Censorship for readers is now back in a very sneaky way!

I've debated for the last couple of days on whether or not to write about what is now happening. I finally decided to just go for it. The main reason being that I don't have anything else to write about this weekend, so this to be the perfect subject.

A few days ago I received a letter from my publisher, Pink Flamingo, along with a royalty check, which was very nice to get. The check helped to dampen the blow of what was said in the letter. As I've mentioned in earlier sections of this blog, I wrote an erotic/horror novel, The House of Blood, for the kinky crowd of readers out there. Well, it seems that the major credit card companies (Visa, Master Card, American Express, etc.) have decided that their cards can no longer be used by their holders to purchase materials that contain non-censual content between adults.

Now, I'm the first to admit that The House of Blood isn't a literary masterpiece. Some readers of erotica have loved it, while some readers of horror fiction have panned the book for it's strong sexual content.

The story deals with a successful horror writer who lives a lifestyle with his wife in which the female rules the roots. In other words--Female Domination (the estimation is that over five million couples in the United States are now practising some form of female domination within their marriage--I wish each one of them had purchased a copy of my book). So, Chris and Katherine are happy with their life and everything seems to be working quite well for them as they move up the ladder. They then decide to buy an old Victorian-styled house in Las Vegas that was once owned by an infamous Dominatrix, Lady Anne, during the late fifties, sixties, and early seventies. The owner became well-known in the American & British S&M crowd for being utterly sadistic and drew wealthy male clients to her home from all over the world. As Lady Anne lived in the house through the years, she gradually became more sadistic and ended up accidentally and sometimes deliberately killing some of her clients. That tidbit of information was kept secret because she was also paying off the mob to protect her and the bodies were quietly taken care of. Lady Anne threw lavish parties that drew men and women from Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, and the most obscene things were done at the parties to everyone's enjoyment. The residual energy of what happened in the house stayed there long after the individuals had died. It wasn't long before the house became known for being haunted with few families being able to live there for any great length of time.

For Chris and Katherine the house seems ideally suited for them. They bought it with opened eyes. It wasn't long, however, before the spirits of the house start having an effect on the young couple. Katherine becomes more sadistic in her dominance over her husband, subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishments, while taking other lovers. The evil of the house also sought to keep Chris a prisoner there. Time was needed for the ghost of Lady Anne to seduce him into total submission of the worse kind. Yes, Chris is severely punished against his will over time, but he finally does escape at the end and then gets his revenge.

Though I wouldn't have given the book to my late mom to read, I am proud of what I was able to accomplish with it. The novel is 70% sex and 30% horror. I think the horror works terrifically and adds greatly to the storyline, making it not just another sex novel, but something with some serious punch to it.

Well, my publisher informed me that she was pulling my book from her website in order to keep from going out of business. There were a few other titles taking a trip out of the backdoor with mine. I don't blame the publisher for that. Life, in many ways, is about survival. She did what was necessary, but she also said she would attempt to place my novel on other larger websites where adult fiction is sold. It was strange going to the Pink Flamingo website and clicking on my name, and then seeing that The House of Blood is no longer being sold there. The really strange thing is the new revised edition of the book was starting to sell. I know it's selling well in England and that sales were starting to pick up here in the States. The novel was certainly selling better than my horror fiction.

Anyway, I never in my wildest dreams thought The House of Blood would be the subject of censorship, but it just goes to show that life is full of unexpected twists and turns and surprises. Right now, the book is still available on the major bookseller sites and some of the adult book sites where purchases can be made. Wouldn't it be something if within the next year or two, The House of Blood became a collector's items because of being in a sense banned?

I, for one, don't like someone else telling me what I can and can't read. I first experienced that in the Eighth Grade when I was caught with a copy of From Russia In Love by Ian Fleming (a James Bond novel). Everybody has different tastes and should be allowed to choose their own reading material. This is still American, and our country is based on the freedom of speech. As far as erotica goes, as long as the characters are at least eighteen years or older in the story and the readers are eighteen years or older, let nature takes its course.