Join author, Lilac James Golden Flogger Award Nominee as she discusses her new book and writing about dominance and submission

 

Why did you begin writing BDSM novels?
I had an idea. The problem with ideas is that some of them just grab on to your mind and won’t let go.  Bessie Mae Baxter (Bondage Virgins) popped up in my head and she was so unhappy with her life and so curious about what else was out there in the big, wide world that I couldn’t ignore her plight.

So Bessie was primed.  She was tired of being a good girl.  Enter Reece, the man who was ready to help her.

I can’t say I just sat back and took notes, but I did enjoy helping these two find a happy ending…to the book.  I think they’ll be happy for a long time to come.  Possibly even ‘ever after’.

What does being nominated for the Golden Flogger Award mean to you?
I feel like some kind of over-exuberant fan girl when I think about what an honor it is.  It’s validation.  It’s an endorsement of the hard work I put into writing.  It’s justification for the time I spend doing this (instead of cleaning the house). It’s more exciting than I can say.  There just are no words, and that’s a terrible admission for a writer.

What is the hardest part of writing your novel?
The hardest part is making sure that the settings and events I can see so clearly in my mind make it onto the page. The hardest part is when the characters get their own ideas about what they want and won’t do what I tell them to do. The hardest part is getting ideas about what these people in my head need to do.  (Bessie was a delightful exception.)  Hecate, from The Devil’s Domme, was a woman with a problem neither one of us knew how to solve.  We had many late night conversations about what she could do—easy for her, she’s used to late nights, but I’m not. The hardest part is letting go of the characters when the book is done and I’ve moved on to other people.

Tell us a little about yourself and your writing works.
Fortunately, I like to write.  I say ‘fortunately’ both because that’s mostly what I do and because it’s hard work.  Unfortunately all that hard work is not the kind that burns off calories.  ‘Writer’s butt’ is not a figment of a writer’s imagination.

For a sedate life, mine is very hectic.  In addition to BDSM books like The Devil’s Domme, I write contemporary romance and women’s fiction (only one to date, but you never know) under another name.  Also short stories and flash fiction for e-zines and on Patreon.  It keeps me busy.

Hard-headed and stubborn to the end, I keep getting ideas for stories, both BDSM and other genres.  What no one told me is that while writing in several genres is not the end of the world, marketing all those different things just might be.  My mantra for 2018 is going to be ‘Focus, Focus, Focus’.  (As soon as I decide which genre I can bear to give up.)

Do you participate in D/s activities or merely write about them?
I really hope answering this question does not lead readers to devalue my books, because I write about D/s activities but do not participate.  Why?  I have friends who do participate in the life style and who have come to trust me enough to talk openly with me about their experiences.

I have come to realize that writing about a life style that is not my own is an homage to that way of living.  It is my way of saying that people have a right to choose how they live (as long as it’s consensual and doesn’t cause harm) and non-participators don’t have a right to criticize.

A little about the author:
Lilac James is  a sweet little old lady (maybe) who hides a life-long dream of being a badass.  Beneath her placid suburban exterior lies a kinky imagination and the desire to share it with you. She’s also one lucky lady.  She gets to write about gorgeous men who never leave thCalifornia with the world’s best husband and the world’se seat up and don’t fuss if she forgets to enter a check in the checkbook.  And they never need her to iron shirts.  Could it get better than that? Lilac lives in northern  most demanding cat.