Never Stop Learning
My bio says that I’ve been writing all my life, and that’s pretty much true. I was penning stories and poems when I was in early elementary school. By high school I’d branched out to novels and plays. Though I’ve also done drawing and painting, sculpture and dance, words have always been my preferred instrument for creation. And to be honest, I grew up believing that I had significant writing talent.
The more I write, though, the more I realize how much I still have to learn.
Total-E-Bound, an English indie publisher focused on erotic romance, brought out the first edition of Getaway Girl way back in 2008. This was only my third or fourth tale written specifically for a romance audience. At that time, I knew almost nothing about the genre and its conventions. (Until I signed with TEB, I’d considered myself an author of erotica.) I spent quite a bit of time reading the work of my fellow TEB authors, trying to grasp the essence of this new category of fiction and to translate that into my own stories. My editors also did not hesitate to point out areas where common aspects of erotica just wouldn’t work for romance readers.
By 2008 I’d concluded that in every romance: 1) there had to be a sense of inevitability to the connection between the hero and heroine, an attraction that might seem to make no sense but which could not be denied; 2) the couple had to at least discuss commitment; 3) the sex (this was erotic romance after all) had to be more than just casual – there should be a sense of fitting or rightness, a connection that transcended the physical.
I tried to implement these conclusions in writing of Getaway Girl. The story was accepted and published, but was never particularly popular. I went on to write a lot more romance, getting better at it over time.
Last year I reclaimed the rights to the story so that I could self-publish it, and a few months ago I set myself the task of re-editing the piece in preparation. I really hadn’t looked at it for more than a decade.
I was appalled by how clumsy and stereotyped it seemed.
Inconsistencies in character and in plot were only part of the problem. There were also long passages of purple prose, most especially in the sex scenes. I posted the tale in my critique group and discovered there were also plentiful anachronisms and inaccuracies related to its historical period (contemporary) and British setting. (The story was originally targeted for an anthology entitled Bound Brits, so it had to take place in the U.K.)
I subjected the story to possibly the most thorough revision I’ve ever done on any of my work. I won’t say that it’s unrecognizable, but I probably modified at least 25% of the text. In the fourteen years since the first revision I’ve learned a lot, both about romance and about writing in general. Practice does make perfect; I’ve published nearly one hundred titles since that early attempt, both romance and erotica. This second edition of Getaway Girl is orders of magnitude better than the original.
But maybe I shouldn’t use the word “perfect”, because in truth, as long as we authors are writing, we are learning all the time. I’m about to revisit my first novel, preparing an expanded twenty-fifth anniversary edition for release sometime this year. This will be the fifth version of Raw Silk. I have no doubt it will be the best
The Getaway Girl
MF Contemporary erotic romance – mild bondage
Five flames
13,500 words, 55 pages
Smashwords and Amazon KDP
ISBN (Smashwords): 9798224981939
ASIN: ? B0D2WM4BXR?
Be careful what you wish for
All Peg wants is a break, a bit of adventure, a relief from her mundane existence in the bucolic but boring Yorkshire hamlet of Kirkby Malzeard. When dashing, sophisticated journalist Lionel Hayes saunters into the pub where she’s tending bar, Peg suspects that he was just the sort of man to fulfill her fantasies of escape.
The seductive Lionel, however, is not what he seems. Before she knows it, Peg is a hostage, roped and gagged, speeding away from the scene of a daring crime. Lionel is armed and dangerous, but somehow Peg still wants him – regardless of the consequences.
Note: This book was originally published in 2015 by Totally Bound. This second edition has been substantially revised and has a new ending.
Excerpt:
Peg sighed and wiped the rag across the bar for the hundredth time. It was a quiet night at the King’s Arms. Most of the village was off at the town pitch cheering the match against Hazelton Grange. They’d come in later, quarrelsome and thirsty, and then she’d have plenty to do, but right now, the pub was empty.
She put her favourite Madonna CD on the player and turned to polish the rows of glasses yet again. Henry was adamant; she had to look busy. She couldn’t read, or watch the telly. Even when there were no customers to serve, the barmaid had to be ready and available. He checked up on her from time to time, so she didn’t dare disobey, though tonight he was probably watching football like everyone else.
“Last night I dreamed of San Pedro…” Peg loved this song, the Latin rhythm and the descriptions of a tropical paradise. How she dreamed of getting away herself, to some place beautiful and exotic, full of white sands, turquoise waters and bronzed men with smouldering dark eyes. With its stone church and medieval market square, Kirkby Malzeard was a lovely village, a picturesque historic jewel set among the rolling emerald fields of North Yorkshire. Ultimately however, it was boring.
She had grown up here. She knew every soul in town, every family drama, every scandal –not that a village this size had many scandals, of course. As the barmaid in the town’s only pub, she was up on the latest news: who was pregnant, who was ill, who was planning to leave for greener pastures in the city, or abroad.
If only she could escape, just for a few weeks, even a few days… She had managed to get away, once. She’d gone to university in London, where she’d studied commercial art and dreamed of a career in advertising. The accident ended all that. She’d rushed back to Kirkby Malzeard for the funeral, and to take care of her sister Jen.
It had been a rough three years, but surely things would get better soon. Jen was fifteen now. It wouldn’t be long before she was ready for college herself. Then perhaps Peg would be free to follow her muse again.
Buy Links
Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1587-getaway-girl-/
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2WM4BXR
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D2WM4BXR
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1557686
Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/getaway-girl-lisabet-sarai/1103185498
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/getaway-girl-10
Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6499560218
Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212364347-getaway-girl
Add on BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/getaway-girl-by-lisabet-sarai-2024-05-03
About Lisabet
Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh
Hello, Kate,
Thanks so much for sharing my latest release with your readers!
xxoo,
Lisabet