Surprise Prequel!
I finished the first draft of a prequel for Corrupt Idol. I needed a break from my Singed Series that I write as Mia Knight. That series is under contract, so I only had a little time to dedicate to something small. I decided after reading Corrupt Idol that a prequel might be an interesting diversion.
I always shied away from showing too much of Jesse and Violet’s past because of their ages, and I thought the scenes would be extremely unsettling... And they are. Through the whole first half of this book, I kept thinking, “I shouldn’t be writing this. I shouldn’t be writing this.” For some reason, this book triggered me far more than Corrupt Idol. Probably because the setting was so familiar. The religious aspect that is brushed over in Corrupt Idol is front and center in this book.
This book:
Has no title yet
First draft is 63k words (Corrupt Idol is 56k)
Trigger warnings for this book are: dub con, non-con, religion.
Dual POV
This book didn’t go as I anticipated, but that’s always a good thing. If you’re lucky, the characters take over and that happened from the very beginning. I was stunned when Jesse started telling their story from his point of view. In some ways, this book is actually his. It documents the evolution of his feelings and descent into obsession.
The story starts off so sweet and innocent. I was uneasy because I knew it would take a sharp left turn and once it did, I wrung my hands and paced, wrestling with whether to put something like this out in the world. Eventually, I stopped debating about right and wrong and just focused on being honest.
Recently, Corrupt Idol was banned from a lot of retailers. I’m worried this book will suffer the same fate. If that does happen, it can still be purchased directly from me and I hope readers will help spread the word about it!
This book spans their first meet to Jesse leaving for the military. I haven’t committed to the ending, so that may change, but that’s what it is at the moment. Scenes I refer to in Corrupt Idol that are covered in the prequel are:
Scene at church camp when Jesse realizes his feeling for her aren’t platonic.
Him sneaking into her room.
The time when he’s in her room and Violet participates.
Jesse beating Tucker’s ass/their first time.
I’ve never written a prequel before. Designing a story to fit within the parameters I carelessly set in Corrupt Idol was a challenge. I had to rein in my language and turn back the clock to put myself in a mindset where I was in high school and under my parent's roof/rule. This revived a lot of memories, good and bad. In CI, I just threw Violet and Jesse together, but in this book I actually had to take the time to relate to and understand them and actually… I think their story is terribly tragic. I cried quite a few times while writing this.
I’m planning to revise/rewrite at the beginning of January and hope I can release late that month (earlier if possible). I’m currently posting the raw draft on Patreon & Ream. If you’re subscribed in January, you’ll get the ebook ahead of the public.
I’m excited and nervous to put out this prequel. I hope it’s an eye-opening companion to Corrupt Idol. When I have a chunk of time to write the sequel in the future, I’ll do so, but this is what I could work into my schedule. I hope you enjoy!
Next time I post, the pre-order will be up!