The Sunday Times book cartoon depicted all four of the launch titles stacked in piles on tables in a bookshop. When the first four books were published, there was an incredible reaction.
This resulted in one reviewer noting that it was the first book she had ever read where she'd had to flick through it to find the 'clean' parts! I made sure that I included everything possible in it, catering for all tastes but with a main theme of bondage and domination. This theme seemed to me to be an erotic version of 'Jane Eyre', and possibly explains, in part, that novel's enduring appeal to women! This was the idea of a man coming into their life who would make them, initially against their will, explore their own sexuality in ways they would never have been willing to suggest themselves. The results were very interesting, and one common theme cropped up again and again. I researched my book by inviting groups of female friends round, plying them with wine and then asking them about their secret sexual fantasies.
The erotic fiction market had always been written with men as the target reader, even though a considerable number of women did read them. No one involved in the launch of Black Lace had any idea of how the books would be received, as the concept of 'erotic fiction, written for women by women' was an entirely new one. It was very exciting for me to be invited to write one of the four launch titles, but also slightly nerve wracking. I can't believe that 15 years have passed since I wrote 'Cassandra's Conflict'.
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