Today I am so pleased to welcome J.A. Rock to Joyfully Jay. J.A. has come to talk to us about her latest release, 24/7 (which I reviewed here). She has also brought along a great giveaway.  Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

24-7 tour banner

Master/slave Relationships

When I started The Subs Club series, I wasn’t sure where exactly I would take Gould in the final book. I’d titled it 24/7, so I knew he was going to end up in an around-the-clock kinky relationship. But I decided to wait and see how he evolved through the first three books before determining how intense his 24/7 thing with Kel and Greg would be. And the more time went by, the more I started thinking Gould might make a good slave.

Gould is very submissive—which made the decision even more complicated. Slaves and submissives are separate identities, and though there’s sometimes overlap, many Masters and slaves don’t consider their lifestyle a part of BDSM, or a form of D/s. Some cite power as the main difference between subs and slaves—in a D/s relationship, the submissive holds the power, sets the parameters, and maintains the right to safeword at any point during a scene. Slaves, on the other hand, give up the right to say no unless they want out of the relationship altogether. The Master sets the rules and is in charge of keeping the slave safe and managing the partnership in a way that benefits everyone.

Where D/s often involves all partners seeking physical and/or psychological pleasure, a slave is expected to serve the Master in any way the Master wishes—whether or not the slave enjoys it. The “pleasure” the slave gets from the dynamic isn’t necessarily sexual, but may instead come from a deep-seated need to serve. M/s doesn’t have to involve a sexual component, and while slaves may be treated as property, the goal, as with D/s, is to empower both/all parties—not to actually abuse or degrade the slave.

So even though a slave is not simply an “extreme” submissive, a lot of Gould’s qualities as a sub—his desire to serve, his patience, his obedience, his secret need to be cared for and to care for others—made him an interesting candidate for an M/s relationship.

I had the opportunity last September to go to the Master/slave Conference in DC. It was fantastic, since kink-wise, most of my experience is related to D/s and SM, and there I got to talk to people from a different subset. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for any aspect of kink. Kinksters define terms like “Master,” “slave,” “dominant,” “sadism,” “pet,” etc., very differently. And what was important to me in 24/7 was that Gould and Kel and Greg build a relationship that meets their needs, regardless of whether it matches anyone else’s idea of what M/s should look like. At MsC, I met such a wide variety of Masters and slaves, with different protocols and relationship structures, and just seeing that variety made me feel more comfortable basing Gould and Kel’s dynamic on what worked for them, rather than trying to make it fit an ideal.


Blurb

24-7About 24/7

We started the Subs Club to make the kink community safer for subs. Except now the others are so busy chasing their happy endings, it’s like they’ve forgotten what Bill did to Hal and the fact that he got away with it. They used to think I was betraying Hal’s memory by hooking up with the owners of the club where he died. Now they don’t seem to care about any of it anymore.

Maybe I am sometimes angry with GK and Kel for giving Bill a second chance, but they’ve been mentoring me for a year now, and whatever else they’ve done, they make me feel incredibly safe. So I want to try something: I want to offer them my complete submission, 24/7. To serve the people who forgave Bill. That’s the way I want to hurt.

Except I’m starting to care about them in a way I never meant to—and I think they feel the same way. But after Hal, I don’t know if I want to be in love again. Because what I really need, more than anything, is to see Bill brought to justice. Even if I have to do it myself. Even if it means losing GK and Kel.

—Gould

About the Subs Club series

After the death of their friend Hal at the hands of an irresponsible dom, submissive friends Dave, Kamen, Miles, and Gould band together to form the Subs Club—an organization seeking to expose dangerous local doms. The club slowly evolves as romances blossom, loyalties are tested, and tensions mount in a community already struggling for unity in the wake of Hal’s death.

From domestic discipline to knife play to fashion paraphilia, and from family drama to new jobs to first loves, the members of the Subs Club explore life’s kinks inside and outside of the bedroom as they attempt to let go of the past and move forward.


Bio

J.A. Rock is the author of queer romance and suspense novels, including By His Rules, Take the Long Way Home, and, with Lisa Henry, The Good Boy and When All The World Sleeps. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama and a BA in theater from Case Western Reserve University. J.A. also writes queer fiction and essays under the name Jill Smith. Raised in Ohio and West Virginia, she now lives in Chicago with her dog, Professor Anne Studebaker.


Giveaway

J.A. Rock is giving away $15 in Riptide Publishing credit. Leave a comment to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 11, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

  • 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.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • 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.
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