Looking Back on 2019

It’s official! 2019 is coming to a close, and a new decade is around the corner! Looking back on the past year, there are some things I’m so grateful for. Here’s a short list of the highlights:



1) I released the first book in my very first FF romance trilogy, THE NEON FISHNETS, and was floored by how well received it was! It consistently stayed within the top 100 of Amazon’s Lesbian Fiction and Lesbian Romance categories and has been my most successful book to date. Thank you, readers!

2) I had my first ever audio book versions of a couple of my stories released. Such a fun milestone!

3) I connected with lots of wonderfully kind new fans of my work online. So appreciative of those of you who have reached out! I love hearing from you!

4) Not writing related, but I got to meet one of my long-time idols, the living angel Sarah Brightman. Unforgettable experience!

5) Also not writing related, I finally got to check out Deep Ellum, a beyond cool spot in Dallas that i’ve always wanted to check out, and which will appear in NEON FISHNETS Book 2!



Are there any noteworthy things you did in 2019? If so, please share in the comments!

Wishing everyone a great new year!


XoXo

Scarlett

***

www.scarlettknight.org

Enjoy my work? Buy me a coffee! 

---> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ScarlettKnight

"Last Minute Valentine" Now Available as an Audiobook!

Hello! I wanted to do a quick post to announce that my erotic FF short story "Last Minute Valentine" is now available to purchase as an audio book!

Cass is seriously bummed out that her boyfriend had the gall to confess to having an affair one week before Valentine’s Day. Now painfully single on one of the hardest days to be single out of the year, she reaches out to her good friend Jeannie for support. When Jeannie comes over to Cass’ apartment with flowers and chocolates, Cass is beyond pleased. She grows even more pleasantly surprised when Jeannie begins to hit on her. The truth is, she’s secretly had a crush on Jeannie for a while, but only now, as they take their friendship to a sensual new level, does she realise the feeling has been mutual.

Visit -->HOUSE OF EROTICA<-- for the Buy Links!!

XoXo

Scarlett

**********************

www.scarlettknight.org

PLAYING WITH FIRE Spotlight #3: Reunion Tower

This last Behind the Scenes Spotlight of THE NEON FISHNETS BOOK 1: PLAYING WITH FIRE highlights one of my favorite places in Dallas: Reunion Tower!

Reunion Tower is an actual place and one of the most eye-catching features of the Dallas Skyline. It was featured in the opening credits for the popular soap opera Dallas. I've had the pleasure of dining at the restaurant Five Sixty, which features a fantastic menu by chef Wolfgang Puck. There's also an awesome bar up in the tower called Cloud 9.

Cloud 9

One of the coolest things about the tower is that when you're at Five Sixty or Cloud 9, it rotates! But it doesn't rotate too fast, just at a nice leisurely pace, so you get a full view of Dallas down below as you're enjoying your food or drinks. There's also an observational deck where visitors can experience the view minus the food.

In PLAYING WITH FIRE, some of the band members visit the tower to have drinks at the Cloud 9 bar. I thought it would be a fun place to have one of the pivotal scenes in the books. As I'm a Dallas area resident, I have a lot of fun including real-life places in my stories. I also enjoy making up  fictional spots. But Reunion Tower is 100% real and worthy of a visit of local rock stars!

--> PLAYING WITH FIRE is now available!! <--

If you missed the first two Spotlights on PLAYING WITH FIRE, you can find them here:

Spotlight #1: Bass in the Family

Spotlight #2: Save the Tortoise!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

-SK

***********

www.scarlettknight.org

Enjoy my work? Buy me a coffee! 

---> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ScarlettKnight

PLAYING WITH FIRE Spotlight #2: Save the Tortoise!

At the very beginning of THE NEON FISHNETS BOOK 1: PLAYING WITH FIRE, the narrator, Jackie Hernandez, has to slam on her brakes so she doesn't hit the poor tortoise that is crawling across the road. Even though she's a rock star, she still functions in the real world; she's still a human being with a heart for animals.

Tortoises try to cross roads more often in Texas than you might think! Most people who aren't from around here, when they think of our local animals might think of side-winding rattlesnakes or mooing cows or howling coyotes. But these crawling tortoises are definitely around, and a lot of them don't have much sense when it comes to stepping onto the streets.

Most of the time, it happens in rural/country areas, but I've also seen them in towns on busier roads. More than once in my life, I've stopped my car and have run out to grab one of these poor fellas to escort them to safety.

I just thought it'd be fun to put a little actual Texas wildlife (as well as some real life experience from the author) into this rock and roll tale.

So there's your fun NEON FISHNETS behind-the-scenes fact for the day!

Have you picked up your copy yet??

--> AMAZON BUY LINK <--



Also, check out what people are saying about the book on --> GOODREADS <--!



Thanks for stopping by!


Also, if you missed the first Spotlight blog post, you can find it --> here <--.


-SK

 *****************

www.scarlettknight.org

Enjoy my work? Buy me a coffee! 

---> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ScarlettKnight

PLAYING WITH FIRE Spotlight #1: Bass in the Family

Thanks to my dad, I grew up on classic rock and roll. From a very early age (like barely old enough to sit up straight), he propped me up in front of his record player and introduced me to artists such as The Beatles, The Doors, David Bowie, The Moody Blues, and more. As I got older, I branched off on my own and discovered bands like Led Zeppelin and Metallica.

Being a writer, it seems destined that I one day would write a story that involved a rock band of some sort. Thus, THE NEON FISHNETS trilogy was born!

BOOK 1: PLAYING WITH FIRE is narrated by bass player Jackie Hernandez. I thought it would be fun to write from the point of view of a bass player because my dad also plays bass!

Dad doing his thing.

I can remember being a little girl, hanging out upstairs in my room, and feeling the vibrations of the bass through the floor as my dad practiced downstairs. To this day, I enjoy being anywhere there is live music because it takes me to a happy place of nostalgia, like I belong there.

Dad's Precision 5-String 

Most of my family is musical. Dad plays bass, Mom plays piano, and both of my brothers can play the guitar. I've tinkered with instruments but never found one that called out to me, so I simply enjoy and appreciate other people playing music while I stick with the writing. 

Dad's Fender Jazz Bass

If you're familiar with the pecking order of rock bands, you know that bass players always get picked on and are seen as the "least important" band member. But growing up with a bass player for a dad, I learned how important the bass is to creating a song's sound and that without it, bands like Led Zeppelin, for example, wouldn't sound nearly as good as they do.

Writing from the point of view of a bass player in PLAYING WITH FIRE was a total pleasure because I had some great real-life material to work with, thanks to Dad! I think it added an extra element to the novel that wouldn't have been there had I written purely from a distant research vantage point.

Have you gotten your copy of the book yet?


***BUY LINK***


If you have, let me know what you think! And thanks for stopping by!



XoXo,

Scarlett

www.scarlettknight.org

Enjoy my work? Buy me a coffee! 

---> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ScarlettKnight

NEON FISHNETS BOOK 1 --> Now Available!

It's live!

And for a limited time, it'll be available for free for Kindle Unlimited users!

Bass player Jackie Hernandez has landed a permanent gig with the respected all-female rock band The Neon Fishnets. There’s only one problem: Ivy Finch. In the past, Jackie and The Fishnets’ keyboardist engaged in an ugly online feud. Jackie is ready to put the feud behind them, but fiery Ivy holds a grudge. Amid recording a hot new album, spending late nights out at wild parties, and navigating the media as they prepare to go on tour, Jackie and Ivy realize they have more in common than they originally thought. And things get really complicated when their attraction to one another heats up, taking an unexpected, sexy turn.

***BUY LINKS***

Painted Hearts Publishing

Amazon

I really think you're gonna like this one ;)

-SK

Hello, August!

I don't know about you guys, but I am rolling into August with a sigh of relief and a smile of anticipation!

After what was, for me, one of the most challenging months of July on record (damn you, Mercury Retrograde!), I am finally feeling some forward motion in my life. Sometimes we have to revisit old shit in order to clear it up for good and move to the next level of our personal growth and expansion. Forget waiting for New Years! It's time for some new goals!

In fact, I've talked to several people lately who are coming up with a list of mid-year goals for themselves. I find it interesting that a number of minds are all thinking along these lines at the same time. Anyway, my mid-year goals include revamping my overall health. I've gone a little crazy with some of my worst health habits due to an emotionally challenging summer, but now, I'm getting back on track and am using every ounce of willpower to smash them!

I'm also hitting the reset button on my reading and writing goals. I had been letting my summer reading slip, and that was partly due to being stuck in the middle of a book that was boring me. Life is too short to trudge through books that you aren't into! So I tossed that one, picked up a new one, happily read it in three days, and am now more eager to get on with the rest of my summer reading list.

As for writing projects, I'm gearing up for the release of my newest book, THE NEON FISHNETS, BOOK 1: PLAYING WITH FIRE. It's the first novel my first ever FF romance trilogy, and it centers around the sexy lives of the all-female fictional rock band The Neon Fishnets. Book 1 is from Jackie's point of view. She's the new bassist who has a less-than-friendly history with The Fishnets's keyboardist, Ivy. (Get ready, fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope! This one's sizzling!)

So what about you? How is your August starting off? Got any mid-year goals? Ready for Fall? Please leave a comment!


XoXo

Scarlett


*******

www.scarlettknight.org

Coming August 29!

Get ready to rock, lesfic style! Book one of my new rock band series, THE NEON FISHNETS, drops August 29th! Stay Tuned! 

XoXo

Scarlett


*****

www.scarlettknight.org

Pride 2019: Reflections on My Own Queer Journey

image from www.pexels.com

I was a teenager when I consciously realized I wasn't straight.

Looking back, there were signs that deep down, I knew way before then. For example, when I was a child, my mother took me to the YWCA to swim, and when we were in the locker room with women in multiple stages of undress, I always got a funny feeling in my tummy. Also, as a young child, I adored a beautiful female family friend who was a few years older than I was, and looking back, I realize that I had a crush on her. I also really enjoyed giving hugs to my 2nd grade teacher because her breasts were so nice and soft.

But despite having these unexplained feelings, it wasn't until high school that I fully came into the conscious knowledge that I wasn't only attracted to men.

I went through a period during my teenage years where I feel in love with a girl and wondered if I was gay. I knew I was attracted to girls, yet I was also still attracted to boys. I had grown up in a very conservative, religious household, and had been raised to believe that there was a man out there that God meant to be with me. And all I really knew about gay people was that gay men liked other men, and gay women liked other women. I wasn't aware that a person could be bisexual or even pansexual.

I also didn't understand that people could be trans. I did, however, go through a period of time wishing that I could be a boy. This was also during high school, and in part, it was due to my wanting to be with a girl. I also wasn't comfortable in my body and had a horrible phobia of anything being entered in between my legs. Over time, I got over my fear, and I came to be more comfortable in my female body, but going through that experience gave me a greater appreciation, even if only a tiny hint, of what being trans might feel like.

Finally, in my 20s, I accepted that I was bisexual. And now, in my 30s, I now identify as pansexual.

For some of us, it's not a simple answer of knowing for sure what we are at a young age. For many of us, it's a personal journey of self-discovery. I write this post in honor of Pride month to say that wherever you are on your sexual/gender identity journey, your feelings are valid. Even if it's confusing, what you feel is real, and if you give yourself time, and you're patient with yourself, you will eventually come to know and hopefully embrace the unique person that is you.

Happy Pride, everyone!

XoXo

Scarlett


***

www.scarlettknight.org

Enjoy my work? Buy me a coffee! 

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Scarlett's Top 5 Tricks to Beat the Blues

Image from www.pexels.com

Depression sucks. Whether it’s chronic or situational, nobody likes that feeling of heaviness and lethargy that comes with being down in the dumps. And we’ve all felt it. Some people say that all you have to do is “think positive” and your life will change. Well, I am a big proponent of positive thinking, but when depression really hits hard, sometimes thinking positive just isn’t enough. When mine is really being stubborn, there are five things that I make myself do that help me shake it off, even if it’s only a momentary respite. So the next time you’re in a slump, here are my suggestions.

1) Play Dress Up. One of the hardest things to do when you’re really blue is just getting out of bed and getting dressed, but if you can convince yourself to take five or ten minutes to soak in a nice, hot bath (preferably with nice-smelling bubbles or a bath bomb), you have a very good chance of bringing your mood up a notch. Then, after the relaxing soak, pick one of your favorite outfits (and make-up, jewelry, and nail-polish if you prefer) and dress yourself up even if you have nowhere to go. There’s something inspiring about feeling clean and wearing an attractive outfit that can and does lift a person’s spirits.

2) Stay Away from Depressing Entertainment! Sometimes when I find myself in a state of depression, I take a look at the movies and shows I’ve been watching and the books I’ve been reading only to realize that I’ve been feeding into my despair by filling my mind with dark, depressing, violent entertainment. It’s so easy to do because bleak stories are everywhere; just turn on the news for a couple of minutes, and you’ll see what I mean! If you catch yourself in a pattern of consuming sad, scary, or troubling media, switch it up! Watch uplifting shows like comedies or travel shows instead.

3) Read Romance! This goes along with number 2, but one reason why I love reading and writing romance is that you know that no matter what troubles the main characters go through, they will end up together. Romance novels have a happy ending. Sometimes life provides nothing but sad endings, but when you can escape into a good romance novel, you can take a break from life’s rotten luck and vicariously fall in love and live happily ever after.

4) Call or Write a Friend or Family Member. We all have those friends and family members that we know we should keep in touch with more often. Sometimes we get busy and lose track of time and don’t realize that we’ve totally lost touch with someone we love. Reaching out to someone you care about who you haven’t talked to in a while is a great way to get your mind off of your own troubles and re-focus on someone else. Chances are, that person would love to hear from you, so you’ve got a win-win situation, making yourself happy and making the other person happy in the process.

5) Unplug! I absolutely love the Internet. I love social media. But studies have shown that too much of it can actually worsen people’s depression. As the saying goes, “Everything in moderation.” If you’re feeling depressed or anxious, and you notice that you’re spending a whole lot of time online, you might want to take a day and totally unplug. Trust me: it won’t disappear while you’re gone! It’ll be right there waiting for you when you get back. Instead of checking social media first thing in the morning, try out a new recipe for breakfast, or go for a walk. Getting out in nature is an especially great way to unplug. Listen to your favorite music, or read a book. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through feeds throughout the day when you’re bored, treat yourself to a new restaurant or take yourself to the movies—anything that takes you away from the screen. Even something as simple as cleaning the house or doing yoga, something that gets you moving and doing something productive, can be a nice balance to spending more time than is healthy online.

Image from www.pexels.com

I hope my tips help you out! If you decide to try one of them and they work, let me know! And thanks very much for reading.


-SK


*****


Looking for a romantic FF book escape? Browse my offerings on my official website! www.scarlettknight.org

CITY SPIRIT, COUNTRY HEART Reviewed at The Lesbian Review

This week I'm honored to be reviewed at The Lesbian Review! See what they have to say about CITY SPIRIT, COUNTRY HEART! Click below:

XoXo,

SK

*****

www.scarlettknight.org

Spring Upon Us: New Growth, New Stories!

Hi, Gang! This week we are approaching the Vernal Equinox.

(photo via pexels.com)

If you're in the U.S., you've suffered through the dreaded "Spring Forward" daylight savings time where we all had to set out clocks one hour ahead. Hopefully you've adjusted to your mornings being darker and your evenings being lighter, and if you're in another part of the world and didn't have to make the change, LUCKY YOU!!

I wanted to write a quick blog post to let you know that although I have been somewhat quiet on the blog-writing front, I have been tirelessly working away at starting a new F/F series for you! I'm putting the finishing touches on Book 1 this spring in order to get it ready to send in to my publisher by summer. Without giving too much away, here's an image that relates to the new WIP:

(Model Ashlee Arson, photographer unknown)

Other than that, 2019 has been going well. For many of us, our New Year's Resolutions have long since been forgotten by now, but I'm hanging on to the strands of a couple of them and modifying them to be realistic enough yet to also meet my needs for growth. I feel that we can start over with our goals at any point in the year. The beginning of Spring seems an especially appropriate new starting place if you want to begin anew.

For me, I'm trying to apply this motto: "If you want different results, you must do things differently."

So whenever I find myself in a funk, not making much progress towards my goals, running around in the same old hamster wheel, I take a careful look at myself and what I'm doing to see if I'm repeating the same old failed things I've done in years past, or if I'm actually trying out new ways to get new results.

Anyway, that's all the news for now, friends! I'll keep you posted on the new WIP! Have a great week, and Happy Spring!



XoXo

Scarlett


*****

www.scarlettknight.org

Check out CITY SPIRIT, COUNTRY HEART and more lesbian romances at my official website!







www.scarlettknight.org

Special Guest: Sarah Lynn DeCuir!

I am so happy today to have guest author Sarah Lynn DeCuir on my blog!

I met Sarah a few years ago in an online erotica writers group, and since then, I've grown to greatly admire her talent for writing and her dedication to her craft. Aside from her writing, she's an all-around wonderful person and friend, and I'm excited for you to meet her! She's got a new release out, just in time for this year's Valentine's Day: the third book in her scorching hot bisexual erotica trilogy. Check out my interview with her below!


*****


Welcome, Sarah! I'm thrilled to have you on the blog today. For those readers out there who are new to you, tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Fresno, California until I was sixteen when my family moved to a small town just outside of Portland, Oregon. As someone who’s always loved the outdoors, Oregon was a great place to live, but I felt drawn back to Fresno for some reason. Going with my gut, I moved back to the Central Valley when I was nineteen and was on my own for the first time. It wasn’t long until I began dating the love of my life. We were married a year later, so I guess fate had a plan for me in that regard lol! 

That does sound like fate! Funny how things work out that way. Now, about your writing, when did you first start writing erotica? And why erotica?

I’ve always enjoyed reading erotica, but never really thought about writing it until I purchased my first erotic book from Apple iBooks (now it’s just called “Apple Books” but back then it was iBooks). I had a huge crush on Xena back in the day, and was looking for some Xena-like erotica when I stumbled across Leandra J. Piper’s “The Shaming of the Warrior Princess.” It’s one of those, the gorgeous guy is forcing me but I love it, stories.  And it absolutely left me panting! A few things surprised me when I read it though. First was that I found a typo and I thought, how can a professionally published book have a typo in it? Then it dawned on me that it was an indie book. The second thing that surprised me was how short the story was at only four thousand words. I remember feeling a bit cheated by this at first, but then laughed as I realized the book had given me more than my money’s worth lol! But by far my biggest takeaway was the thought that I can do this too! And a few months later I published “The Office Affair.”

That's awesome! And speaking of "The Office Affair," what inspired it?

I’ve worked in a few offices and gotten the once over from the boss a time or two, but for the most part they’ve always been more or less professional environments, if not a little boring lol! I thought it would be fun to write a story with characters that didn’t have to worry about the real life complications of having an affair at work. Ones that could just have fun with it and indulge in the experience.

Well, I've read all three books, and I can tell you from experience, these books are pure naughty fun! Now that you're done writing the trilogy, are there any future projects in the works?

Oh my God yes, many! The first of which is a feature length screenplay. It’s an action thriller about a beautiful former CIA agent turned freelance operator who falls in love on a job, and has to decide between the guy she’s fallen for or the money. There’s lots of action, awesome locations, and a fair bit of romance as well. The script will be my main focus for the next few months, but there’ll be lots of hot erotica coming in the near future.

That screenplay sounds totally bad-ass! Wishing you the best of luck with it! So, just wrapping up the interview, I'll ask one more question: what, more than anything, do you want your readers to know about your work? 

That it’s written with passion and that I put my heart and soul into it! And if it’s turning you on, know that it’s doing the same thing for me. I don’t write what I think people will get excited about. I write the stories that I’m excited and passionate to tell and hope that people will connect with them. So if you enjoy my work, we’re kindred spirits.💖


*****

If you want to check out Sarah's steamy series and learn more about the author, click the below links! And big thanks to Sarah for stopping by today!


BOOKS!

"The Office Affair" (Book 1)

"The Vegas Affair" (Book 2)

"The New Boss" (Book 3)


SOCIAL MEDIA!

Sarah's Twitter

Sarah's Instagram

Sarah's Facebook

Writers: Teammates or Competition?

The writing and publishing world can be so much fun! I've met some amazing friends through writing, networking, and publishing. So it always amazes me when I see writers faction themselves off into cliques and start acting as if other writers are nothing but competition...

My question is: why would you compete against your own tribe?

We writers, no matter what genre we write, are all so similar at the core. We are storytellers. We love the written word. Most of us love to read books as much as we love to write them. We greatly hope readers will love our stories, and we try so hard to write the best damn book we can with each manuscript we crank out.

I've always been incredibly supportive of other writers. I love seeing other writers succeed, not only through personal fulfillment of completing a book, but in marketing, in reviews, in sales, etc. When I see other writers doing well, or better than I'm currently doing, I don't get angry. I'm happy for them! I do what I can to help them succeed even more! And I'm wondering why we can't all be like that.

Writing isn't a competition. Just because people read one author's book doesn't mean they will ONLY read that author's books! That's just silly! Just imagine all of the different authors you read and love for different reasons. Chances are, you don't only read one. And every new one you discover and you love, the more fun you have exploring our world of books--am I right?

So to my fellow authors out there splitting off into factions of US vs THEM, I urge you to take a step back and remember that this isn't a sport. We're not out to beat each other like in a football game. My wish is that we could all realize we're in this together and to remember we're all part of the same storytelling tribe. And the next time someone sells more books than you or gets more followers on social media than you, instead of defaulting to feelings of jealousy, try out being happy for them for a change. You might find that it feels pretty good!

XoXo

Scarlett

***

Learn more about me, and browse my lesbian romance titles and more here:

www.scarlettknight.org

Jan. 17 D-Day for Goals?

This morning I was watching the news, and they were talking about how today (January 17th) is considered "D-Day" for your New Year's Resolutions. In other word, today is the day that most people jump ship on their new goals and settle back into their old behavior.

The news anchors went on to talk about some things that can be done to stop this from happening, for instance, telling friends and family about your goals, having a clear plan, making your goals be realistic, and being easy on yourself when you slip. I agree that all those things can help, but one thing that I didn't hear them talk about is something that actually helps me stick with my goals.

I love starting a new year and making resolutions because I am a very goal oriented person in general, but that doesn't mean I only set goals on Jan. 1. I've figured out how to stick with the goals I set, no matter when I set them, and one of the biggest things I do to succeed is remember the WHY.

Here's an example of what I mean: when you're wanting to lose weight, and you're sick of dieting or going to the gym, ask yourself why you're eating less and why you're killing yourself on the treadmill. Ask, "Why do I want to lose weight?" Then list all the reasons why you created the resolution in the first place. For me, seeing the reasons on paper helps trigger the original motivation in my brain, and it helps me to keep going.

This year, I'm asking myself:

- Why do I want to write every day?

- Why do I want to improve my physical health?

- Why do I want to make time to read every day?

- Why do I want to start telling people "no" more often?


Sometimes we get stuck in a rut just going through the motions of our goals, and when we focus on the actions we are taking and forget the big WHY, it's easy to just dump the whole thing and give up.  Remembering why always helps keep me on track.


Do you have any goals for the new year? If so, why are they your goals?


XoXo

Scarlett


***

www.scarlettknight.org