In this erotic novella, Rachel Leeds is a repressed literature professor who struggles with taboo fantasies that invade her sexual identity with razor-sharp intensity.
Just as Rachel's answers begin to overpower her questions, she crosses paths with a clever young lesbian who isn't who she appears to be, and manages to turn her staid academia into a firestorm of desire, pulling at the threads of Rachel's carefully controlled existence.
Random Act of Blindness is a steamy lesbian tale that takes an often superficial genre, and imbues it with eloquence, and multi-dimensional facets; Baeli has created characters a reader can truly invest in and care about.
EXCERPT:
Never, in all her days, had she imagined herself in a position like this. Vivid fantasies aside, Rachel had never considered acting on the impulses that invaded her thoughts throughout the day. They were private affairs stored only in some scurrilous recess of her mind. Yet her mind interacted with other minds, and often, there were fragments of information to be had in often ironic ways. Doctor Bass, for instance, listened to her confession of the scandalous gearshift penetration mirage, and fantasy bondage scenarios and produced a copy of the bondage magazine. While not something Professor Rachel Leeds believed would qualify as a "literary device," it was nonetheless pivotal in the events in which she was now participating. Namely, being on her way to a hardware store to find something to use as a whip on the girl who lay naked and bound in hotel room number 66, the Mark-of-the-Almost-Beast.
Faith. To believe in things not yet seen, they say. Rachel was faithful a long time ago. Then she communed with the faithless, and their cloying demands. She needed evidence because it made her feel foolish. And faith was lost. But the bitterness left her cold, barefoot, detached from the warmth of love and connection. Then she discovered a different faith. One born of her own power, left untapped for eons, swirling, ebullient, joyful. And now, coming full circle, she found herself wholly unqualified, still, to manifest from faith alone. Yet, perfectly accustomed to crying alone, wishing alone. Hope did not float. It sat on the bottom of a sea of isolation, weighted by its own lie.
Armchair Detective Author's Note Random Act of Blindness as Random Act of Fiction Random Act of Blindness is an expansion project, which began as a short story for an erotic publication, grew into a novella, and now, has been expanded to a short novel. This project is dear to me because I was trying to do something that I don't think happens very much in the genre: making a truly erotic story rich with all the elements of any other good novel. I have always wondered why erotica seems to be sequestered in a dark corner, like a misbehaving red-headed step-child. Why can't we have stories that are interesting, filled with three-dimensional characters, and a plot that keeps you turning pages? Why are erotica and quality fiction so often mutually exclusive? I mean, we all know that we all have sex (unless we don't, and that's another subject). So why do we pretend that sexual activity is not a part of our existence? It is at once one of the most motivating factors in our every day lives. It melts hearts, it wrecks marriages, it defines us, moves us, reveals us, and keeps us in touch with both our humanity and our emotional selves. So why do we pretend, in our fiction, it is only an afterthought? Perhaps the crux of the issue revolves around the degree to which we describe our sexual encounters in novels. But then, I have to wonder if this is some atavistic mentality that smacks of our historical shame regarding the sex act itself. I contend that sex is not dirty, unless you haven't bathed. Another challenge I have found with Random Act is that in expanding a story like this, one can only show the characters having sex so many times before it becomes tedious. It has to become, to a degree, less about the sex, and more about the characters and the story. This precarious balance I sought has no doubt made me a better writer, if I managed to pull it off. Which, according to feedback and reviews, I have. It doesn't really matter to me if any publisher finds it a viable and respectable offering in the fiction milieu. I write what I want to write, how I want to write it, and that's the best (and most honest) way to be a writer.
"5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!!!!
I just finished reading Jae's book, 'A Random Act Of Blindness'. I'm not accustomed to writing reviews, so please bear with me as I share my experience of this book. I had scanned excerpts from the book twice before, thinking, "well, this will be a juicy read", not realizing what lay forward. I started reading from the beginning earlier tonight and I couldn't stop until the last page. My initial perception of the story changed after the first 20 pages or so. What I thought was going to be a typical erotic story, ended up being everything but. The characters were authentically portrayed, vividly real. As I read, I felt like a starving soul voraciously hanging onto whatever morsel the next line would leave me with. I wanted more... I was filled with surprises, chuckles, and deeply immersed in the emotional experiences of the characters. Jae's talent with words and the ability to transport the reader to a delightful and entertaining journey is first rate! From the taboos of forbidden sex, to the apprehension of blossoming love, I was transfixed from the first word to the last.
I highly recommend this book!!!
Now I can't wait to read the rest of them......
Thanks Jae......well done! :cheers:
Sandi Partee,
Maine
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"5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent and classy book.
Being a straight married female, I wasn't sure what to expect as I began reading this novel. I am accustomed to anything labeled "erotica" being seedy and without plot. This book was a welcome surprise! It is written with intelligence and class. Any awkward feelings I felt as a "straight" person as I began reading this-my first example of "gay erotica" -immediately paralleled the awkwardness being felt in the first few pages by the main character which allowed me to relate, as it should anyone, gay or straight, and keep reading. These characters are so real anyone should be able to identify with them. I loved the clever dialogue! Combine this great characterization with a compelling plot and it becomes about the story, not the sex. However, for those of you interested in the sexual encounters, they are such that would make any couple envious!
In the end, what I found was a very intelligent,witty,and compelling love story about the kind of fulfilling relationship that everyone searches for yet few rarely find in their lifetime. No matter who the lovers may be, no one should ever condemn true love. A truly great read written by an obviously intelligent and witty author! Kudos, Jae Baeli! "
~Tanya Gotcher,
Little Rock, AR
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