Update: Ranger (Patreon)

Some of you reached out because you noticed that the first couple of chapters of Ranger (Seven's book) are no longer posted. People apparently thought maybe they'd hallucinated them. They did not. They were there. I took them down.

Here's why.

A couple of months ago, a patron read the first two chapters of Ranger and very assertively said that Enzo sounded like a rapist. I was shocked. I was horrified. I take that kind of thing seriously not only as a sexual assault survivor but as a psych nurse and someone who spent 20 years as a sub in the BDSM community.

THIS IS NOT A CALLOUT POST. AT ALL. I'm not trying to police anyone's feelings, I'm not trying to say they were wrong. The person clearly had their own reasons for seeing it that way. Please DO NOT attack anyone in the comments. That is not my intention. I will delete any comment that sounds like they're being mean to this person.

That being said, I've now read over these two chapters a hundred times. Maybe more. Is Enzo a douchebag, absolutely. Is he abrasive. He can be. Is he a dom who doesn't like to play with untrained subs. Yes. Is he a dom who demands perfection in a controlled setting. Yes. But a rapist...I still don't see it.

The plot...the plot was kind of ick. I'll give them that.

I had already planned to change up some of the initial framework. I didn't like the power imbalance with Seven working directly under Enzo WHILE also being his sub. It didn't sit right with me.

When I started Ranger, I was thinking more along the lines of The Secretary vibe. If you haven't seen the movie it is very much D/s but with a major power imbalance which makes some people squicked out. It also has a trope that I cannot mention or this post will be flagged by Patreon. Needless to say consent was not given.

I changed my mind about that element pretty quickly because I feel like Enzo and Seven need to start out at odds with each other. I feel like it will be more fun that way. I do plan on keeping Enzo's big family involved as well as Jericho and the Mulvaneys. But Seven will be working at the law firm for a different attorney and he will in no way be beholden to Enzo or answer to him. They will also NOT be in a relationship in the beginning of the book. There will be no contract. They will strictly be two people who work in the same law firm who are getting on each other's nerves but totally want to fuck each other.

All this to say that I may put Ranger on the back burner after Barbarian and instead put one of the other boys first. This kind of screws up my plans a little but its not a super big deal. I could change my mind but as I'm currently building my 2025 business plan I thought I would let you know just in case you were surprised to see Seven's book has moved slightly down the line up.

Again, this is not a callout post. I want you guys to know that I value your feedback and your opinions and I take every single comment you guys say to heart and I would NEVER want to put out a book that would trigger or retraumatize a reader. I know my books aren't for everyone but I try to keep them a safe space.

If the person who made the comment is reading this, please don't feel like I'm upset or that I'm pointing fingers. I genuinely don't feel comfortable writing this book until I figure out how to write Enzo in a way that makes me happy while not upsetting people. I started writing my version of dark romance to avoid the stuff I found offputting. This is one of those things.

Thanks for always hearing me out.

*Any nasty comments about fellow patrons and I will turn off the comments. *