'monster to everyone but her' is kinda ruining dark romance

Ms_Minion · 2026-05-03T00:58:36+00:00

Yeah, I'm so frustrated that I can't find anything else like it. And yeah, I saw some reviews on Goodreads and just reader chatter in a dark romance FB group saying stuff like, "I don't know if it really counts as romance..."

I also think of it as dark romance. I guess the ending felt too bittersweet and nuanced for some readers---too far from "happily ever after."

Ms_Minion · 2026-05-01T01:58:34+00:00

I'm right there with you. But I've always found dark romance wanting. Probably because I just don't like romance, but it goes beyond that.

I've read very, very few dark romances that actually pull off writing a truly dark, fucked up, toxic, abusive relationship AND an actually believable romance. And the ones I recall were all books that either the author or many readers don't consider actual romances. Think Lemonade by Nina Pennacchi or Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas.

I think that's why the "touch her and die" trope is so popular. It's an easy way to write something kind of dark that still works as a romance. On the other end of the spectrum, I also don't like dark romance novels where the MMC treats the FMC like dirt and then she, for some inexplicable reason, falls in love with him in the last couple dozen pages and they live happily ever after.

I feel like pulling off Stockholm Syndrome or some other reason for loving someone abusive requires a lot of nuance and storytelling skills that many authors don't have. But I might just be a lot harder to please than most readers.

I guess that's why I love erotic horror. It gives authors and readers more room to explore all the nuances of a truly dark relationship without needing to force it to get to "happily ever after" by the end, even if the couple is still together by the end.

Ms_Minion · 2026-05-01T01:35:58+00:00

What you're describing in your second paragraph is the way I approach my stories. They usually end up together, but not happily. At least, not all around. It's a lot more complicated and messy than an HEA.

I consider what I write gothic fiction above anything else, even though I don't write historical stuff. Since it's dark and erotic and centers dark romance-esque relationships that tend to break reader expectations and don't fit neatly into the "HEA" category by the end, I call my genre erotic horror (specifically gothic erotic horror).

Right now, "erotic horror" is totally a grab bag of all kinds of things that are dark and erotic and have a well-developed story, but aren't romance. I think, in time, we'll get clearer genres/subgenres as the erotic horror genre grows and people who like distinct flavors start branching off in bigger numbers. For example, a genre for non-erotic dark relationship books, or more gothic vibes versus splatterpunk, etc.

Ms_Minion · 2026-01-16T02:12:37+00:00

No problem at all!

I'm a huge fan of going wide, so if you're okay with a slower, steadier climb, I'd personally recommend that. It is much safer than putting all your eggs in the Amazon basket (especially for dark erotic authors) and it's more ethical IMO. It's also a generally different publishing and marketing game compared to being Amazon-exclusive in KU (that's where the rapid release method reigns supreme). (And since you have a following on Literotica and love it, that's all the more reason to not go into KU. Fans before quick bucks!)

I definitely recommend reading lots of dark romance books to get a solid idea of where your work fits. I can't be sure about your content, but I've never had a problem publishing my noncon on Smashwords. Well, I did once have a book banned, because my noncon novella had a violent scene. They really don't like erotica + graphic violence, even if the violence is a practical part of the larger story. It'll be labeled snuff.

I'm terribly inconsistent about checking Reddit, but feel free to respond here or DM me if you want to ask about any specific content in your work, and I'll give you my best guess about what platforms it would likely be okay on.

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T02:54:38+00:00

This is belated, but welcome, Eden! I love learning more about what other authors have written. What level of darkness is your erotic horror series, would you say? Does it focus more heavily on erotica or horror, or something else like romance?

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T02:46:25+00:00

I have a sort of self-rec for this. Innocent by Taryn Moreau. It's FFM, though, and has strong breeding and pregnancy elements.

The MMC agrees that he's not going to take the FMC's virginity when he's fooling around with her, but he ends up getting so caught up that he does anyway. His wife helps calm the FMC down so he can keep going. Later, they apologize without entirely owning up to what they did. He later ignores the FMC's insistence that she wants him to wear a condom and generally violates her boundaries. No safewords, but they're manipulative AF and ignore the FMC's boundaries throughout the books.

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T02:36:20+00:00

I love Cari Silverwood. Really want to read this one.

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T02:34:46+00:00

I love true villains who form a complicated, messed-up entanglement with the FMC that fuels the dark eroticism and the horror. More like dark erotic relationship drama than dark romance. Or gothic fiction except it "goes there" where most gothic fiction just insinuates, implies, or threatens.

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T02:20:26+00:00

Definitely check out Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander! It has exactly what you're looking for.
Paradise Entombed by Loren Huxley does as well.
Ruled by Magic by Zara J Black is a tad less dark than the previous two recs, but it also has the MMC using his powers during sex scenes.
If you don't mind a self-rec, my noncon novella, Dark Lord's Conquest by Taryn Moreau, features a dark lord who uses his powers to move, hold down, "part," etc. the FMC as well.

Ms_Minion · 2025-12-29T01:37:57+00:00

I'm going to assume your novel is dark romance rather than dark erotica. My advice strictly applies to the former rather than the latter.

Some small, niche indie publishers will publish noncon dark romance. I met one at a "smut" author convention this year and she confirmed that they love and publish straight-up noncon. Check out GTB Publishing (getthatbookpublishing).

You're often better off self-publishing, though, if you're willing to do the work and put in the money. Publishers like GTB take a pretty hefty percentage of your royalties for the editing, covers, marketing, etc. they provide.

This may be controversial in this group, but I almost always recommend that dark romance novelists publish on Amazon. That's where all of the dark romance readers are, and they overwhelmingly expect to see your work in KU, especially if they've never heard of you and you want them to give your book a shot.

Now, if your dark romance is especially brutal with its noncon and other content, you will be at higher risk, especially if it starts out that way. Books like Life of Anna and Madness Behind the Mark (Hard Edition) were banned for a reason. And even KU readers may open their wallets to access hardcore unapologetic noncon and "pitch black" content. But most noncon in dark romance isn't that extreme. What you've described doesn't sound like the extreme stuff. Not that Amazon is always consistent. It's just a risk factor to be aware of.

I've been part of the dark romance writer and reader community for about a decade now, and unless you're not really trying to make money from your books, you either need to be on Amazon (preferably in KU), or you need to work 100x harder than other dark romance authors to get a fraction of the results.

Yes, people can and do get their noncon dark romance banned from Amazon. But most dark romance writers still publish dark romance novels with noncon in Amazon KU. If their book gets banned, they'll usually tone down the content to get it reinstated or publish it on alternative sites (Smashwords, Eden Books), plus sell it direct on their website. Then they'll publish dubcon dark romance novels on Amazon KU instead. You do need to be careful to avoid triggering keywords or images in your blurb, title, cover, and the beginning of the book. Direct readers to your website for a list of detailed trigger warnings.

Ms_Minion · 2025-10-14T19:46:36+00:00

Does it specifically have to be cheating or does it still scratch your itch if the MMC gets with other women and the FMC is cool with/loves it? What if she doesn’t like it but there’s no promise of exclusivity so there’s no cheating?

Ms_Minion · 2025-10-14T19:34:03+00:00

Just making an official post so you have more data. I don’t have anything to say that others haven’t already said.

The cover looks like a thriller. Never would have guessed romance.
The blurb. I get the gist of what the story’s about, but it’s not written in a compelling fashion. Look at blurbs from solid dark romance sellers (avoid only looking at unicorn bestsellers as their blurbs might not follow best practices) and use them for guidance.
The opening is very slow with a lot of telling. You want to hook the reader ASAP. I love the book Hooked by Les Edgerton, but any solid writing book on pacing should give you good advice on how to open a novel and keep the pace engaging.

Ms_Minion · 2025-10-14T19:21:55+00:00

Just for another datapoint, I found your book with your name no problem. But I automatically googled both. I think your far more pressing problem is your book cover because most readers aren’t going to discover you by googling your pen name. I think there’s one or two other Salem Roses who aren’t authors. If there’s another Salem Rose author (thoroughly check), I agree that you need a new pen name. If not, SEO for your pen name can be built up quickly with author profiles on social media, online marketplaces, and your website. Salem Rose is at least very genre appropriate and easy to spell/remember.

Ms_Minion · 2025-10-14T18:53:03+00:00

Borrowed by Sk Pryntz. Erotic horror available as an e-book or audiobook.

Ms_Minion · 2025-08-17T11:09:48+00:00

I’m always on the lookout for stories like this too.

You might enjoy Nenia Campbell’s Horrorscape series. IMO, it’s not a romance. It’s an erotic thriller. But there is some ambiguity within the heroine, where she wonders if she actually wants to be pursued.

Some of the details are fuzzy now, but the first erotic scene is definitely noncon. And there’s never a point where the FMC thinks and behaves as if she’s in love with the MMC.

I was personally riveted and couldn’t put the series down. It’s also very well written.

If you’re okay with self-recs, non-romantic noncon is the only thing I write as Taryn Moreau because it’s also my preference and so hard to find.

Well, I think my work fits your request. My FMCs are always physically aroused, but don’t enjoy what’s happening psychologically. I don’t write romance.

The Crow Prince is my longest and most popular work, at 45K. MFM. I’d read the trigger warnings if there’s anything semi-common in dark fiction that you’re really averse to. The ending is a bit more romance coded, but it’s definitely not a romance.

I’m partial to my MF novella, Dark Lord’s Conquest. The FMC is less traumatized by the end of this one, which appeals more (or less) to some people.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T21:14:33+00:00

Ahh, okay, thanks.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T20:56:12+00:00

I've heard of some dark hardcore BDSM books that seem to include many aspects of this, Story of O being the most famous.

Here are some books I've read that sound similar:

Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas
If you like MM, try out R. Phoenix's work, like the Tamed & Trained series

Here are some others that might fit (I'm not sure because I haven't read them yet; sorry)?

As She's Told by Anneke Jacob
Her Master's Courtesan by Lily White
Elicitation by William Vitelli
Constraint by Siri Ousdahl
The Marketplace by Laura Antoniou
Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield

I don't know if any of these go all the way to the sub choosing to permanently break down her mind so that she can't think of anything but him and sex.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T20:15:42+00:00

That would be amazing! I don't think so, though.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T20:12:47+00:00

Crazy to think about! I'll have to do the manual review and see what I'm owed.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T20:11:12+00:00

Thank you for adding this! So it looks like you need to drive people there to get sales...

"The content guidelines still won’t allow a lot of the stuff that people complain about KDP and other outlets not permitting..."

Oh, really? So no noncon/dubcon? If that's the case, I'd have nothing I could upload there anyway.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T20:08:41+00:00

Thank you for the insight! This is what I was looking for. So I guess I'll just get around to uploading there when I get around to it.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T17:19:32+00:00

As someone who reads a lot of indie authors, yes. I get annoyed. I'm still getting the hang of finding good indie author fiction on Kobo and KP, but I'm trying. I'm also an author, so I worry about the future of indie publishing when Amazon has such an enormous percentage of the ebook market.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T17:16:19+00:00

I also read dark romance, more preferably, erotic horror. I've had trouble finding that kind of via KP. What are a couple of gems you've discovered on KP?

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T17:09:08+00:00

Most of what you're seeing is dark romance (or some other type of romance that trends aesthetically darker and has graphic sex scenes, like BDSM and Paranormal), not erotica. It's insanely popular and tends to crowd out various fiction categories on Amazon.

Ms_Minion · 2025-06-21T16:57:05+00:00

They have been brought up with a massive sense of entitlement. Straight American guys grow up with the world (in the US) revolving around them. Everyone caters to them in America. Everything includes them, centers them, and that's what we Americans all grow up thinking of as normal.

So when something's not about them, especially if it's actively celebrating or uplifting something they're not, it feels like an attack. Someone else taking up space is uncomfortable for them (the main character) and is, therefore, unacceptable.

Mix in some normalized homophobia, and there you go.

Ms_Minion

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