Why are you so freaky, Damien Wilde?
No doubt about it, I enjoy myself a bad, bad boy, in fantasyland anyway. Nothing sexier between the pages of a book than an alpha male with possessive tendencies and a domineering attitude. However, in reality, I'm pretty sure all that master/servant shit would NOT fly with most women, myself included. In fact, it would be pretty hard to keep a straight face if our husbands/boyfriends starting going all Christian Grey on us.
This was kind of the theme I ended up exploring in Mild Gone Wilde, (Now Available) my latest book. It started off being a fairly straight-forward rough sex erotica novella but turned into something quite different. The finished product is probably a lot more consistent with what might actually happen with a dominant if he took on an unsuitable novice submissive who struggles with being at the man's mercy even under the guise of sex-play.
The heroine, Rosalie, loves Damien Wilde, a man who embodies all things bad boy. He just so happens to be into rough sex. The problem? Well, she isn't. She spends most of the book trying to get into it because she recognizes that he has these dark needs and she wants to satisfy him on every level. But the reality is that she's NOT comfortable with his expectations and doesn't really understand his desires. As a result, she keeps falling out of character and undermining his attempts to dominate her.
Don't get me wrong, she finds it all very erotic. There's some sexy stuff here and these characters are sexually compatible despite their different tastes. But there's also this underlying subtext of her questioning why does he need it like this? Why am I not enough? Can't we just lighten up and enjoy each other without all the weird shit? And damn, why are you so freaky?
So why not just write another book to glorify the BDSM lifestyle instead? Well, I tried and it felt pretty hollow to me. I can't fake it that hard. Entertaining readers is always at the forefront of writing, but the fact remains, I really don't like the message out there that women are natural submissives and if we aren't, well then, there's something wrong with us. Most of us, I think, are more like Rosalie, who struggles to find that balance between being true to herself and satisfying her partner.
