When the kink is all about watching, it doesn’t always matter if the people having sex know they are being watched. For some, the fun lies in the transgression of watching people who haven’t volunteered for it. With exhibitionism, the kink belongs to the one on display, and accidental or intentional watchers are going to know exactly what’s going on.

 For some characters, like Lilith and Will in Heaven and Hell, sex is very much about being watched, and the pair actively seek and invite audiences. Melisand (same series) has just one person she likes to have watch her, and that’s because she can’t get him to do much else. The only sexual contact she has with the bloke she longs for, is him watching her with others.

 Exhibitionism can be about showing off, the thrill of an audience, the kick of having power over others through expressions of sexual confidence. It can also be an act of submission, relinquishing privacy and self control by making your pleasure public. Requiring another to exhibit themselves can be a way of humiliating a slave. Voyeurism puts control in the hands of the watcher, but exhibitionism can change that, making the performer in charge, or giving the power to the one who directs the performer. Where exactly the lines get drawn between displaying a submissive as an expression of the Dom’s control, or as a consequence of the sub’s desire for attention, is hard to say.

 Alex Morgan’s Breathless takes place around a fetish event, which gives characters every opportunity to show off. Laszlow in M. Kings Devil & the Deep Blue Sea is an absolute exhibitionist, taking joy in showing off his body and sexual prowess, while my Eliot’s Hero features another guy in the adult entertainment industry who isn’t averse to being looked at either.

 Exhibitionism can easily be a part of ménage scenarios, when two end up performing for the third. Here the lines between watching and participating frequently blur. Dalia Craig’s Hold Me Tight and my Living Dangerously tread into that territory. Moving into group activities and sharing, Sarah Masters’ Secret Society features a scoeity gathering in the wood, who watch each other and get a kick out of being watched.

 There’s a case for saying that there’s a voyeuristic streak in anyone who reads erotica. If that’s so, it’s probably also the case that there’s an exhibitionist streak in most erotic authors. Oh, we don’t necessarily want you watching us in person (that’s an individual thing, some might…) but part of what we do is show off – what we know, what we can imagine. Readers of erotic stories will sometimes ask how much of the content comes from firsthand experience. Some authors will smile and leave you to guess, others may let on, but either way, we get a kick out of making you wonder if our sex lives really are that good.

The internet is full of free material. Some of it legitimate. Some is stolen and pirated. Everyone likes a free read, but the vast majority of readers do not want to rip off authors.

 How do you make sure the free reads you pick up are legitimate?

1)      Get it from the publisher. Many publishers, like www.loveyoudivine.com offer free reads as teasers and rewards for customers. Free stories picked up from publishing houses are a safe bet. In exchange for the free read, you might hear from the publisher with promotions, but you can always opt out of these.

2)     Get free reads direct from the author. Many authors give away examples of their work. They might do so on egroups, during chats, via forums. They might publish short stories on their homepage or blog. Ebooks are sometimes offered as prizes. If a story comes straight from the author, it’s going to be fine, however, ‘free’ does not mean ok to pass on. If you aren’t sure, check! Authors would rather be asked. Check that the name of the person offering is the same as the person who did the writing.

What are the warning signs that a site is offering pirated material?

1)      Posters of pirate material are often open about what they are doing. Motives vary. If they you they have a copy of someone’s book to share, it’s not legitimate. 

2)     If the name of the poster does not at all relate to the name of the author or publisher, be suspicious.

3)  If the focus of the site is giving away fiction by multiple authors from multiple publishing houses, be very cautious indeed.

There is a grey, hazy area on blogs and sites where it might not be immediately obvious if you are seeing a legitimate sight that an author has given material to, or a pirate site. If the site links back to author and publisher pages, the odds are it is legitimate. Equally if you got there from an author or publisher site, it’s going to be fine. Is the material offered in a way that supports the author? If it looks like a rip-off, it almost certainly is.

Piracy and book-theft hurts authors. Most writers are not wildly wealthy, but good writing depends on people being able to put it in the time. Authors need to eat too. It’s so easy online to pick up freebies without looking at the source. If you love an author’s work, please help by staying away from the pirate sites, and by letting authors and publishers know when you see them. We can get these sites taken down sometimes, and they only survive because enough people feel it is ok to support them.

There are a number of sites out there who legitimately sell ebooks on behalf of numerous publishers – kindle, ARE, Fictionwise and so forth. If you are in any doubt at all about the legitimacy of a site like this, then any publisher or author represented there would be happy to either reassure you, or thank you for alerting them to a problem – whichever turns out to be the case.

Pirate sites and forums can also be home to hackers. They are places where you run the risk of picking up viruses, spyware and such nasties – downloading a file is an act of trust, and when you take a file from a pirate site, you might well get all kinds of unpleasant things along with it.

And don’t forget to visit loveyoudivine for free and safe reads straight from the publisher.

What’s your favourite kind of m/m pairing? Do you like guys who are of an age, and physically similar, or are you more a fan of diversity? Do Dom/sub stories speak to you? Or would you rather a gentle helping of vanilla? I consulted the regulars at His and His to get a better sense of who writes what. If you don’t see a pairing that appeals to you, post a comment, you might inspire someone to write it!

Max Griffin: Most of the relationships I write are pretty vanilla. Often, the main character is a bit submissive, someone who gets pleasure from giving it to others. The conflict in the story often involves some kind of movement to a more balanced relationship in which the two guys give to each other, regardless of the sexual role they assume. I’ve been tempted to dabble in the S/M, D/s world in my fiction, but probably don’t know enough about it to be realistic.

Jane Bled: Well, I admit that I LOVE writing men in their twenties/thirties (maybe because I’m only 26 and don’t feel I have enough life experience to write about older men–and writing younger characters doesn’t really interest me).  Also, at least one of my characters usually has Alpha Male tendencies.  Other than that, I mix it up!

Jaime Samms: Old friends seems to be a big thing with me. People coming to the realization that they are more than just friends. Part of this is because I do think strong relationships grow from knowing a person well, not from infatuation and the heady rush of first meetings. That isn’t to say there’s no infatuation in my stories, just that it stems from a much deeper place than how a person looks. I do believe you can find yourself completely taken with a person you’ve known for a very long time, if you suddenly see them in the right light. I have a few stories with some very light D/s relationships, too, but nothing very explicit or heavy into that lifestyle.

Alex Morgan:  I enjoy writing D/s and BDSM very much. So I think I will always write about those aspects. I will write vanilla, of course, but will forever come back to D/s and BDSM.

Nix Winter: I like D/s, very loving relationships, true love, soul mates.

Bryn Colvin: I realise the majority of my m/m stories feature younger guys, more of an age than not. Tight Dark Places has an age gap, Denial has some bondage. I’ve not done much serious kink with my m/m fiction and I should perhaps remedy that! I love combat as foreplay, and having two male characters sparring is perfect, but I haven’t written it yet!