SA launches choose-your-own-erotic-destiny book concept

South African cover

Swedish cover

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Published by Delta, an imprint of Jonathan Ball, the "choose-your-own" element is seen as giving a fresh twist to a genre that, until now, was in danger of becoming repetitive. To allow a woman to be in charge of her own erotic destiny, to relinquish control to her completely, is uniquely liberating - the reader is fully in charge of her own experience and everyone is guaranteed a happy ending. It should make this series stand out for all the right reasons, according to the publishers.

When your friend cancels on your girls' night out at the last moment, you suddenly find yourself all dressed up and alone at an exclusive bar. What do you do now? Will you spend the evening drinking tequila with a rock star? Or perhaps the suave and charming millionaire businessman is more your style? But the angelic young barman with a body made for sin has also caught your eye ... Then there's the bodyguard who has the keys to his boss' sports car and is offering you a ride. Maybe you want to head home instead, to your sexy new neighbour.

Whichever way you decide to go, each twist and turn you make will lead to an unforgettable encounter. Can you choose the ultimate sensual experience? The power is entirely yours!

Three-in-one author

Helena S Paige is the pseudonym of three South African friends - Paige Nick, Helen Moffett and Sarah Lotz - who went for a long lunch one Saturday in November 2012. None had any idea that it would change their lives forever.

Over a few glasses of something or other, they started chatting about how exciting it would be to collaborate on a project. Then Lotz mentioned an idea she'd had for a choose-your-own-adventure erotic novel, patterned on the choose-your-own adventure books we used to read when we were children. It blew their minds and, by the end of lunch, Helena S Paige was born and A Girl Walks into a Bar was well on its way.

Backgrounds

Nick (@paigen) is an award-winning advertising copywriter and author of two previous novels, A Million Miles from Normal and This Way Up. She also has a weekly column in the Sunday Times, which covers everything from sex and dating to general lunacy.

Moffett wears many hats - freelance writer, poet, editor, activist and academic - and has lectured as far afield as Trinidad and Alaska. She is also a cricket writer and flamenco fan.

Lotz is a screenwriter and novelist with a fondness for fake names. She writes urban horror novels under the name SL Grey (@slgreyauthor) with author Louis Greenberg, and a YA series with her daughter, Savannah, under the pseudonym Lily Herne (@herne13).

Pricing and availability

The e-book is priced at R65 and the paperback at R95. The sequel, A Girl Walks into a Wedding, launches as an e-book on 15 November and in paperback on 14 March. Find the series on Twitter at @GirlWalksIn.