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.
The Story Behind This Book
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.
Praise and Reviews
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another great book from this author.
I think i liked this one more than 'armchair detective', and i loved that one.
This book is well rounded and packed with drama. I wasn't sure i'd like it at first, as i was foolish enough to think the author was going to take the common route of having the suspicious blond turn out to be evil and wreak havoc on our protagonist. So, i spent the first part of the book on the edge of my seat waiting for the shoe to drop. But that made it all the more enjoyable when i went back and read it a second time, once i knew what was really going on.
It's witty, hot, intelligent, and with characters that you like so much that you want to call them to hang out once the book is done. You'll be laughing one minute, and contemplating the complexities of the human psyche the next. It hits the gates running and refuses to be predictable. I'll be reading this one again and again.
Kelli Jae Baeli is now one of my favorite authors and i highly recommend anything that she writes. She has the ability to make telling a story seem as easy as breathing. Whether it's fiction or just observations of herself and life in general. A rare talent among a genre full of formula driven lisfic authors.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First let me clarify. I cannot be completely objective when writing a review about a book by this author. I have read most of her offerings and have loved every one of them. I read this book some time ago and revisited it a few days ago. Having said that, let's begin.
First of all, this book beautifully flows from mood to mood as the narrative unfolds. The first several chapters were written in a rather formal third person that in my head I heard as an elderly, male English television host. Brilliantly, the action that takes place in these said chapters is hilarious so the writing style works in counterpoint with the narrative.
Rachel Leeds, the rather staid English professor reminded me of Lydia Beaumont from "The Secret Trilogy" in that she always seemed to be a little dazed with what was going on around her and the addition of Patrice to her life seems to confound her even more while at the same time it spurs her on to "fish or cut bait".
Patrice is a fascinating character. I love how Ms. Baeli lets the reader "discover" Patrice. Patrice could have easily been portrayed as some crazy, obsessive bitch. She pulls some really psycho stuff, but the author then follows each situation with backstory that makes the reader say, "Oh, I see."
As always, Baeli has imbued her characters with wit and their dialogue and actions are very original. Some might question that this is one of those "love at first sight" jobs. Well, not really. Patrice has been observing Rachel for quite some time and I think you can fall in love with someone's mind without any personal interaction. Haven't we all had a crush on a teacher? And, I think Rachel had been looking for Patrice for a long, long time.
The novel moves from farcical to romantic to a who-dun-it, seamlessly. All the while Baeli uses her clever humor and superb writing skills to keep the reader in rapt attention. This author always includes a few very hot and steamy sex scenes which never seem gratuitous and always satisfy.
Give yourself a good read. You deserve it.
"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
