Today was the release of her fourth adult novel. It had taken some time since her releases were planned out on a schedule by Raile as not to over-saturate the market with her own writing. From adult books to children's books, Raile knew how to market Simone Terrowin. Her long black locks were swept up in an elegant updo while she wore a beautiful dark blue dress.

They were in Abed for the release as Raile always shifted her around to where the most popular of releases would be. It was announced she would be at The Shankha, an Abedian bookstore. It was quite large and once Simone walked in with Lewis not too far behind her… Everyone seemed excited. They ran up to her and shook her hand even handing her a quill.

It wasn’t often that her face was known so these folks must have been at her other releases. She put on her best smile and saw how nervous Lewis was at all the people coming up to her. “Give the woman some space to breathe,” the shopkeep laughed as Simone and Lewis went over to a table to sit down.

“I’ll be here all day I promise!” The mother waved her hands and while she would have preferred to be with her babies… There was something magical about the electricity in the air when people got excited over her writing. This was such a far cry from what Lewis’s line of work used to be. Once it was time to begin she stood up, “My name is Simone Terrowin and I’m the writer for The Blades of Lust series! I hope you all enjoy my newest addition to the series!”

A lady approached the doors of the bookstore early in the morning, far earlier than the arrival of most. She was dressed in all black, as though she was in mourning but her outfit was far more revealing. Today her eyes weren't on any particular lady or lad. Instead, she was preparing to be one of the first to buy the newest release of The Blades of Lust. The books were slutty romance novels and had enough smut to make even her blush. Sometimes she would read it out loud to torment fragile eared priests and holy men when they started preaching modesty at her. There were also a few things she'd always wanted to see happen in one of her lust filled nights with five men… But even without the smut, the passion between Alexi and Tobias were expertly written. The talent behind the book was crystal clear and she'd always wanted to meet the writer. 

Despite her appearance, she had a strong passion for novels and the written word. Non-fictions were draining but when it came to fictional stories, they were fascinating. The way a person could create a world with words and reach to the very bottom of a person's heart was incredible. She had read hundreds of novels in her long life-time but there were few that she would hold up as the best. The Blades of Lust was one of those perfect novels that combined the theme with beautiful language and fascinating themes. The smut helped too…

Eventually the room filled up with crowds of people who all clamored for the author's attention the second she entered the room. The line was long and tiresome but eventually she was able to pay for her new book, Dangerous Temptations. The author had ebony black hair and a beautiful busty figure. A young man with white hair and a resemblance of Alexi from the book stood close behind her. She wondered if the other muse for the novel would make an appearance today. She approached the table with her book and handed it over to Simone to sign. 

"To Ciara please. I must say, you're books are marvelous! Oh and I was curious, would you have any interest in speaking in the future with new authors?" Ciara asked curiously, "I plan to open a guild for artists soon and having public speakers would be an important part." 

She realized she was leaving the white haired man out of the conversation. 

"Oh and of course you and your lover can come too Alexi." She said with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. 

Lewis was not really great with crowds, so when the book store filled up suddenly, he was already on edge. Still, it seemed like it was mostly women who seemed not to be large threats, at least in the sense that they were all clamoring for Simone to sign their books, versus what Lewis had expected, which was another kidnapping. He wanted to excuse himself, but there didn’t seem to be an out, so for most of the time, he found himself standing awkwardly at her side.

Which, in itself, was made more awkward by all the stares he got. Women seemed to ogle him with some sort of strange, almost invasive gaze, as if they were trying to undress him with their eyes, and size him up. It made zero sense to Lewis, and he wondered if this was what it was like to be put on display for others.

What am I…a piece of meat? These women seem almost desperate…like a starved animal…

One woman came up, a fae. Already, Lewis disliked her due to her race, though he knew better than to associate one house with the whole species. It was hard not to, though, with everything that they had gone through. She chatted up Simone, and then looked over to Lewis with that same, devouring stare.

“I’m sorry…the fuck?” Lewis said aloud.

There was a call from the front of the store, and suddenly there was a slow, steady chant. A demand, really, for Simone to read an excerpt from the newest book. Something to get them going while they waited in line. Lewis took a hesitant step back.

They really are…wild animals…what the fuck…

Simone looked at Lewis and patted his hand lightly. Most housewives are starved for attention. It’s what makes my books sell so good. If their husbands were good at being husbands my books wouldn’t sell so well. I depend on failing marriages to be a success. And you are pretty cute if I do say so myself.

The fae made her nervous but she was trying to get over her fear as she wrote a little note for her and signed her name. “Oh, I would love to and I’m sure my bank manager would love it as well. He’s the one who makes sure all of my books are readily available for purchase.”

“Oh, I modeled the male lead after you, my love!” Simone sounded so proud of herself but she knew he was going to find out everything eventually. “I’m sorry, this is my husband Lewis.”

Once the chanting started Simone had a glimmer in her eye but she was watching Lewis nervously. As I said, they don’t get any action at home. The only action they get is in my books.

Standing up Simone took the book and began to read. The more and more she read… The quieter she got as Lewis was literally glaring at her. “What?”

“What the fuck Simone…”

There was giggling in the crowd.

“It sells. Raile said it was a good idea.”

“…That fucking merchant…”

“I’m sorry ladies but my husband didn’t know that I modeled the Great Alexi after him! This is such a surprise for him!” There was clapping towards Lewis. “They love you!” Lewis who had been awkward most of his life had about fifty housewives after his meat now. “I’m going to say that I’m afraid I don’t share ladies so all you have is your precious Alexi!” There was more cheering now and Lewis was glaring at Simone.

“This is what all the giddiness was about?”

“Yes?” Simone tilted her head and gave a smile. Lewis fell back into his seat and put her head in his hands ruffling his own hair. “Anyways, a guild sounds like it could be fun and good for my books. I also write children’s books in-between these. Would the guild be safe for children? Lewis and I have twelve.”

A part of Ciara wondered if the white haired man knew he was the inspiration for the books, it was why she was so direct in her addressing him as Alexi. The look on his face was worth a thousand pieces of silver. The fae woman held a hand over her mouth to politely hide her giggling as Simone began reading a passage. She watched as Lewis' face became slowly more and more horrified. Many other women were noticing too and falling into outright laughter. There was a little disappointment in Ciara's eyes once she learned the love relationship was completely fabricated, but Lewis' reaction made up for it completely. 

"On the bright side, you are quite famous Sir Lewis." She said politely with a mischievous grin, "I'm certain that every woman in Abed knows of this passionate romance. Perhaps every woman in Canelux too…" 

After her little teasing, she focused her attentions back on the guild with Simone. The famous author seemed to be interested in the guild and mentioned her concerns over the safety of her children, which was legitimate considering Ciara's appearance and overall behavior. 

"My! Twelve children? You two are certainly busy… no wonder the anatomy in this book is so accurate." Ciara said before growing a little more serious, "The guild is safe for children of all ages. Any 12+ artworks are only allowed in the black hall, and that will have some magic to keep children of young ages out. We also are planning to have classes for children like painting lessons, dance lessons, and many others. Its a good way to keep the children occupied while the parents are at work. I'm afraid we will still be working on the marketing part of the guild. It seems few merchants are willing to take a chance on something new unless there is an obvious gain…" 

Marketing was one of the many problems Ciara had been encountering since she started this project. Connections to famous artists and to powerful nobles were the easy part, thanks to her charisma, but she needed to connect to the merchants to actually sell the artworks. However, if an author of a well-selling book were to speak to the guild members, that may influence the merchants to be as flexible as they are in bed.