My guy friend received a VIP invitation to the ladies’ book club where he works. According to him, it’s a big deal to get such an invite. The book club is headed up by the head of his company’s HR. He suggested Road-Tripped, and after reading the reviews on Amazon, they chose to read it. I cringed when he told me this. For one, the book has erotic sex, and for two the book has an extraordinary amount of F-Bombs. I warned him, but he didn’t seem concerned.

At one point, when I wrote the book, I stripped out all but two F-bombs, thinking it would sell better, but I kept them in for a reason. Number one, this is how people talk in advertising. As a freelancer, I’ve worked at literally hundreds of agencies, in Dallas, New York, LA, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and Denver. And I’m sorry to say this, but sexism is still there along with the bad language. I wanted to portray the agency life accurately. And I absolutely did. I’ve had bosses who closed their doors to smoke weed and said incredibly inappropriate things. I’ve had clients come on to me. And yes, many coworkers get together for more than just happy hour after work. If there is an agency out there not like that, then I’ve not worked at it.

In fact, this is how a lot of people talk. Depending on where you live, and what you do for a living, chances are you’ll hear the word frequently. Typically, people don’t even notice the word anymore it’s become so diluted.

But when you see it in writing it tends to stand out.

The second reason I kept the dirty language in was for Callie’s character. I wanted her to be completely removed from the typical romance heroine, with coltish legs and perfect everything. I wanted her to be the ANTI-heroine. Crass, unladylike, bitchy, but also smart and sexy. She’s weird and slightly insecure because of it. Her “happily ever after” was that a man as charming as Walker would still find her desirable despite those “flaws.”

I know some strong women. They’re bold, they say what’s on their mind, and they don’t put up with shit. They cuss, they ask for sex when they want it, and they don’t fake their orgasms. In return, I’ve met some fantastic men who love them for their strength. But in reality, most women like that don’t get their happily ever after. Many times they can’t find men who are strong enough to live with them.

That’s why I wrote this book—for the strong, weird women out there. The women who are often one-of-the-boys. The strong women who want to be treated with respect, but also want to be sexy, soft, and adored.

It was a creative decision to keep a fuck-load of f-bombs in the book. The character owned her language. And, therefore, I must own it, too.
So thanks Sky, for recommending my book to your club. I hope there’s a bunch of strong-ass bitches in there who fucking like it.