When Your Family Reads the Naughty Bits #rudebits

So, here we are. The Jelvia: Not Human series is complete, published, and out there for anyone to buy, read, and (gulp) review. You’d think the scariest part of publishing would be waiting for strangers’ feedback. Wrong.

The real fear? Family.

It’s one thing for a reviewer on Amazon to say 'gripping story, a little too steamy for my taste.' I can live with that. What’s harder to live with is imagining my grown-up son or daughter-in-law reading the same scene and then looking at me across the dinner table. Or worse — giving me a knowing wink.

Because here’s the thing: when you write romance, or even just sprinkle in a bit of spice, you know full well that people you love and respect are going to read it. Parents. Adult children. In-laws. That nice cousin who still calls you “our Lou.” All of them, potentially, turning the page and finding themselves somewhere they’d rather not be with me.

I tell myself they’ll skim over those parts. I tell myself they’ll be too busy admiring my clever plotting and alien world-building. But deep down, I know the truth: nothing sticks in a reader’s mind like a well-written sex scene. And when the reader is your own son or your daughter-in-law, you start wishing you’d written a sweet, wholesome book about hedgehogs instead.

But here’s the other truth: those scenes belong in the story. They’re not there for titillation (well, not only). They’re part of the characters’ journey, their vulnerability, their connection. To cut them out would be dishonest. And I’d rather my son and daughter-in-law squirm a bit than cheat my characters of their truth.

So yes, I worry. I worry about reviews, and I worry about family reactions. But at the end of the day, I wrote the story I needed to tell. If my son or his wife reads a page that makes them blush… well, at least it proves they were paying attention.

And if they really can’t handle it, there are five other books in the series with aliens, explosions, betrayals, and plenty of commas to argue about.

As for me? I’ll be hiding behind a cushion at every family gathering, praying no one says the words: 'Mum, about that scene…'

Wise Books | Kessler Books