Authors Note
STORY DESCRIPTION
When her husband Gage leaves without warning two days after her twenty-sixth birthday, Rue Medina uses the journal he gifted her to distract from the fact her life is falling apart. While exploring her past in hopes of discovering what about her makes men run for the hills, Rue does her best in the present to keep her insecurities and old impulses at bay. When an old flame asks her to run away with him for two weeks, Rue decides she's in deep need of a vacation and some meaningless sex with someone she can trust. As the trip goes on, the at times oblivious young woman slowly discovers there's something very different about Fallon Lynch while trying her best to ignore her dark urges.
Authors Note
Thank you for reading The Story Of Us, book one of the pending series following Rue, a hopeless romantic with a history of trauma and mental health issues. Dark, yeah, I know. Which is why I felt a note and some warnings should be in place.
"Intended Audience"
First and foremost, when I say this story is for MATURE audiences I don't mean mature for your age, I mean as per guidelines preferably 18+ because this story is explicit and doesn't shy away from anything. Whereas it was, let's say... therapeutic for me to write, I never aspired to be a role model and so this is my "I didn't tell your kid to read this." disclaimer.
"The inspiration..."
I am a fan of dark romance when written really well or purposefully bad (As long as the smut is A-1) but when reading long enough I found a pattern of tokenism that I didn't appreciate and mental health issues used as a climax instead of an ever presence that in my opinion is blatantly present in these stories.
I wanted a dark romance that didn't shy away from mental health. A story that has smut but still a storyline. From an author who knows the difference between BD(Bondage and Discipline) DS(Dominance and Submission) and SM(sadomasochism) and that though these things can intersect and melt, they are very different.
I also wanted a story with people of color that didn't feel like an afterthought or this monolithic idea of blackness. I needed nuance. I needed dichotomy. I needed something in the middle of Go Deep and 365 days and I couldn't find it, so I wrote it.
"The inspired"
As a writer, I like to take the tropes I hate and flip them on their head. As someone with several emotional disorders, I HATE the strong black woman trope. It always bothered me that we can't be painfully naรฏve, vulnerable or soft. It also bothered me that if someone is these things, they're some 22-year-old virgin wallflower. In the same breath, I hate that bitch too. The idea that someone young and naรฏve can have their world flipped upside down physically, sexually, and emotionally by a man-years older than her and not be traumatized? That's toxic, and not in a yummy way.
I thought if we were going to do this, LET DO THIS! I wrote a mixed race black woman with a laundry list of mental health issues (Why...? Cause those of us who have them know it's a bag of chips you never have just one.) who, due to past trauma, is a masochist that would equate pain to love and her value to how many people want to fuck her.
I made a character who seems to have it together on the outside but on the inside is a fucking wreck, and you might hate her. You might love her. Those feelings might flip and merge, and that's okay. That's what I'm going for.
Book one is a slow burn. We are getting our feet wet but don't worry, the heat level on the sex scenes do increase. Just easing it in, if you will. With all that said, I have to get into the disclaimers.
"I don't mean to be rude but um..."
Whereas I am not attempting to romanticize toxic relationships, I'm also not writing a PSA. There's no secret message in this story, just vibes, drama and sex. Basically an HBO series. You, the reader, are encouraged to interpret how you will, but these characters are not a representation of any practices, religions or communities. This is a work of fiction, and view it as such.
To be clear: I am not trying to paint a picture that people with BPD or PTSD are incapable of having happy, healthy relationships. I am not saying you need a relationship to be happy. I'm also not saying everyone with BPD is hypersexual or prone to violence. Rue's disorder is loosely based on my own. So this is probably not unique to me, but also true for everyone. The same goes for the other characters. As said this is for MATURE audiences. I don't worry about affecting anyone impressionable because I don't have to. Raise your own kid, Karen.
I am okay with negative comments and helpful critiques. Listening to these will help me become a better writer. I love interacting with readers, so don't be shy about flooding the comments. The replies are always hilarious.
"The Bad"
CONTENT WARNING:
Offensive language.
Explicit sexual content.
Mild depictions of violence.
Adult situations and Dark Themes.
Small Age Gap.
Marijuana use.
"The Ugly"
TRIGGER WARNING:
Mentions of...
Murder
Abusive parents
Self-harm.
Child loss.
Thoughts of suicide
Abortion.
Dramatized versions of mental health issues.
Themes of...
Dubious Consent
Dysphoria.
BDSM
"Final Thoughts"
Woah! That was a lot, but I felt like it needed to be said. Thank you for reading, and feel free to spam me with comments. Even if it's an Oh snap. If you like the book, tell a friend. Book two coming next year.
"The Legal"
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
I do not own some images within this story.
ยฉ 2021 Ana Wryneck
