Euro Pride Con Guest Post and Giveaway: The Fear of Surrender by Morticia Knight

The Novel Approach welcomes author Morticia Knight today to talk about her new release The Fear of Surrender from Totally Bound, and to help celebrate the Countdown to Euro Pride Con 2015.

Morticia shares her thoughts on writing BDSM in a historical setting, has shared an excerpt from the book, and is also offering the chance for one lucky reader to win an e-title of choice from her Backlist.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

BDSM Prior to Safe, Sane and Consensual

Thank you for having me here today! I’ll be talking about my BDSM series, The Hampton Road Club and what it is that makes this series different from other BDSM and D/s stories. The main reason? The series is set in the 1920s. There was no such thing as safe, sane and consensual, no standard rules that applied to those in the lifestyle. Actually, it was never even referred to as the ‘lifestyle’. The acronyms of BDSM, D/s or terms such as ‘safe word’, sub, Dom, and such didn’t exist yet. I had to be very careful when crafting the stories of these men that I didn’t lapse into contemporary speak.

Since this series spun off of Book 5 of the Gin & Jazz series, Studio Orders, I had already done much of the research regarding BDSM history as it relates to a universal understanding between those who practice it. I had also completed seven books in the Gin & Jazz series (all set in the twenties as well) and was easily able to keep the time period accurate – including the cadence of speech. But once I decided to take the club that is only mentioned in Studio Orders and adapt it into an entire series revolving around BDSM during that era – therein lay the real challenge. However, it was also a wonderful opportunity for me to imagine what could’ve happened when the seeds of unifying the lifestyle into a more consistent and safe environment might have been planted.

This is where the joys of artistic license took over. I took everything that I knew to be historically accurate and everything I didn’t know at all then combined them together. I imagined what events might have taken place that would have led to a universal agreement of terminology and practices – how BDSM might have actually evolved to what it is today. The events that happen in each book take you through the steps that lead you from the development of one modern idea to the next.

What came out of that has been incredibly fun for me to write. There are the usual emotional and psychological elements of D/s that are encountered when two consenting adults enter into such an agreement – including the fact that there is an agreement at all. There are the typical BDSM interactions such as impact play (although, again, not a term in use at the time), but I also had to add in the scary parts that had nothing to do with what went on between the men. Homosexuality is not accepted at all in society – laws are in place against sodomy. While it’s still possible to be arrested for assault today from the practice of BDSM – it was assured back then. The double secrecy of writing about a gay BDSM club was an intense challenge to craft in order to maintain the believability.

Overall, The Hampton Road Club has become very special to me and the men who work so hard to find a lasting partner under such overwhelming obstacles and challenges I believe will stay with me a long time.

If you’re attending Euro Pride Con, I’ll be there with at least one or two installments of the series. I’m really looking forward to this Con, and if you haven’t signed up yet – make sure you check it out. One of the big reasons I wanted to go is perhaps the most obvious – I get to go to Germany! But there’s also much more to it than that. I do have a German and European readership who I might never have the opportunity to meet if I only ever attend cons in the US, or even in the UK. I’m also very interested in discovering the similarities and differences in the M/M romance scene. I can’t wait to go.

I’d like to share with you an excerpt from the third installment of The Hampton Road Club. This is from The Fear of Surrender, where we get the story of Master Thomas and the submissive Linus who was mistreated in a former book at the club by a disreputable Master. In this scene, Thomas is seeing Linus the first time since his abuse at the club and is trying to convince him to visit the man who in Book 2, The Rules of Love, had sacrificed his own safety to protect Linus.

Blurb: Master Thomas sees a submissive man aching for surrender. But can Linus be convinced not to fear The Hampton Road Club?

Linus never wants to return to Hampton Road after being attacked by a Master there. Even though he aches for the attention of Master Thomas—the one who he’d originally wanted—he isn’t sure he can ever trust another Master not to abuse him again.
Thomas is furious with himself for not protecting the beautiful young submissive whose company he’d enjoyed on a few occasions. He’s relieved that there have been some recent changes to help protect the men who offer themselves at the sadomasochism club. It’s about time to bring Hampton Road into the progressive age of the 1920s. Now that the new rules are in place, perhaps he can woo Linus into giving him a chance.

As Thomas goes out of his way to be kind to him, Linus wonders if he’s misjudged the Master. He’s still not sure if there’s a future for them. What if he never wants to surrender to another man? When he allows Thomas to teach him the joys of Dominance and submission, Linus discovers that he not only wants to surrender, he wants to be claimed permanently. If only Thomas’ old life doesn’t come back to haunt them and destroy their chance of being together forever.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of figging and piercing.

Publisher’s Note: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

Early Download Available At Totally Bound Publishing

EXCERPT:

Author Bio: M/M Erotic Romance author Morticia Knight enjoys a good saucy tale – after all, who doesn’t? Since she loves several genres, you may find your heroes in a contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi setting. One of her passions is bringing people’s fantasies to life on the page, because life is too short for even one boring moment. Her stories are volcanic in heat, deep in emotion, and sprinkled with doses of humor.

When not indulging in her obsession for books, she loves the outdoors, film and music. The Pacific Northwest is the ideal spot to enjoy both hiking and beachcombing. Once upon a time she was the singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She now resides on the northern coast of Oregon, where the constant rain and fog remind her of visits to family in England and Scotland when she was a child.

She is currently working on the Sin City Uniforms Series and a BDSM spin-off to the Gin & Jazz series entitled The Hampton Road Club. A follow-up to Bryan and Aubrey’s story in Rockin’ the Alternative will also be available in 2015 through Totally Bound Publishing.

Find Morticia at: Facebook personal page | Facebook Author page | Facebook super secret ninja fan group with photos of hot men and other cool stuff | Twitter | Website/Blog | Totally Bound author page