Hi Maddie! So nice of you to find time to come and talk to us today.
Thank you so much for inviting me. This is my first blog spot and I am very excited.
You have two books published so far is that right?
Yes. I have 2 books in a planned 6
book series called Club Decadence. My debut book was Captain My
Captain and came out in March. You Said for ever is book 2 and
followed at the end of May.
I also have 3 more accepted for
publication by Blushing Books Publishing.
I believe you ran into a little bit of trouble with censorship. Would you like to tell us what happened?
Oh yes! Captain My Captain was flying
off the virtual shelves at Blushing Books Publishing and at Amazon.
I was thrilled. I had heard that new authors were lucky to sell 500
copies of a debut novel and mine had sold twice that many in just a
month. I even hit the Amazon’s Erotica top 100 at #72. I about
freaked I was so excited.
Then, along came book 2 suddenly my
sales rankings started to drop sink like a brick. I went from a
ranking consistently between 1200-3000 in May to 100,000 in June. I
couldn’t figure out what was happening and why.
Fortunately, Bethany, my very wise
publisher over at Blushing Books figured out the problem. My second
book had been tagged as ADULT. At the same time that same censor
(I’m not sure what else to call the busy bee at Amazon) went back
and tagged Captain as ADULT, too. The problem we found out was the
cover art was too sexy and suggestive. Here they are:
If you ask me, Book 1 is so much racier
than book 2 and it passed through on release without any problems.
It just goes to prove that there is no rhyme or reason to what gets
tagged and what doesn’t.
Can you even tell why they tagged it as
ADULT?
I had to look really close, too. See
her hand down his pants? Well its actually her fingers in his
waistband. That prompted the Amazon prude, I mean the nice person
working at Amazon, to look at Captain and the “O” face got me the
same treatment as well. Instant adult tag. Go directly to the
Amazon Dungeon for naughty authors, do not pass go, etc.
Let me take a minute to explain the
Dungeon. Unlike the dungeons in my novels,the Amazon version is no
fun for an author. Once a book is tagged it is blocked from all
those helpful tools on amazon like recommendations to readers,
customers who bought this item also bought, and in the search bar
you have to type the authors name and the title of the book to find
it. Just typing Maddie Taylor brought up no links to my books.
It was very frustrating. And to make
matters worse, the author and publisher are never even told when the
book gets tagged that way. Some other authors and publishers have
blogged about this as well. You can read more at
http://disciplinedwriter.com/?cat=3
So now the problem has been identified it's full steam ahead. Why don't you tell us about Captain, My Captain.
Yes. You Said Forever’s cover was
altered very slightly by raising the banner which hides the naughty
hand.
Amazon links now
You Said Forever
You Said Forever UK
Captain My Captain
Captain My Captain UK
Captain had to be changed entirely. How do you get rid of the “O” face and the hand on her breast? So here is the new cover. It is nice, but I wanted hot, sexy and steamy like my H/h in the book.
I really loved the first cover and was
very disappointed. It was my first book and very personal for me.
Fortunately, the original cover is still available on
www.blushingbooks.com.
And even
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captain-my-captain-maddie-taylor/1115098203?ean=2940016749273
which is more proof of a widely varying industry standard.
My series is about a group of US Army
Special Forces soldiers aka Green Berets. They are strong, sexy
dominant men who are looking for their one, their special submissive.
In Captain My Captain, the hero is Tony “Cap” Rossi. He
commands the elite A Team of Green Berets through years of war in
Iraq and Afghanistan. The book begins when they retire and his men
follow their Captain to San Antonio, Texas to join him at the start
up of a private security business. There is lots of danger,
intrigue, and bad guys operating through a Mexican drug cartel.
As a side business, the six of them
open a private nightclub and you guessed right, it is a BDSM club.
So we get to watch these sexy men work and play. And do they ever
play.
Captain My Captain is a love story.
Cap finally claims Megan, a girl he has loved for 15 years. He has
kept his distance because he didn’t think it was fair to claim her
when his first priority was his job; a dangerous job that kept him
abroad for months and years on end with no guarantees he will return.
But when he comes home for good, the gloves are off. And so are
the bras and panties. LOL There is lots of spanking, both good girl
and bad girl spankings as well as Cap introducing an eager Megan into
the BDSM scene.
Do you think you write much of yourself into your characters?
Yes and no. Yes in that I think the
sass and humor is all me. I also like to play. I have been married
to my beloved for over two decades and have found that you have to
play and be happy. Life is too serious much of the time.
The no part is that I know that my
heroine’s are much braver than me. It is fantasy after all but I’m
sorry 20 swats with a Lexan paddle would have me yowling for mercy,
long before Megan ever cried uncle.
What made you choose to write Spanking Fiction?
That is my kink. I have always
fantasized about it. Even as a child, playing dolls with friends the
naughty girls got spanked. It’s funny though, because there was no
corporal punishment for me as a child. Other than two years of
Catholic school, but that’s a whole other story.
I wrote about my feelings on the
subject in You Said Forever:
… A spanking had an oddly calming
effect on her that often lingered for days, plus she loved the
aftercare. So, she often antagonized him to get the spanking she
knew she needed. As a college educated woman, this seemed
counterintuitive. Why not just ask for a spanking or go straight to
the aftercare? She had tried to research the psychology behind her
need for discipline, but had never come up with a convincing theory.
She’d had a happy childhood with loving parents; no abuse, neglect
or even any drama. When she’d asked her experienced Dom about it
he said; “Everybody’s wired differently, baby. No need to wonder
why, just buckle up and enjoy the ride.”
What is the thing you find hardest about writing this genre?
My mind is switched on all the time. I
get ideas constantly in the car driving, in the middle of the night,
and in the shower. I get a lot of ideas in the shower <blush>.
When I get an idea I have to write it down. So I have scenes
written on scrap paper in my car on napkins or I just pull out my
laptop and start writing.
The hardest part is learning the
business of writing, not the actual writing or the genre. I have
learned to use proofreading soft wear because I know typos drive
readers crazy. I have also learned to phone friend and send her my
story before its submitted. Sometimes a different set of eyes can
tell you what works and what doesn’t. And see what your eyes miss
because your brain is filling in what you wanted to write not what is
actually on the screen.
Can I give a big thank you to my beta
readers L.A. Cloutier and just recently Dinah McLeod? They both
helped me on my most recent submissions. L.A. has been a godsend.
As a new author we have teamed up to share thoughts, ideas, etc. And
of course, Victoria my editor over at Blushing Books is wonderful.
Her patience and feedback has been invaluable.
What's next for Maddie Taylor?
So many things. How much time do we
have? <Giggle>
A prequel to the Club Decadence series
called; Faithfully. It will be offered as a Kindle Select which
will be exclusive to Amazon for 90 days after its release. During
that time it will be offered for free for up to 5 days. Otherwise it
will be at a great low price. I am hoping that it will give readers
a taste for more Decadence.
Little Light of Mine, Book 3 will be
released sometime after Faithfully. It is Dex and Elena’s story
and has some very heart wrenching scenes like You Said Forever did.
Oh and Dex is a master with the single tail. I think fans will eat
up The Club’s sexy Master Dom with a spoon.
I also have a Victorian spanking
romance titled “Surrender Your Grace” that’s in the works. My
first venture out of my contemporary comfort zone that I hope
everyone will enjoy. Want a teaser? Can you say birch rod? Ouch.
Oh and The Gift, which is currently
exclusive to Bethany’s Woodshed right now. You can check out
chapter one for free at www.herwoodshed.com.
Or it will be released on www.blushingbooks.com
and Amazon this fall.
And finally, I have a Medieval time
travel in the works as well.
As you can see, my busy brain is full
of fantasy that I just got to find an outlet for before I kill my
poor exhausted husband.
Lastly, five quick questions so we can
get to know you a little better.
Favorite TV show?
