Why I Put Content Information in My Books

I'm going to say something that will make a certain corner of the internet very angry.

Content information isn't censorship. It's consent.

If you write romance — a genre built entirely on the concept of consent — and you don't see why giving your readers the information they need to make an informed choice is a good thing, I genuinely don't know what to tell you.

But I'll try anyway. Because this matters to me. And it's April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so if there was ever a time to talk about why I do this, it's now.

The Debate I'm Not Having

Every few months, Book Twitter (or whatever we're calling it now) explodes into a content warnings debate. One side says Content Information is essential. The other side says they're spoilers. Everyone yells. Nobody changes their mind. The discourse cycle continues.

I'm not here for that argument. I made my decision years ago and I've never wavered.

Every single one of my books has content information.

Every Capricorn Cove. Every Stoneheart MC. Every Nameless Souls MC. Every Shadowmist Pack book. The Maiden. The cozy ones. The dark ones. The ones with dogs. All of them.

And here's why.

Because I Write Across the Spectrum

My catalogue isn't one thing. I write cozy small-town romance where the hardest thing that happens is a bad date and a burnt muffin. I also write post-apocalyptic worlds where women kill to survive and MC presidents would commit crimes for the women they love.

The Maiden features women being hunted in a labyrinth. Runner opens in a post-apocalyptic wasteland with survival stakes. Blood & Stone deals with recovery and trauma. Feral Fates has primal shifter dynamics that aren't for everyone.

If someone picks up The Shake-Up and loves the cozy small-town vibes, I want them to know what they're walking into when they pick up a Stoneheart MC book. Not because those books are bad — they're brilliant, and I'll fight you on that — but because the experience is different, and readers deserve to choose their experience.

Because My Readers Have Lives

Here's what I know about my readers: they're human beings with histories.

Some of them are survivors of sexual assault. Some of them have experienced domestic violence. Some of them live with chronic pain, mental illness, grief, or trauma that I can't see and don't need to know about.

When I include content information, I'm saying: I see you. I don't know your story, but I know you might need this information to take care of yourself. Here it is.

What My Content Information Looks Like

I don't do vague. If I'm going to warn, I'm going to warn properly. My content information typically includes:

Across the catalogue:

• Explicit sexual content (I write spicy romance — this is a given)
• Strong language

In my darker series:

• Violence (physical, emotional, systemic)
• References to sexual assault or abuse (never depicted on-page as titillation — always handled with care)
• Captivity, confinement, or power imbalances
• Death of characters (sometimes brutal — looking at you, Nameless Souls)
• Grief and loss
• Substance references

In my contemporary series:

• Body image and fatphobia (discussed and challenged)
• Ableism (discussed and challenged)
• Chronic illness and disability experiences
• Family conflict or estrangement
• Mental health themes

The All Access series centres disability and chronic illness — which means it also depicts ableism, because that's the reality my characters live in. I warn for that. Not because I think readers can't handle it, but because some readers live it every day and might not want to encounter it in their escape reading.

That's okay. That choice is theirs.

"But Content Warnings Are Spoilers"

No, they're not, and here's why.

Knowing that a book contains references to domestic violence doesn't tell you which character, when it happens, how it's resolved, or what it means for the story. It tells you that the theme exists. That's it.

You know what else "spoils" a book? The back cover blurb. The genre label. The trope tags. The fact that it's a romance and you already know there's going to be a happy ending.

We accept all of those as standard information-sharing. Content warnings and content information are the same thing. They're metadata. They help readers find the right book for the right moment.

It's an Act of Love

That's what it comes down to.

I pour thousands of hours into these books. I build these characters from the ground up. I agonise over every scene, every emotional beat, every moment of tension and release. I do that because I love my readers and I want to give them the best possible experience.

Content warnings are part of that experience. They're the doorway. The welcome mat. The sign that says: I made this thing, and I want you to enjoy it safely.

My Stoneheart MC books are intense. My Nameless Souls MC books are brutal. The Maiden is dark. And they're all incredible. Content warnings don't diminish that — they ensure the people reading them are ready for what I'm about to give them.

Where to Find My Content Information

Every Evie Mitchell book includes content warnings:

• On the product page at eviemitchell.com
• In the front matter of the ebook and paperback

If you ever can't find a content warning for one of my books, email me. I'll tell you exactly what's in it. 

If You're an Author Who Doesn't Do This Yet

Consider it. Not because someone online yelled at you about it, but because the readers who need content warnings are often the readers who love your books the most. They're the ones who connect deeply, feel deeply, and engage deeply with your work.

Give them the information. Let them choose. Trust that your story is strong enough to survive a heads-up.

It is.

Want content warnings for a specific Evie Mitchell book before you read? Drop a comment or email me directly. I've got you.

All books are available on Kindle Unlimited and through Thunder Thighs Publishing.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. If you or someone you know needs support: 1800RESPECT (Australia) | RAINN (US)

#ContentWarnings #TriggerWarnings #SAAM #RomanceReaders #SafeReading #BookTok