At Her Service

What would you do with a man whose only concern was serving you?

I and several other romance and erotica authors tackled that question in one form or another in a box set that was released for Valentine’s Day. It’s my first anthology to write for and I enjoyed it. I got to work with some amazing people and see just what goes into a project like this.

I pulled part of a review below for my story, Helen and the Man from Troi. It made me smile to see the review, so I wanted to share it. My story only gets a few mentions among the reviews, but most of those mentions are positive. I will certainly not turn my nose up at a 3 1/2 star review.

Helen and the man from Troi: [Adam] is a BDSM slave with both a master and a girlfriend. He has also recently completed manservant training. Helen loves her routines and order. She has also recently broken up with her boyfriend and seems to be grieving more than just the loss of the man. Helen’s roommate Olivia is more of a wild child and wants to help Helen open up a bit more and try new things. She hires [Adam] as a present, to serve Helen for a day. I was surprised how much I liked this one. I don’t tend to enjoy BDSM in general. But this story was more of about Helen learning to let go a bit and let someone take care of her. Unlike the rest of the stories Helen and [Adam] aren’t headed toward a long term HEA (at least not with each other), but it was nice to see just a simple story of give and take and caring for another person who needs a break from the norm. (3.5 star) — reviewer Ly G

 

The Difference Between Fantasy and Fiction

I love writing erotic fiction. I sometimes enjoy reading it.

Sometimes.

I do not like erotic fiction that blurs lines of consent or is disrespectful – to women, to men, to the community it is writing about, etc. Sometimes when I voice this, people will say “but it is only fantasy.”

And this is wrong.

There is a difference between fantasy and fiction, and I am going to explain that.

I think it is something that many erotica authors either miss or ignore, and our genre and its sub-genres hurt for it. Erotica can be erotic and it can still be respectful. It can sexualize respect and consent and be an incredibly erotic story. You just have to understand what a fantasy is, what drives that fantasy, and how to turn it into erotica.

Fifty Shades of Virginity Fetish

My apologies, gentle reader, for not updating in a while. I have been very busy, and I am working – again – on my time management. That being said, I have had something I have wanted to write about for a while now.

The Virgin Fetish.

Respect in BDSM Erotica

If you head over to StreetWraith Press After Dark (I linked around the 18+ warning because if you are going there from here, you should already be 18+ … you’re welcome) you will see a review with a similar title as this article. My first review of another author’s erotica. I hope that you find it enjoyable and that it stimulates your mind enough to want to buy the story. It’s a good one. Emily Ryan-Davis came highly recommended to me, and I recommend her as well.

What gripped me about Claiming Lauren and has me reading the rest of the eXclave series is the respect she pays to the Lifestyle and, most importantly, the safety and protocols that are so important in it. I wanted to expand on that idea a little more than I did in the review. The review was about Emily’s book, after all. Here, I can get on my soap box and talk a little more about Holle.

So let’s do so.

Thoughts on Erotica

So some time ago, I had a commission piece requested that was … difficult. It was not difficult to write. I have been very fortunate that all of my clients, without exception, have been respectful of my limits as an author, even one of BDSM erotica.

I found the piece enjoyable to explore and write, but when it was finished, I realized that it was far darker than my normal stories. I’m not afraid of dark undertones, or dark themes, however the story lacks – light. I found that what worked as a commission piece – rather well, my client loved it – did not yet work for publication. To sit along side my other stories, it was missing something.

I’ve been battling with the story ever since then. I like it and I want to publish it, but how? What would I be able to do with the story that would keep it both true to its original fantasy and still something that made sense along my other stories.

As I was working on formatting the work I am publishing today, it hit me.

Writing My Submissive Side?

As I have been writing various stories, I have noticed something.

My own inclinations, as I have discussed before, are more toward Dominant and I am currently learning to express that more, etc. In my  writing, however, my main characters are almost always submissive. In my most recent Commission piece, the two POV characters are both Dominants, but one of them enters into submission to the other as the result of a bet.

That is, however, the exception.

I don’t mind this. I don’t think it calls into question my own lifestyle role any more than writing straight/gay characters call into question my sexuality. I do find it interesting enough to write about, however, and I do wonder how many other BDSM erotica authors also write from primarily the submissive’s point of view.

Master/slave Dynamics in BDSM and Haven

So, I mentioned last week that I was going to talk about my thoughts on Master/slave relationships. In thinking about it, well – I don’t want to come across as giving relationship advice because these thoughts are really from the outside-looking-in on this one. The closest that I got to having a slave, well, I decided I didn’t really want a sexual relationship where my partner was referring to me as his goddess. I enjoy power-shift play but that was a little more than I felt I could handle.

Instead, consider this, the views that inform my writing.

So, what is a slave and how does that differ from a submissive?

Today in Erotic Authorship

Today is not a heavy writing day. This is one of those days when you sit down, do a lot of reading, and study some tips and techniques. So, I’m looking at sites that measure readability – what level I write at and how easy it is to actually read my stories. I’m not going to get into it, though, because it is also boring writing/editing stuff. I’m also reading through Romance Divas forums for tips about editing, voice, and font.

Ah learning days.

Writing & Weather

Tonight I am finishing up chapter 3 of Heather in Haven. I have Enigma moving through my head phones, desire dancing between my legs, and a storm raging outside. It feels a little daring writing a sex scene as thunder bellows. It is as though the skies themselves feel the desire that is welling up in me as I write.

I’m not sure how it is for every erotic writer, but I have to feel the desire in the scene that I write. I want to be aroused by it. Chances are, I already was. I find the best way to come up with a new scene or scenario is to lie back in my bed, unfurl my imagination, and see what bit of lusty activity Heather and her Mistress can manage to get into that night.

The Don’t Talk Culture

So, I have started another blog, specifically for the purpose of selling my erotic fiction.

Shameless plug time: You can find it here.

Now, I have set about the task of finding ways to promote said blog.

Stop laughing or I will get the whip out … oh wait. That’s probably not going to be much of a threat here, is it?

Anyway … I am finding just how extremely aggravating it is to try to promote my own blog. The Internet may be for porn,