Julie Shelton
Golden Flogger Award Nominee
of Passion’s Hope
Shares her thoughts about

Why did you begin writing BDSM novels?
I have been a voracious reader of romances ever since the days of the Gothic novel, back in the sixties and seventies. I was a huge fan of such authors as Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart, the queen of romantic suspense. “I can write this,” I thought to myself, so I wrote a Gothic novel (you know, the kind set in a crumbling estate on the wild, windswept moors of England with the troubled, brooding hero, the spunky, governess heroine and a villain bent on destroying them all). Next I wrote a romantic suspense novel in the style of Mary Stewart. Then, while I was in college, back in the late 60’s, early 70’s, in order to qualify for graduating cum laude, I had to write a 100-page paper. So I decided to write a treatise on life in a French castle in the 1300’s and make it like an illuminated manuscript of the period, with medieval designs in the margins and fancy capital letters. And since my major was French, I wrote it in French. While I was doing research for this paper, the idea for a novel set in the Middle Ages sprang into my mind. I couldn’t write it down fast enough. However, since I was taking all my research notes on index cards, that was the only paper I had to write on, so I also wrote the novel on index cards. The notes filled one shoe box, the novel a second shoe box. None of these efforts were published, of course, but I kept them all. During the next forty years I became first a children’s librarian, then a professional storyteller and puppeteer and all the writing I did was geared either toward children or educators of young children.

I didn’t read my first erotic novel until 2003—a Breeds novel by Lora Leigh. Oh. My. God. I was hooked! However, I didn’t discover BDSM until I discovered the Erotica section at Borders and Barnes & Noble and I was a goner. All those big, fabulous books by people like Kate Douglas, Angela Knight, Vonna Harper, Maya Banks, Beth Kery, Lauren Dane, Charlene Teglia, Tymber Dalton, Jenny Penn, Leah Brooke, Opal Carew, Cherise Sinclair, the list goes on and on. The more I read the more I fell in love with this genre. “I can write this,” I thought to myself. So I read every book about BDSM I could get my hands on, both fiction and non-fiction, and I started writing. Eight books later I’m still going strong. The medieval romance I wrote over 40 years ago ultimately became an M/f/M menage titled Dark Warrior. My Mary Stewart-like romantic suspense novel became Passion’s Dream, Book One of The Doms of Passion Lake. I’m planning to turn the Gothic novel into an erotic Regency.

Do you participate in D/s activities or merely write about them?
Well, let me explain it this way. My husband died in 1999. I didn’t discover this lifestyle until 2003, when I was 61. And, while I am extremely interested in the lifestyle, I am not the least bit interested in acquiring another man, so…

Where did you get your information on this lifestyle?
I have done extensive research in books, on the internet and interviewing active participants in the lifestyle. If I were 40 years younger, I would definitely be in the lifestyle myself and I’m pretty sure I would be looking for a Daddy Dom just like Nik Rostov. Oh, well. Maybe in my next life.

What does being nominated for the Golden Flogger Award mean to you?
It’s a tremendous honor. Especially considering the fact that I’m so new to writing in this genre. I am looking forward to attending the 2016 BDSM Writers Conference and meeting many of the authors whose work I so admire.

Julie has always loved stories, both reading and writing them. A career as a children’s librarian eventually led to her dream career as a freelance storyteller and puppeteer, a business she operated successfully for nearly thirty years. During that time she created and wrote all the original material for Kidstuff, a monthly language arts resource newsletter for early childhood educators. For that endeavor she won the prestigious EDPRESS Award, given by the Educational Press Association of America. She has also written other resource materials for preschool and early elementary teachers. Then she discovered sex. Now she writes erotic romances. Go figure.

Who are the Doms of Passion Lake?
The Doms of Passion Lake are a group of twelve former SEALS, who served with Jesse Colter and Adam Sinclair, the heroes of my first three books, Loving Sarah, Owning Sarah, and Keeping Sarah. Adam’s Uncle Joe, a stock market genius, made all of them wealthy beyond their wildest imaginings by handling all their investments for them. After leaving the SEALs, the twelve decide to go together to buy the bankrupt town of Porterfield, a small farming community nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Virginia, renaming the town Passion Lake. Since it is a corporation, with a CEO instead of a mayor and the original twelve SEALs as the Board of Directors instead of a Town Council, Passion Lake is a place where they can live their kinky lifestyles without fear of censure or interference by outside authorities.

Many of the Doms of Passion Lake were minor characters in the three Sarah books. In fact, the entire time I was writing the Sarah books, I felt that these dynamic men deserved to have their own stories told. Thus was born The Doms of Passion Lake. In this new series, the Doms not only have their own separate, stand-alone books, they also appear in each other’s books. Jesse, Adam, and Sarah also make periodic cameo appearances in the Passion Lake books.

Tell us about Nik Rostov and Jay Gillespie, the Doms in Passion’s Hope.
Nikolai Rostov is a former Lieutenant with Spetsnaz, the Russian Special Forces. He managed to escape from Russia with military secrets and a vast knowledge of the workings of the Russian Mafia. After establishing his trustworthiness to the U.S. government, he was hired by the Naval Air Base in Coronado, California, to teach specialty hand-to-hand fighting techniques to the SEALs, including SAMBO, a type of martial arts used by the Russians, and a no-holds-barred, deadly street-fighting technique he learned growing up in the slums of Odessa, Ukraine. Jay Gillespie was a SEAL in one of Nik’s first classes. The two became best friends, developing a relationship and a bond which continued and grew after Nik became a member of Jay’s SEAL team. They both left the SEALs to work for Adam Sinclair, their former Executive Officer, in his security firm. They ultimately joined their SEAL buddies in founding Passion Lake, becoming co-owners of the Passion Lake Lodge.

In Passion’s Hope, their relationship takes a few twists and turns neither of them ever expected. Although both Nik and Jay are Doms, looking for their lifetime submissive, Jay finds himself needing something more from Nik. Something that could destroy the relationship they’ve had for over ten years if Nik is unwilling or unable to give it to him. Fortunately for Jay, Nik is not only willing and able, he’s downright eager. Because fulfilling Jay’s occasional need to submit is something he’s been secretly longing for too. Nik, as it turns out, is the quintessential Daddy Dom, loving, nurturing, supportive, and encouraging. And when Charlotte Fielding enters the picture, both Nik and Jay know they’ve found the woman that fits all of their needs.