Author Guest Post
BDSM: Not Just For Gourmets Anymore
By: Cecilia Tan
For the most part romance writers are typically more associated with the pizza guy: we know what our customers want and we take joy in giving it to them. But it's not just pizza. There's barbecue, there's Chinese take-out, there's diner food. Some people only read historicals, some prefer paranormal, but a lot of readers are like eaters: they have their favorites but they will go for a variety, especially if their friends recommend it. And some readers, like some eaters, have something they won't read, like vegetarians, there are some who just can't stand alpha males or have an allergic reaction if the heroine gets pregnant. That's all perfectly fine: the whole point is that there is a wide variety to satisfy every taste.
What I write a lot of is BDSM erotic romance. I see quite a parallel between the rise of this as a popular genre and the changes in how spicy American food is. I live in New England, which is mostly associated with pretty bland food. New England clam chowder and Boston baked beans are about as bland as it gets, right? I moved to New England in 1985. At the time there was one Mexican restaurant in the city where I lived. We went there to eat one night thinking it would be spicy. Boy, were we wrong. The salsa was mostly just chopped tomatoes. I swear, Doritos straight from the bag were spicier than what you could get at this place.
If you look around where I live now, though, every time a retail space opens up, another burrito or taco shop opens up! Within a mile of my house we have over a dozen places serving authentic SPICY Mexican food, and on top of that we have the chains like Chipotle. Yes, times have definitely changed. Once the American palate started to adjust to spicier fare, the hunger for it grew and grew.
The same thing has happened with BDSM fiction. I started writing it back in 1992. Very few people were writing about it then and the bookstores and publishers thought no one would be interested in it. I had the equivalent of a taco truck, making my BDSM books and self-publishing them any way I could! I thought if only a few people wanted to read them, that would be fine. But I sold out the first print run of my first book, and kept going back to print more and more. The number of bookstores carrying my books grew, too. People were reading it and liking it and telling their friends. Other writers came in my wake, like Laura Antoniou and Alison Tyler, who--like fresh, inventive chefs--put their own signature styles on some of the same very spicy ingredients. A couple of major publishers experimented with it, like when HarperCollins put out my collection of short stories in 1998 Black Feathers. But they presented it as gourmet, as high-end fiction for sophisticated tastes. They didn't believe that enough readers had acquired that taste yet for it to be bigger than it was.
But time marches on. I believe it was only a matter of time before a book like 50 Shades of Grey broke through, not as an "acquired taste" but as a fad, like cupcakes or froyo, that everyone had to go out and try. Now BDSM is an established cuisine in the romance marketplace. There are some who still find it too spicy and that's okay--vanilla is a legit flavor, too!--but at least there's more and more variety on the menu. And that's a good thing. My book SLOW SATISFACTION is a being published by a mainstream publisher. The first book in the series, SLOW SURRENDER, was on sale in Target stores. It doesn't get much more accessible than that. Here's hoping my readers find it every bit as satisfying as that pizza with extra cheese--or that burrito with extra guacamole.
Book Spotlight
Slow Satisfaction by Cecilia Tan
Book 3: Struck By Lightning Series
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Forever / Hachette Book Group
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Format: Paperback - 336 pages
Kindle - 641 KB
Nook - 621 KB
ISBN: 978-1455529285
ASIN: B00H25FJ0M
Genre: Erotic Romance / BDSM Billionaire
BUY THE BOOK: Slow Satisfaction
BUY THE SERIES: Struck by Lightning Series
Book 1: Slow Surrender
Book 2: Slow Seduction
Book 3: Slow Satisfaction
Book Description:
The sizzling conclusion of the Struck by Lightning trilogy! The story that began with the RT Award-winning Slow Surrender finally brings us all satisfaction. James has finally pushed Karina beyond her limit–not her limit for kinky sex play, but for his extreme secrecy. She has had enough and breaks things off.
But James won’t give up on Karina and he will do whatever it takes to get her back. He’s ready to share his deepest, darkest secrets, but is Karina ready to hear them? When James is blackmailed by an unscrupulous music industry executive, he must give in to unreasonable demands or risk exposure of his and Karina’s secret sex life… a sex life that keeps getting hotter!
Will Karina and James’s love be strong enough to withstand the many obstacles being thrown their way?
Book Excerpt:
James's eyes were serious, even as his face and body were relaxed and languid post-orgasm. “Did I convince you to give me another chance?”
I considered. “You at least earned the chance to tell me what I don’t know.”
He took my hand in his, like he had so many times before. This time he kissed my fingertips, his eyes closing as he did. “I have a lot to tell you. More than any single interrogation might reveal.”
I squeezed his hand. “I shouldn’t have to interrogate you for the answers.”
He sucked in a breath. “No. Of course you shouldn’t. There’s so much I need to tell you if you’re really going to get to know me.” He reached up and traced the curve of my cheek with his fingertip. “Yet I feel like you know me better than anyone.”
“I do know you,” I said. “I just don’t know the facts about you.”
His gaze shied away from mine. “Many of the facts are sordid.”
“Says the man who put a six-inch dildo into me and walked me around the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
“I mean much more sordid than that.” Now his face had completely clouded over.
“I want to know, James. I need to know. I have a right to, if we’re going to be together.”
He nodded, though his eyes were closed. “I know. I agree. That still doesn’t make it easy for me to open up.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Except during sex.”
“As you well know. Were you serious about what you said before? I would sincerely give you a piece of my past for every time you give me…” He kissed my fingertips again. “Anything. Sex. Your body. Your submission.”
Even though we’d just had sex, I felt a thrill go through my loins. “I wasn’t suggesting it lightly.”
“I want to be sure. Sometimes we say things in the heat of passion that seem less than wise afterward.”
“But sometimes we get inspired.” This could be the perfect solution, I realized. “I know the time you’re the most open is when we have sex. That’s the time your answers will be the best. Of course, if we do this, I could still revoke my forgiveness at any time.”
“Of course. Just as you can revoke your consent at any time. I understand, Karina. It’s the Thousand and One Nights, only this time I’m Scheherazade, telling the stories.”
I touched his face with my fingers, feeling like a weight was slowly lifting from my back. Maybe we were going to make this work after all. The fact that he was willing to try so hard made a huge difference in how I felt. And I wanted him. The part of me that had been needing him and pining for him all summer was quelled by the knowledge we could do this.
I sat up and discovered I’d been lying on something. In the dim light I could still recognize what it was. “These look a lot like a pair of panties I used to have.”
“That’s because they are.”
“You’ve been carrying around my underwear?” I turned to look at him.
Lying beside me on the pillow, he wore a familiar expression: serene and a bit bemused. “You left them in the limo once. Did you think I’d throw them away?”
“I never really thought about it before.”
“If I left a pair of my underwear behind with you, what would you do?”
“Yeah, I see your point. I’ve got a handkerchief of yours I keep in the—”
His expression changed suddenly, his eyes widening and his lips parting in slight surprise. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
I felt myself blush even though I wasn’t keeping anything a secret. “Um, partly anyway. My roommate—”
“I know. I met her at the spa that day. Becky. She knew the Lord’s Ladies.”
“Yeah. And she got one of the handkerchiefs you threw from the stage at Madison Square Garden. It matched one I got from you.”
To my surprise, James smiled. He sat up and kissed me softly. “If I believed in fate, I’d say that was a sign. What are the odds?”
“And are they better or worse than the odds of being struck by lightning?”
His smile turned into a laugh. “Was that a pun?” In a flash he pulled my legs onto his lap, spanking me playfully several times. I couldn’t help it, it was like being ambushed by tickling. I kicked and giggled and shrieked.
I wriggled free, hug-tackled him, and ended up on top of him in the center of the bed, kissing him all over his face. “I’m still mad at you, you know.”
“If you say so,” he said. “By the way, I agree with your mother. This is a nice dress.”
“She bought it for me today. She wants to meet you.”
“What have you told her about me?”
“That you’re rich and good-looking which is what she cares about most. My sister wants to meet you, too. They know you’re an art world type but that’s all.” I was coming to my senses a little, now that the intense pleasure of the orgasm was receding and the play-spanking had woken me up. “And if you’d really put the rock star stuff behind you, that’d be all they need to know. But that sounds like a big if.”
“A very big if.” He nodded slowly, his face sobering again into his usual mask.
That would not do. The biggest question he still hadn’t answered for me was the story of Ferrara Huntington. It was the biggest thing that I thought could still be a deal-breaker and send me out of here a single woman. I leaned down and nuzzled his neck, as if the subject were closed for now. He smelled delicious, igniting all my cravings again. I nibbled behind his ear. He arched under me, his cock not yet ready to harden again, but the rest of him responding just fine. He pulled me down beside him, kissing me back and exploring my neck with his mouth.
Hadn’t we just finished having sex? I felt my insides melting again though, my desire rising like a tide. Maybe my body felt we should make up for lost time.
Making out was nice and I enjoyed the feeling that we were in no hurry. When had we ever done this, kissed for the sake of kissing? I lost track of time. Minutes ticked by in my haze of affection, pleasure, and relief. Yes. We needed this kind of connection, too. Affection, exploring each other, letting chemistry take over.
My hands roamed his back, his sides, his hips, until one of them strayed between his legs and I sucked in a breath as I met the scorching hot stiffness there.
There was no reason to wait. There was so much we had to talk about. “You’re ready for more?” I teased.
“With you, Karina, I always am.”
About the Author
Cecilia Tan is "simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature," according to Susie Bright.
Her BDSM romance novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won the RT Reviewers Choice Award in Erotic Romance.
Her BDSM romance novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won the RT Reviewers Choice Award in Erotic Romance.
Tan is the author of many books, including the ground-breaking erotic short story collections Black Feathers (HarperCollins), White Flames (Running Press), and Edge Plays (Circlet Press), and the erotic romances Slow Surrender, Slow Seduction, and Slow Satisfaction (Hachette/Forever), The Prince's Boy (Circlet Press), The Hot Streak (Riverdale Avenue Books), and the Magic University series (Riverdale Avenue Books). Her short stories have appeared in Ms. Magazine, Nerve, Best American Erotica, Asimov's Science Fiction, and tons of other places.
She was inducted into the Saints & Sinners Hall of Fame for GLBT writers in 2010, was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association in 2004, and won the inaugural Rose & Bay Awards for Best Fiction in 2010 for her crowdfunded web fiction serial Daron's Guitar Chronicles.
She was inducted into the Saints & Sinners Hall of Fame for GLBT writers in 2010, was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association in 2004, and won the inaugural Rose & Bay Awards for Best Fiction in 2010 for her crowdfunded web fiction serial Daron's Guitar Chronicles.
She lives in the Boston area with her lifelong partner Corwin and three cats.
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Tour Schedule:
Release Day Blitz Event: Aug 26
Mixed Emotions Book Blog
My Book Filled Life
Deal Sharing Aunt
Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews
Confessions of a Librarian in Training
Book Junkie Mom / Rainy Day Reviews
Buttontapper
Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews
Tour Dates: Aug 26 – Sept 15
Tuesday, Aug 26
My Book Filled Life – Book Excerpt
Book Junkie Mom / Rainy Day Reviews – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Review
Wednesday, Aug 27
Mixed Emotions Book Blog – Author Guest Post / Author Interview / Book Excerpt / Book Review
Thursday, Aug 28
Buttontapper – Author Interview / Book Excerpt
Friday, Aug 29
Confessions of a Librarian in Training – Book Review
Monday, Sept 1
Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews – Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Tuesday, Sept 2
The Writer’s Life – Author Interview
Wednesday, Sept 3
As The Page Turns – Author Interview
Thursday, Sept 4
The Story Behind The Book – Author Guest Post
Friday, Sept 5
Deal Sharing Aunt – Book Review
Monday, Sept 8
Moonbeams over Atlanta – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Wednesday, Sept 10
Lusty Penguin Reviews – Book Excerpt
Thursday, Sept 11
Memories in a Box – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Friday, Sept 12
Bitches Be Writin’ – Author Guest Post / Author Interview
Monday, Sept 15
Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Mixed Emotions Book Blog
My Book Filled Life
Deal Sharing Aunt
Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews
Confessions of a Librarian in Training
Book Junkie Mom / Rainy Day Reviews
Buttontapper
Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews
Tour Dates: Aug 26 – Sept 15
Tuesday, Aug 26
My Book Filled Life – Book Excerpt
Book Junkie Mom / Rainy Day Reviews – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Review
Wednesday, Aug 27
Mixed Emotions Book Blog – Author Guest Post / Author Interview / Book Excerpt / Book Review
Thursday, Aug 28
Buttontapper – Author Interview / Book Excerpt
Friday, Aug 29
Confessions of a Librarian in Training – Book Review
Monday, Sept 1
Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews – Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Tuesday, Sept 2
The Writer’s Life – Author Interview
Wednesday, Sept 3
As The Page Turns – Author Interview
Thursday, Sept 4
The Story Behind The Book – Author Guest Post
Friday, Sept 5
Deal Sharing Aunt – Book Review
Monday, Sept 8
Moonbeams over Atlanta – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Wednesday, Sept 10
Lusty Penguin Reviews – Book Excerpt
Thursday, Sept 11
Memories in a Box – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
Friday, Sept 12
Bitches Be Writin’ – Author Guest Post / Author Interview
Monday, Sept 15
Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews – Author Guest Post / Book Spotlight / Book Excerpt
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