Edinburgh-based erotic fiction On Dublin Street tops bestsellers list in the US and online

IT’s the latest international bestselling erotic novel – and one that will allow Fifty Shades of Grey fans in the Capital to get their kicks closer to home.

On Dublin Street, set in the heart of the city, charts the sexcapades of “stubborn Scotsman” Braden Carmichael and American Jocelyn “Joss” Butler, who has come to Scotland to escape her “tragic past”.

And while it only took six weeks to write, the novel has since topped best-seller charts online and in the United States.

Author Samantha Young, 26, an Edinburgh University graduate who lives in Stirlingshire, previously specialised in young adult urban fantasy novels, before deciding to self-publish her first adult romance.

She is now reaping the rewards, after the book topped not only the Kindle charts, but also the New York Times and USA Today best-sellers list, and sold more than 200,000 copies.

The novel was so successful it has now been republished by Penguin fiction, which has also signed Ms Young on to its books.

She is already getting ready to release the sequel, Down London Road, continuing her exploration of erotic 
Edinburgh.

Ms Young said: “I’m not sure how many have now been sold in total, but before I handed over to Penguin, I sold about 200,000 copies. I used the money to pay off my mum’s, dad’s and brother’s mortgages – they deserved to be looked after. I’ve just bought myself a few nice dresses. I rent a property and I’m happy with that.”

While her mum is no doubt pleased she doesn’t have to worry about the mortgage however, she’s still not quite come to terms with some of the steamier parts of the book.

Ms Young said: “She’s mortified it contains sexy scenes written by her little girl. My gran, however, doesn’t have a problem with it at all.”

The stars of her novel meet up after Jocelyn moves into the Dublin Street flat Braden shares with his sister. It is described as being a ground-floor Georgian apartment next to a boutique, which would place it next to designer ladies wear store Linzi Crawford, where The Stac Polly is located in real life.

Ms Young said: “I couldn’t decide on a title for the book, so my mum asked: ‘Well, where are you setting it?’ I told her it was in the New Town so we decided to go through street names and the minute she said ‘Dublin Street’ I knew that was the one.”

Yesterday residents of the street were responding positively to the area’s new found notoriety, admitting that its local setting would make them more likely to read it.

Student Lauren Dunne, 20, above, said: “I’ve read Fifty Shades of Grey so I would definitely read this. It could be great for the street.”

Fellow resident Amelia Benson, 19, above left, said: “I haven’t read Fifty Shades but I’d be more likely to read an Edinburgh version – that could be interesting!”

The author will certainly be hoping that the adventures of Joss and Braden will leave readers screaming for more, as the sequel is due out in 
May.

Lusting for Location, location

Dublin Street may be the star of the show but plenty of other Edinburgh places get a mention in the tale. Here are just a few.

• “I glanced down at the cute green-and-white striped denim shorts I had purchased a few weeks ago from Topshop. It had been raining non-stop since then, and I had despaired of ever getting to wear them. But the sun was out, peeking over the corner tower of the Bruntsfield Evangelical Church, burning away my melancholy and giving me back a little bit of hope.”

• “Pulling my eyes from his, I glanced out at the passing traffic and prayed for this cab ride to be over. As we approached Princes Street and another diversion caused by the tram project the council was heading up, I began to wonder if I was going to escape the cab without having to talk to him again.”

• “For once I decided to use my money on something frivolous and headed into Harvey Nichols on St Andrew Square...I finally decided on a classy but sexy Donna Karan dress.. Ellie was enraptured over it. Ellie could be enraptured over it all she wanted. I was nervous about Braden’s reaction.”

Magical history tour

Samantha Young graduated from Edinburgh University in 2009 with a degree in ancient and medieval history.

It was during a lecture in classical literature in her first year that she was struck with the inspiration for her Tale of Lunarmorte Trilogy. The young adult books, described as “paranormal romance”, tell the story of teen werewolf Caia Ribeiro, whose pack have been involved in a centuries-long war with ancient Greek gods.

Her other tales for young adults include the four-part Fire Spirit series, The Warriors of Ankh Trilogy and The Fade Duology.

Ms Young, left, who has been writing for as long as she can remember, said: “I love pulling pieces of historical fact (or mythology) and twisting it to fit my stories.”