Snippet Sunday: Club Mephisto

When I started doing these Snippet Sun days, I thought I should have some system where I keep track of how many times I feature each book. Of course that ended up being far too left-brained and organized for me and I haven’t done it, but I did have a sense that I hadn’t featured Club Mephisto yet, and I was right!

Poor Club Mephisto, always lurking on the margins of my body of work. When I wrote it I had a sense that it wouldn’t appeal to a significant part of my audience, and that many people wouldn’t like the characters or the ending. I still had this story inside me and I wanted to put it down, so I have no regrets. I’m also so appreciative of every one of my readers who gave it a try (even if it ended up not being their cup of tea.) I did have readers who liked it better after they read the mirror work, Molly’s Lips: Club Mephisto Retold, and heard the story from Mephisto’s point of view.

It’s hard to actually find a passage from CM that isn’t too obscene to post here, but I do like the scenes where Mephisto questions Molly, trying to figure her out. Because, of course, Molly is so stringently self-effacing.

     “For his pleasure. When it pleases him. You know the lines well. Now answer my question. How often does he take you out?”

     Molly thought a moment. “At certain times, like at the holidays, we attend more parties and events than other times. But I would say on average he takes me out three to four times a month. Perhaps four or five times a year, I help entertain guests in our home.”

     “Vanilla guests?”

     “Yes, Master. Work parties and dinners.”

     “I bet you’re amazing at that sort of thing. Hostessing.”

     “I try to pleas—”

     “Please your Master. Yes. Thanks for the recap. Besides pleasing him, what do you do with your time?”

     Molly swallowed, reaching back to touch the counter, feeling unbalanced by his persistent questioning. Somehow it seemed easier to take a deep, pounding assfucking than to endure this probing interview. “I… Well, I read.”

     “What do you read?”

     “Erotica. Current events. History books. Whatever Master feels will improve me.”

     “Do you watch television? Go online?”

     “No. Not without his supervision.”

     “What else do you do, besides read?”

     “I exercise. Master has a gym and a pool. Sometimes I help Mrs. Jernigan with housework. But I’m not allowed in the kitchen.”

     “Why not?”

     “I don’t know. My Master’s rules. He controls what I eat.”

     He thought about that a long moment. “Controlling can be fun. And you enjoy this control?”

     “Oh, yes, Master. I’m so thankful for it.”

     “What if he grows tired of all the work of controlling you?”

     She drew in a soft breath, and swallowed hard. He stared at her, his cruel question lingering in the air between them like some noxious thing.

The question is, can someone as self-effacing as Molly work as a romance heroine? The answer is no, which is why I marketed this book as erotica, rather than romance, but there is something very pure about Molly’s deep slavery all the same. If nothing else, it gives you something to think about. If you’re curious about the Mephisto books, you can click below for the blurbs and links of each book. Remember, Molly’s Lips is free at Smashwords!