Research

I received this question from Ena via formspring...

I was wondering if you would post some of your research on  your blog. I know you did a lot of research for the series and how much would you say had to be 'trimmed off' because there was too much--or the opposite, expanded.

This is an excellent question, Ena. Thank you. :)

When I first started doing research for this story, I was somewhat frustrated. I would type in BDSM and most of what would come up were porn sites. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

Finally I stumbled onto a few websites and blogs of submissives/slaves, which helped a great deal. One of them was about collars and their meanings.  That site is where I got the idea of a collar of protection for Brianna. I was going to post the link here, but apparently the website is no longer active.

At the beginning, I really just tried to think back to some of the other BDSM stories I'd read while taking in the personalities of my two characters. I was also reading a story written by a switch in Germany, so I sent her a few e-mails asking questions regarding the lifestyle in general. She was very helpful in getting the wheels turning in my head and pointing me in the right direction.

It wasn't until I befriended a slave on-line, however, that my access to knowledge began to expand. My friend, pointed me to a great informational website.

http://www.seekers.org.uk/home.htm

I found this website extremely helpful. It breaks the lifestyle down for those who are interested in knowing the basics of submission, Dominance, play, clubs, etc.

As I continued writing, I also met more of those who live the lifestyle and was able to get some real life answers to my questions. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent picking the brains of both Dominants and submissives. There is one chapter that will be in the second book of this series that I spent eight hours hashing out with my friend's Master to get the correct level of realism and what I wanted. We finally called it 'done' at three o'clock in the morning.

I would have to say that I've done more expanding than trimming off, but both have occurred at one point and time; it's just a natural part of the editing process. For example with the chapter I was referencing above, I cut about 1,000 words from that chapter, however, I add almost that much in its place. In Slave, I've definitely done more adding than trimming. In fact, the entire third chapter is new material. I've also added some content throughout for various reasons.

To say that my research for this series is completely would be a total lie. I learn more about D/s every day through my research, through talking to those in the lifestyle, and just through casual observations. It has been a rewarding experience for me where I've met some wonderful friends and gotten to know more about myself as well as my relationship with others in the process.

Pre-sales start next week...

With pre-sales for Slave going on sale next week, things are moving full speed ahead. My editor and I have been working frantically to get through the edits and get Slave ready for its July 28th release date. Slave will contain twenty six chapters. I am currently working through the edits for chapter 18, and am hoping to finish going through the remaining eight chapters in the next few days. We've had a few set backs over the last few months, but it finally seems to be coming together.

Hopefully some of you have visited the playroom page on this site. Starting next month, I will have a new piece of equipment up there every month. Some will be sexual in nature, others will have a more psychological purpose. That section will be more about education than anything else, and I am hoping that people will participate with both questions and answers.

That brings me to my next bit of news. I have set up a formspring account for my readers to use in order to ask questions. Ask me anything my Finding Anna Series. http://formspring.me/SherriHayes Have a question you'd like to ask Stephan or Brianna? How about Richard or Ian? I am hoping to be able to answer some of these question on the blog itself in a sort of 'ask Stephan/ask Brianna' type format. You can also ask question about the playroom section of the blog there as well. Again, this is meant to be fun and educational at the same time. :)

Editing

With 19 days left until the pre-orders of Slave go on sale, we are in full swing with the second phase of edits. I'm currently working on the first 15 chapters and should have the remaining 11 chapters soon to go through.

Editing is a very detailed process. It is very different from writing, at least for me. When I write, I try to get caught up in the emotion of the story. You can't do that when you are editing; everything is about the details.

For that same reason, however, Slave is proving more of a challenge to edit than my first novel, Hidden Threat. Slave is a very emotional story and it is hard to detach myself in order to just concentrate on what needs to be adjusted to make it the best story it can be.

This is why editors are so important. If you are an author and have a good editor helping you with your stories, take a moment to make sure they know they are appreciated. They really are there to make us look good. Our stories wouldn't be the same without them.