Vettech
Vettech asked Joey W. Hill:

In Truly Helpless I could really see that Marius was even more tormented my his past than Marguerite. I know it's difficult to not compare the two and how much harder it was for Regina being female and Tyler being male to handle a troubled sub. Wondered what your take on this was?

Joey W. Hill You're right; when I was writing Truly Helpless, there were times I thought of how far gone Marguerite seemed in Ice Queen/Mirror of My Soul and what it took for Tyler to call her back from the brink, bringing them both to a place of healing.

But he was dealing with her will against his; Regina was not only dealing with Marius's will, but darker things that manifested themselves in sometimes very dangerous, physical ways. Well, I say that, but then didn't Marguerite try to stab Tyler with a fork on one of their initial meetings in the book, lol? So she had that capacity in her, but I think she had it yoked down far more tightly than Marius. As she said in Truly Helpless to Tyler when they broached that very subject, when Tyler first came to her, she'd already established a certain structure for herself that Marius did not have.

But I'm rambling a bit (beaming). One of my favorite challenges of writing Truly Helpless was figuring out how a Domme would handle a physically powerful male sub with Marius's issues. Regina had the plus of having been a prison guard, so she knew take down maneuvers and had training in how to defuse potentially dangerous situations. However, her emotional attachment meant she had to access deeper levels of her own feelings and Marius's to ensure not just that the situations stayed safe/contained, but also to progress the relationship, help him and manager her feelings. For a writer who loves character-driven BDSM romance/love stories, it was a fabulous journey. Hope that helps provide the insight you were seeking!

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