People sometimes ask me how I got started writing BDSM erotica and erotic romance. While I’ve always loved to write and have an overactive imagination, the first, basic reason for me was a desire to explore impulses and longings I didn’t entirely understand or accept within myself.
This was a while back, before the advent of the Internet offered people like me a way to connect with millions of folks of like mind and predilection. Ever since I was sexually self-aware, I knew I was “different”. Fantasies of being bound and sexually teased and tortured, even spanked and whipped, had always drifted through my mind and psyche, forming a basic part of what made me tick. Sexy slave girls in silky costumes, kneeling submissively at the feet of their handsome Masters figured large in my cache of steamy daydreams.
There was only one problem. I thought there was something terribly wrong with myself. I even sought counseling, while in college, to try to come to grips with and “cure” my perversions. How could a liberated, intelligent woman have fantasies of being held down and whipped, and find the fantasy highly, deeply erotic? I was sick! I was a freak.
I married very young, never confiding my deepest, darkest needs and longings to a man I instinctively knew would never accept or understand. I tried to quash my true nature, though secretly I nurtured my D/s fantasies. I had managed to buy and furtively read such classic tomes as Story of O and some of the works of Marquis de Sade. While the writing titillated me, it wasn’t really what I was seeking. I wanted to read more about the romantic aspect, or what I imagined could be the romance of erotic submission, but back then (we’re talking twenty and more years ago) the pickings were few and far between.
I reached my mid-thirties, locked in a deadly dull vanilla marriage and desperate to break out of my self-imposed shackles. Along came the Internet, which changed my (and I suspect many people’s) life in ways I had never dreamed of. Happening upon a BDSM bulletin board (those cumbersome, expensive precursors to chat rooms), I found people of like mind””some of them educated, thoughtful people who helped me begin to understand my submissive and masochistic feelings and desires weren’t perverted and twisted, just different.
With the help and guidance of these online friends and my own personal explorations, I began the long but ultimately rewarding process of becoming comfortable in my own skin””of finally accepting who and what I was. It would take more time and maturity to fully embrace and exalt in my true sexuality, but it was a start.
That’s when I began to write. If I couldn’t find stories that showed the erotic power of romantic submission, I would just have to write them myself. I wrote short stories at first, just dipping my toe in the waters of BDSM as I explored some of my long held, deep-seated fantasies. I showed a few of these stories to online friends, who suggested I might try to get something published. This was before the advent of Ebooks. I sent my paltry offerings to several S&M oriented magazines, and to my delight, they were snapped up.
Suddenly work I’d done purely for my own self-exploration had a market, albeit a tiny one. Other people were interested in what I had to say. The experience was a heady one, and I was bitten by the writing bug. What began as purely personal moved to something broader and the rest, thirty-five-plus novels and counting later, is, as they say, history.
One of my most gratifying experiences as a writer is when I receive an email from a reader who tells me I have changed their life in some small way. A woman who, like me, thought she was twisted for feeling the way she did, found permission and acceptance in my work. A couple who had toyed with S&M, but hadn’t found the courage to truly explore until one of my novels somehow turned a key in the door of their sex life, had rekindled the thrill in their love life.
If my work has contributed in some small way to making these people, like me, feel comfortable in their own skin, I have done more than just write sexy stories for fun and profit, I have made a difference in the world. How cool is that?
0 COMMENTS
Blanche
15 years agoVery neat post Claire!
Honestly, BDSM is touchy for me! I have read some that were ok but other stuff just makes me squirm and especially if it happens in a book with characters I really really like. I’ve read some really poor quality BDSM books (just my opinion and probably poor choice in picking books) and sadly it has blurred the lines for me a bit when it comes to this genre. I always try to keep an open mind and will try reading anything atleast once. It wouldn’t be my first choice of genres to pick up but and this is a biggie, if it is a book written by an author I know and trust/like, I’ll read the book!
Anna Shah Hoque
15 years agoHey Claire,
I wanted to thank you for writing about the symbiotic relationship between a Dom & his submissive or slave…I am extremely drawn to the power exchange between the two roles and am comforted by the security and comfort one can draw from each role…I’ve always been drawn to such scenarios in my personal fantasy life and never openly acknowledged it even to myself for a very long time. Reading your books have given me a sense of acceptance that I would not have otherwise found. Ultimately, I don’t know whether I will be fortunate enough to experience any of it in real life but I have your books and my fantasies till that time comes.
I grew up in an abusive home so wanting to be or even fantasizing about being in a D/s relationship seemed like a betrayal to my Mum’s struggles but I’ve grown to understand after much reading and education that abuse is very different from what is a consensual D/s relationship. Your books have certainly helped in clarifying loads of scenarios and I look forward to reading more of your work.
Happy Halloween.
Lottie P
15 years agoHi Claire as someone who’s read and enjoyed your books for a while. With this article you have answered (one of) the question I’ve oftened wondered about you and other authors who tap into that part of my psyche that BDSM books reach namely how did you get started. Thank you for this article and also for writing the wonderful stories you write. 🙂
Lottie
Estella
15 years agoI really enjoy your BDSM books.
sara hurt
15 years agoHI Claire. I really enjoyed this article. I am so glad that you have found your niche with your writing. I think everyone should feel passionate about something and yours definetly shows in your writing.
Claire Thompson
15 years ago AUTHORYou know, I was a little hesitant to post such a very personal entry on this site. I really appreciate these open, sincere responses to my baring my soul! I think it deepens the experience for a reader to understand the motivations and experience of the author. I want people to know my writing, especially my BDSM writing, isn’t just a fantasy, or modeled on research and the testimony of others, but is based on my own exploration and deeply held dreams and desires. If I have conveyed that in this blog, I have done my job!
Thanks for being so open to sharing with me.
Cathy M
15 years agoYou are sharing a part of your life with us, and we get the benefit of that in the stories that you write. I totally respect that, Claire, and continue to be a big fan of your storytelling.
Claire Thompson
15 years ago AUTHORThanks, Cathy! That means a lot to me!