Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission - Blog Tour!

Desires.

They can be simple and vanilla.

Roses before a pleasant interlude of love-making.

Holding hands.

Kissing beneath a full moon.

A sweet endearment whispered in the ear.

Sweetheart.

Or they can be a very, very different sort of desire.

A craving.

A hunger to be possessed.

Roughly.

A yearning to be subsumed by a . . . masterful man.

And be used in oh so many decadent ways.

To feel the bite of teeth on the ear.

To hear a different sort of endearment.

Slut.

A submissive’s craving.

A slave’s hunger.

To please her Master.

Within the pages of “Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission”, these cravings are revealed.

These dark desires are explored.

Hungers are sated.

The wickedly good authors in this torrid collection feed their passion – and yours – for Masters and Mistresses and the slave girls who serve them.

“My Master’s Mark” is one such story. It is a kinky duet of raunch, and rabid appetites. Allow me to share an appetizer:

The continued steady application of the tattoo needle kept the sensations ramping up. The endorphin glow had begun. The pain was throbbing now, the way it did when Master used his hand on the same spot, again and again until my muscles quivered with the effort not to squirm away, to not use the word. The word. My safe word. During all the years I’d been his “slut slave”, I’d never needed to use it. I’d been tempted. And he’d always let me know how much he enjoyed the challenge of pushing me and he often vowed that, before he died, he would break me.

But I’d never used it because I wallowed in everything he did to me. I craved seeing that look of heated pleasure in his eyes.

Sick? Some might say so. But Master M and I made beautiful music together. The counterpoint between sadist and pain slut. The whish of the paddle, my hiss at the blows. His basso-profundo chuckle as my ass turned red, and my moans rising and falling as he forced me to the limits of my endurance. Then that expectant moment – the crescendo when the very air hummed - those times he waited for me to say the word before, with a grunt of satisfied lust, he’d let me have one last, blistering smack. When I punctuated our virtuoso duet with a shrill scream, it was like applause for his rousing performance.


I hope this morsel has whetted your appetite for more.

Why not give in to temptation?

Haven’t you ever craved a little . . . sting?

A smorgasbord of delights awaits between the covers of this torrid collection, gathered together for your pleasure by editor extraordinaire, D. L. King. Each one delectable. Mouth-watering.

Why not indulge your . . . tastes?

Go ahead.

Feed that kinky passion of yours, ladies and gentlemen.


* * * *


You can still visit the prior posts of the anthology contributors here:

June 1 D. L. King
June 2 Rachel Kramer Bussel
June 3 Alison Tyler
June 4 Valerie Alexander
June 5 Nina Fairweather
June 6 Sommer Marsden
June 7 Evan Mora
June 8 Victoria Behn
June 9 Donna George Storey
June 10 Teresa Noelle Roberts
June 11 Erzabet Bishop
June 12 Lisette Ashton
June 15 Giselle Renarde
June 16 Lisabet Sarai
June 17 Graydancer
June 18 Deborah Castellano
June 19 Nym Nix
June 21 Lydia Hill

“Slave Girls” is available, in print and digital formats, at all major distributors & bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple.

For more Lydia Hill/Lise Horton erotica (free reads!) you can also visit my blog, Lust In the Afternoon at http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/ .

One Stop Shopping! Blogging with the authors in "Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission"

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Spank You Very Much!

The masochistic heroine is tough enough to write. Delight in pain, for the endorphin “sub space” glow, or to please her Dom, can be difficult to write convincingly and sympathetically. She needs to be strong of spirit and true of heart and to meld that with submissive desires can be tricky.

But even harder? Crafting the romantic, loving, sympathetic sadist hero.

He’s the possessive guy who cherishes his lady, nut also loves inflicting pain on her. That it is “erotic pain” helps differentiate him from the sadistic villain, but in order to capture the reader’s heart, this hero must be perfectly drawn.

The author crafting such a character walks a fine line, allowing him to indulge his carnal appetites on the willing heroine’s flesh, yet be strong, loyal, loving and tender, by turns. If you don’t want to end up with a kinky Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde scenario, you need an exploration and deft explanation of his desires, plus exposing just how awesome it feels when the heroine is swept into the maelstrom of “pleasure/pain” (as it’s often referred to these days in BDSM erotic romances).

And on top of the issue of doling out pain, I’ve noticed of late a new and darker flavor being added to the S&M romances already being done so masterfully, and that is erotic humiliation.

Having a hero call his loving heroine a “slut”, or putting her in a position to be exposed in a position of humiliation as an aspect of the “play” – or punishment, can be a high wire act. The readers who get it are already on board (I’m one of them). But names like “slut” or edgier, and humiliation play, that can be interpreted by some in a derogatory way (as has happened in recent years when critical public statements have led to the term “slut shaming”) can be startling at best to the unwary reader, and offensive at worst.

So this is yet another element of a razor sharp sub-genre whose potential is great for the most swoon-worthy uber-alpha sadistic Dom character to ever singe the pages; but if ineffectively done, for the most cringe-worthy misogynist douche bag to ever come down the pike.

Still, edgy romance of this sort is an “eye of the beholder” thing and full-disclosure is always your best bet when talking about a character. And read, study, and craft your raw romance hero with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel.

Examples of some authors who have beautifully mastered the art of the loving sadist? Maya Banks in her “Sweet” series, Roni Loren’s “Loving On the Edge” series and Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin’s “Edge” series.

I love writing edgy, kinky heroes who love masochistic heroines beneath their hands. Of my short story "My Master's Mark" under my erotica pseudonym, Lydia Hill, [Cleis Press’ May 2014 Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission], Library Journal’s starred review said “surprisingly poignant”. For free, naughty reads stop by my Lust In the Afternoon blog, http://blackrosediaries.blogspot.com/

MY WRITING PROCESS

My thanks to the lovely and talented Jess Russell (http://jessrussellromance.com) for "tagging" me and allowing me to participate in this fun blog tour this month. It has been terrific cheering Jess through this process and watching her book The Dressmaker’s Duke come to fruition!

What am I working on?

My debut erotic romance for Carina Press, Words of Lust, was the first in the Stellato Siblings series. Set in NYC, each of the 5 Stellato brothers and sisters enjoy his or her own tumultuous romance (Book #2, Alberto Stellato’s Hot In the City is with my editor now!) and I am currently deep in Book #3, (working title) The Fire Down Below, on tormented middle brother, Vincenzo Stellato. Vin is an FDNY Lieutenant, still dealing with the trauma of 9/11, which occurred during the fall he began his rookie year. He's closed himself off from love and only "plays" the BDSM games he craves with women who aren't looking for permanence. Then he encounters Nell Grant. Daughter of a theatre family, she comes from a long line of actors, but the new show in which she stars, "Decadence" threatens to upset more than just the critics. Its dark themes speak to her own desires - desires she has not yet explored. When the two meet, it's a sexual conflagration the two agree to enjoy. Without entanglements. But these two intense souls make a connection that soon leads them to a much deeper emotional relationship even as danger threatens Nell from an unscrupulous developer who is determined to force the Grants to sell their Broadway theatre.

Vincenzo is the darkest of the 3 Stellato brothers, and he evolved wonderfully as I wrote his brothers' happily ever afters. Now I'm thrilled to be giving him his very own naughty lover in Nell. This is the kinkiest of the Stellato books so far, and I'm enjoying the darker elements of their story, including addressing the often divisive issue of society’s view of the BDSM lifestyle.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write erotic romance that pushes the envelope. By its very nature, erotic romance is more graphic, and the sexual evolution of the characters parallels the emotional evolution of the romance. But I write no-holds barred, gritty erotic romance, utilizing the more extreme vocabulary that I don’t often read in other erotic romance. Also, my stories all contain at least some BDSM acts whether it’s a spanking game for fun, or a soupcon of submission and dominance. In The Fire Down Below, for example, Nell enjoys the debauchery of submission and erotic humiliation and Vin is a willing participant in bringing her to ecstatic states she's only ever fantasized about. I’ve explored and investigated these elements to ensure that my portrayal is both a genuine one, as well as a positive one that conveys the consensual nature of the lifestyle.

This is not to say that I don't write heightened and intense love stories. I am a true romantic at heart and I find the two are mutually beneficial. Intense sexual levels drive, and are driven by, intense emotional states. Vincenzo's own emotions and psyche as a first responder during the horrific attacks on NYC are inextricably entwined with the darkness of his sexual yearnings. Nell may appear to be a cool and sophisticated career woman who has it all together, but what she wants from a man is diametrically opposed to the image she presents to the world - and that the world expects! Nothing about my characters is ever simple, or easy. They fight for everything they desire - in bed and out!

Why do I write what I do?

Because I love it. Plain and simple. Humans are sexual beings. Even from some of my earliest adult readings as a teenager (Kate Millet, Erica Jong) I’ve loved seeing sexuality expressed in so many ways - from vanilla to kinky and every shade in between. I've read romance for decades, and have always been drawn to the more sexually explicit and intense love stories, be they historical, contemporary or paranormal. When I discovered there was an actual genre of erotic romance that pushed all those lovely boundaries, penned by authors like Thea Devine, and later Eden Bradley, Lora Leigh, Jaid Black and more recently Maya Banks, Shayla Black, the awesome Jeffe Kennedy, as well as the terrific Stark trilogy by J. Kenner, well, I was a thoroughly happy camper! I continue to cheer the growth of the genre and its acceptance by the reading public.

Even before I knew there was a genre like this, in my first attempts at a novel (which is still languishing in a file somewhere), my characters kept ramping up the sex and getting naughtier as the novel progressed. My own research, including attendance at Dr. Charley Ferrer’s “BDSM for Writers” workshop, as well as further readings, led me to the erotic romance genre which I get a tremendous satisfaction in writing. I also write erotica under my pseudonym, Lydia Hill, and get a thrill out of delving even further into the realm of erotica stories that do not always have a happy ending. My short story, “My Master’s Mark” will appear in the Cleis Press anthology Slave Girls and is a bittersweet BDSM tale. As mentioned, I find that heightening the sexual relationship serves to also heighten the romantic one. I adore conflict and I never stint on putting my characters through the mill - I make them work for every orgasm as well as their happy ending. My characters may fall into bed before they truly know each other, but they are always drawn to one another from the word go with a visceral intensity I hope is palpable.

How does my writing process work?

I'm what writing folks often call a "pantster". I write from the germ of an idea, a vision of two lovers, and the incredible setting that I work and live in - Manhattan. They say there are a million stories in the "naked city", and I've tweaked that to say there are a million naked stories in this city. My story ideas can be prompted by a news article, someone I see in passing, and dozens of other places. I'm very much a "what if" plotter (as Stephen King has made famous!) and as a former actress, I am very character driven. I refer to myself as a “method writer” - What would my heroine do if she finds herself in a particular situation? How would my alpha hero react if such and such were to happen? I love crafting complex characters and then I take the journey with them. As I evolve as a writer, I've discovered the benefits of plotting out a bit more than I originally did, but I am still not a major outliner and I enjoy the flexibility of allowing my characters to find their way to the various milestones in their romance. In other words, I give them the stops they’re going to make, but there’s no GPS. The journey is their adventure!

Once I've completed a novel (and mine tend to run long - I enjoy complex sub-plots, social issues, and investing in a cast of supportive and reflective secondary characters to populate my lovers' lives), I then begin my own editing process and have specific things I work on in each re-write pass. For example, one draft may be focusing on the characters’ emotional relationship. Another on the nuts and bolts – grammar, spelling and so on. Generally 8 drafts or so later, I have a book ready for submission.

With each book, I learn more and more about the process and am enjoying each aspect of it that much more, as well. For me, the editing process is one of discovery. It is a challenge that I love meeting and when I read the finished book I can see where all my efforts paid off in crafting a complex, rich, lively and rewarding love story.

Next week (31st) check out:

Del Carmen – She writes hot, kinky, satisfying erotica. Visit her at www.mydelcarmen.com
Bronx-born wordsmith Larry Benjamin is the author of the gay novels Unbroken and What Binds Us and, Damaged Angels, a collection of short stories. -
http://authorlarrybenjamin.blogspot.com/

Back To School: Dr. Charley Ferrer's BDSM For Writers Workshop

I have always loved school, but let me tell you, school was NEVER like this! Last Friday through Sunday I had the immense pleasure to attend BDSM FOR WRITERS, a workshop opportunity provided by Dr. Charley Ferrer, sex expert and BDSM lifestyler.

I write erotic romance and more and more kinky business is finding its way into my torrid tales. What can I say? My heroes and heroines just like it edgy! SO I found this a great opportunity to make sure that I am depicting these characters fairly, realistically and with humanity and complexity. But unlike college with its textbooks and ivy laden campuses, we met in a building on the West Side of NYC in the heart of the garment district. We came with our pens and notebooks at the ready, and our “homework” assignment – print out the manual – in hand, but here is where any similarity ended.

9 of us introduced ourselves and got comfy in a small room where “educational aids” were displayed - including floggers, whips, heavy metal collars, and fetish “intro” kits. We ladies came from all around – from Virginia, Boston, New Jersey and Rhode Island, among other locales. Young, older, some in the lifestyle, some not, we had the one thing in common that brought us together: Writing kinky erotic romance. Paranormal, contemporary, historical and everything in between. And what we wanted to know about BDSM was – well, everything!

Dr. Charley herself provided massive amounts of information on the lifestyle. A sex expert, worldwide speaker and presenter, she had us oohing and ahhing, and laughing. She explained the roles, the kinks, the fetishes and the psychology. She gave us the opportunity to try out the implements on one another, which we did with much giggling. I got to try on a collar and it was a curious experience to feel that heavy metal being locked around my throat. I had a few licks with a deceptively benign looking whip. We even had exercises to get us into the heads of submissives, and masters (though the kneeling was hell on my knees!) which was perfect for this “method writer” as I can now rekindle some of those sensations when crafting my characters. The “never-know-til-you-try” adage was a marvel in this regard because I, and the other ladies, were open-minded and willing.

We shared some of our own personal experiences, and got to know one another the first day, lunching together and chatting about our writing, social media, families and more.

Unfortunately I was unable to take advantage with the other gals when they trekked on down with Dr. Charley to Paddles S&M club. DomSub Friends was celebrating an end of summer party and the reports the next day by the bleary-eyed ladies were eye-opening, and hilarious. Suffice it to say they all had a blast and got into the swing of things with vigor.

In addition to Dr. Charley’s talks, she also arranged for a great group of guest speakers. Electrical play expert Jay presented a mind-blowing presentation on electricity in his “sensual” role. The discovery that Michael’s craft stores, my local supermarket and Home Depot can provide many naughty & fun enhancements to this play was a kinky kick. I’ll never look at Christmas decorations the same way again! Being able to play “hands on” with volunteers and get a sense of this play was really cool. His partner, volunteer and “sweet sadist” MaryAnn was likewise filled with great information about BDSM play and the lifestyle. They also generously shared information about organizations and play in other cities and Jay took names for his “dance card”, promising those ladies one “electric” experience that night at Paddles!

There were also several other speakers, members of the BDSM community, but writers too, which provided a wonderful parallel to the discussions on BDSM. Cassandra Park spoke about spanking and discipline play, and how it infuses her own erotica writings. The amazing Laura Antoniou, author of the cult Master/slave cult favorite series, The Marketplace, among other titles, was insightful, informative and wildly, hysterically funny. And I was thoroughly thrilled to have an opportunity to meet, and listen to, DL King, She is the award-winning editor who acquired my erotica short story “My Master’s Mark” (under my erotica pseudonym, Lydia Hill) which will be the finale in her upcoming Cleis Press anthology SLAVE GIRLS (2014).. She talked about her role in the community, and how her knowledge – and our research into this lifestyle – imbues her writing and will raise ours to a realistic level that will fascinate readers.

A second night at Paddles included game participation by two of the ladies’ husbands, and what was clearly an incredible demo of fire play, by Dr. Charley herself, with the assistance of one of our group who volunteered to be the flammable playee.

Our terrific workshop was rounded out with a discussion on psychological pathologies, including Dr. Charley stressing the distinction consensual BDSM players, sharing the power exchange and a mutual intent, and those who are sadistic and/or abusive outside this structure.

Having a chance to gain some understanding into this socially provocative community, to meet some authors intent on rendering this lifestyle with honesty and realistic depictions, to meet these lifestyle participants who gave so generously of their time, expertise, knowledge and humor, as well as to just make new friends, was simply a delight.

And as I made my way home on the LIRR, my head was filled with wonderful research, newfound respect, as well as great ideas, and a terrific base on which to build my BDSM erotic romance. Where my heroes and heroines play - safely, sanely and consensually - and find their happy, kinkilly ever afters.

Interested in attending next year’s bigger, better conference? Check out: http://www.bdsmforwriters.com/

Floggers and Ball Gags & Cuffs – Oh My, My. My

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A MUSE OF FIRE: Something Wicked This Way Comes – The Power of Villains

Thus do I ever make my fool my purse;
For I mine own gained knowledge should profane,
If I would time expend with such a snipe
But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor,
And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets
H'as done my office. I know not if't be true,
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do, as if for surety. He holds me well;
The better shall my purpose work on him.
Cassio's a proper man. Let me see now:
To get his place, and to plume up my will
In double knavery. How? How? Let's see.
After some time, to abuse Othello's ears
That he is too familiar with his wife.
He hath a person and a smooth dispose
To be suspected--framed to make women false.
The Moor is of a free and open nature
That thinks men honest that but seem to be so;
And will as tenderly be led by th' nose
As asses are.
I have't! It is engendered! Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light.

(Iago's soliloquy, "Othello," Act 1, Scene 3)

Where cerebral or martial, man or woman, William Shakespeare unleashed upon the world some of literatures most complex and chilling villains. As I discussed in my earlier column on crafting strong adversaries/antagonists, villains are a particular subset. An adversary of a different color if you will. An action of fate can be adverse to your hero, but the action is benign. A villain – black-hearted, black-souled, sociopathic, homicidal or psychopathic – acts out of personal motivation to damage, harm, kill, destroy.

Shakespeare’s villains may wound with a word or a sword. They may take action themselves or set in motion a deadly intrigue; and then sit back with a self-satisfied smirk as the blood flows.

Motivations vary, but to me the most dark and chilling villains are the ones not driven by flawed human frailties, by need, or greed, or hatred, but the ones driven by a Machiavellian need to destroy. Iago fits that bill and his cold calculation makes him a deadly adversary for Othello, whose fiery and impetuous, passionate personality serves Iago well. In the end, Othello’s beloved Desdemona is dead at his hand and he is crazed with the guilt of what he’s done.

Creating a great villain requires finesse. A villain must be a worthy adversary for your protagonist: Smart and dangerous enough to challenge, but not superior enough to best your protagonist(s).

The best villains are crafted with enough complexity to intrigue the reader, but to avoid caricature or stereotype. Surprise your reader: The baby-faced torturer, the suave serial killer, the grandmotherly ax murder. Likewise, their psychological makeup must be a canny blend of psychology and motivation. We must understand what drives them, what their triggers are (the better to create an atmosphere of suspense as we see them driven forward on their evil journey, just as we see our hero and heroine compelled on their heroic and romantic journey), what their motivations are, and what conflicts may thwart them.

The caliber of villain you craft will depend on your story. Do you want the blackest-hearted blackguard ever written – whose demise will leave your reader standing and cheering? Or a tortured soul for whom the reader may feel a bit of pity? Is your villain the MacBeth type, or the Iago type? The first driven by human emotion, the other enjoying the murderous outcome with cold satisfaction?

Also, what is the villain’s ROLE in your story? How is he to be the foil, the human embodiment of conflict, for your heroic pair? That question, too, will determine how you need to mold him or her with greatest effectiveness.

To help you craft these characters, you have a wonderful array of resources: Study contemporary villains – sadly, the news on any given day provides a despicable perp walk of villainous types, all of whose characters, backgrounds, motivations and actions are dissected in minute detail.

There are also innumerable non-fiction titles written about every high profile villain, from Jack the Ripper to Charlie Starkweather to Bernie Madoff. Written by forensic specialists, law enforcement, psychiatric professionals and reporters.

There are, too, countless research titles available. You can research abnormal psychology and crime scene investigations. Types of killing and murder, and overviews of demographics of who murders who, how and why (One reason why the Aileen Wournos case was so sensational? Women were not expected to be serial killers, and when the “black widow” murderess invariably showed up, they used not guns or weapons of overt violence, but the “kinder, gentler” weapon of poison.)

And there are books specific for writers: Some simply help you understand different character types. Some help you understand the purpose of your villainous character in the context of your story and how he or she plays against your hero/heroine. Some go into the details about writing different kinds of villainous characters in fiction.

Once you have chosen your villain, read enough to understand the psychology so you can create an intense villain, with layers of human complexity. Set up the character biography so you are clear on what has set them on this path, what their motivation is; what they seek to gain by committing their criminal act, and how they feel in the aftermath. And do enough forensic research that the acts they commit ring true and your reader will shiver at the thought of being prey to the heinous character. Of course, read the best in the genre to see how other capable authors handle these subjects.

As always, there are legions of films and television shows with great evil doers to study. And likewise, in dramatic literature, there are some great villains: Ms. Venable in “Suddenly Last Summer” is a chilling character who’d give Iago a run for his money. Regina, in Lillian Hellman’s “Little Foxes”, Mme de Merteuil in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Christopher Hampton, and of course Sondheim’s bloody “demon barber of Fleet Street”, Sweeney Todd in the play of the same name.

In point of fact, there is no end to the number of dastardly types you can study in order to give your readers the fright of their life: The fear that the hero and heroine may succumb to the marvelously complex and dangerous villain in their midst.

“Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even
the bed she hath contaminated.”

Iago, “Othello”, Act IV, Scene 1