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Ricochet: Chapters 1 - 3
Nov. 9th, 2012 08:08 amI'm posting the first fourteen chapters of Ricochet here - that's a whopping 34,000 words - so if you're interested, you can read it to see if it's for you :-). I'm dividing it up into LJ-sized chunks of four sections.
When the right dom is all wrong!
Even in a BDSM universe, where everyone identifies as dom or sub, finding the right partner isn’t always easy.
Matt is a big star on the hit TV show, Collar Crime, and he’s looking for a dom who ticks all the right boxes, including being as tidy and organised as himself.
That definitely isn’t his chaotic co-star, Rick, with his spanking fetish and habit of tying a different sub to his bed every night.
When Matt meets the perfect dom he’s swept off his feet, but he soon discovers that being pursued by a handsome, controlling billionaire isn’t the erotic fantasy he’d imagined.
Maybe the right dom for him is the one he thought was all wrong…
Ricochet Story Notes
Ricochet is an epic,173,000 word original character novel, telling the story of a control freak sub and a wayward dom, and their journey towards finding each other – and themselves in the process. It has all the angst, humour, drama and sexiness you’d expect to find in one of my BDSM universe stories.
Read the first fourteen chapters for FREE here! If you want to buy it, you can find it on Smashwords and Amazon for only $5.99.
( Ricochet: Chapters 1 - 3 )Ricochet Feedback Post
Nov. 5th, 2012 08:29 am![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
deathjunke wanted a post where she could squee and leave feedback to Ricochet so you can find it here. Come and join in!Ricochet is LIVE!
Nov. 4th, 2012 10:59 amIt's a day early, but Ricochet has arrived!
Ricochet is an epic,173,000 word page-turner, telling the story of a control freak sub and a wayward dom, and their journey towards finding each other - and themselves in the process. It has all the angst, humour, drama and sexiness of my BDSM universe stories.
Buy now from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.es
Smashwords
***
When the right dom is all wrong!
Even in a BDSM universe, where everyone identifies as dom or sub, finding the right partner isn’t always easy.
Matt is a big star on the hit TV show, Collar Crime, and he’s looking for a dom who ticks all the right boxes, including being as tidy and organised as himself.
That definitely isn’t his chaotic co-star, Rick, with his spanking fetish and habit of tying a different sub to his bed every night.
When Matt meets the perfect dom he’s swept off his feet, but he soon discovers that being pursued by a handsome, controlling billionaire isn’t the erotic fantasy he’d imagined.
Maybe the right dom for him is the one he thought was all wrong…
***
Please leave me a nice review on the site where you bought it if you enjoy the novel! Lots of stars would be lovely too *g*. You can also leave a review on the Ricochet page on my site. And please shout about it to the rooftops in your LJ, blogs, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Spread the word! Thank you so much for your support, as always. You guys rock!
With Smashwords, when you buy it you automatically get several different file formats so you can read on a variety of devices so if you like reading in a fanfiction type way, on your computer screen, that's the one to go for. If you're going to do that then I'd recommend reading it in PDF format as the RTF one is buggy although still readable. A paperback version will be available from Amazon soon!
I've already posted the new cover art, summary and extract for Ricochet on my Xanthe Walter website, but for those who haven't seen it there, I'm posting it here too. The cover art was done by the wonderful 
bluespirit_star.
I also have a tentative date for publication - Monday November 5th. If that changes, I'll let you know.
You want to spank me, and you know it!
They were the words of an infuriatingly catchy pop song that everyone had been singing a few months ago. Still, it was better than his liquor-stained shirt, so he decided to go with it.
He walked down the stairs and found Rick in the kitchen, brewing some coffee. He had showered and dressed too – in a pair of black jeans and a tight crimson shirt that hugged his body almost obscenely. There was the usual assortment of leather bracelets around his wrists, and he was wearing his favourite thumb ring. A gold ear cuff clung to his left ear, attached by a chain to a ruby ear stud with a long scarlet crystal spike hanging from it. As usual, Matt felt decidedly under-dressed beside him.
“Thanks – shit I need this!” Matt said, taking the mug of black coffee that Rick handed to him.
“You’re welcome, and you’re right; I do.” Rick winked at him, nodding his head at the slogan emblazoned on his chest.
“Hah hah hah hah hah.” Matt glared at him. “Was this really the only spare tee shirt you had?”
“Nah, but I liked the idea of you wearing that slogan.” Rick grinned. “Also, it’s a great shade of blue on you; brings out the colour of your eyes. Plus, it actually fits.” He stood back and surveyed Matt critically. “It’s not mine – some sub left it here a few months ago.”
Matt took a deep sip of his coffee. “And they never came back for it?”
“Nah – I never invite subs back; it complicates things.”
“Really? Never?” Matt glanced at him over the rim of his mug, startled. “I mean, I know you get through a lot of subs, but you never see them again after?”
"I try not to. Once is fun, but twice starts to feel like we’re dating, and I don’t date.”
“Why not?”
“Why?” Rick countered with a grin.
“I don’t know – lots of reasons: Intimacy, friendship, affection… love?”
“I’ve got friends for that. Relationships just complicate things.”
“Wow – those are some massive commitment issues you’ve got there, O’Shea.”
“I freely admit it. Now, if you’ve finished guzzling that coffee – take this.” Rick handed him a motorcycle helmet.
Matt stared at it blankly. “Uh… why?”
“Because I don’t trust that you’re sober enough to drive yet, so you’ll be my passenger on the bike.”
“I’m not sober enough to drive, but you are?” Matt raised an eyebrow.
“I only had one glass of wine. You were knocking it back.”
“I’m fine. There is no way I’m getting on that stupid bike with you.”
“Tough.” Rick’s expression changed, and he folded his arms across his chest. “Because there is no way I’m letting you get behind the wheel of a car right now.”
Rick was usually very easy-going, so Matt had expected him to shrug and give in, but it seemed that he really did mean it about him not driving. He might have a point – Matt had drunk a lot only a few hours ago; it probably wasn’t entirely safe for him to drive yet.
“Why don’t you drive my car then?” Matt held up the keys.
“What’s the matter…? Oh wait!” Rick rolled his eyes. “You’ve never been on a motorcycle before, have you?”
“Well… no,” Matt admitted. “They always seem noisy, and dangerous, and… ”
“Fun and exciting?” Rick raised an eyebrow. “You know, I don’t think there’s nearly enough fun and excitement in your ordered little life.”
“And I don’t think there’s nearly enough order and routine in your freewheeling existence,” Matt retorted.
Rick laughed. “You could be right, but we can’t all be as perfect as you. C’mon – let’s get moving. I can’t be late for work after Petra's dressing down yesterday.”
Matt took the helmet and followed Rick to the front door. Rick opened it… and they both froze as a dozen camera light bulbs flashed at them.
“Rick, Rick – any comment about what happened down the Justice Hall last night?” a reporter yelled.
Matt stood there, open-mouthed, taking in the sight of the dozen or so journalists camped out on Rick’s front drive, complete with brightly flashing cameras.
“Damn it – I forgot to lock the front gates when I got home last night,” Rick muttered.
“Are you worried about your job, Rick?” someone called.
“Do you think Petra Davies will fire you over this?”
“Rick – are you and Matthew Lake having an affair?”
“What?” Matt exploded.
The journalist who’d yelled that out grinned at him. “Well, you stayed over last night, and that isn’t the shirt you were wearing when you arrived.”
“How did you…?”
“Forget it, Matt. They just want to get a quote out of you,” Rick told him quietly. He took hold of Matt’s hand and dragged him across the driveway towards his Harley. “Have you never dealt with the paparazzi before?” Rick asked as they walked.
“Well… not like this, no. Have you?” Matt asked, shocked. “Plenty of times, but that’s because I’m always doing stupid things and drawing attention to myself, whereas the most gossip you’ve ever given them is going out for a meal with your boring accountant dom, followed by a quiet night in.”
“That is not… ” Matt began, and then he sighed. “Okay, that is true.”
“Matt! Does this mean you’ve split up from Emily Campanillo? Or doesn’t she know that you’re sleeping with Rick?”
“What the hell business is that of yours? And I am NOT sleeping with Rick!” Matt rounded on the journalist angrily. Rick took Matt’s helmet out of his hand, placed it on his head, and began buckling it up under his chin.
“Is it true she offered you her collar, but you turned her down because you’re secretly in love with Rick?”
“No! Where on earth do you get this shit?”
“Matty – I’ve told you, just stay calm and say nothing,” Rick hissed, fastening the helmet a little too tight, in what felt like an effort to gag him.
“No way! I am not letting them get away with making up stuff about me!”
“Matt – how does it feel to be another notch on Rick O’Shea’s bedpost?” someone yelled. “Do you feel cheap and dirty now? He’s had just about every other sub in town, after all!”
Matt saw red. He jerked away from Rick and stormed across the driveway… only to find himself suddenly walking on air, his feet kicking out uselessly beneath him as a strong arm latched around his body and swung him off the ground.
“What the hell…?” Matt hollered, as Rick threw him over his shoulder, cave-dom style, and carried him back to the bike.
He plonked Matt on it, got on behind him, and put his arms around Matt to grab the handlebars, trapping Matt there. “Now shut up and stay still,” Rick ordered, revving up the bike.
“But I – ”
“Quiet!” Rick thundered. He stamped his foot down on the pedal, and the bike roared out of the driveway and onto the road, leaving a trail of scattered journalists in its wake.
bluespirit_star.I also have a tentative date for publication - Monday November 5th. If that changes, I'll let you know.
When the right dom is all wrong!
Even in a BDSM universe, where everyone identifies as dom or sub, finding the right partner isn’t always easy.
Matt is a big star on the hit TV show, Collar Crime, and he’s looking for a dom who ticks all the right boxes, including being as tidy and organised as himself.
That definitely isn’t his chaotic co-star, Rick, with his spanking fetish and habit of tying a different sub to his bed every night.
When Matt meets the perfect dom he’s swept off his feet, but he soon discovers that being pursued by a handsome, controlling billionaire isn’t the erotic fantasy he’d imagined.
Maybe the right dom for him is the one he thought was all wrong…
Extract
Matt wrapped a towel around his waist and emerged into the spare bedroom to see a clean tee shirt lying on the bed. He pulled it on to find it more or less fitted him. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed as he saw the words emblazoned on it:You want to spank me, and you know it!
They were the words of an infuriatingly catchy pop song that everyone had been singing a few months ago. Still, it was better than his liquor-stained shirt, so he decided to go with it.
He walked down the stairs and found Rick in the kitchen, brewing some coffee. He had showered and dressed too – in a pair of black jeans and a tight crimson shirt that hugged his body almost obscenely. There was the usual assortment of leather bracelets around his wrists, and he was wearing his favourite thumb ring. A gold ear cuff clung to his left ear, attached by a chain to a ruby ear stud with a long scarlet crystal spike hanging from it. As usual, Matt felt decidedly under-dressed beside him.
“Thanks – shit I need this!” Matt said, taking the mug of black coffee that Rick handed to him.
“You’re welcome, and you’re right; I do.” Rick winked at him, nodding his head at the slogan emblazoned on his chest.
“Hah hah hah hah hah.” Matt glared at him. “Was this really the only spare tee shirt you had?”
“Nah, but I liked the idea of you wearing that slogan.” Rick grinned. “Also, it’s a great shade of blue on you; brings out the colour of your eyes. Plus, it actually fits.” He stood back and surveyed Matt critically. “It’s not mine – some sub left it here a few months ago.”
Matt took a deep sip of his coffee. “And they never came back for it?”
“Nah – I never invite subs back; it complicates things.”
“Really? Never?” Matt glanced at him over the rim of his mug, startled. “I mean, I know you get through a lot of subs, but you never see them again after?”
"I try not to. Once is fun, but twice starts to feel like we’re dating, and I don’t date.”
“Why not?”
“Why?” Rick countered with a grin.
“I don’t know – lots of reasons: Intimacy, friendship, affection… love?”
“I’ve got friends for that. Relationships just complicate things.”
“Wow – those are some massive commitment issues you’ve got there, O’Shea.”
“I freely admit it. Now, if you’ve finished guzzling that coffee – take this.” Rick handed him a motorcycle helmet.
Matt stared at it blankly. “Uh… why?”
“Because I don’t trust that you’re sober enough to drive yet, so you’ll be my passenger on the bike.”
“I’m not sober enough to drive, but you are?” Matt raised an eyebrow.
“I only had one glass of wine. You were knocking it back.”
“I’m fine. There is no way I’m getting on that stupid bike with you.”
“Tough.” Rick’s expression changed, and he folded his arms across his chest. “Because there is no way I’m letting you get behind the wheel of a car right now.”
Rick was usually very easy-going, so Matt had expected him to shrug and give in, but it seemed that he really did mean it about him not driving. He might have a point – Matt had drunk a lot only a few hours ago; it probably wasn’t entirely safe for him to drive yet.
“Why don’t you drive my car then?” Matt held up the keys.
“What’s the matter…? Oh wait!” Rick rolled his eyes. “You’ve never been on a motorcycle before, have you?”
“Well… no,” Matt admitted. “They always seem noisy, and dangerous, and… ”
“Fun and exciting?” Rick raised an eyebrow. “You know, I don’t think there’s nearly enough fun and excitement in your ordered little life.”
“And I don’t think there’s nearly enough order and routine in your freewheeling existence,” Matt retorted.
Rick laughed. “You could be right, but we can’t all be as perfect as you. C’mon – let’s get moving. I can’t be late for work after Petra's dressing down yesterday.”
Matt took the helmet and followed Rick to the front door. Rick opened it… and they both froze as a dozen camera light bulbs flashed at them.
“Rick, Rick – any comment about what happened down the Justice Hall last night?” a reporter yelled.
Matt stood there, open-mouthed, taking in the sight of the dozen or so journalists camped out on Rick’s front drive, complete with brightly flashing cameras.
“Damn it – I forgot to lock the front gates when I got home last night,” Rick muttered.
“Are you worried about your job, Rick?” someone called.
“Do you think Petra Davies will fire you over this?”
“Rick – are you and Matthew Lake having an affair?”
“What?” Matt exploded.
The journalist who’d yelled that out grinned at him. “Well, you stayed over last night, and that isn’t the shirt you were wearing when you arrived.”
“How did you…?”
“Forget it, Matt. They just want to get a quote out of you,” Rick told him quietly. He took hold of Matt’s hand and dragged him across the driveway towards his Harley. “Have you never dealt with the paparazzi before?” Rick asked as they walked.
“Well… not like this, no. Have you?” Matt asked, shocked. “Plenty of times, but that’s because I’m always doing stupid things and drawing attention to myself, whereas the most gossip you’ve ever given them is going out for a meal with your boring accountant dom, followed by a quiet night in.”
“That is not… ” Matt began, and then he sighed. “Okay, that is true.”
“Matt! Does this mean you’ve split up from Emily Campanillo? Or doesn’t she know that you’re sleeping with Rick?”
“What the hell business is that of yours? And I am NOT sleeping with Rick!” Matt rounded on the journalist angrily. Rick took Matt’s helmet out of his hand, placed it on his head, and began buckling it up under his chin.
“Is it true she offered you her collar, but you turned her down because you’re secretly in love with Rick?”
“No! Where on earth do you get this shit?”
“Matty – I’ve told you, just stay calm and say nothing,” Rick hissed, fastening the helmet a little too tight, in what felt like an effort to gag him.
“No way! I am not letting them get away with making up stuff about me!”
“Matt – how does it feel to be another notch on Rick O’Shea’s bedpost?” someone yelled. “Do you feel cheap and dirty now? He’s had just about every other sub in town, after all!”
Matt saw red. He jerked away from Rick and stormed across the driveway… only to find himself suddenly walking on air, his feet kicking out uselessly beneath him as a strong arm latched around his body and swung him off the ground.
“What the hell…?” Matt hollered, as Rick threw him over his shoulder, cave-dom style, and carried him back to the bike.
He plonked Matt on it, got on behind him, and put his arms around Matt to grab the handlebars, trapping Matt there. “Now shut up and stay still,” Rick ordered, revving up the bike.
“But I – ”
“Quiet!” Rick thundered. He stamped his foot down on the pedal, and the bike roared out of the driveway and onto the road, leaving a trail of scattered journalists in its wake.
I've been working on an original character novel set in the BDSM universe for the past few months. I've now finished it and sent it to my betas, so I finally feel able to do the first teaser post. Squee! I'll do some more of these in the next few weeks and hope to include some graphics too as we go along. This one is just a little introduction. So much happens in the 165,000 words of the novel that I had to just concentrate on some basics here.
I'm intending to self-publish the novel in e-book format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords etc when it's ready, and, if possible, provide it in a hard copy form too - I'll post all the details here when the time comes. Special thanks to 
georgiesmith for the icon :-).
Coming Soon!
Ricochet
By Xanthe Walter
In a world where everyone is bisexual and BDSM relationships are the norm...meet the cast of the hit TV show Collar Crime.
Onscreen, Richard O'Shea plays the naughtiest sub on TV, and off-screen he gets into almost as much trouble. He’s a laidback, fun-loving goofball of a dom who enjoys a string of one-night stands with the prettiest subs he can find in LA's most exclusive nightclubs.
Matthew Lake plays an innocent young sub on the show, but in real life he’s a tidy, fastidious control freak with an OCD problem who repeatedly dates the wrong kind of doms.
When Rick’s chaotic personal life lands him in hot water with the Collar Crime show-runner, he's forced to change his lifestyle and confront his dark past before it ruins his career.
Matt struggles with his own problems when a gritty new plotline brings him face to face with one of his worst fears. After making a dangerous mistake, he finds that the only person he can turn to for help...is the most notoriously unreliable dom in the world.
Extract
There was a sudden flurry at the door, and then the human whirlwind that was Matt in a bad mood stormed into his trailer without knocking.
“Have you seen this?” He threw a magazine across the trailer. Rick caught it in one hand and glanced at the front cover.
“Is Rick swimming in Matt’s lake?” the headline screamed, over a picture of him and Matt emerging from his house a few days ago, Rick's hand clamped firmly around Matt's wrist.
“They made a pun out of your surname being ‘Lake’?” Rick shook his head sadly. “That’s crappy writing.”
“Really? They're insinuating that we're having an affair and your problem is that the writing’s crap?" Matt glared at him.
"Well, it is!"
"Yes it is," Matt conceded. "And this one is even worse!” He flung another magazine at Rick.
“Ricochet! TV star Matthew Lake takes a walk on the wild side with his handsome co-star!”
This one had a picture of Rick throwing Matt over his shoulder and striding with him towards his bike.
“Ricochet! Hah!” Rick laughed. "Now that one is actually pretty good."
“Yes, yes,” Matt said impatiently. “The first headline is a feeble play on my name, and the second is an even worse pun on yours. Hah, hah, very funny.”
“Rick O’Shea…ricochet.” Rick was still laughing at the joke. “I love it!”
“Well, I don’t! And I do damn well feel like I'm ricocheting all over the place because of this! My life used to be calm and ordered, just the way I like it, until this happened. Now the paparazzi follow me everywhere, and people keep thinking I’m subbing to you and asking me the most inappropriate questions about what you’re like in bed, and Emily just left me a very rude message on my cell phone, and…it’s all a total mess!” Matt threw his hands up in the air.
“Huh. See, for me it’s the opposite,” Rick said, sitting down on his couch and flicking through the magazines. “My life used to be full of fun and chaos and now it’s totally boring. I used to actually have a life, Matty, and now I can’t do anything, or go anywhere, or be myself in case I screw up and get fired.”
“It’s like we swapped lives,” Matt lamented, sitting down beside him. “I’m leading your high octane life, and you’re leading my more structured…”
“Boring,” Rick interjected.
“Ordered,” Matt insisted with a glare. “Life.”
