Best Bondage Erotica 2014
Rachel Kramer Bussel
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Rachel Kramer Bussel ties her readers up in knots each year as they anticipate the very best BDSM stories of the year. And, she does not disappoint, defying the odds and occasionally gravity with tales of bondage at its best. These whip-smart tales of domination, submission, spanking, and other highly imaginative acts keep readers in a frenzy.
Best Bondage Erotica 2014 features 21 hot bondage tales that titillate from the bedroom to the dungeon and beyond. Handpicked by best-selling erotica editor Bussel, these kinky stories show and tell exactly what it means to wield the special power of being in charge of someone else. These characters manipulate rope, handcuffs, leather straps, a St. Andrew's cross, a chair, and, in Raziel Moore's "My Own Device," a special contraption crafted just for bondage, with the ultimate aim of pleasing each partner. Here, bondage takes place behind secret doors, at sex parties, at the office, on a mountain hike, and, of course, at home.
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How Best Bondage Erotica 2014 Came About
Every time I put out a call for submissions, I worry that I won’t get enough stories to form a complete book. I worry that all the stories I do receive in my inbox will be too similar to one another to create the type of varied anthology I want. And every single time, authors surprise me by going all out and adding layers and nuance to the dry words of my call for stories. When I issue such a call, such as for the Best Bondage Erotica series I edit, I don’t like to give too many examples of the kinds of scenarios I’m looking for, lest someone with a story idea outside those confines feel that their work wouldn’t make a good fit. Rather, I want authors to interpret the meaning of bondage and the message of their bondage erotica in their own ways. For me one of the great joys of editing other people’s work is that they will always come up with plots that would simply never occur to me, and the sum of their parts creates a book that I hope speaks to a wide audience. I like stories that tell us as much about the mental power play going on as the physical.
That played out in a major way with Best Bondage Erotica 2014. In each of my books, I strive to publish authors I’ve worked with before and new authors. There are some who I’ve published multiple times in the series, and others whose work appears in it for the first time, such as noted BDSM erotic novelist Annabel Joseph, who offered a wonderful historical story, “The Neckcloth,” which isn’t something I see too often in submissions. I believe different voices, types of storytelling, settings and motivations for bondage help give new life to the series. This is important to me because if you’re a dedicated reader, I don’t want you to feel bored even if this is the twentieth book of bondage erotica you’ve read. I want the stories to be fresh and exciting.
One way this works is with humor. There are plenty of down and dirty stories in the book that dive right into the dynamics of bondage, but there are others that capture some of the funny moments that can occur when bondage is unexpected, such as in “Anyway” by Sommer Marsden, in which a woman gets her arms caught in a jacket and her partner uses her misfortune as an opportunity to have some naughty fun. I liked that she took an everyday scenario that we’ve all probably been at some point—getting stuck in a piece of clothing—and turned it into a very hot tale.
There’s also something especially compelling about someone so eager to engage in the type of bondage they most enjoy that they’ll go so far as building a contraption perfectly suited to their needs, as Lazlo does in Raziel Moore’s story “My Own Device.” That requires both creativity and ingenuity and makes a wonderful read and shows a true dedication to bondage of a unique and special kind. That’s the kind of story I love because it shows a character who knows about bondage from the inside out and wants to share something very special.
I also love when bondage crops up at unexpected moments, such as in office supply story “Clipped” by Lucy Felthouse. I think we tend to have ideas about what’s “heavy duty kink” and what isn’t, and Nancy in this story isn’t truly afraid of the paper clips Gerald is using to bind her—at first. Felthouse writes, “She wasn’t too worried about his threat—after all, how tough could paper clips be? They weren’t exactly a silk scarf, deceptively tough, or thick leather handcuffs, were they?” But in fact, she learns that they are unexpectedly strong, and to me part of what works in this story is this surprise factor. Again, it’s an everyday item we’ve probably all used, but likely not in that way!
I also push myself as an author. I’d originally started my story “Dual Mastery” well before working on this book, intending to submit it to another anthology. I was pushing myself by having a male narrator who has not just one but two submissives in his life. In other words, quite a handful, though he manages to bind a third over the course of the story. I more often write from a submissive POV, but I wanted to capture the ways this dom did and didn’t fit into some of the stereotypes about an alpha male type who runs the show smoothly and easily all the time. Another story that captures the thrill of tying someone up and watching them squirm is “Pegged” by Emily Bingham, in which a woman wields hemp rope on her very willing lover.
About the Author
Rachel Kramer Bussel is a New York-based author, editor, blogger and event organizer. She has written for numerous publications and has edited 40+ anthologies for Alyson Books, Avon Red, Cleis Press, Pretty Things Press, Ravenous Romance and Seal Press. Six of her anthologies have won Gold IPPY (Independent Publisher) Awards for Erotica and Sexuality/Relationships. She has also contributed to over 100 anthologies.
Rachel conducts reading and erotic writing workshops worldwide and has presented, spoken and taught at conferences including Dark Odyssey, Erotic Authors Association, Sex 2.0, and SXSW. For five years, she hosted In The Flesh Erotic Reading Series in New York City, which featured 300 readers. Rachel holds a bachelor's degree in political science and women's studies from the University of California at Berkeley.
Giveaway!
Books à la Mode is giving away one finished print copy of Best Bondage Erotica 2014 and one copy of Lust In Latex, another one of Rachel's new anthologies—yay!! That's two winners total!
To enter, all you have to do is tell me:
Pick one! Bondage or latex? Why?
Don't forget to include your email address or Twitter username in your comment so I know who to contact when I choose a winner. Don't make me track you down!!!! No email = No entry!
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Sponsored wholly by the publisher—a huge thank you to Cleis!
Giveaway ends March 27th at 11.59 PM (your time).
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Void where prohibited.
Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.
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Good luck!