Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Erotica Writer or Mum?

By Katy Swann (Guest Blogger)


Erotica writer or mum.  Can’t I be both?

I might try and fool myself that I’m a young, glamorous writer of kinky sex but, actually, that’s not strictly true.  The bit about writing kinky sex is true, but that’s where the fantasy ends. In reality, I’m in my forties and am a suburban housewife and mother of three.

My alter ego wakes up late morning, luxuriating in silk sheets whilst having breakfast brought to her by a hunky, dominant man.  Me?  Well, I wake at the crack of dawn, rush around like a mad thing trying to find matching socks in the laundry basket, making a big stack of sandwiches for the kids’ lunches and trying not to trip over the cats as they attach themselves to my legs until I feed them.

After hunting for lost homework, nagging the kids to eat their breakfast and then ushering them out of the house and into the car, I finally drop them at school. I take a deep breath, get back into the car and listen to the silence. Then something incredible happens - I morph from being a busy, stressed out mother into a writer of naughty, kinky fiction.

When I first started writing erotica, I decided to work away from home so I could separate real life from my fantasy world. So I became a regular at our local coffee shop (to the point where my coffee was ready almost before I walked through the door). At first, that was fine. I’d sit at my favourite table writing happily away, oblivious to the other customers.  But, as I wrote about Rachel’s first journey into submission, I became increasingly paranoid that people could read what was on my screen. So the font got smaller and smaller as the scene developed until I could barely see it myself. I kept looking behind me expecting someone to be reading over my shoulder.  Of course there wasn’t, but that didn’t stop my face turning a deep puce as I tried to look as if I were writing about something clever like derivatives or corporate law.

I’ve got myself into a nice little routine now.  I only write when the kids are at school, still at my coffee shop or at the gym. I’ll lose myself in the world of my characters, forgetting everything else. The time speeds by as I write - an hour feels like five minutes. In fact, I have to set the alarm on my phone so I don’t overrun. It’s not unusual for me be in the middle of an intense BDSM scene when the alarm goes off letting me know it’s time to go and pick the kids up from school. 

As I close my laptop, the scene is already filed away in my head as I plan what to cook for dinner. The next time I open it up though, I’m instantly back in the story, laundry, supermarkets and dirty dishes left far behind in the real world. It seems that I have no problem at all with switching from one to the other.  Writing in a public environment has definitely been my saving grace. There are no distractions, just the right level of background noise and plenty of available coffee.  Just the right ingredients for a perfect writing environment as far as I’m concerned.

There can be disadvantages to writing in public though. When I was writing To Love and Trust, the second book in the Boundaries series, one of the mums from school came up to me in the coffee shop to say hello. She saw my laptop and asked if I was happy with it as she was thinking about buying one for herself. Standing next to me, she leaned forwards to take a closer look, which was a bit unfortunate as I happened to be writing a scene where Rachel was enduring forced orgasms as a punishment.  The words on the screen were very explicit. My immediate reaction was to flick to another window but the damned laptop chose that moment to freeze. So I acted as though there was nothing untoward on the screen at all and told her about the laptop’s battery life and reliability, or rather lack of as the damn thing had just crashed on me.  I’m not sure whose face was redder by the time she thanked me and left. She never mentioned it in the playground, thank goodness.

A friend asked recently how I manage to switch from writing erotic fiction one minute to being mum the next. I’d just returned to pick my daughter up from ballet on a Saturday morning.  Every week, whilst my daughter is in her dance class, I make the most of the free time and pop into a nearby coffee shop with my laptop.  I’d just returned to pick her up and was telling my friend about a particularly sexy scene I’d just written about Frankie, my latest heroine.  Halfway though my description of the D/s scene, the girls came out of class and I immediately flicked back to mummy mode without a second thought. Poor Frankie was left tied to a St. Andrew’s cross and had to wait until Monday for her orgasm.

The only other issue I’ve had to face is what to tell the kids about the book that mummy wrote. When I got the initial email from the publisher offering me a contract for the book I was so excited that I screamed. 

“They’re going to publish my book,” I cried out to my husband. 

My son immediately threw his arms around me and said sweetly, “Does that mean it’s going to be a  real book?” 

“Yes, I replied and gave him a cuddle.

Then he said, “Great.  Can I bring it in to school to show my teachers and friends?”

Ah!  I ended up mumbling some rubbish about it being a ghost story and that it was far too scary for children to read.  Luckily he accepted my hasty answer and asked for his breakfast. As the kids get older, I know I’ll have to find a way to satisfy their curiosity.  I also know they won’t be fooled quite as easily as they are now, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

In the meantime, I’ve got ideas for at least another six books to be written in between trips to the supermarket, school runs and cleaning out the cat litter tray. And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to buy a few shares in the local coffee shop either.


To Love and Submit by Katy Swann

This is book one in the Boundaries serial, see the full serial listing here

Rachel Porter’s dreams of being dominated are finally about to come true.  But can she live up to the demands of a real-life Dom?
 
Rachel Porter is feisty, independent and horny.  Her libido is taunting her with erotic dreams of being tethered and spanked by a gorgeous, dominant man and, as a result, she decides to pursue her fledgling interest in BDSM after her trusted Rabbit gives up on her.

When she unexpectedly bumps into her sexy but demanding boss, Adam Stone, at Boundaries, an exclusive BDSM club, it seems all her dreams are about to come true.  Adam is a strict and challenging Dom and it’s not long before he has Rachel kneeling at his feet, right where she wants to be.

Rachel soon comes to crave Adam’s firm discipline, but when she becomes too flippant and deliberately provokes a spanking, she finds out that a real punishment is not as pleasurable as an erotic one.  Nevertheless, her complete surrender during these punishments takes her to new heights she never thought possible.

But Rachel also learns that one of the most important aspects of a BDSM relationship is trust, and that’s the one thing she doesn’t have. After a lifetime of betrayal, she’s not about to risk losing her heart again.

To make matters worse, when she learns that Adam’s ex-wife was, in fact, his slave, she realises that she might have to give up more than she’d bargained for if she’s to remain his submissive.

Excerpt

Rachel moaned indulgently as the man slid easily into her deliciously wet pussy. He was big, so very big, and as he filled her with his long, thick shaft, she wondered briefly if she could take the full length of him as he pushed himself farther into her. Just when she thought she would burst, though, he pulled slowly out and a slight hint of a smile appeared in his eyes as they commanded her to surrender to him completely. Desperate to feel him inside her again, she tried to pull him back, begging him with her eyes to take her. Just as she raised her hips urgently towards him, he plunged deeply back into her, filling her completely and making her cry out with pleasure.

“Good girl,” he growled, “let me hear you scream.”

“Yes, Sir,” she cried, knowing he would be expecting her to respond and, as she did so, he rewarded her with a harder, deeper thrust. She wanted to touch him so badly, to run her fingers along his perfect, muscular body and, in a desperate attempt to get closer to him, she tugged at the cuffs that bound her wrists to the rail at the head of the bed. She soon forgot about them, though, as she felt a sharp slap on the side of her thigh and the desperate need in her intensified as her body responded with a delicious shudder.

“Again?” His voice was rich and deep, and behind the hard line of his lips lurked a smile that promised more delights to come.

“Yes please, Sir,” she whispered, her voice now hoarse with emotion and lust.

“Pardon? I didn’t hear you.” Another slap and her body quivered uncontrollably in response to the hot sting his hand left on her buttock.

“Yes, yes, yes…” she cried. But then, devastating reality began to force its way into her consciousness as she slowly woke from her dream. “Yes… Oh, shit!”

She sat up in her bed, painfully alone and very aroused. Shit, it had felt so real, his voice, his body, everything. She rubbed her wrists, fully expecting the marks from the cuffs to be visible but, of course, there were no marks, no cuffs and no gorgeous man demanding her compliance.

Rachel sighed, resigned once more to gratification thanks to her trusted and reliable Rabbit. As she reached under her bed, she tried to conjure up the image of the strong lover who had just been ravishing her in her dream. This was the fifth time she had had this dream, always with the same man, and yet she could never recall his face once she woke. No matter how hard she tried, he remained an elusive fantasy only willing to appear in her sleep.

She moved her hand down under her duvet and quickly checked that she was nice and wet for her battery operated lover. Yep, she was definitely ready and she quickly slipped the cold, hard device into her wetness then flicked the switch. Nothing happened. She pulled it out again and fumbled with the various settings, but still it remained stubbornly silent and still.

Shit, shit and double shit, the fucking batteries were dead. This was not a good start to the day, she thought, as she reached down to finish with her fingers.

Half an hour later, she stomped into the kitchen, now showered and dressed, and grunted a half-hearted greeting at her flatmate, Mandy.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked her friend with a smirk. “From what I heard, you should be grinning like a Cheshire Cat.”

Rachel stared at Mandy in shock. “What?”

“Sweetie, the walls are very thin in this flat, in case you didn’t know. Either you’ve got a secret lover hidden away in that room of yours, or you’ve been playing with your bunny again.” Mandy winked at her and handed her a cup of fresh coffee.

Rachel sighed. “I had that dream again, you know, the one where this gorgeous man straps me to the bed and has his wicked way with me? Well, it’s getting more intense.” She took a sip of her coffee and felt a shiver run through her body as she remembered the feel of the cuffs holding her arms above her head. It had felt so incredibly sexy, and yet she wasn’t normally into kinky stuff like that, so it didn’t make sense that she’d be having such erotic dreams about it. The trouble was, now that the idea was so firmly planted in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about it and the more she thought about it, the more the idea of being tethered to a bed and at the complete mercy of a strong, dominant man excited her.

Mandy stuck some bread in the toaster and came to sit next to Rachel at the small kitchen table. “What you need, my friend, is a man. One who’s into the same kinky sex as you.”

“I’m not into kinky sex. Just because I’ve had a few weird dreams about being tied up doesn’t turn me into a bloody Dominatrix.”

“Of course not,” Mandy looked at Rachel as if she was stupid. “A Dominatrix is the one who does the tying up. You like to be tied up, which makes you the submissive.”

Rachel nearly choked on her coffee. “I am not a submissive. I’ve never been tied up in my life for God’s sake!”

“Except in your dreams.” Mandy got up to retrieve the hot toast as it popped up. “All I’m saying is, you’ve obviously got this hot fantasy and there’s no smoke without fire and all that shit. Toast?”

Rachel took a slice of the slightly blackened toast and stared at it absently. “Yeah, but the way I’m going I’ll never meet anyone and, even if I did, they’d probably run a mile if I hinted that I might want to experiment with a bit of bondage.”

Mandy chuckled. “I wouldn’t count on it. Most single, straight men would jump at the chance of tying up a gorgeous woman and fucking her senseless.”

Rachel laughed at her friend’s rather crude but probably accurate statement. “Well, I don’t know any single, straight men, except for Mike Jones at work.” Mike was the Facilities Manager who had been harbouring a crush on her for months. He was very sweet, but middle-aged, overweight and had a serious BO problem.

Mandy’s eyebrows shot up. “You have got to be joking! Okay, babe, we’ve got to get you sorted before you end up shagging the likes of Mike Jones.”

“Yes, but how? There’s no way I’m going to some seedy club to pick up a complete stranger.” Taking a bite of the toast, Rachel shrugged. “Even if I was that desperate I wouldn’t want the risk of picking up some nutter.”


To Love and Submit: ebook

https://www.totallybound.com/to-love-and-submit
To Love and Submit: print
https://www.totallybound.com/bound-to-submit-print


About Katy


Katy Swann is in her forties and lives near London, UK with her husband, three children and two cats.

When she isn't writing about strict, sexy Doms putting their strong-willed subs in their place, she likes to read about them. As well as writing, Katy spends her time trying to avoid the housework, keeping the kids from killing each other and drinking copious cups of coffee in the local coffee shop. Coffee and chocolate are the two things that keep her sane and focused, so they're often close by when she sits down to write.

To Love and Submit is her first erotic novel, which will be closely followed by To Love and Trust and To Love and Obey, which will complete the Boundaries trilogy.




5 comments:

Ashe Barker said...

Oh, it all sounds so familiar. Like the time my daughter's geography teacher asked me about my books at a parents evening. Or all the times I've slammed my laptop shut when anyone came in the kitchen. With words like pussy and clit and cock plastered all over the screen it's a bit difficult to pass off as a note to the milkman. Or is it...?

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hi, Katy,

A warm welcome to Beyond Romance, and congratulations on entering the wonderful world of publishing....!

I am in awe of authors who can juggle kids and such with erotic writing. I could never manage it.

Good luck with the Boundaries trilogy and your future books.

Kate Deveaux said...

Great guest post Katy and congratulations on the new release! I can relate to setting the alarm clock on your phone, I do the same thing otherwise I'd just keep typing and typing...
Much success with your first erotic romance, sounds terrific!

Best,
Kate

Anonymous said...

Hi Katy, Enjoyed the article, plate-spinning?

Katy Swann said...

Thanks for your comments - I really appreciate it.

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