Fiction has the power to challenge norms, stir desire, and awaken deeper truths about who we are and how we love. In this episode of Ringing the Bell, host Douglas Bell welcomes author, attorney, and podcaster Dicey Grenor for a bold and honest conversation about writing erotica, embracing taboo, and using storytelling as a radical act of self-expression.

Dicey’s work defies easy labels. From her Narcoleptic Vampire Series to her latest erotic romances, she weaves together horror, fantasy, and unapologetic sensuality to explore the places where fear, pleasure, and identity collide. Her characters don’t ask for permission to be seen—they demand it. With eleven novels and countless short stories under her belt, Dicey uses fiction to claim space for Black women, for sexual agency, and for the complicated, messy beauty of desire.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Douglas and Dicey unpack what it means to write stories that some readers may find uncomfortable—but that others find liberating. Dicey shares how her background in law sharpened her voice as a writer and how stepping into the world of indie publishing gave her the creative freedom to write without censorship. She talks about the courage it takes to write about pleasure without shame—and why eroticism can be a deeply spiritual act.

A major theme in this episode is the power of writing to reclaim truth. Dicey challenges the narrow definitions of what is “respectable” or “acceptable” in literature, especially for Black women writing about sex, fantasy, and horror. She speaks candidly about the role of taboo in her work, not as shock value, but as a way to explore what society often refuses to name.

As co-host of the Sex & Horror Podcast, Dicey continues to create space for unfiltered, inclusive conversations that honor the body, the imagination, and the freedom to own your story. Her work in anthologies like SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire reimagines the vampire mythos through the lens of the African Diaspora, blending cultural heritage with speculative power.

For writers and readers alike, Dicey offers this truth: no one else can tell your story the way you can—and the world needs stories that break the mold.

Throughout the episode, Douglas and Dicey remind us that fiction—like sexuality—isn’t something to be hidden or sanitized. It’s a force for liberation. And in writing without apology, Dicey Grenor rings a bell for those who are tired of being silenced, and ready to be seen.