For those writers who may not be aware yet, beginning July 1st, 2015 Amazon will be rolling out a significant change to the payout calculation scheme for their subscription service, Kindle Unlimited (KU). I will assume most readers are familiar with the basics of KU, but just in case, I’ll lay out the differences below.
(This will be a detailed post, so if you want the Cliff’s Notes version, you’d better pass this one right on by…)
[Read more…]
This month’s Spanking Roundtable Discussion is hosted by Cara Bristol, who was inspired by a comment by Natasha Knight, who said when she’d first begun writing spanking stories, they were erotic rather than disciplinary. Cara posed the following intriguing question to this month’s Roundtable:
How have your spanking stories evolved since you began writing?
This month’s Spanking Roundtable Discussion is hosted by Cara Bristol, who was inspired by a comment by Natasha Knight, who said she’d when she first began writing spanking stories, they were erotic rather than disciplinary.
How have your spanking stories evolved since you began writing?
1. Do you do anything differently now than when you first began writing?
The short answer to this is that I do everything differently from what I used to do as a novice. [Read more…]
Hello fellow pervs and spankos!
This week, I’m taking a break from posting excerpts (stop cheering out there :/ ), and instead giving you a nice little list. I love lists.
You’ve been warned.
I’ve read a lot of erotic romance, and erotica, and just plain smut. Shit-tons of it. This list (which contains some of all three types of books) was TOUGH to put together. I like a lot of books:) But the list I came up with reflects my favorites. Hopefully, the few poor souls who actually read this post might find something new to read:)
And now, in no particular order are Trent’s Top Ten BDSM Books:
1. Owned And Owner by Anneke Jacob
Probably my all time favorite BDSM story, this book absolutely nails (heh) the concept of consensual non-consent, exploring it to its fullest — and sometimes disturbing — meaning. The depiction of prolonged orgasm denial here is unique, grueling, and hot.
2. Ice Queen/Mirror of My Soul by Joey W. Hill
Joey W. Hill is simply a treasure. With the possible exception of Anneke Jacob, no writer alive writes BDSM better than Ms. Hill. I could’ve picked nearly every novel from her body of work and included it in this list — she’s that good. However, the two part epic that is Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul is her masterpiece. At once supernova hot, profoundly moving, and at times, harrowing, these books are the definitive example of BDSM erotic romance. Simply stunning.
3. Story of O by Pauline Reage
This unrelentingly dark, almost impenetrable book (along with The Sleeping Beauty trilogy) has become indispensable BDSM reading. It’s not hyperbole to say that all modern BDSM fiction owes this book a debt of gratitude. Story of O is incredibly erotic, thought-provoking, tragic, and ruthlessly subversive. This book is as courageous, and visionary, as it is intimate and shattering. All the superlatives you’ve read about this book are true. If you haven’t read it, stop reading this blog right now, and go buy it.
4. The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure
Though IMHO, the third book stumbles quite badly in places, the trilogy as a whole is a seminal, important, ground-breaking work of erotic art. Rarely can one say a work of dirty smut is also high art, but Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) accomplishes exactly that here, gifting the world with this incredible trilogy. In the world of BDSM erotic fiction, nobody has ever equaled her work in the Sleeping Beauty trilogy, and I’m not sure anyone ever will. As important as Story of O to all modern BDSM fiction. And holy shit did Anne Rice have GUTS when she wrote this.
5. The Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton
I’ve read this book twice, the second time to see if it packed the same freight train sized emotional wallop. If was even more powerful the second time around. How Ms. Dalton manages to make a book this hot also be uplifting and emotionally devastating is simply beyond my comprehension. Read the cavalcade of 5 star reviews on the Amazon listing. They all speak truth. You will not regret reading this amazing book — but you’ll be haunted by it for days afterward. If you haven’t read this book, please, I beg you — go read it.
6. Pets: Bach’s Story by Darla Phelps
This unassuming little sci-fi book turned out to be one of the hottest fucking books I’ve ever read. A total surprise to find something so hot, so well-written and well-conceived (though once I learned the real person behind the pseudonym, it wasn’t a surprise at all:) I immediately re-read this one to make sure it really was that awesome. Oh yes, it was.
7. The Territory Within by P. N. Dedeaux
Unapologetically male-oriented (and supremely politically incorrect) erotic fiction. This was both original in conception, and execution. If you like the idea of a male dominant’s dream world, with an entire society incorporating the sexual submission of women then you’re going to fucking love this book. I know I did. Intense, raw, fearless smut.
8. Hall of Infamy by Amanita Virosa
Another example of male-oriented erotica that I think many women would absolutely eat up. Perhaps one of the best written (and hottest) works of corporal punishment fiction I’ve ever read. This is not a romance — at all — but as long as you know that going in, you can enjoy the superb writing, crackling description, and incredible, unrelenting eroticism. I loved this book.
9. Prima by Carolyn Faulkner
This book skates the fine line between dub-con and non-con, and is an absolutely smoking hot example of corporal punishment D/s (borderline M/s, really) erotic romance. This one gets a lot of flack from readers who are taken aback by the intense BDSM (especially the pain), but it is definitely an erotic romance — and a satisfying one at that. If you like extensive, expertly described corporal punishment scenes, then you cannot go wrong with this red hot little tale.
10. The Handmaidens/Citadel of Servitude by Aran Ashe
These first two books of the Chronicles of Tormunil series (which really need to both be read in order for the events to make any semblance of sense), are admittedly an acquired taste. In many ways this is reminiscent of The Sleeping Beauty trilogy, though these books are far more obsessive (and exhaustive) with the exploration of the sexual journeys of the protagonists. On the surface, these are dark, even brutal, books, but in actuality, the slaves (for they are most definitely sex slaves) in these books aren’t brutalized … quite. Aran Ashe’s vision (and fascinating powers of description) needs to be experienced to be believed. I can’t guarantee you’ll like it — the series seems to be a love it or hate it proposition — but I can guarantee you’ve never read anything quite like it.
I’ll probably have a Son of Top Ten list someday soon, but until then, I hope this trip down the smut reading rabbit hole was at least illuminating, if not entertaining:)
Until next time.
Trent
[inlinkz_linkup id=384596 mode=1]
My friend and fellow miscreant over at Romancing The Kink, Sheri Savill, was kind enough to ask me to join in on this unique blog tour. At first my thought was: “Why the eff would anyone care what my writing process was?”
Then I remembered that writers are readers too — and that I’m fascinated by other writers’ processes, both as a reader and a fellow writer. So, even though I feel like a total douchenozzle when I talk about my writing, here goes:)
[Read more…]
I know there are at least one or two of you out there. You read, you even buy (thank you SO much), but you don’t let us know you’re there. I know how it is — I’m one of you. Well, not here, but yeah at other places. Okay, I’m an idiot.
But today is your day! Come say ‘hi’, let us know you exist — maybe even say a few words! I’ll make it easier for you with a question to answer.
What would you like to see more of on this blog? No, peanut gallery, “shut it down” won’t be one of the options.
So what do you think? If you could run the show, what would you see more of here? Here are a few possibilities:
– More excerpts?
– Original free fiction?
– Articles on writing/self-publishing biz?
– BDSM related posts?
– Spanking/CP related posts?
– DD/HoH related posts?
– Personal stuff (e.g. 30 Days of Kink)?
– Reviews?
What else?
Okay, here’s one more incentive for that inaugural de-lurking. Any comments posted will be entered into a drawing to win a $5 Amazon gift certificate. Just make sure to include your name and an e-mail address where I can reach you. See that’s easy!
Now, let’s hear from the lurkers:)
(PS — don’t forget to make your way over to Bonnie’s blog and see who else is participating in LOL 2013:)
Best,
Trent
First of all, I want to thank the lovely ladies over at Spanking Romance Reviews for letting a dude get a seat at the table for this one. I hope I don’t make you regret it:)
This week’s topic is Submission and what it means to me.
First, it’s best to define for myself what submission means. I’ve never actually thought about what this means to me, so this will be a learning experience for me too!
Submission, at its core, is the voluntary relinquishing of control over one’s body, mind or spirit — or all of the above. At first blush I suppose that looks rather … scary. But when you think about it some more it ceases to be scary and instead becomes something very powerful, even beautiful. The reason for this is because it’s voluntary — it’s consensual. It’s something done to enhance the sexual pleasure of both the dominant and the submissive.
I — obviously — come at this subject from a Dominant male’s perspective so in some ways I’m a little like the kid pressing his nose up against the window, fogging up the glass, trying to get a glimpse inside the room where all the cool kids hang out. But, since dominance and submission are two sides of the same coin, I think I can speak (relatively) intelligently on the subject;) I hope so anyway.
D/s is essentially a dynamic of power and the unequal exchange thereof, and to me submission is the cornerstone of the endeavor. The submission itself is that exchange of the submissive’s power over self, given to the Dominant to do with what he wills. Just that aspect of it alone is mind-blowing — having that very real, yet equally symbolic, control over another human being. Of course, like so much in life there is a duality to this: the very same exhilaration from the Dominant’s perspective can of course be a dangerous thing, in the hands of an irresponsible, immoral, or just plain stupid Dominant. So, in a sense, this awareness of the danger, of how easily that power can be abused, is part of the excitement of the D/s dynamic.
The ability of a woman to submit is a fundamentally brave act. To be blunt — I don’t know how the hell you subs do it! I’m just really glad that you do:) This is one of the many reasons why I admire submissives. They are courageous. To voluntarily make yourself subject to another is just … it’s stunning to me. I know it’s a cliche to say this, but that submission is a gift. It’s a statement saying: “I trust you not to abuse this power I’ve given you. I adore you, I care for you, I love you enough, to give you this, to make myself vulnerable to you.”
How different is this, really — when you strip everything away — from what a vanilla relationship is? At some point someone has to make themselves vulnerable, to open themselves to potentially being hurt, wronged, even betrayed. Yet, the urge to connect, to be intimate, gives us the courage to take that leap — because the rewards of intimacy can be so sweet, so profound. It’s worth the risk.
One of the things that appeals most to me about submission is the inherent vulnerability in it. I think it’s almost a proxy for the vulnerability often seen in femininity, that same vulnerability that speaks to a good man. The Dominant man feeds off that vulnerability; it fuels both his sexual excitement AND his urge to protect her. In the honest Dom (and in my case, a Dom with a sadistic streak) that vulnerability can fuel his need to exercise, to emphasize, his power over his submissive. Exerting your power over her is itself exciting, in its own way as exciting as the sexual acts themselves, because it involves that most important of sexual organs — the brain. Broken down even further, it’s almost as if the vulnerability of the submissive fires that primal, animalistic urge that exists deep down in the inherited DNA of humans, back to that duality of men, who eternally struggle with the urges both to conquer and protect.
I’ll circle back now, before I blather on any further. I can see everyone’s eyes are glazed over:/
Submission is trust. Trust is the foundation of the D/s dynamic and relationship. Just as pleasure cannot exist without pain, Dominance cannot be exercised (or enjoyed) without submission. Just as women make the world go round, submissives provide the essential, indispensable ingredient which makes D/s possible. Without it the world would be a gray, lonely place for men like me;)
Thank you for reading, and I hope you take the time to read the other posts in this week’s round table discussion. You can read the other posts here: http://spankingromance.com/?p=
Until next time,
Trent
