Michelle Fegatofi
Golden Flogger Award Nominee
Why did you begin writing BDSM educational guides?
I had a lot of new people sending me messages on Facebook and other internet sites, asking me various questions about the BDSM Lifestyle. After answering some of the same questions many times as well as clearing up misconceptions from some people, I decided to write my first book, BDSM for Beginners, so that those that were even remotely interested in BDSM, could at least have a starting point and be able to grow from there.
Do you participate in D/s activities or merely write about them?
I do participate in D/s activities. I have been in and around the BDSM community as some form of submissive or slave for over 20 years. I have been a live- in 24/7 consensual slave since August 2011. My Padrone (Master) and I practice more of the D/s versus the S&M side of the Lifestyle. But, I have experience in many aspects of the S&M side as well.
Where did you get your information on this lifestyle?
Mostly from my own personal experiences and observations, research conducted via reading books and websites, questions sent to me from many followers and interviewing many diverse members of the community from the old SF Leather community to closed nit groups around the world.
Where would you like to see the BDSM genre head? How will it get there?
I would like to see the BDSM Lifestyle as a whole become looked at as more of a lifestyle and not some deranged kink. I know that there are and will always be people that say we are abominations, sexual deviants and not normal, but what the vanilla community may not want to understand or accept is that we are actually creating a more natural way of living for ourselves. We are not hiding our true natures anymore and it’s a much healthier way to live instead of hiding behind a mask. I think it will take many years for this lifestyle to be accepted into mainstream society, but the more open we are and the more we show the world we are all just as normal as they are, I think more acceptance will be found. I hope to see more BDSM books, movies, and social media sites in the future become as popular as FB and the Fifty Shades Trilogy.
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
For me, it is deciding exactly what information to present and how deep to write about It, since there are so many different subject matters out there.