By Beck Robertson
Blood Hunger
We've come a long way from the sexually repressive days of the past when the only tying up women were supposed to indulge in was being firmly secured to the kitchen sink. In the year 2016 there are female orientated sex toys available for purchase on the high street, sex is an openly discussed topic, and it's no longer thought of as socially unacceptable to sleep with as many sexual partners we want to. Of course a lot of us still have to endure inequality and gender prejudice in parts of our lives but it's also equally true that more and more, we women are calling the shots both in the bedroom and out of it.
We may be firmly in control in every aspect of our lives but one of the biggest (and most secretive) sexual fantasies we harbour is to submit sexually to a dominant man. The popularity of books like Fifty Shades demonstrate the power of this fantasy of submission, fiction is escapism after all, and where we choose to escape to can often be telling.
Lola, heroine of my recent novel Blood Hunger, is the type of fiercely independent woman who has always strictly fended for herself. Yet when Dillon, a strong yet sensitive alpha type, enters her life, he unlocks her hidden submissive side, an essential part of her identity that she didn't even know she craved, and once she starts to explore it, she finds it extremely empowering.
Personally I think a lot of women yearn to be free enough to explore all our fantasies and desires, the many sides of us that make us the fascinating creatures we are, yet sometimes we can also feel guilt or shame, especially around the idea of submission. A lot of women feel that they might be regressing in some way, if they admit to harbouring secret submissive desires, yet the irony is, when we are expressing our most authentic sexual selves as women, that's when we feel at our most empowered and in control.
Maybe with the recent proliferation of literotica featuring modern and sassy heroines like Lola, more and more of us will make the fiction we indulge in a reality, exploring our fantasies on a deeper level. Perhaps we'll also start to see it's no dichotomy at all for modern women to want to remain in control of their lives and have a full, three dimensional sex drive, where if we choose, and it is always a choice, we can explore our submissive sexual desires.
Sex is multi-faceted and never black and white, to coin a cliché, it's nearly always shades of grey. You can be in full control of the rest of your life and still enjoy relinquishing control sexually, and I think we are now starting to realise we're not letting down the sisterhood by admitting this. I think men have been comfortable with the idea of submitting sexually for a bit longer than we have, perhaps because our culture has always promoted men as sexual creatures, which is likely why so many otherwise in control men feel free to seek the release of submission by finding a dominant female partner.
But because of sexual inequality and the many battles women have had to go through just to be taken seriously and accepted on an equal footing with men in our professional lives, not to mention negotiating the minefield of sexual harassment and objectification, it's easy to entertain worries that admitting to a desire to sexually submit might be seen as bit of a backwards step.
Lola herself struggles with accepting her own cravings to submit, finding it hard to reconcile the powerful woman she knows she is with the deep yearning to submit she feels, yet eventually she realises the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.
The benefits of being your freest sexual self are huge, from the obvious, like better sex and mind blowing orgasms, to the kind of rock solid confidence that comes from truly knowing and expressing our deepest selves, the selves most of us keep under lock and key.
If erotic fiction can help us unlock our deepest desires and channel our inner Lola I think that can only be a good thing. Now where did I put those handcuffs?...
Blood Hunger Blurb:
Can a vampire with deadly enemies conceal her nature from her mortal lover when the pair are framed for a murder they didn't commit?
Raven-haired femme fatale Lola Devereaux is used to wrapping men around her finger, but when handsome Dillon Chambers walks into her life, passion sizzles between them. To her surprise, she finds she's the one who yearns to submit this time.
But Lola's keeping a dark secret. Lola is a vampire, and she fears that if Dillon finds out, he'll reject her forever, just like her mortal ex did.
Keeping a secret this big is hard enough, but when the urgency to feed causes Lola to make a serious lapse in judgment, an old enemy takes the opportunity to wreak revenge, putting Dillon in the frame for murder. Lola has to find a way to clear his name or risk never feeling his strong arms around her again.
Does one stupid error have to mean kissing goodbye to the only guy who makes her heart race? And is telling the truth really so incompatible with true love?
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of public sex and spanking.
Now available to purchase from Totally Bound Publishing, Amazon and other retailers.
About Beck Robertson:
I'm a 35 year old London based author and copywriter who harbours a fascination with vampires, fantasy worlds, and all things B-movie. I'm an erotica enthusiast and a fan of classic rock, with an avid interest in Tudor and medieval history. I've a probably unhealthy addiction to virtual reality, and am a self-confessed Game of Thrones geek.
As well as writing for Totally Bound, I've written a crime novel, several shorts, and two novellas and had some of my short length horror featured on The Midnight Circle podcast.