In some circles, the term ‘BDSM’ is synonymous with the term ‘Kink.’ At loveyoudivine Alterotica, these two concepts amount to apples and oranges. Sure, the trees upon which they grow might both bear fruit, but one is to maintain a way of life; the other is just for fun.

BDSM is a Lifestyle, a relationship paradigm. Kink is an activity.

As a retired Pro and current Lifestyle Dominatrix, I maintain a household of slaves and submissives. How we interact is not a lot different from you and your lover, perhaps, except I have the final say in all things. That also places me a position of utmost responsibility for all of them. I gratify their needs, their desires, that unholy yearning for Dominance, and for that they offer their most devout submission.

What does submission look like? To me, simply exquisite. How could I deny any one of them when they approach me with such devotion? When they crawl into a room and swirl into a quivering puddle around my feet? When they clutch my ankle to convey such longing as if that close connection is still universes distant? When that broken sob sears through my flesh like a firestorm? What do they need?

They would deceive themselves into believing that they need nothing more than Mistress. But Mistress knows better. What they need is communion with Mistress. A creature they perceive as all-knowing and all-powerful. Someone who opens them physically, mentally and spiritually to be free of the material world, and to join with me in a place only the two of us, and no one else, can create. A place we inhabit together for relatively short spans of time. Like a drug, the energy exchanged sustains us.

How do we create that place? I lead; they follow.

Of course, we begin with that which is easiest to conquer – the flesh. When he feels the rope laid across the back of his neck, my reward is that first gasp of the evening. As I twist the rope around the torso, weaving in steel rings as attachment points, I feel him contract inside, even as his skin swells and colors with sexual arousal. Drawing that rope between the legs elicits a shudder and a moan. I might lay him on the massage table and finish that harness with the ends woven tightly around the genitalia. The sound of the chain clipped to the rings closes the eyes. The feel of the chain yanked hard under the tabletop to attach to the opposite ring at the hips, at the chest, across the throat causes the lungs to empty in complete relaxation.

Mistress has him by the balls – exactly what he needs. Should he thrash beyond the limits of my bonds, he will be reminded…vividly.

Still, we’ve only just begun.

He knows what’s next; he’s experienced it hundreds of times through the years, yet he’s never quite prepared. The black satin gloves covering my hands caress the surface so I can watch the muscles ripple under the skin like the concentric circles of waves created by a pebble tossed into a pond. The hips jerk, the shoulders shudder. And then comes the whip.

 I use a variety of tools to create the sensations he needs to rend his mind null. When he ceases to think, he becomes. Transformed into my slave, my slut, my choir of angels, by my own design, by my own desperate need.

Hours later, he’s exhausted, yet energized. Boiling with my determination, alive, renewed, reborn. The sexual arousal with which he began was merely the fuel to launch him beyond the material world, beyond orgasm or any gross sensation, to commune with me in a place of our own creation.

Sound kinky to you?

What we do is normal for us – it’s how we convey to each other our emotions, our individual requirements, and our collective goals. When I lash him with a whip, that intensity conveys something, most usually enduring love. When he writhes, when he cries, when he reaches out merely to connect, though he may be unconscious of it, he conveys to me the same.

He responds to me…and only me within our little universe.

BDSM is a Lifestyle paradigm. Most certainly, this paradigm can’t be compared to relationships within Vanillaville, otherwise known as ‘normal’ romantic relationships. For us, there’s nothing ‘kinky’ in what we do or how we interact. It’s not naughty on any level, not deviant nor disgusting. It’s who we are; it’s what we do and how we communicate with each other.

Kink is a concept that relates only to Vanillaville. If you’ve spent 10 years in the missionary position, getting flipped over and spanked could be kinky, naughty, or even downright sinful. It might reach a little deeper for a total turn-on. The sash of your satin robe restraining your hands behind your back may offer a sense of helplessness, danger or even submissiveness. A little wax dripped over your body might cause it to shudder, as might the flat of his hand on your derriere. Playful, sensual, and exciting, kink is foreplay. A Master/slave relationship, and the means we use to communicate with each other, are not.

 At loveyoudivine Alterotica, we offer both. Lifestyle literature written by those who live within a BDSM paradigm, both Dominant and submissive, can be found at the Erotic Power Xchange. A little kink can be found on any page of our catalogue.

We’re thrilled to announce yet another category at lyd – Focus on Fetish. While much of our work might contain scenes of fetishes, Focus on Fetish will relate to that particular turn-on. Secondary to the turn-on, there may be a relationship involved, maybe not. We’re blessed with some of the most talented authors in the industry, authors who understand the human psyche and what drives us to do what we humans will do. Authors who will lead you through a fantasy world (fiction), or invite you to glimpse fictionalized accounts of their own lives (Scene Lit).

Whatever we publish, we’re focused on You.

 ~Lady Midnight~

This time it’s all about you – if you dare to share! What’s your fetish? What kinds of kinky stories are you interested in reading? Does bondage light your candle? Or is it the smell of leather? Or what about something a bit more obscure? Many of us have unusual longings and desires, things we might fantasise about without necessarily wanting to try them.

For me, the attraction is always novelty – if a story (or experience) can take me somewhere I’d never have thought of, then that works. I like to be surprised. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the last few months watching pony people videos on youtube. Now, I’ve no personal desire to spend my time playing horsey, and I’m not usually fetish about footwear. But pony boots! The sight and sound of them leaves me sighing and full of longing. I want to own a pair, to tap about making those distinctive clopping sounds. I want to know how you stay balanced when tey look so precarious. I may be a little bit obsessed. So, how about you? (Did I mention that I love hearing other people’s confessions?)

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.

Exotica is a new line from loveyoudivine. Here’s a bit of an introduction to explain what it is and how it works!

 As you’ve perhaps noticed, most of the lines at lyd are about pairings. We have gay – His and His , straight – Fairy Tales and Love Songs, lesbian – FemErotica, and bisexual –BiLine. We also have TransFix, featuring tales of androgeny and transgender. Our current kink lines are BDSM, medical, and interracial.

 Usually romance fiction concentrates on a central pairing – of whatever gender combination. Monogamy is often a feature of romance, and two folk winding up happily ever after is very much a feature. What Exotica covers, is the other stuff. That means ménage, polyamoury, swinging and orgy for a start. It also means stories that have more than one pairing in mix, so we can’t easily place them as being say, just m/f, or just f/f. Or just m/f/m even!

 While Exotica stories may have romances within them, they won’t follow the romance genre rules. It’s a line very much about erotic action – people getting together, and getting laid, not necessarily in socially acceptable ways! It’s a line that will embrace all kinds of fetish writing as well. The essence here is plurality! Decadence and debauchery are also key words for defining the flavour.

If you want leading astray, Exotica is the place to look for non-romantic erotica!