Monday 24 April 2017

Writers' experiences of writing gay/shifter/BDSM stories

The sixth in my series on writers’ experiences of writing gay, shifter or BDSM stories is from me talking about my experiences of writing BDSM.

I was inspired to write several scenes in my forthcoming book ‘To Claim a Mate’ after attending Smut in the City last autumn. This event was held at Miss Ts in Stockport – a BDSM club - and after the workshops and readings we got a chance to try out the equipment, see a demo and talk to the Doms. 

When the sub in my story (Jared) first visits Balls & Chains he sees that each room has a different purpose – one room has paddling benches and another has crosses on which to restrain the subs and on the walls are rows of implements. I got the idea of having the tools displayed this way from Miss Ts, although her venue is quite small and Balls & Chains is much larger so I was able to split out the activities into different rooms.


Then Jared looked around the walls and bit his lip in excitement. There was a multitude of diverse paddles of all shapes and sizes. He hadn’t appreciated there were so many different sorts.


For one room in my story I got the idea from a squash court with a transparent wall so spectators can see the action without getting harmed. Part of that notion was inspired by how small Miss Ts was as it occurred to me if more than one Dom wanted to work in there, you had to be careful to avoid hitting passers by (as happens in my story when the incompetent Master the sub is with at the beginning of the story gets carried away!)

Unlike Miss Ts, though, I have specially employed dungeon masters in my story however, the Doms at her venue do look out for their fellow attendees. It is a dangerous activity, so it is good that they watch out for others. So in keeping in that spirit I did have a Dom making a comment to the incompetent Master in my story.

The demo we saw at Miss Ts had Smut organiser, Victoria Blisse, being the volunteer submissive and some of the resident Doms took turns using floggers, whips, paddles, etc, on her and giving us a description of how they worked.

This was incredibly helpful and I included a scene in ‘To Claim a Mate’ where a demo of a single tailed whip was held (in my story, though, they have a special room with a stage for such activities!). I don’t remember the name of the Dom who used this whip at Miss Ts but I loved how he caught the whip as is snapped back so he could control it for the next strike (all this is captured in the scene in my story when Master Cole gives his demo).

One tool they showed us was called ‘A Claw’ which had originally been invented, I believe, for pulling pork but was great for sensation play. I made a note at the time that I would include claws in my next werewolf story (as ‘To Claim a Mate’ is a story of wolf shifters in a BDSM club, the use of claws for sensation play makes an appearance!)

The resident Doms were great at answering the probing questions of us research-hungry erotica writers. For instance, I saw that one of them was only hitting Victoria’s exposed flesh of her shoulders and thighs. When I asked why he didn’t hit her on her covered backside, the answer was that he could see what effect the strike was having on her body (which was getting covered with red marks all over) and could avoid overdoing it that way. Of course, it depends on the implement but I included this reference in my story.

They also gave us some very useful tips on things that are more difficult to learn, such as how to be dominant. One thing he talked was about increasing the sub’s anticipation by taking his time, doing the unexpected, eg, approach the sub but instead of hitting, maybe blow on their neck or kiss their shoulder. Cole, in my story, does exactly that to the sub.


Jared jumped when Master Cole kissed him gently on his neck. It shocked him to the core. He didn’t dare look at Dirk to see his reaction. Meanwhile, the skin where the other man had placed his lips burned into Jared like a brand.
“And doing something unforeseen will confound the sub even further. He doesn’t know whether to expect pain or pleasure—or both.”


The other thing that was very helpful was Victoria describing the sensations as she was hit. For instance, one of the Doms used a ‘Little Bastard’ on her – a paddle with thick rectangular block of rubber (which also appears in my story, of course!). Victoria said that the pain bloomed as time went on even after the Dom had stopped using it (which makes it doubly painful for Jared as Master Dirk – the incompetent – rhymes with jerk -  keeps on hitting).

Many thanks, to Victoria, Miss Ts and the Doms for all their help that day (and I have dedicated ‘To Claim a Mate’ to them. J )



Cole Linley is a gay wolf-shifter. In order to appease the Alpha within, he has taken up the BDSM lifestyle and become very experienced. This placates his wolf to a certain extent, but his dearest wish is to find a mate—male, of course. Except, the question is, how to find one in a city surrounded by humans where other wolf-shifters are rare.

Then, one night, he enters Balls & Chains, a BDSM club he frequents, and immediately senses another of his kind. And not only that, it is the scent of a potential mate, Jared Gray. There is only one problem—Jared is collared by another Master.

Jared’s relationship shows all the signs of an abusive relationship. Can Cole get him away from the other Dom and show Jared the delights of BDSM when done properly and what it means to be a beta wolf to Cole’s Alpha?

Available mid-May



Look out soon for the next guest blog. If you wanted to read the others:

Jennifer Denys (intro post) click here
Samantha Winston click here
Jules Dixon click here
Amara Lebel click here
Evelise Archer click here

This series is to inspire people to write for my Balls & Chains series – a gay shifter series set in a BDSM club. If you are interested full details can found on Luminosity’s website. The first book in the series ‘To Claim a Mate’ is out in mid May.





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