I recently went to a European Spa. This spa included numerous pools of thermal waters at various temperatures, and... saunas. Yes, those big hot rooms you go inside to sweat all your stress out. And everyone is naked! Yes naked. Very naked. Like I-can-see-your-twig-and-berries-from-across-the-room naked, and Oh-look-she-has-a-cesarian-scar, and Wow-I-guess-she-doesn't-wax, and Dude-she-needs-to.
As an American, I grew up being told you never undress in front of others, you never hang around naked with others, and you never ever (omg is it really even a thing?) hang out naked in a swimming pool or hot box with others! It's just culturally unacceptable. I tried to picture someone like my mother, or even my close American friends joining me in such a place, and it immediately brings me to laughter. They would never get naked in front of others. Not even if their life depended on it.
I went with my best friend who's a local European. She's been going to wellness spas since the age of sixteen. This doesn't surprise me. The space I found myself in was filled with all ages ranging from about four, to wrinkled old, old, lady.
What's the biggest thing I noticed?
No one cared.
Sure, I couldn't help myself comparing my naked body to others, and surely some people compared themselves to me, but overall, it was no big deal. People were naked as the day they were born and the way that nature made them: big, tall, thin, obese, saggy tits, perky nipples, short, hairy, all skin tones, wrinkled or toned.
And it was no big deal.
Although I admit that I had trouble breaking the culturally and socially acceptable American taboo of being naked with and in front of others (yes, bouts of giggles, laughing, and repeatedly saying, holy shit, I'm naked, and he's naked... and you're naked... to which my friend only laughed at me or rolled her eyes), but eventually I settled into a semi comfortable place. Bodies are just bodies, and all the bodies I saw were together in the same place for the same reason: wellness.
I was sweating, they were sweating, we were sweating.
I did a mandarin perfume sauna, a steam sauna, a cool sauna, a 95 degree celsius sauna, and my favorite, the honey sauna. Yes honey. They handed out bottles of honey and instructed us to rub it all over our bodies like a lotion. It immediately began to melt over me faster than ice cream in high summer. I even tasted its sweetness to make sure it was the real deal, and it was. The Sauna Master poured water over hot coals, swished a towel around in the air, and brought down immense heat onto my naked body. It was awesome.
Afterward, sauna goers hop into the shower. There are showers everywhere... and they're doorless, out in the open, and co-ed. Some showers are hot, where others are very cold. I had the option to use a hose, a bucket, or a traditional shower head. I shared these showers next to all sorts of people. I even shared a shower with a waterfall feature with the friend I was with. I splashed her playfully, and she splashed me back. The eroticism of the moment was not lost on me, and with anyone other than my best friend (who is supportive of my erotic writing, but is the most hetero vanilla chick I know), it could have led to some very fun and spontaneous exploration. In the very least, it gave me some new story ideas.
Participating at this wellness center was an eye opening experience. It made me realize how stupid nudity and body imagine is in the negative. It shouldn't be. American media teaches us that we have to be beautiful: thin, flawless, with great hair, groomed genitals, and perfect teeth. (This just isn't rational thinking at all. I doubt that less than 10% of the global population has a model's body.) American society tells us that nudity is wrong and taboo. Europeans (or those who engage in spa wellness activities for their health) have somehow escaped Western thinking and embraced their bodies (and everyone else's). They're free.
I've lived in Europe for over six years now, and I find myself becoming more and more Europeanized. I too want to be free. I too want to embrace and love my body the way it is enough to strut around naked with both men and women and not care if anyone looks. Some look. Most don't. But it doesn't matter. It's beautiful.
I think my soul flew. You can bet my naked ass that I'll go back.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The 12 Days of Christmas: Erotica Style
On the 1st Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
A Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 2nd Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 3rd Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 4th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 5th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 6th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
A 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 7th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 8th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
8 Packs of Bondage Tape
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 9th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
9 Erotic Book Downloads
8 Packs of Bondage Tape
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 10th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
10 Strap On Thrusts
9 Erotic Book Downloads
8 Packs of Bondage Tape
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipples Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 11th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
11 Playmates!
10 Strap On Thrusts
9 Erotic Book Downloads
8 Rolls of Bondage Tape
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds
On the 12th Day of Christmas, my lover gave to me:
12 Orgasms!
11 Playmates
10 Strap On Thrusts
9 Erotic Book Downloads
8 Packs of Bondage tape
7 Paddle Whacks
a 6 Piece Bondage Set
5 Kinds of Lube!
4 Silk Blindfolds
3 Butt Plugs
2 Feathered Nipple Clamps
and a Vibrator with 7 lovely speeds!!!!
All Products available online for purchase from Adam & Eve
Anthony Beal's Book Available for purchase HERE
Thursday, December 11, 2014
What To Look For In A Writing Partner
Working with your fellow writers is the best way to improve your own craft. I've had several writing partners in my journey as a writer. Some were great... Some not. But what makes a good writing partner?
Qualities to look for:
"Someone who's fun to chat with, who won't take criticism as a personal slight, and who understands what you're trying to say and do." - Livilla Sanders
"You need to think alike enough to understand each other, but different enough to avoid redundancy." - Richard Bacula
"I need a photonegative of me. Someone who is really good at the exact things I'm not. Someone who can point out my weaknesses without destroying my fragile ego in the process (us writers are a sensitive lot)." - J Thomas Ganzer
"I like a partner that pushes me. I want to be pushed to work harder and set higher goals for myself. A partner who can do this believes in you as a person and will make you a better writer in the long run."- BSM Stoneking
Qualities to look for:
- A Better Writer: Partnering up with someone whose craft is well below your own level won't help you. Find a partner who can help you improve where you need it, and vice versa.
- Not A Dick: Perhaps this goes without saying... A partner helps best when they can point out what works or not in a constructive way.
- Another Style: All writers have their own style. Some authors choose to tell their stories with more description than dialogue, a different type of language, or character point of view. However the style is different, embrace it. If your partner's style is too similar to your own, you limit yourself in learning, thinking, and writing in new ways.
- Creativity: Your writing partner should be someone who can easily brainstorm and discuss your story with you. They should have a basic understanding of your genre as well as a perspective different from your own in order to keep ideas fresh.
- Grammar Knowledge: Everyone needs a beta reader before moving on to the next step with their manuscript. The advantage of having your writing partner beta for you is that they can help you edit. A writer will have a better understanding of where and why for punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice.
"Someone who's fun to chat with, who won't take criticism as a personal slight, and who understands what you're trying to say and do." - Livilla Sanders
"You need to think alike enough to understand each other, but different enough to avoid redundancy." - Richard Bacula
"I need a photonegative of me. Someone who is really good at the exact things I'm not. Someone who can point out my weaknesses without destroying my fragile ego in the process (us writers are a sensitive lot)." - J Thomas Ganzer
"I like a partner that pushes me. I want to be pushed to work harder and set higher goals for myself. A partner who can do this believes in you as a person and will make you a better writer in the long run."- BSM Stoneking
"Honesty, encouragement, perspective & constructive criticism" -Mistress Chase
Friday, December 5, 2014
Arousing Your Reader In Erotic Fiction
The best way to become a better writer is to read what's out there, find out what your competition is, and discover what's lacking in your own work. This is the true for any genre. As a writer and regular reader of erotic fiction, I've noticed that a lot of erotica is missing key elements. Things I've been reading lately should have been deliciously spicy, but ultimately flopped for me as the reader.
By definition, "erotic" means to sexually arouse. How can an author cause sexual arousal in their reader? In my humble opinion, it requires the following steps:
Step ONE: Get Your Reader's Attention
Make your characters believable: Regardless of who your characters are (werewolves, aliens, fluffy pink unicorns, normal people), the reactions they have to their environment and situations need to be relatable. If you're writing monster erotica and have otherworldly and hard to understand genitalia... yeah. That won't make my panties wet. A write should be creative, but keep it on the level.
Give your characters an emotional motive: Without a why to what a character does or feels makes connecting to them more difficult. Don't put two virgins in a pool about to screw without telling me why they've chosen the pool or each other. Erotica without a purpose is just porn.
Step TWO: Don't Forget The Big 5
By definition, "erotic" means to sexually arouse. How can an author cause sexual arousal in their reader? In my humble opinion, it requires the following steps:
Step ONE: Get Your Reader's Attention
Make your characters believable: Regardless of who your characters are (werewolves, aliens, fluffy pink unicorns, normal people), the reactions they have to their environment and situations need to be relatable. If you're writing monster erotica and have otherworldly and hard to understand genitalia... yeah. That won't make my panties wet. A write should be creative, but keep it on the level.
Give your characters an emotional motive: Without a why to what a character does or feels makes connecting to them more difficult. Don't put two virgins in a pool about to screw without telling me why they've chosen the pool or each other. Erotica without a purpose is just porn.
Step TWO: Don't Forget The Big 5
SIGHT--SOUND--TOUCH--TASTE--SMELL
Sex is a physical thing. To be physically aroused in the bedroom requires your body to take in signals in any way that it can. The same things transfers onto paper. Put your scene under a microscope describing everything in detail so that your reader can properly visualize. Too much of what I've read lately has focused mostly on sight and taste, completely abandoning the other 3 senses. If you tell me your character is giving oral sex, don't just tell me that the skin is warm and the genitals are big... Tell me how it feels inside the mouth, how it tastes and smells, and what shape it is. Also combine the senses with Step ONE, and tell me how each character feels about what's going on. The more specific the details, the more real it becomes inside your reader's head.
Step THREE: Language
Think River: The way something is spoken or described can make all the difference. Make your language flow. One sentence needs to meet the next like poetry, not stop abruptly. Sentence variety works well. If I begin reading something that is nothing but sentence fragments or short and choppy, I stop reading.
Euphemisms & Vulgarity: Alternative words for penis and vagina are great, but get creative with your descriptions. I've read enough "juicy cock" and "tight pussy" to go blind. Make your work stand out by finding another way to say things. Also, think about why you're using one word over another. "Cock" and "pussy" are both legit words, but they can ultimately turn some readers off. Stories with a romantic subtext will have readers with a more sensitive taste, where readers who want to read harder, more explicit sex scenes might not be bothered. Match your language to your story and make sure you remain consistent.
If you combine all three steps and everything they include, you can slip your reader into the story and have them visualize your words successfully. Visualization and connection to emotion which is detailed and well said, can and will arouse your target audience. If you're turned on while writing, becoming hot and bothered yourself, that never hurts either :)
Euphemisms & Vulgarity: Alternative words for penis and vagina are great, but get creative with your descriptions. I've read enough "juicy cock" and "tight pussy" to go blind. Make your work stand out by finding another way to say things. Also, think about why you're using one word over another. "Cock" and "pussy" are both legit words, but they can ultimately turn some readers off. Stories with a romantic subtext will have readers with a more sensitive taste, where readers who want to read harder, more explicit sex scenes might not be bothered. Match your language to your story and make sure you remain consistent.
If you combine all three steps and everything they include, you can slip your reader into the story and have them visualize your words successfully. Visualization and connection to emotion which is detailed and well said, can and will arouse your target audience. If you're turned on while writing, becoming hot and bothered yourself, that never hurts either :)
Monday, December 1, 2014
Interview With Erotica Author Richard Bacula
I've interviewed my good friend and Erotic Fiction Author, Richard Bacula. He's recently partnered up with Kelli Roberts to write a BDSM novel titled "Letting Go." Here's a little about him and the book. Stay tuned for my personal review of this work.
Stasia ends up going through a number of things that she has never experienced before, and part of the appeal to me with that kind of story is all of the internal thoughts and reactions that new experiences bring.
Also, many of our readers will find things in the novel that they have never personally tried before, and when we wrote the scenes, we strove to write them in such a way that readers would have some idea of what the experience is actually like: what the appeal is to being spanked, paddled, chained, and such.
4) How was writing the novel different from your other writing experiences?
It was my first novel, for one thing. I've been a bit intimidated about writing novels, simply because I can be so extraordinarily verbose in my writing. My first erotic story was "An Innocent Haircut," and my intention was to just dash out a very quick sex scene between a young man and the woman who cuts his hair. I figured that a simple, one-scene story would be fast and easy.
I wrote it out fast enough, and the story ended up being over nine-thousand words long, most of those words describing the sex.
That tends to be my writing style, so I really wasn't sure of how a novel would go for me. If I aim for a quick, 4-6k story, I tend to end up with something in the 9-14k range. I was afraid that if I aimed for something in the 50-100k range, that it would never end!
That's one place where having a partner came in handy, which is the other new experience for me with this project. I'd never worked with a partner before. Kelli and I came up with a story arc that let us accomplish all that we wanted to do, while still keeping us under 65k words. We were able to both push each other to meet goals and to do our best, as well as to reign each other in a bit when needed. Overall, it worked out very well. We seem to have had the right blend of flexibility and firmness in our working together.
5) Where will your writing take you next?
Someplace interesting, I expect!
I always have a number of projects in the works, and even more in my intentions. I've been compiling my various short stories--including two not-yet-published stories--into an anthology that I hope I'll be able to release soon.
I've been working on a short piece of vampire erotica. Even though I've said in the past that I'd probably never dip into the vampire genre, sometimes stories just kind of happen to you, and you need to write them.
I'd like to write a sequel to "Letting Go" at some point. There's still so much more that can be done with those characters, and the world that was created in that book. That'll depend on sales, though, as well as the good people at Wastelands.com, because they're the ones ultimately behind the project.
The future is open, and I'm optimistic.
6) Do you have any messages for readers or those interested in the bdsm lifestyle?
I’d like people to keep two things in mind when reading the novel.
First, experiences vary, so one person's reaction to certain stimuli is going to vary from another person's. It's all so very personal, depending heavily on how the people in question are wired both physically and mentally, as well as on their past experiences. One of the things that I've discovered with BDSM is that it is such a wonderfully wide and eclectic mix of people and passions, that there's no way to encompass everything in one novel, or even in a dozen novels.
So when you read the book, and one of the characters within that book enjoys a certain thing, that doesn't mean that you the reader would enjoy it. Likewise, the reverse is true: just because you the reader might not enjoy an act depicted in the book, or you might not react the same way, doesn't mean that nobody else out there would react the way the character does. That's one of the nice things about erotica- no matter what you write, somebody out there is likely to find that it reflects their desires.
Second, the work IS fiction. There may have been some places where we had to compromise realism in favor of storytelling. While we endeavored to write a novel that would help educate newcomers about various BDSM experiences, this is not a "How-To" book, nor a description of the BDSM community, nor any kind of guarantee that everybody who enjoys reading about the acts depicted in the book would actually enjoy those acts in real life. It's simply a fantasy, not any kind of commentary on the concepts, communities, or people involved in real-world BDSM.
That being said, if anybody wishes to compare their own experiences to scenes in the book, or if anybody wishes to discuss anything within the book that they feel was inaccurate or incorrect, feel free to contact me via any of the means below:
Twitter: @RichardBacula
E-Mail: RichardBacula@gmail.com or RichardBacula@aim.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7514047.Richard_Bacula
And please, if you read “Letting Go” (or any of my work), I’d love it if you could leave a review for me on Amazon!
1) Why have you chosen Erotica as your genre of choice?
Because erotica is wonderful! Or, at least, it can be. There is a lot of badly written stuff out there, but overall erotica is an under-appreciated genre. Sex is one of the most powerful experiences that a human being is capable of, especially when love is involved, but for some reason writers don't get a lot of respect unless they're write about some kind of great suffering instead.
Because erotica is wonderful! Or, at least, it can be. There is a lot of badly written stuff out there, but overall erotica is an under-appreciated genre. Sex is one of the most powerful experiences that a human being is capable of, especially when love is involved, but for some reason writers don't get a lot of respect unless they're write about some kind of great suffering instead.
Write about people dying in WWII, you get an award. Write about the cruelty of racism, you get an award. Write about somebody starving to death, you get an award.
Write about something wonderful happening between two (or more) people...?
You can get sales. You can have a best-seller. But you'll be mocked and have your work derided, as if pleasure was somehow less noble than pain. Personally, I'd rather create works that give the readers orgasms than works that give them tears. (Although there's nothing to say that you can't do a bit of both, when it fits the story.)
Write about something wonderful happening between two (or more) people...?
You can get sales. You can have a best-seller. But you'll be mocked and have your work derided, as if pleasure was somehow less noble than pain. Personally, I'd rather create works that give the readers orgasms than works that give them tears. (Although there's nothing to say that you can't do a bit of both, when it fits the story.)
2) How did you become involved with your new book "Letting Go"?
Through Twitter, actually. I started my twitter account because I learned that award-winning journalist Doug Saunders had mentioned one of my titles in passing, in a tweet. I decided that Twitter might be a good way to publicize my works, and I was half right.
It turns out that Twitter isn't so great for getting a lot of sales, but it IS pretty good for networking. You can meet people via Twitter that you'd never encounter in your daily life. Somebody on Twitter mentioned to me that Kelli Roberts and Audrey Hollander had written some erotica, and that aroused my curiosity, so to speak.
I read their work, tweeted Kelli about it, and we sort of struck up a friendship. She ended up reading my short story "Cornholed," on Literotica (retitled "Corn Hold" for the kindle), and she was impressed by my ability to write such an absurd premise--sex with a magic scarecrow--so well.
She was already working on "Letting Go," and decided that I could bring a lot to the table if we partnered up on the project. I had been wanting to write a novel, and getting the chance to work with an AVN-nominated Adult Film producer was something that I couldn't pass up.
3) How would you describe your book?
It's romantic BDSM erotica. Not to be confused with a BDSM erotica romance. While there is romance involved in the plot, it's primarily about two people discovering secrets about each other, and about themselves, although there is certainly romance involved.
Stasia, the protagonist, has had a growing attraction to Jaxon, but the fact that they're co-workers has kept them apart, as well as the fact that Stasia considers herself to be a rather vanilla kind of girl, and she's heard some unsettling rumors about Jaxon's sex life.
She can't help trying to find out more about him, though, and she starts stumbling onto some secrets, then ends up getting in over her head.
Through Twitter, actually. I started my twitter account because I learned that award-winning journalist Doug Saunders had mentioned one of my titles in passing, in a tweet. I decided that Twitter might be a good way to publicize my works, and I was half right.
It turns out that Twitter isn't so great for getting a lot of sales, but it IS pretty good for networking. You can meet people via Twitter that you'd never encounter in your daily life. Somebody on Twitter mentioned to me that Kelli Roberts and Audrey Hollander had written some erotica, and that aroused my curiosity, so to speak.
I read their work, tweeted Kelli about it, and we sort of struck up a friendship. She ended up reading my short story "Cornholed," on Literotica (retitled "Corn Hold" for the kindle), and she was impressed by my ability to write such an absurd premise--sex with a magic scarecrow--so well.
She was already working on "Letting Go," and decided that I could bring a lot to the table if we partnered up on the project. I had been wanting to write a novel, and getting the chance to work with an AVN-nominated Adult Film producer was something that I couldn't pass up.
3) How would you describe your book?
It's romantic BDSM erotica. Not to be confused with a BDSM erotica romance. While there is romance involved in the plot, it's primarily about two people discovering secrets about each other, and about themselves, although there is certainly romance involved.
Stasia, the protagonist, has had a growing attraction to Jaxon, but the fact that they're co-workers has kept them apart, as well as the fact that Stasia considers herself to be a rather vanilla kind of girl, and she's heard some unsettling rumors about Jaxon's sex life.
She can't help trying to find out more about him, though, and she starts stumbling onto some secrets, then ends up getting in over her head.
Most of the novel takes place over a single weekend, and (like most of my writing to date) there is a LOT of very descriptive sex involved. We tried to avoid doing the kind of "then they did this position, then they did that position" kind of writing where only the physical acts were concentrated, and made sure that every sex scene helped develop the characters, and/or advance the plot.
Stasia ends up going through a number of things that she has never experienced before, and part of the appeal to me with that kind of story is all of the internal thoughts and reactions that new experiences bring.
Also, many of our readers will find things in the novel that they have never personally tried before, and when we wrote the scenes, we strove to write them in such a way that readers would have some idea of what the experience is actually like: what the appeal is to being spanked, paddled, chained, and such.
4) How was writing the novel different from your other writing experiences?
It was my first novel, for one thing. I've been a bit intimidated about writing novels, simply because I can be so extraordinarily verbose in my writing. My first erotic story was "An Innocent Haircut," and my intention was to just dash out a very quick sex scene between a young man and the woman who cuts his hair. I figured that a simple, one-scene story would be fast and easy.
I wrote it out fast enough, and the story ended up being over nine-thousand words long, most of those words describing the sex.
That tends to be my writing style, so I really wasn't sure of how a novel would go for me. If I aim for a quick, 4-6k story, I tend to end up with something in the 9-14k range. I was afraid that if I aimed for something in the 50-100k range, that it would never end!
That's one place where having a partner came in handy, which is the other new experience for me with this project. I'd never worked with a partner before. Kelli and I came up with a story arc that let us accomplish all that we wanted to do, while still keeping us under 65k words. We were able to both push each other to meet goals and to do our best, as well as to reign each other in a bit when needed. Overall, it worked out very well. We seem to have had the right blend of flexibility and firmness in our working together.
5) Where will your writing take you next?
Someplace interesting, I expect!
I always have a number of projects in the works, and even more in my intentions. I've been compiling my various short stories--including two not-yet-published stories--into an anthology that I hope I'll be able to release soon.
I've been working on a short piece of vampire erotica. Even though I've said in the past that I'd probably never dip into the vampire genre, sometimes stories just kind of happen to you, and you need to write them.
I'd like to write a sequel to "Letting Go" at some point. There's still so much more that can be done with those characters, and the world that was created in that book. That'll depend on sales, though, as well as the good people at Wastelands.com, because they're the ones ultimately behind the project.
The future is open, and I'm optimistic.
6) Do you have any messages for readers or those interested in the bdsm lifestyle?
I’d like people to keep two things in mind when reading the novel.
First, experiences vary, so one person's reaction to certain stimuli is going to vary from another person's. It's all so very personal, depending heavily on how the people in question are wired both physically and mentally, as well as on their past experiences. One of the things that I've discovered with BDSM is that it is such a wonderfully wide and eclectic mix of people and passions, that there's no way to encompass everything in one novel, or even in a dozen novels.
So when you read the book, and one of the characters within that book enjoys a certain thing, that doesn't mean that you the reader would enjoy it. Likewise, the reverse is true: just because you the reader might not enjoy an act depicted in the book, or you might not react the same way, doesn't mean that nobody else out there would react the way the character does. That's one of the nice things about erotica- no matter what you write, somebody out there is likely to find that it reflects their desires.
Second, the work IS fiction. There may have been some places where we had to compromise realism in favor of storytelling. While we endeavored to write a novel that would help educate newcomers about various BDSM experiences, this is not a "How-To" book, nor a description of the BDSM community, nor any kind of guarantee that everybody who enjoys reading about the acts depicted in the book would actually enjoy those acts in real life. It's simply a fantasy, not any kind of commentary on the concepts, communities, or people involved in real-world BDSM.
That being said, if anybody wishes to compare their own experiences to scenes in the book, or if anybody wishes to discuss anything within the book that they feel was inaccurate or incorrect, feel free to contact me via any of the means below:
Twitter: @RichardBacula
E-Mail: RichardBacula@gmail.com or RichardBacula@aim.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7514047.Richard_Bacula
And please, if you read “Letting Go” (or any of my work), I’d love it if you could leave a review for me on Amazon!
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