The first thing is that I wrote Summer Liaison to be a completely different form of a romance novel. I have been reading romance novels for years, and I have read so many that were very serious, had a strong literary backing, and really just followed a drawn out and complex plot. When I decided to write my own romance novel, I wanted to write a story that was both entertaining and outrageously funny. Furthermore, I didn’t want to focus too much on minor, specific details and create a long, boring story. As a result, I decided make Summer Liaison a story that would be more humorous and unbelievable than anything else. And, this is why I choose the simple plot of having three women fight over one guy. That was designed to be the sole purpose of the story, and everything revolved around that, including Rickey’s secret, which I don’t believe you mentioned in your review. In this manner, I created a unique story where the reader would focus on this one point and would be eager follow these crazy and hilarious characters to the end of the story.

In keeping with the outrageous tone of the book, I decided that the biggest influence on the story would be the sex scenes. Now, I completely agree with you that the sex scenes were unbelievable, and that was the effect I was trying to achieve. On more than one occasion in your review, you mentioned that these scenes were funny and that they made you laugh. And, that was the reaction that I wanted from the readers. I wanted them to say to themselves, “This is outrageous. That is not even possible,” as they struggle to read these scenes from laughter. I know that, when compared to real life intimate situations, the scenes in my story are just not what really takes place. Those things don’t happen (most times, as I can’t speak for everyone), and I know they are not an indicator of what women like or what men like. In my opinion, I don’t think that the readers should live their intimate lives vicariously through my novel. I am sure that some of the things done by Rickey, Lisa, and Pamela defy the laws of Physics and Science, such as the “spontaneous lactation” However, I’ll just leave that for the readers to decide.

The other outrageous items that you pointed out, such as the drink spilling on Jennifer because of the waiter’s distraction from her ‘well-breasts” and the 48-hour orgasm, those were exaggerated details to supplement the unbelievable tone of the book. However, I have encountered the mention of a 48-hour orgasm on more than one occasion while reading other romance novels. In addition, the same applies to the elevator “internal damage.”

With respect to my mistake of repeating the characters’ names throughout the story, I didn’t really take notice of that until late in the publication process, when it was too late to correct it, and I do apologize in advance to the readers who may not like it. However, I am really glad that you brought that up because Summer Liaison is my first book, and I see this more as a learning experience for me. I really like it when people are honest and willing to point out mistakes so that I can learn from that and become a better writer. And, it is this aspect that makes a spectacular review, such as the one you have written for my novel. I am sure that there are other things that could have been different, and after re-reading my book, I have taken note of those things and I am positive that they will not be in the second part to Summer Liaison, which I am currently working on.

Overall, I feel that I have achieved my goal of writing an entertaining and funny “romance” story for people to read and enjoy, and I hope that everyone will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again, I want to thank you for you wonderful and professional review.

Best wishes always,
Basem Darwish
http://www.basemdarwish.com