Today I am so pleased to welcome Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau to Joyfully Jay. Lisa and Heidi have come to talk to us about their story in the new Riptide anthology, Rules to Live By. They have also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving Lisa and Heidi a big welcome!

 

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau. We wrote The Harder They Fall, a story in Riptide’s awesome Rules to Live By anthology. Today we’re here to tell you a bit about it!

It was Heidi who approached Lisa and asked if she wanted to write some daddy kink with her. Lisa’s answer, as always, was “Hell yes!” There’s just something about the Daddy/boy dynamic that we both really love. And if you factor in that the boy in question really needs a firm hand, then we’re sold.

One of the things we really love about writing BDSM is that, when you do it right, a BDSM scene is as much a character study as it is a sex scene. As humans, we reveal a lot of ourselves during intimacy, sometimes more than we would like, and BDSM magnifies that a lot. There is also a lot of added baggage with BDSM that we might not even know we’re carrying around, and as writers that’s interesting, and sometimes dangerous, to explore.

If we write female character who kneels to a man, does that mean we’re reinforcing gender stereotypes, or we’re showing off our own internalised misogyny?

What if we write about a black character who wants to kneel to a white character?

Someone poor or working class who submits to someone rich and powerful like–oh, I dunno– a politically connected billionaire?

As writers, we always hope that whatever scenario we chose to write, we give our characters enough depth that shows our readers they’re as complex, and sometimes as confused, as people in real life, and if we’re writing a story  On one level, of course, we’re writing purely to entertain–and we hope that The Harder They Fall does that–but no writing, or reading, is done in a vacuum.

For this story, we decided to flip the script on the power dynamics a little, by making the person who is the most powerful in the outside world–the rich, privileged, college boy with powerful parents, powerful friends, and no consequences–submissive to the person who would typically be at a disadvantage: an older “past his prime” sex worker, living on the edge of the law. Of course, plenty of rich and powerful people pay to be dominated, but in The Harder They Fall, that’s decidedly not what Tad, our spoiled submissive, comes to the brothel seeking. But it is what he gets, and those upended expectations completely destroy his understanding of the world and his place in it . . . maybe for the better.

BDSM writing can uphold toxic power structures, challenge them, explore and examine them, and even invert them. To us, that’s what makes BDSM fascinating.


Blurb

RulesToLiveBy_400x600Rules to Live By – a BDSM Anthology featuring stories from Heidi Belleau, Anah Crow, Dianne Fox, Lisa Henry, Cari Z, and Anna Zabo

Four intimate tales of power exchange, discipline, risks taken, and pleasures earned.

A list of rules to live by.

In Cari Z’s House Rules, jealousy leads Jonathan to break the rules his lover has established. He can’t decide which he enjoys more: his punishment, or the reward afterward. Good thing he gets both.

A lesson in humility.

In The Harder They Fall by Heidi Belleau and Lisa Henry, spoiled college boy Tad hires a prostitute, but “Daddy” couldn’t care less about what Tad wants. Instead, he’s going to give his spoiled little boy exactly what he deserves.

A cage that means freedom.

In Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox, Marquis offers Navin the key to the most intimate of locks, hoping it will help them to prioritize their relationship. And it does—until work and insecurities threaten to drive them apart again.

A spool of rope and a desire to be bound.

In CTRL Me by Anna Zabo, a night out between friends turns hot and tempting when Gabe deliberately pushes Tom’s submissive buttons. Then Tom discovers rope in Gabe’s glove box—and not the type for securing luggage.


Giveaway

Heidi and Lisa have brought a $15 Riptide Publishing credit to give away to one lucky reader on their tour. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter.  Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 22. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. 

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.