Reader Question - Inspiration

This week I'm answering another readers question via formspring. If you have a question for me or one of my characters, hop over to formspring or leave it here.

Question from trilby97:
What inspired you to write this story; the BDSM path and freeing someone from it?

Great question, trilby97.

This story was an evolution of sorts. I'd been reading some BDSM stories on-line. That alone didn't really trigger the story making juices so to speak, but then a story about a young girl that had been kidnapped and enslaved for years flooded the news. With that came 'in depth' stories of human trafficking, etc.

One day my mind just started to mingle the two. I began to wonder how a Dom would go about helping a woman who'd been enslaved against her will without using traditional means.

The story rattled around in my head for about a month before anything ended up on paper. But even then, I was too nervous to put it out there, so I sent the first four chapters to a friend. She read them and begged me for more.

As they say, the rest is history. I continued writing the story until it became what it is today. Stephan and Brianna have taken on a life of their own, and I can't wait to continue to share their journey with all of you.

Reader Question

For this week's blog post, I'm answering another question posted on Formspring. If you haven't read Slave yet, proceed with caution. Both the question and answer this week contains spoilers.

***SPOILER ALERT***


Was the decision to not have Ian illicit orgasms from Brianna as part of his kink a conscious decision?

Thank you IslandWoman for the question.

When I began thinking about the world Brianna was coming from, the one in which she lived in Ian, I saw it as one full of strict rules. From Brianna's point of view we learn that she never lived up to Ian's standards enough to earn a warm shower. No matter Ian's sadistic tendencies, he is a Master and he lives by the philosophy of reward and punishment. Orgasms, for him, fall into that category. Brianna never earned them, therefore, he never pushed that upon her.

So, yes, it was a conscious decision. Even though Ian obviously has a different set of moral guidelines he lives by, he, just like all Master's, love their rules. It is one of the reasons they are what they are.

Have a question for me or one of my characters? Click on the Formspring link on the left and leave me a question.

 

 

Surprise

Today's blog post is another Formspring Question. This one is from fellow TWCS author, Lindsey Gray. Thank you Lindsey for the question.

What was the most surprising aspect of the BDSM world that you found out while researching for the series?

There are a few ways I could approach this question. A lot of things 'surprised' me about BDSM. I went into writing this story with very little knowledge. I had no friends in the lifestyle, no Doms or subs that I could go to with questions. My upbringing was also rather conservative. I had very limited knowledge of any other types of relationships other that the one I was exposed to. 

I'd have to say the most surprising thing I found, however, was the diversity. There are basic guidelines in BDSM, but after that, it's pretty much up to the players involved and their particular fetishes. There are those who only practice the D/s side of BDSM with no corporal punishment or play. On the flip side of that, there are those whose relationship entails intense pain play.  

Most people outside of the lifestyle seem to have a singular view of BDSM and those involved in the lifestyle, I was one of them. That just isn't the case. The different ways to live BDSM are as varied as those who live it. No two couples are exactly alike and neither is the way the practice the lifestyle. 

So now I throw the question out to you. What is the most surprising thing you've learned about BDSM?

 

Reviews for Slave

Another Formspring question from a reader.

I just got the book and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to tell you what they think of it once it's done. Could you post a place in the blog for us readers to do that?

So if you have a review of the novel you would like to share, please post it here in the comment section. I'm going to add a 'Reviews' page to the top and list them there to make it easier for people to find and read.

Slave, Finding Anna Book 1
Released: July 28th 2011
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House

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. :)