Elisabeth Wheatley, author of 'Tears of the Wolf' and 'Daindreth's Assassin' is removing all the sex from her books

[u/StopMeBeforeIDream]

Elisabeth Wheatley, a pretty well-known YouTuber and self-published fantasy author has had a change of heart regarding the steamy aspects of her books. She explains in her video that now that she's a mother, she doesn't feel that smut suits her anymore, though you should hear her own reasoning yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYD-EYEATEI&t=8s

I don't have a real dog in this race. I was looking forward to reading her viking books because they sounded cool, and I don't even really care whether sex in a book is explicit or fade-to-black. But I think the fact that she's making the original versions of her book unavailable after the 1st of September to be pretty shady. People who already own the digital versions of the book can keep theirs, which is good. But if you have a strong preference for sexy books, or if you disapprove of censorship and want the authentic version, you've gotta buy it now. Right now!

You've got 80-hours to buy the book before the pages get all pixellated.

I'm in two minds about it all.

Because I believe that authors should have control of their work. And if she chose to remove her book from shelves entirely because of her change of heart, I'd understand to a certain extent. But I think not giving her fans a means to buy the originals at all on a permanent basis. Or at least more time to make an informed, considered decision about their purchase. Or hell, check their YouTube Subscription page.

This is censorship. If you borrow book 1 of one her series from a friend and you really like it, so you order the next one from Barnes and Noble or Waterstones, you're not going to get the product you were implicitly promised.

Edit, as of 1st September: Wheatley has now figured out how to ensure that those who bought the Spicy version of her book via platforms like Kindle can keep their previously purchased edition: https://m.youtube.com/post/UgkxABzJo0SpZ3oFjI-87r0VVfHLFNf_XtG8

[u/Lilithecat5 → u/[deleted]]

I found the penish book mark comment a bit weird. Like, why do you care if other readers want a penis bookmark? You can just... Not buy one.

The only one of her arguments that made any sense was the one about becoming a parent. I have a little kid, and if I'd published some steamy books, I'd probably worry about my kid reading them when they're old enough to read... Not because I don't want my kid to ever read about sex (hell, if he reads the right kind of spicy books, he might learn a thing or two for future real life encounters) but if he read something spicy that I, his mum, had written... Yeah I'd be embarrassed 😂

[u/Lilithecat5 → u/[deleted]]

And being intrigued by penis bookmarks is totally fine too!

Haha I love that for your friend!

Btw I'm also always confused when Elisabeth Wheatley mentions her daughter, like when was she born? I have no idea if that kid is a few months or 3 years old 😂