Tag: a disturbing prospect

A DISTURBING PROSPECT Character Guide

As the River Reapers series grows, I’ve realized I need a sort of Wiki to keep track of all these people. And if I need help, I can just imagine how you feel! In the vein of George R.R. Martin, I’ve put together an appendix of the characters and their relationships as of the first book in the series, A Disturbing Prospect.

Looking for the A Risky Prospect character guide? Click here!

  • Beer Can: The Sergeant-at-Arms for the River Reapers MC. He works at The Wet Mermaid (strip club) as a bouncer.
  • Mark Clayton: The Treasurer for the River Reapers MC. He works at The Wet Mermaid (strip club) as a general manager.
  • Sebastian “Bastard” Demmel: Cliff’s deceased father, and the previous President of the River Reapers MC. Lucy’s uncle.
  • Cliff Demmel: The hero of our story. Ex-con and new Prospect of the River Reapers MC. Lucy’s cousin. Olivia’s… something.
  • Lucy Demmel: Cliff’s cousin and Olivia’s adoptive sister. She teaches first grade.
  • Dio: Olivia’s orange tabby kitten. Named for the god of heavy metal.
  • Esther Figueroa: Olivia’s mousy roommate and Donny’s ol’ lady. She’s in the Social Work program with Olivia at Southern Connecticut State University.
  • Donny Jackson: The Enforcer for the River Reapers MC and Esther’s ol’ man.
  • Elijah “Eli” Moretti: Olivia’s photography classmate.
  • Ravage: The current President of the River Reapers MC. Mercy’s best friend.
  • Bree: Olivia’s mother, whereabouts unknown.
  • Mercer “Mercy” Reynolds: The previous Vice President of the River Reapers MC, and Bastard’s ex-best friend. Currently serving time in maximum security at Lewisburg. Considers Ravage his best friend.
  • Olivia Reynolds: The heroine of our story. Lucy’s adopted sister. Cliff’s… something. Bree’s daughter. She’s in the Social Work program with Esther (roommate) at Southern Connecticut State University.
  • Skid: The current Vice President of the River Reapers MC.
  • Ruth Wood: Cliff’s deceased mother, and Lucy’s aunt. No affiliation with the MC, other than Bastard’s ol’ lady.

Did I miss a character or a (spoiler-free) connection? Please email me and let me know!

Is there a glossary or guide you’d like to see for the River Reapers series? Leave a comment and let me know!

Photo by Tamas Munkacsi on Unsplash

Anatomy of a Biker’s Cut

In another life, I’d be a biker.

I love the freedom, the camaraderie, and the bikes themselves. If I could physically ride or even start the thing, I’d totally get one. My UCTD kinda makes that impossible, but I can live vicariously.

That’s part of why I write MC romance.

Oh, I’m sure real bikers laugh at shows like Sons of Anarchy and books like mine, but I still try to write about the life as realistically as possible. Between family members who are members of SCs/RCs (social riding clubs) and family friends who are members of MCs (motorcycle clubs), I soak it all in. One thing I really wanted to get straight were all of the patches on the cut.

At first glance, a biker’s cut can look like a random collection of patches. But each patch has a different meaning, and some patches will even vary from club to club. I threw together a watered down diagram of the patches you’ll see on almost every cut.

The top rocker is sort of a banner with the club’s name on it. The bottom rocker usually displays the club’s location. The club colors are really just a logo. When you see a sign that says “no colors allowed,” it means no MC cuts. Social clubs are sometimes accepted, depending on the establishment. The side rockers display the club’s name on the bottom sides of the cut, usually wrapping around to the front. So our River Reapers MC cuts would look something like this:

Note: On the back, there’s also a patch that signifies whether the club is a MC or SC (sometimes referred to as RC, depending on the region). I forgot it when making this graphic. 😅

On the front, there are several other patches. Again, this’ll vary from club to club.

For the River Reapers MC, I kept it simple.

On the right breast, there are club name and office patches. The right is empty, unless the member has earned a special patch—like a Sludge Specter patch. Those gray things are supposed to be pockets, in case ya can’t tell. I’m no illustrator.

In the wild, you might see bikers with a billion patches. These can be special to each club, so it really could vary. Sons of Anarchy kept theirs simple, too.

The cut itself might be leather or denim. My River Reapers wear leather, because there’s nothing like that heavenly creaking sound. At least, that’s how I feel about it. I appreciate that a lot of people want to be cruelty-free, in which case a vegan leather vest or old fashioned denim would be suitable. The River Reapers wear thrifted leather, that way it’s already broken in and they’re recycling. 😉

So there you have it—the anatomy of a cut! I hope you enjoyed this, because I plan on doing more fun posts. Let me know if you liked this and what else you want to see!

Read the River Reapers MC Series

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Playlist for A DISTURBING PROSPECT

Feel the Olivia and Cliff vibes with this playlist of songs that inspired me while writing A Disturbing Prospect.

Read the River Reapers MC Series

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Photo by Hanna Postova on Unsplash

SONS OF ANARCHY Handled Tara’s Stalker All Wrong

As much as I love Sons of Anarchy, one thing has always bugged me: how Tara’s stalker was handled.

Don’t get me wrong. It was super heroic of Jax to kill that motherfucker. And that sex scene after, with the body right in the corner? Smoking hot, even if a little twisted.

But.

But!

Kohn tortured Tara. Terrorized her. Drove her out of her job and home, and then followed her there and continued to toy with her.

As a woman who has had a stalker, I really needed Tara to be the one to kill Kohn.

He was her demon; she should’ve slayed him.

Instead, we got a classic damsel in distress storyline, with Jax saving the day and Tara not at all empowered. You could argue that her character wasn’t the stalker killing type, and maybe you’re right, but it still bugged me.

My stalker wasn’t nearly as deranged as Kohn, but he was scary enough. He seemed benign enough, at first—a photographer in one of my college classes who needed a model. I’d done some modeling for a high school friend, so I jumped at the chance. Then he started talking about shooting me nude, in the woods, so I politely extracted myself.

Or so I thought.

For weeks, he followed me all over campus. It wasn’t a small campus, so at first I tried to convince myself that we just kept running into each other. But I was creeped out, and my gut is never wrong.

He wouldn’t let the shoot go, either.

Thankfully, I had some awesome friends who were more than happy to hover around me like overprotective brothers, and my stalker eventually got the message. I never even had to use my mace. Which was kinda too bad.

Still, when I watched Sons of Anarchy for the first time, I related to Tara quite a bit. Obsessive men are fucking scary. I hoped and hoped Tara would be the one to save herself, and even though I wasn’t surprised when Jax saved her, I was still disappointed.

Years later, when I sat down to write the forbidden biker romance that became A Disturbing Prospect, I knew one thing for sure: my distressed damsel would not be asking her biker boyfriend to handle her problems.

Maybe I’m being stubborn, but I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life. I don’t need Prince Charming to ride in on his motorcycle and shoot down my dragon. I’ve got my own gun. I’ll slay my own monsters.

-Olivia, A Disturbing Prospect (River Reapers MC, Book 1)

Maybe if more of us handled things like Olivia, creepy men would back the fuck off.

No offense, Tara.

Did you know you can pre-order the sequel to A Disturbing Prospect? Click here!

Photo by Stephany Lorena on Unsplash

Trigger Warnings for A DISTURBING PROSPECT

A Disturbing Prospect is the darkest book I’ve ever written. Not only is there a body count, but the book also deals with some real-life nightmares that I’ve longed to fight back against. Some of these themes may trigger personal trauma.

I needed to tell the story in my heart and right some wrongs, but I’d also never want anyone to suffer because of my words. None of these themes are gratuitously presented in the book, and my vigilante bikers always prevail. Still, I want my readers to be safe, so here is a list of potential triggers.

Animals: There’s no pet death in A Disturbing Prospect, but an animal is harmed.

Biker Culture: Let’s be real—biker culture is misogynistic as fuck. I wanted to portray that realistically, while also incorporating some changes. There’s some biker slang and characters who treat women as property in this book.

Childhood Sexual Abuse: Some of the characters have a history of being sexually abused as children. None of their memories are described, but there is mention of it having happened.

Drugs: There is brief mention of selling and use of drugs.

Self-Injury: A character catches a glimpse of another character’s self-mutilated arms.

Sexual Assault: One of the recurring themes in this series is violence against women and children. (One of the other recurring themes, however, is justice for that violence.) There are some hints of past sexual assault throughout A Disturbing Prospect.

Stalking: A character mercilessly stalks and taunts another character throughout A Disturbing Prospect.

Violence: All of the good guys in this series are vigilantes—antiheroes who take justice into their own hands. There is blood, fighting, gun violence, and a villain body count.

If you feel that you won’t be safe reading A Disturbing Prospect, please don’t risk your health. As a sexual assault survivor and someone with PTSD, I wish every book came with a list of trigger warnings. No book is worth risking your safety.

Please also note that I don’t necessarily condone or endorse the themes contained in this book.

If you’ve read A Disturbing Prospect and feel that I may have missed something, please email me at elizabethbaronebooks@gmail.com.

Ex-con Cliff thought Olivia was the peace he needs, but she just might be the hell he’s riding away from.

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A nod to Tess Sharpe, who wrote up a similar list for her Barbed Wire Heart and made me feel like less of an alien for wanting trigger warnings.

Photo by Ash from Modern Afflatus on Unsplash

Biker Slang and Club Roles

Now that A Disturbing Prospect is live, I thought I’d run through some of the biker slang and club member titles that pop up throughout the book. While writing, I used this biker slang dictionary as a reference.

Looking for A Risky Prospect terms and locations? Click here!

Cut: The leather jacket or vest that members of a club wear, usually with the club’s insignia embroidered onto the back, and various patches sewn on.

Enforcer: Sort of a bouncer for the club… or the guy who sorts things out when talking doesn’t work.

House Mouse: A woman who is unaffiliated with but hangs out with the club.

Holeshot: When someone in a motor vehicle rips up gravel. It’s also the fastest driver during a race. Not a biker term, but a reader asked about it, so I figured I’d include it. It also used to be my dad’s CB handle.

Ol’ Lady / Ol’ Man: Girlfriend/boyfriend, usually serious.

One-kicker: In A Disturbing Prospect, Cliff mentions that he isn’t a one-kick wonder yet; this means that he can’t start his bike with just one kick of the starter.

One-percenter: A club that is involved with illegal activity.

MC: Motorcycle club

Patch: This can refer to the patch on a biker’s cut, or the verb—as in, getting patched in, meaning being accepted as a member.

MC Positions

President: The member who oversees club activities, duties, and operations.

Prospect: A potential member.

Pussy Pad: The seat on the back of the bike, usually where a biker’s ol’ lady rides.

Rocker: A curved patch that is usually placed on the side or back of a cut. Usually designates the club’s name.

Sergeant-at-Arms: The member who handles club rules, patches, etc. Also sometimes weapons. (In some MCs, the SAA and Enforcer are interchangeable terms for the same role.)

Treasurer: The member who takes care of funds. Also organizes activities, fundraisers, and other club events.

Vice President: Second-in-command, usually coordinates Church and other events, and also takes over President roles in case that member can’t perform his duties.

There are other positions in an MC, but I didn’t want to overwhelm my readers with a whole slew of characters. You’ll meet more of the members in the next book. 😉

A Disturbing Prospect
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Book 2: A Risky Prospect
Prequel Novella: Her Mercy
Book 3: A Fatal Prospect
Book 4: COMING SOON