleasure House, you have probably wondered about some of the gadgets and gizmos used throughout the novel. I had one nice reader who believed that for the time frame of the book (set anywhere in the 1920’s through the 1930’s), the items seemed rather “modern.” Yes, I had that concern, too, when I was crafting the book. Because we don’t have asylums anymore, and people can’t just get dumped in a mental institution nowadays, I had to find a timeframe where this unsettling practice still occurred. To complicate matters even more, I had to determine if my gadgets and gizmos would be too advanced for the time period or not–a tricky thing, indeed.

However, after research, I discovered that many of the instruments, toys, and whatnots were actually hundreds to thousands of years old–their creation and use, that is! Believe it or not, we’re not as modern as we like to think we are.

Let’s take the condom, for example: The first condoms were invented 1000BC! Latex condoms were created in the 1880’s. As the years passed, their use became more accepting and widespread.

Women who bore the diagnosis of hysteria were treated with vibrator-type machines, which were actually the forerunner of the modern vibrators we use today. In 1873 the first electromechanical vibrators were used at a French asylum! In 1918 Sears and Roebuck had ads featuring several models of vibrators one could purchase to use in their home. By the way, if you reallywant to know, stories tell that Cleopatra created the first vibrator out of a gourd filled with bees. Their humming and flitting about created a vibration in the gourd. Talk about creativity in a pinch–yikes! Wouldn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest, but . . .

Dildos have been used since ancient times and the image of the phallus was etched or painted on many items such as jugs, vases–you name it–hence the dildo windchimes mentioned in my book.

Piercings have dated back to ancient times. The most modern piercing is the navel piercing. The well-known “Prince Albert Piercing” was apparently created by Prince Albert in an attempt to keep his equipment aside when wearing tight trousers, the popular male fashion in Victorian times. Women in upper European societies had their nipples pierced and often wore a chain attached to each ring. They wore their bustline so low one could see their ringed nips and the chain too.

As for loudspeakers–okay, I know that’s not sexy, but just so you know–they were created in the 1800’s, with the modern version beginning in the late 1920’s.

There you have it, readers: our contraptions are old! But I must admit, I love our modern versions with their fine materials and wonderful mechanics. Just remember The House is an advanced place devoted to the creation of pleasure toys, and Thomas informs Rose of just this very thing. Pleasure House allows and condones the use of all these items for fun and kinky play. The nice thing about the characters is that they are also well-trained too. Probably the sexiest “mental health” workers you’ll find! *wink*

Pleasure House Is Published!

September 16, 2012 by scarletdarkwood

Pleasure House

Pleasure House is now published! Whew, that feels good! After nearly a year of hard work, I finally did it. I completed my first novel.

This story contains fun scenes with edge play thrown into the bargain. Pleasure House is a unique, steamy erotica novel where Rose, the main character, is suddenly hauled off to the local asylum because her parents disapprove of her erotomania. Though her parents mean well, they unwittingly send her off to a place where her tendencies are welcome and even rewarded. In this BDSM story, Rose makes several new acquaintances who introduce her to not only traditional pleasures of the flesh, but edge play as well. Loaded with some unusual scenes you may not find elsewhere, this novel will entertain you with a carnal, raunchy funfest loaded with sexy activities!