BDSM Universe

The first story I wrote in this universe was General and Doctor Sheppard in the SGA fandom. I loved the idea of a gay, BDSM couple from an Alternate Universe being dragged into our universe by an experiment gone wrong, and the massive culture clash that would ensue.

To date, I’ve written five novel-length stories in the BDSM universe. They can be read in any order, but they were written in the following order: General & Doctor Sheppard, Coming Home, Hiding in Plain Sight, The First Collar, and Ricochet.

I had the idea for the BDSM universe after thinking about what it’d be like to remove all the societal issues relating to a 24/7 BDSM relationship and make it the norm. At a stroke, the BDSM stops being problematic, a source of angst, or something to be explained in the course of the story because everyone is into BDSM – it’s their norm.

It’s liberating because as the whole universe is one of BDSM normality, that frees me up to explore other relationship issues. Their sexuality is important, but they are also people, first and foremost, and not walking dom or sub stereotypes. One doesn’t have to explain why the lifestyle appeals to them – it’s in their DNA.

I had no idea how controversial this universe would prove to be. A lot of people loved it, but a lot of people also hated it. I was the target of some pretty unpleasant comments for awhile. The universe was parodied and mocked, which is fine, but when my own motives and ‘agenda’ were called into question, and people assumed they knew all kinds of things about me from the stories, then I found that very disturbing. There was a very real bullying campaign for a while which was very distressing.

I do understand that some p
eople don’t ‘get’ the universe, or BDSM, and that’s fine too. Sometimes the writing is controversial and uncomfortable and things happen that I, personally, don’t approve of or like. There are parts of the universe that squick me! But that seems to me to be the point of creating a rounded universe – it isn’t perfect, any more than our own is. I didn’t create it simply to reflect my own fantasies – there are good things about it and bad.

I also try to put myself in the characters’ shoes rather than my ow when writing. They say and do things that I don’t like at times, but it would be wrong of me not to reflect their motives and attitudes in doing them and present them in their voice. People shouldn’t mistake that for me speaking. If you are looking to find my viewpoint in the stories you might be looking a long time, and you might find it varies from one story to another.

I have to allow my characters to make mistakes, and I don’t want to be an intrusive author voice warning the reader that this IS a mistake, or that we should all disapprove at this point, or that this is a negative aspect of this universe. I’m sure people can infer this for themselves, without me spelling it out. I often write about things that I most definitely wouldn’t do myself, or advise anyone else to do, but it turns out to be right for those particular characters with their particular history in that particular situation. There’s no one size fits all in the BDSM-verse anymore than there is in our own.

I am also a keen advocate of fantasy. This universe is big, bold, ‘out there’ and over the top in many ways. I freely admit to it being a bit bonkers! I wouldn’t write ALL my stories in this way, but it works for this series. I’ve always written in a range of styles and genres and this is just one of them. I like that I can write some big, dramatic stories in this insane universe, and then write in a much more sparse, contained way for a different kind of story.

I had no idea the universe would also turn out to be so popular, or inspire so many other fanfic authors to write their own stories in it, across a range of different fandoms. However, apart from some gifts that were sent to me by friends, I don’t read those stories. This is no reflection on the often excellent authors writing them, but I have my own clear vision of my universe and prefer to stay away from other people’s.

A lot of thought has gone into it and there is a definite philosophy behind it. I wanted this place to be a lot more rounded than just being about BDSM. Yes, it does have BDSM front and centre in its structure, but it’s about so much more; it’s about people, first and foremost.

I made some deliberate decisions about the universe from the outset. I didn’t want it to be rules based with councils, elders, bureaucracy, and oppressed subs. I can’t understand why anyone would come out as a sub in a society where they are oppressed, have to declare their sexuality on legal documents, are only allowed out with a dom, and get punished all the time for the smallest thing or whatever. I don’t find that sexy.

The subs in my universe aren’t necessarily subby in every aspect of their everyday life. Some choose to live the lifestyle 24/7, but many don’t – it’s not something that’s set in stone that you have to do. Nobody would look twice at a dom displaying their sub naked or spanking them in public, but it’s also not ALL anyone is doing, all the time. Their sexuality informs their interactions with others on an everyday basis, but being a dom or sub isn’t their entire identity. Subs can hold down jobs and be commanding officers, and doms can get into trouble, be subject to society’s discipline, and serve under submissive commanders. It’s a far more nuanced world than just being locked into a dom or sub straitjacket and never being allowed out.

Another thing that was important to me was to make the doms and subs equal in this world. I’ve hinted that might not always have been the case in the past, but it definitely is now. There is no stigma attached to being a dom or a sub, and no separate rules or laws governing them. The subs aren’t treated badly and most doms have a very protective streak towards their subs; they aren’t abusers, although I do enjoy writing about the occasionally abusive dom for angst purposes. Abusive subs exist too, in their own way! As I view them as equal, I do not capitalise ‘dom’ or ‘master’. It’s not a conceit I’m fond of in writing BDSM in any case, and I generally steer clear of it in all my BDSM stories. To me, doms and subs are opposite sides of the same coin – they’re complementary, rather than one being of higher status than the other.

I also wanted to shave the gender differences out of my stories as much as possible. People are bisexual because what’s important is the dom/sub aspect of the relationship. Women are as powerful and highly regarded in the BDSM-verse as men and can be highly dominant just as some men can be very submissive – there is no gender inequality. I don’t make a distinction with the female tops of calling them ‘dommes’, either; they’re ‘doms’, just like the men. Gender is less important than dynamic.

Another thing I wanted to avoid was the idea that the people in this universe need to learn their sexuality. This is their universe – like us, they might want to explore their sexuality and find out what they like and don’t like, but, also like us, they don’t need to be trained in how to have their kind of sex. Some of them choose to become Shinzoic masters of their sexuality, and create a mystique about it, but it’s not commonplace. There are also the Lenkans, who are a community with very strict rules regarding dom and sub interaction. So there are variations, but neither is the norm.

It was important to me to convey that the BDSM isn’t just a construct in this universe. The characters identify this way. They ARE doms and subs and switches – it’s not some unfair sexual system that’s being imposed upon them. They enjoy their sexuality and want to explore it. It’s completely natural to them.

As is explored in the other stories in this universe, people can be ‘non-dynamic’ and not identify as dom or sub at all. I feel sure I have a big story about that in me somewhere! They can also be ‘monosexual’ – preferring one particular gender. Plus, there are switches too – who will happily play either role. I’ve definitely got a story about a switch (or even a pair of switches) in me, so hopefully I’ll get around to writing that one day.

I wanted there to be different types of dynamic in the BDSM verse, but not to label them in the way they might be labelled in our own universe. So you won’t find a ‘rope slut’ or a ‘pain slut’ in these stories. There are people whose dynamics fit well together, and finding that special person who is right for your own particular dynamic is usually the theme of all my BDSM-verse stories. There is no ‘one size fits all’ BDSM here. It’s all individual. Some people have a hardcore dynamic, whereas for others it’s much softer and more nuanced.

Tony and Gibbs, for example, are clearly a hardcore dom and sub who bring their dynamic to every single one of their daily interactions. Tony is also a ‘tough sub’ – he doesn’t really submit to anyone other than Gibbs, and only Gibbs is really strong enough to make him submit.

Abby and Lorne share a love of bondage, and his prote
ctiveness works well with her big heart but you can’t imagine them living out their dom and sub personas to the degree that Gibbs and Tony do.

Tim is a service sub – he doesn’t want to be spanked and pain play isn’t for him. He simply wants to be pleasing to Ziva, to look after her and submit to her dominance.

John and Rodney share a sense of fun, so that for the most part they aren’t expressing their dynamic much at all in their everyday lives, but Rodney knows that when it comes to it, John has a highly dominant side that his own submissive side responds to, and privately things can get intense between them, especially when Rodney has been threatened, touched or hurt by another dom.

In Ricochet, Rick is a dom who has buried his dom side almost completely because he’s afraid of it. He’s just playing at being a dom, not digging deep, just going through the motions. He’s the kind of dom that Tony might have slept with, and despised, at the beginning of The First Collar, one who couldn’t really make him feel anything or believe it to be real. Rick has no idea how to express that dom inside him who is desperate to get out.

Matt, on the other hand, longs to submit but his own personality gets in the way. He has all kinds of anxieties, his OCD causes him to count obsessively, and he can’t let go and allow it to happen even though he wants to, very much.

If they can get over their differences, then Rick is the kind of non-threatening dom that Matt could actually relax with, and in topping Matt, Rick could learn to express the dom side of himself he’s been repressing. On paper they shouldn’t work, but they could bring out the best in each other.

So finding the person with the right dynamic, who allows you be the best version of yourself you can be, is the challenge in the BDSM-verse. Maybe it’s the same challenge as in our own universe!

I wanted this universe to be just like ours except for the BDSM. So they have other issues and problems that are unrelated to their sexuality. They have similar fears, worries, choices and dilemmas to ourselves. Sometimes their issues and problems are related to sex, but often they aren’t.

I love creating the little details in this universe – the names of the TV shows and movies that exist there, exploring how they have babies, and fleshing out their world. In Ricochet, I introduce several new items of canon so watch out for kink houses, punishers, temples…and a rather unusual kind of award ceremony!

This is my vision of the universe I created. Other people have written their own take on the BDSM universe in their fanfic, but I’ve only read a couple of those stories and that was several years ago. Now I deliberately won’t read them unless they’re a gift for me by friends because I have my own very clear vision of the universe and find that other authors’ view of it often don’t chime with mine. That’s fine, but I want to stay true to my vision in my writing.

Of course, that vision has evolved during the writing. I doubt I’d write General & Doctor Sheppard in precisely that way now, for example, six years further down the line. When I wrote that story I had no idea it would spawn a whole genre! I just thought it was a fun idea for a story. So I didn’t think about how I might want to develop the universe over time. I had to go back and change a couple of things in General & Doctor Sheppard that proved not to be workable when I came to further explore the universe with stories actually SET in it, rather than just with visitors. But that was all part of the learning process.

I think sometimes people want the universe more pinned down and regulated than I want it to be. I want it to reflect the diversity of people, the way our own does, but others want it to be more rigidly defined. Some want it more BDSMy, others less! Some are squicked by hardcore and edge play, while others want more rules and more punishments. Some want it to conform more to the BDSM subculture in our own world, but I want to give it space to breathe and be its own entity. I don’t think it can please all the people all the time – rather like our own world! And that’s a strength, not a weakness.

I will definitely write more in the BDSM-verse. It’s such a great place to play! It’s a bit bonkers, admittedly, but I love that about it because I can let my hair down and write in a ‘larger’ way in this verse. I also love inventing all the little world-building details – I’ve invented some new canon in Ricochet, and with each new story in the BDSM-verse I hope to keep on adding to the details about this world.

As for the second part of your question – at the end of Ricochet, there’s a very deliberate hook for a sequel featuring a different couple. I do also have other ideas for BDSM-verse novels that aren’t related to Collar Crime.

I like the idea of all the characters I’ve written about in the BDSM universe co-existing there, so you can expect passing references to them. In Ricochet there’s a reference to NCIS, and in future novels I can imagine the characters watchingCollar Crime on TV.

Well, that would be because I love writing m/m romance so much! I do actually have some ideas for more het themed stories though and hope to write them one day. One of the things I’ve very rarely done in my writing is to write a female submissive with a male dom. There was Abby with Lorne in Hiding in Plain Sight, but for the most part I haven’t done that – and I’d like to.

I am mindful though, that the audience for my stories are mostly fans of slash pairings, and I want to write for them, first and foremost. They are my people, the ones who’ve been with me for many years, and I want to reward them for their love, loyalty and support.

I’m a switch so presumably that. Although the older I get the more I seem to identify as a dom. Or maybe I’d be kinky over there too and identify as non-dynamic!