Crystal Series Upcoming Book , , ,

Big Sigh – Update on Secrets (Crystal 6)

Dayo Benson

sighYes, as I sat down to write this post I sighed heavily. Because I feel really bad. Secrets was supposed to be out in August. Today is August 31st. As at Friday I was still optimistic that it would be ready, but it’s not. I guess I could release it as it is, but I’m not happy to do that. I need to feel confident as I push the button on Amazon that I’m putting out the best product I can.

I feel really bad for the people who message me almost weekly asking when the next Crystal book will be out, so I’m going to add a little bonus to the book as a sort of ‘thank you for being so patient.’ You’ll find out what it is when I release the book. It’s just a little extra to say thank you.

Bear with me guys. Things happen. You go to the hospital for a routine check up and get told you’re not allowed to leave and need an urgent x-ray and then they make you stay overnight and stab you with needles (yes, that happened to me last week on the day I arranged to be off work so that I could focus on putting the finishing touches to Secrets. I’m fine though, thanks for asking 🙂 ), editors get busy moving house and can’t work on your book as fast as they usually do (yes, that happened this month too), beta readers hate elements of the story and you have to rethink everything (ha, ha, I love my beta readers. I used to be very thin-skinned but they’ve toughened me up).

Life is all fun and games isn’t it? How on earth do people do it without God? That’s what I was wondering as I sat grumpily on a hospital bed a few days ago. As soon as the doctors told me they weren’t letting me leave I just began to pray on all the scriptures I could find about health and healing. And then I wondered what people who don’t have God do. If they’re Juda I guess they try to heal themself, ha ha. If they’re Alejandro I guess they call up a woman. Can’t really think what Max would do.

secrets5So…it’ll be a few more days before Secrets hits the virtual shelves at all the online retailers. But I hope the bonus I’m going to slip into the book will make it easier for you to forgive that 🙂 Make sure you’re on my new release list so that you get an email alert as soon as it’s out. Join my list by Clicking Here.

By the way, some people have already pretty much guessed what Juda’s secret is. I didn’t approve their comments on this site so that they don’t ruin the story for those of you who haven’t guessed. What do you think Juda’s secret it?

God bless.

Crystal Series Upcoming Book , , , , ,

Cover Reveal: Secrets (Crystal 6)

Dayo Benson

secrets5The cover for Secrets (Crystal 5) is finally ready!!

I’m so excited about this book because you get into Juda’s dark mind for the first time, and it was a challenge to write from his POV. He’s tortured, troubled and constantly second-guessing himself because he doesn’t know if he’s acting/thinking in a ‘normal’ acceptable way or not. Since meeting Crystal, he is desperately away of his abnormality and it’s a struggle for him.

It shouldn’t be too long now before the book is ready. Here’s the description:

Two unlikely people. An undeniable passion. A devastating secret.

Two passions consume Crystal: vengeance over the SOT, and love for Juda. Nothing may ever come of either.

Juda feels connected to Crystal in a way he has never felt with anyone before. But a devastating secret holds him back. Crystal may be the most forgiving person he’s ever known, but even she would never forgive him if she finds out what he did.

Some things are best kept secret.

But can he live with himself if he doesn’t tell her?

Christian Living , , ,

Realistic Romance (Part 2)

Dayo Benson

man proposingPornography gives men an unrealistic view of women and objectifies us. Most women are not desperate for their man 24/7, don’t wait eagerly to rip of his clothes every evening when he gets home, and aren’t cool with swinging from the chandeliers every night (ha ha). Porn is simply fantasy. I guess that’s why it’s so addictive. And I’m in no way assuming that only men watch it. Seriously, both genders struggle.

On the flip side, romance books and movies often objectify men. Have you noticed that? The men that star in them are usually hot and hunky (it’s like a pre-requisite) and they are just there to adore the heroine, or love and support her while she takes out all her childhood issues on him and punishes him for every mistake that every other man before him made. Sometimes I think romance books are as unrealistic about men as porn is about women. I might have to write a book with a totally ‘unattractive’ (by Hollywood standards) love interest who doesn’t work out and might even be overweight. But I’ll might him sound really cool and romantic 🙂

As a writer, I constantly think about things like this. I tell myself, Dayo, you need to be proud of what you’ve written when you stand before God. You need to be able to present all your books to Him and tell Him you wrote them because you love Him and because you want other people to love Him more too. And God is the author of romance, right?

So…I strive for balance with the romance in my books, but I wonder if the romance I portray and the romance we all experience in real life is anywhere near as cool and pure and exhilarating as what God intended romance to be. So the dilemma is, should the romance I write be perfect and amazing and totally unrealistic since God probably intended romance to be better than what we experience anyway? Or should I write the reality of what most romance is like, easy and fun in the beginning, but in need of more effort to keep it going?

Just thinking out loud.