Unlocking Taboo
What Happens at the Sex Show Doesn’t Stay at the Sex Show!
Welcome to this exclusive Q&A where I explore the themes and inspirations behind my novel, The Taboo Show, the bold sequel to The Sex Course. We’re diving deep into the emotions, struggles, and triumphs of four incredible women.
Q: Can you introduce your book for readers who may be discovering it for the first time?
The Taboo Show is the bold, emotionally rich sequel to the award-winning The Sex Course, and together they form the world’s first “sex self-help fiction.” It blends contemporary women’s fiction with practical insight into sexual well-being, all through the lens of four women whose lives implode — and re-bloom — over one unforgettable day.
In The Sex Course, Isabella, Amy, Claire, and Jeanette were once thrown together in a university sex course. A few months later, they reunite at the Taboo Sex Show, each quietly struggling with body image, aging, marriage, intimacy, career pressures, and worthiness. What begins as a fun outing becomes a catalyst that forces each woman to confront her own story. Isabella finds herself tied up on a bed doing a demonstration. Amy is wanders into the BDSM tent and gets more than she bargained for. Claire finds herself transformed by a Tantra workshop. Jeanette faces the truth about her herself and why her marriage failed.
The Taboo Sex Show becomes the crucible for their personal breakthroughs. Which sparks confrontations, deep self-reflection, and real-world steps toward healing: marriage counseling, mindfulness, friendship support, and deeper emotional honesty.
Set in contemporary Calgary, the story moves between the chaotic, liberating energy of the Taboo Sex Show and the grounded, sometimes painful realities of their homes, marriages, and careers. Themes include female sexuality and shame, unequal emotional labor, and the quest for authenticity behind the personas women perform.
Q: What inspired you to write The Taboo Show?
I kept meeting women who were accomplished, smart, hilarious, generous—and quietly starving for something they didn’t think they were allowed to want. They’d whisper it to me in the hallway, after a workshop, or standing beside their car, keys in hand, unable to drive away until they said the thing out loud. I wanted to put that private courage on the page. A novel lets readers step into the adventure without feeling like they’ve enrolled in a class. They get to laugh, squirm, and root for these women as they fumble toward desire and find it anyway.
Try Before You Buy
Not sure The Taboo Show is for you? Read the first four chapters of The Taboo Show and meet Isabella, Claire, Jeanette, and Amy. This story will make you laugh, blush, cry, and be okay with wanting more. Grab your free sample here.
Q: Why write a self-help-fiction instead of straight self-help?
I wrote a best-selling non-fiction in 2008 called Till Sex Do Us Part, and learned there are a segment of women who want to read non-fiction. There’s an even bigger segment of women who prefer reading fiction (me included). These women weren’t getting good sex ed.
The majority of women don’t learn about intimacy from bullet points. They learn from trying something, feeling awkward, trying again, and realizing the world didn’t end. Fiction lets me show that messiness. You feel the moment Isabella is tied up onstage, and something in her chest unlocks. You feel the jolt when Amy walks into the BDSM tent. Or when Claire pretends she’s cool during the Tantric presentation while her pulse betrays her. The education is there, but it sneaks in sideways. Readers learn because they’re having fun, not because I told them to take notes.
Q: How does this book support a library, book club or book store?
Book stores and libraries have always been the first place women go when they’re ready to ask better questions about themselves. They slip the book off the shelf, hold it close, and trust that no one will judge them while they figure out what’s next. I wrote The Taboo Show for that woman. The sexuality is grounded rather than sensational, and the information is accurate. The characters model healthy communication, consent, exploration, and the sometimes ridiculous reality of learning new skills in midlife. At the end, I include practical resources so readers can keep going on their own terms.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from the story?
That reinvention can start at twenty-four, forty-two, or fifty-six, or seventy-one. Desire isn’t a fixed personality trait. It’s a living, shifting part of us. Once women see these characters taking risks — small ones, badly timed ones, thrilling ones — they start to imagine possibilities for themselves. I’ve had readers tell me they put the book down, walked into the kitchen, and finally said the thing they’d been avoiding for years. That’s the magic for me. One story sparks another.
Unfiltered: Isabella’s Sex Columns
Unfiltered: Isabella’s Sex Columns is a cheeky, culturally sharp collection of 12 sex columns from Femme magazine’s boldest voice. Grab your free copy here.
Q: You’ve been a Sexologist for 25 years. What surprised you writing this book?
How often pleasure shows up disguised as fear. The characters led me into places I didn’t expect. A Tantra session that rattled Claire more than any courtroom. A confession that shook Jeanette’s marriage wide open. Every time I thought, “No, that’s too much,” I remembered a woman who’d lived something even braver. It reminded me that women aren’t fragile. They’re resourceful. Give them a little information and encouragement, and they’ll change their entire sexual destiny without waiting for permission.
Q: What would you love readers to know about you and your work?
I don’t write to shock. I write to give women permission. Permission to ask if this really is enough and permission to ask for more. Sexuality is not the spicy seasoning at the edge of life. It’s one of the few ways people reconnect with themselves when everything else has stretched them thin. My books meet readers where they are, with humor, practicality, and a willingness to tell the truth before the truth gets polished. Book stores and libraries make that possible. They offer a quiet doorway. I just filled the shelves.
Q: What themes or discussion topics do you hope readers will get from the book?
Book club conversations—this novel is built for discussion around marriage, friendship, desire, identity, and reinvention.
Female sexual empowerment
Female sexual shame—how religion, body image, trauma, and societal expectations silence women’s pleasure.
Emotional and domestic labor—how inequity at home directly affects desire. Isabella’s story line is a powerful illustration.
Authenticity vs. performance—the personas women adopt (”the perfect lawyer,” “the dutiful wife,” “the sex-positive woman”) and what happens when they crack.
Women’s agency in long-term relationships—asking for what you want, and then allowing yourself to lean into it.
Q: Are there any sensitive topics or content considerations?
Yes. This is an 18+ novel intended for adult women, especially those in long-term relationships. The sex scenes are realistic, not gratuitous, and not written as erotica or rom-com fantasy. They exist to advance character growth and reflect the reality of women’s sexual lives, including struggles with desire, shame, religious guilt, and emotional labor.
Sportsheets
Inside The Taboo Show, Isabella does a Sportsheet demo … and it was life changing. Ready to add some naughty adventure to your love life? Say yes to blindfolds and soft cuffs that make experimenting sexy! Find out more here.
Q: If your book were part of a book store or library display, what topics, themes, or comparable titles would you pair it with?
Themes:
Women’s sexual wellness
Female friendship
Identity and reinvention
Marriage and intimacy
Contemporary feminist fiction
Comparable titles:
Big Little Lies — Liane Moriarty
Such a Fun Age — Kiley Reid
Fleabag: The Scriptures — Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Grown Ups — Marian Keyes
Q: Are there companion resources readers should know about?
Yes, I have two other books.
The Sex Course — The first self-help-fiction in this series.
You. Me. Bed. NOW! — a companion workbook offering practical, accessible intimacy exercises for women.
Q: Do you offer author engagements?
YES! I would love to do a small talk, reading or Q & A. Go here to book me for an event.
Virtual visits
Q&A sessions
In-person events (based in Calgary, Alberta)
Q: Is there anything else you would like readers to know about your work?
My mission is to make conversations about sexuality accessible, compassionate, and shame-free. I write fiction that entertains and empowers. Stories that help women see themselves not as “broken,” but as deserving of pleasure, sensuality, and meaningful connection. My books offer both an emotional journey and realistic tools that readers can apply in their own lives.
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