That’s the fun thing about the Dirty series. It’s not just the New York City setting, or the handsome men in suits, or the luxury. It’s the exploration of sexuality. Darker, kinkier desires. Once I realized their story was about letting go of inhibitions to accept and explore their darker desires, it clicked. I fell in love.
We’ve all been there. Maybe it wasn’t non-consensual role play scenarios or pain or bondage. But we’ve all had fantasies we tried to ignore. It’s part of the culture. Society sends women very mixed messages. We need to be sexy and chaste at the same time.
It’s apparent in romance, too. Men are supposed to be the pursuers. They’re supposed to be alpha (whatever that means). They’re supposed to read the heroine’s minds, so the heroines never need to consider what they want, much less ask for it.
There’s a certain appeal to that, sure. And, to some degree, that’s apparent in some of these books. But the more I write, the more I strive for realism. Some degree of realism. Yes, Ty knows what Indigo wants, but it’s not because he reads her mind. It’s because they discuss it… and he reads her body language.
She asks herself what she wants. She challenges herself to ask for more. She’s the one who pushes him.
I’m not reinventing the wheel, sure, but I like to think I’m challenging norms. I try to challenge readers a little with every book. To push them to explore new ideas, characters, beliefs about themselves and their desire.
I’m not sure Dirty Wedding topped Dirty Desires. Dirty Desires will probably be my favorite for a long time. But I fell in love with Ty and Indigo too. Their journey was new, exciting, fresh… and hot as hell.
I’m not sure what comes next. I’m about to start Cam and Sienna’s book. It’s more familiar to me, in some ways. I write a lot of brother’s best friend (and that’s basically what it is). But I’ve never written such a casual trope in this series. One of the things I love about this series is that the tropes aren’t casual. They aren’t every day. It’s a nice change of pace, from my super, duper grounded tattoo artists.
It’s a new challenge, and I’m excited to try. I already love Sienna. Bold, brash, and incredibly curious about sex. A teenage girl, basically.
With every book in the Dirty series, I’ve written a little more like me. These last three books (Dirty Desires, Dirty Wedding, Dirty Secret) are more like my Inked books. Sure, the guys are kinky and rich, and they’re constantly in suits, but they’re also friends or family. People who just… hang out and shoot the shit.
And my couples actually hang out now. They drink tea or make dinner or watch TV. Like normal people. Normal, super rich people.
I’d like to write another series with kinky guys in suits. One set in New York City (I need excuses to visit). With plenty of luxury (I like nice things. Okay, I’m a total snob when it comes to tea and chocolate, among other things). But with a more hang out vibe. Kinky guys in suits who are a family, found or biological or adopted. It doesn’t matter as long as they’re family. I hope I brought that into these last few books.
And I hope I can give you more of it soon. Let me know if you want more of these kinky rich guys. And go ahead and get to know Ian and Eve in Dirty Desires. Or go back to the beginning with Dirty Deal.
As always, thanks for reading. I hope to see you back for Dirty Secret.
Best, Crystal
Acknowledgments
My first thanks goes to my husband, for his support when I'm lost in bookland and for generally being the sun in my sky. Sweetheart, you're better than all the broken bad boys in the world.
The second goes to my father, for insisting I go to the best film school in the country, everything else be damned. I wouldn't love movies, writing, or storytelling half as much if not for all our afternoon trips to the bookstore and weekends at the movies. You've always been supportive of my goals, and that means the world to me.
A big shout out to all my beta readers. You helped give me the confidence to put out a book a little more heartbreaking than usual. And also to my ARC readers for helping spread the word to everyone else in the world.
To all my writer friends who talk me down from the ledge, hold my hand, and tell me when my ideas are terrible and when they're brilliant, thank you.
Thanks so much to my editor Marla, and to Hang Le for the cover design.
As always, my biggest thanks goes to my readers. Thank you for picking up Dirty Wedding. I hope you'll be back for Cam’s book, Dirty Secret.
Stay In Touch
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Also by Crystal Kaswell
Dirty Rich
Dirty Deal - Blake
Dirty Boss - Nick
Dirty Husband - Shep
Dirty Desires - Ian
Dirty Wedding - Ty
Dirty Secret - Cam - Coming 2021
Inked Hearts
Tempting - Brendon
Hooking Up - Walker
Pretend You’re Mine - Ryan
Hating You, Loving You - Dean
Breaking the Rules - Hunter
Losing It - Wes
Accidental Husband - Griffin
The Baby Bargain - Chase
Inked Love
Faking It - Forest
The First Taste - Holden
The Rule Breaker - Oliver
Sinful Serenade
Sing Your Heart Out - Miles
Strum Your Heart Out - Drew
Rock Your Heart Out - Tom
Play Your Heart Out - Pete
Sinful Ever After – series sequel
Just a Taste - Miles's POV
Dangerous Noise
Dangerous Kiss - Ethan
Dangerous Crush – Kit
Dangerous Rock – Joel
Dangerous Fling – Mal
Dangerous Encore - series sequel
Standalones
Broken - Trent & Delilah
Come Undone Trilogy
Come Undone
Come Apart
Come To Me
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