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Friday 31 January 2014

Why I enjoy reading gay spanking romance.


In the run up to Love Spanks I have been doing a lot of thinking about this. How did I end up helping out in what is essentially an F/f event.

In my "real" life, before I started writing it would never have occurred to me to read gay romance. Why would I have? - m/f is what makes me tick.

Then once I joined the spanking fiction community, I got to know some of the LGBT writers and their work, at first through the Saturday Spankings bloghop, then better on facebook and it was a natural progression of that friendship to read some of their writing.

I started with Anastasia Vitsky's The Way Home. What a great place to start with F/f. What I loved was the empathy I felt with the characters, getting to know them. It was also pretty much PG rated, and therefore a great starting point. To tell the truth by the end of the book, I really wanted more intimate details. I was by now very curious. I've read almost all of Anastasia's books and thoroughly enjoyed each one but my favourite to date has to be Mira's Miracle

Then next I read Thianna D's As Natural As Breathing M/M this time. And again, it was a gentle opener, and I wanted it to get much hotter. I'm delighted to say it did get hotter and deeper in Took My Breath Away.

Then I started reading other F/F writers - Check out Penelope Hasler and Alice Dark  for some deliciously naughty writing.

I think one of the reasons it appeals to me is that it takes the nagging gender issue out of it. Sometimes with M/f I can't help myself getting a little annoyed at how the man thinks he is always right, even if he's proven wrong later. Yeah, I know, occupational hazard, but of course there is that modern thinking and Irish stubborn streak that kicks in in spite of the fact that I'm a confirmed spanko. Sometimes I cut my nose off to spite my face. :D Once the gender issue is removed I can get my kicks without my inner willful brat rearing her ugly head.

Maybe I just need a good spanking :D







6 comments:

  1. I am totally with you on this. My introduction was Loki Renard's M/M and F/F books. Teaching Caine (M/M) is the hottest book I have read yet. Then Loki's Obeying Rigel series. I find myself liking the freedom from the M/F books. It adds a great variety. However, I have not read the books you have listed above. I will have to check them out now. ;-)

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    1. You've added some to mine too, Tracey. Thank you :)

      I will always naturally gravitate to M/f because that's the way I'm wired, but now I like to explore as there are different dimensions.

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  2. Great post, Tara. :) Thrilled to find people who are open-minded about trying new reading experiences. You mentioned my favorite authors, too! Alice was the first F/F spanking author I met.

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    1. Thank you, Ana.
      We all naturally gravitate to what we know, but it is really great to have our preconceptions challenged. Reading broadens the mind, so they say :D

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  3. Tara, I had to laugh at your statement in M/f books that you get a little annoyed at how the man is always right. Really? In my mind the man may think he's always right, but sometimes he's very wrong. His heart may be in the right place, but he's human, so he makes mistakes. And there are times when it's necessary for his lady to set him straight. If he's a Dom, that can be a delicate and difficult task, since they usually aren't open to criticisms from their submissive (goes against the grain). As to my participation in Love Spanks, my books are unabashedly M/f, but I have gay characters in them. Especially in those stories that have a theater connection, not because of the stereotype, but because it gives a sense of reality to the book.

    In the case of Mortal Illusions, the heroine's brother is gay and has contracted AIDS. Ten years ago, when I wrote that story, AIDS was a death sentence, so Robert's condition and sexual orientation played major roles in the book. I've always supported gay rights. And I really like the way authors are writing fiction that depicts how the prejudice some people show toward gays would feel if the situation were reversed. Cara Bristol's Breeder and Ana Vitsky's Becoming Clissine for example. And both of them are spanking stories. So, I feel my token M/f story has a fitting place in this F/F event. However, I'm really glad you're there with me, too. ;-)

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  4. First of all you're quite correct, the male always thinks he's right, I phrased that badly and I'll go back and correct it. There are certainly times for his lady to set him straight, but often she gets the spanking first :D The same thing happens in same sex romances, but the only difference is it doesn't rattle my cage quite as much, because I don't get on my high horse, probably simply because I'm not necessarily putting myself in the sub's shoes.
    And it's not a criticism of people's writing, Kathryn, because I see it happen in my own characters, and even as I'm typing it I'm thinking of all sorts of names that I'd call him. (in my head of course for fear the penalty would be worse!)
    You shouldn't have to say unashamedly M/f - everyone should be unashamedly whatever they are or whatever they wish to write. I too write M/f and I can't see that change because that's what I am. While I have come to really enjoy gay spanking romances, they only occupy a percentage of my kindle because it's the whole package I want and while I might want to yell at the injustice at times,(the same injustice that I can happily turn a blind eye to in same sex stories, I admit) the "aftercare" in the M/f pushes buttons in me, deeper and harder than anything else.
    I suppose what I'm saying is that with same sex, I bring no baggage to the table like I do with M/f. Of course your m/f story has a place, and I'm delighted that you're there, flying the flag because we m/f's exist too. In an ideal world, there would be no marginalisation based on sexuality, but sadly the world isn't quite ideal yet.

    I guess what I was trying to say is that a year ago, before all this, I had a much more closed mind and I am so appreciative that it has been opened. I even see M/f from a different point of view now because as I get on my high horse I ask, if this was M/m or F/f would I accept it, so it makes me rationalise better.
    Thanks so much for commenting and being straight. <3

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