Lisabet Sarai visits today to tell us about the 25th anniversary edition of RAW SILK, her multicultural romantic erotica novel. Lisabet tells the story of how her first book came to be twenty-five years ago. Between December 2 to 20, 2024 RAW SILK is on sale for .99 cents. Welcome and congratulations, Lisabet!
Twenty-five Years of Passion
First novels are products of passion. No one pushes life aside and sits down to generate thousands of words of prose without deeply personal reasons. We write about what excites us, what moves us, what matters. First novels often have a level of authenticity lacking in more polished work. Passion compensates for the failings in craft born of our inexperience.
I began Raw Silk on a whim, but it quickly became an obsession. The immediate inspiration was Portia da Costa’s Black Lace title Gemini Heat, which I found on the book swap shelf in an Istanbul hotel in 1998. In those days, the Black Lace imprint advertised itself as “erotic fiction for women, by women”. Gemini Heat is, indeed, stunningly erotic—intelligent, imaginative, diverse and transgressive. I’d read quite a lot of erotica at that point in my life, but I’d never encountered a book that so perfectly matched my own erotic tastes.
As I closed the cover of Gemini Heat, my heart still pounding from arousal, I wondered whether I could write something in a similar vein, capturing the intensity and joy of those years. If I did, might Black Lace publish it?
Breathless with excitement, I pounded out the first three chapters of Raw Silk in a couple of weeks and sent them off via air mail to the Black Lace editor in London. I received a formulaic post card from the publisher a few weeks later, advising me that my submission had been received and cautioning me that due to the large number of manuscripts to be vetted, I might not hear from them again for several months. I shrugged, not having expected more.
Two days later I got an email from the Black Lace editor, offering me a contract for an 80K word novel.
My first reaction was astonishment, my second panic. What did I know about writing a novel? Then I re-read my first three chapters, and passion took over.
Raw Silk was released by Black Lace in January 1999. The book has since been reprinted by several other publishers including Blue Moon Books and Totally Bound. With each edition, I’ve deepened the romance elements, at least partially due to changes in the market. The current edition is in many ways a typical erotic romance, chronicling the development of a committed relationship and offering a happy ending. Indeed, the bonus chapter included in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition serves up a wedding!
Still, as Kate struggles to understand and accept her own desires through experiences with multiple partners of both sexes, the focus is as much on the journey as on the happily-ever-after. At the same time, she learns that love and lust are not easily separable, one of the most profound lessons in my own life. Depending on your inclinations and disposition, you might categorize the book as romantic erotica or erotic romance.
My personal view? The category doesn’t matter. Read the book for what it is, the very first of the fifteen full-length novels I’ve produced so far: intensely emotional, exuberantly sensual, and despite its explicitness, somehow innocent.
First novels are acts of love.
Blurb:
When software engineer Kate O’Neill leaves her lover David to take a job in Thailand, she embarks on a sensual journey that will change her forever.
In the glittering City of Angels, Kate becomes sexually involved with two very different men—a handsome and debauched member of the Thai aristocracy, and the charismatic, dominant proprietor of a sex bar. With Anand Rajchitraprasong, she discovers her own almost unlimited capacity for erotic pleasure. Meanwhile, Gregory Marshall shows her what she has hidden from herself: a deep desire to submit, to surrender herself body and soul to someone with the power and compassion to master her.
Each lascivious adventure binds her more closely to her lovers. Then David comes to Bangkok, and Kate realizes that she must choose one of the three men who all desire her.
Long considered an erotic classic, Raw Silk chronicles one woman’s intimate voyage toward love and self-understanding. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition has been freshly edited and includes a new introduction plus a bonus chapter.
Excerpt:
It was already past seven o’clock in the evening when she arrived back at her house in Bangkok. Ae had left for the day. Kate found a note, in the maid’s childish block-printed English.
Mr. Marshall call 3 o’clock. Please call him 02 243 0657
She felt a rush of pleasure. Gregory had never telephoned her before. Still, she was annoyed to note that her heart was pounding and her mouth dry with nervousness as she dialed the number and listened to the repeated rings.
She was almost ready to hang up when he answered. “Hello. Marshall here.”
“Gregory, it’s me. Kate.”
“Kate!” She heard warmth in his voice, and relief. “Where have you been? I was concerned about you.”
“I had to get away, away by myself to think. The time at the hotel was so—intense. And confusing. I needed to sort things out.”
“I understand.” The voice on the other end of the line was uncharacteristically gentle. “I pushed you hard the other night. Maybe too hard. It seems to come so naturally with you that I forget your inexperience.”
“No,” she answered, almost whispering. “It wasn’t too hard. I see a little more clearly now, how it is between you and me. I see myself more clearly.”
“Ah, Kate! You have so much to learn! If you still want this, of course.”
“I do want it. I want you.” She found herself blushing at her forwardness.
“And I want you, Kate, in ways you probably cannot begin to imagine.”
Buy links:
Amazon CA:
Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218068923-raw-silk
[Other links]
Kinky Literature: https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1666-raw-silk-a-sensual-journey/
Paperback (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKJ2PW92
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1611408
Author Bio:
Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more.
Twenty-five years ago, Lisabet published her first novel, the exuberantly erotic romance Raw Silk. The 2024 edition of this classic introduces a new generation of readers to this intense chronicle of one woman’s sensual journey.
Lisabet lives in Southeast Asia with her husband of over forty years and several rescue cats, where she pursues an occupation completely unrelated to her literary endeavors.
You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.lisabetsarai.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lisabetsarai
Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LSarai
Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/lisabetsarai (@lisabetsarai)
Hello, Jana,
Thanks so much for featuring my first novel. Readers who want to follow the tour and enter for prizes can find all the links here: https://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2024/09/excerpt-tour-raw-silk-25th-anniversary.html
xxoo,
Lisabet