Power Exchanges and the Women who Love Them

By Catherine Peace

Not talking BDSM. At least not today. I’m thinking more along the lines of switching the uber-traditional gender roles. It’s not a new concept, but it’s actually pretty fun to do (and probably how I end up writing beta males, but I’ve already written about that somewhere).

As most of you know, Decadent is introducing a new line of fairy tale retellings called Beyond Fairy Tales. There are still plenty of stories left, so if you’re interested in writing for the line, go here.

Now back to the regularly-scheduled post.

My retelling is based on the Brothers Grim tale The Water Nix. For anyone unfamiliar with the story, here are the basics: a brother and sister fall down a well and end up enslaved to a Nix, who makes them do really stupid chores like weave flax and chop down wood with a dull ax. While playing tenor sax. In a field of yaks.

The last two aren’t part of the story. Sorry. Got caught up in rhyme. 

Anyway….

I’m working on a science fiction story with a bunch of common romance tropes—*fake* marriage of convenience, slight enemies to lovers, and a couple others—and one of my favorite aspects is the power exchange between the hero and heroine. Though my heroine Shadi begins the story enslaved to the alien species Nyx, she’s certainly not a damsel in distress, nor is she incapable of taking care of herself. There are points in which she saves the hero, and points where they work together to take care of enemies they’ve made along the way. (Trying not to give too much away)

They remind me a bit of Giselle and Robert from Enchanted. If you haven’t seen it, go forth and enjoy Amy Adams as a princess and Susan Sarandon as the queen of all that is awesome who turns into a dragon at the end of the movie. Instead of Robert, played by Patrick Dempsey, being the one who saves Giselle, the tables are turned and Giselle does the saving. It’s awesome. I highly recommend it.

No one in this book bursts into song, though. That happens in my 1Night Stand, Complete Me, which is available at Decadent Publishing, Amazon, B&N, and All Romance Ebooks. In case you were curious.

About Complete Me:

   A romance author who needs to love…. 

   Best-selling romance author Claire Ergleston confines her passions to the pages of her books. When she receives a 1Night Stand date ‘to give her something to talk about in interviews,’ can she let herself be swept away? 

   A rock star who needs to let go…. 

   The past has a chokehold on former rock star Ty Krause. Instead of killer tunes, he kills time writing passable songs for a British boy band and his nights wishing he had the balls to say goodbye. In a last ditch effort, he signs up for 1Night Stand, thinking that a night of no-strings-attached sex will help him break the leash of his past. 

   From the moment Claire and Ty meet, sparks fly—but can they overcome their pasts or will their potential love story end on a sour note?

#completeme, #decadentpub, #1NS, #1nightstand, #lexcade