I’ve been asked a lot recently to describe what it is that I write, and I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you on how I see it.
I write BDSM erotic romance. This means that my stories revolve around the sexual journey of my characters, in most cases learning about themselves as Doms and submissives (and in one book, as switches). If you remove the sex from my stories, the books wouldn’t exist. It’s essential to the plot.
About the BDSM. BDSM stands for Bondage & Discipline, Domination & Submission, Sadism & Masochism. The idea of BDSM squicks some people out. I know that. I get it, and if your first reaction is “Ewwwwwwww,” then these stories probably aren’t for you. That’s okay. I know not everyone likes the same things.
If you’re still reading along, BDSM is a regular part of many, many people’s lives. Kinky people are everywhere – they could easily be your next door neighbor, your child’s school teacher, the quiet librarian, the paramedic who took such good care of your grandmother when she fell, and you’d never know it. These are the people I’ve been writing about. Not kings, not multi-millionaires with more money than God, just your average people.
Also, in my stories, what you get is what most people consider light BDSM. And, to be totally honest, I know some people don’t think it’s BDSM at all, because the play is fairly easy play. Y’know what? I don’t care if they think that, or not — it is. Just because my characters don’t get whipped to the point they bleed doesn’t mean it’s not kinky. There’s a saying out there, YKINMK. It means “Your Kink Is Not My Kink” and it’s often followed by “but your kink is okay, too.” Mostly, I tell stories of domination and submission, with a teaspoon of the rest of the BDSM acronym soup mixed in to add a little extra spice. In my books, there’s nothing too heavy— some spanking, some flogging, some rope, some restraints, a few other kinky things.
Still reading along? Okay. Here is THE most important thing…EVERY SINGLE THING is consensual. Hard limits (a do-not-pass-go line in the sand, if you’re not familiar with the term) do not get ignored. Doms and submissives both have safe words (Red = “stop RIGHT NOW”). Even Gabe, the most domly of my Doms, uses his safe word in Forbidden Obsessions when he realizes he’s not enough in control of his own behavior to protect his sub, Olivia. And in my holiday novella Matzoh and Mistletoe (out in November), Jeremy gives Becca his own hard limit list, and says “if these are things you want to do, I’m not your guy.” Consensual isn’t just the woman — or, rather, the sub, who could be male— giving in. It’s an agreement between both people.
So, yes, there is a lot of sex in my stories. A whole lot. But I hope that along with hot sex scenes, my readers see the growth of love between the characters. Everything that happens in these books happens within that loving relationship, and is fully consensual. I write romances, stories with a happily ever after — you know at the end, they’ll be together forever.
I hope that answers the question of “what do you write?” and maybe addresses some questions you have about BDSM. Now it’s my turn to ask questions. If you read BDSM erotic romance, what draws you to it? If you don’t, what keeps you from reading it?
Leave a response and I’ll enter you for a chance to win any one of my Bondage & Breakfast books (ePub or PDF) – your choice of which book. I’ll draw one name from all the entries. Contest is open until Wednesday, September 25th, at 8pm ET.
