Hi, CB Conwy here; so nice to meet you! Uh, sorry for sounding so excited, but I’ve been buried in editing for the last month or so; I crave human contact

I have a new book out! Two, in fact, but today I’m (mostly) going to talk about Happily Ever After (the sequel to A Russian Bear). Oh, and I’d love to hear your opinion: Can kink get too kinky?

Those of you already familiar with Tom and Mischa from A Russian Bear will know that my guys are kinky. Very, very kinky. As a matter of fact, if Mischa had gotten his way in A Russian Bear, the story would have been pure smut. Then Tom arrived, and the book ended up as romance disguised as porn (I had to keep Mischa happy somehow).

With A Russian Bear, I went all in. I love reading BDSM, so my first book was basically a chance to create every kind of kink I could dream up. Sometimes I was blushing furiously while writing and telling myself that I simply couldn’t write this; it was just too perverted. What would people think??

Well, judged by the feedback (and the sales), people thought it was just fine. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who thought the power play between Mischa and Tom was hot. And, uh, all of the other stuff they do; apart from all the naughty toys, Tom is a pain pig, and Mischa’s very happy to give him what he needs.

Crying

But to me, the physical aspect of BDSM is closely tied to the emotional part of it. The floggers and the toys are hot – and the scenes in Happily Ever After actually go even further than those in A Russian Bear (and yeah, I was still blushing writing them!). But I think playing has the potential to break down mental and emotional blocks as well as satisfying a physical need. I like the psychological aspect of a scene, and that includes the cathartic element of pain and submission.

In Happily Ever After (finally she’s getting to the point!), my heroes are a little fucked up. More than a little, in fact; Tom has been through a traumatizing assault, and now they have to regain the connection and the confidence they had before the assault.

It’s a hard journey, but Tom and Mischa use their scenes to reconnect and to overcome their insecurities. It’s sometimes rough, and it’s often emotional – and yes, Tom cries. Sometimes from pain, but mostly from the combination of pain and emotional release that BDSM can give you. Crying can be beautiful in my opinion.

I know that some readers disagree and even disagree strongly on this point. To me as a reader, it’s really important to feel the connection between the Dom and the sub and empathize with their actions in order to accept and like hard scenes.

As a writer, I’ve tried to make it clear that whether Tom and Mischa are playing with pain or excitement, it’s something that both of my characters crave. Tom not only wants a flogging; he needs it. And Mischa needs to give it to him. Tom and Mischa use BDSM as a means of expressing their love to each other, and it works for them. And being the kinky bastards that they are, they get a kinky happily ever after. That’s the least I could do for my guys!

I’d love to hear your opinion!

But what about you: What’s a no-go for you in terms of kink? Is crying out of the picture?

And what would you like to see that nobody’s written yet? There’s a new line of stories coming up at Torquere; leave a comment, and I might even write your secret kink for you!

And now for something completely different…

It’s Torquere’s anniversary! Which means lots of hot short stories, among them my story Leather and Newfound Land. It’s a fun, cheeky piece of fluff about a Newfoundland puppy and kinky secrets. All of the proceeds go to NOH8, so it’s all for a good cause!

To celebrate Torquere’s anniversary, you can also win a Kindle Fire, gift cards, and goodie bags. Containing among other things this, uh, charming-looking plushie from me!

Buy link Happily Ever After
Buy link A Russian Bear
Buy link Leather and Newfound Land
Contest link

Please come visit me at www.cbconwy.com – I have several free stories from the kinky Slake universe and another one coming up this Sunday.

Blurb, Happily Ever After:

Mischa isn’t stupid; he knows that happily ever afters only happen in fairytales. Still, he had thought that as soon as Tom got over the horrible assault that almost tore them apart, everything would be better. Perhaps not fairytale happy right away, but better. Instead, they seem to be falling apart, and quite spectacularly so.

What Mischa hadn’t taken into account was the fact that violence has longtime consequences – consequences that are threatening to shake the very foundation of Tom and Mischa’s relationship. Because Mischa can handle Tom’s weakness, but he can’t face his own. He doesn’t have a choice, though. Not if they’re going to make it.

As Mischa and Tom struggle to rebuild their relationship, it turns out that happily ever after is damn hard work. It’s also wildly kinky, because Tom and Mischa have to build a new trust in the playroom as well. One scene at a time, Mischa and Tom explore their new limits, and that’s the kind of work that Mischa likes. After all, that’s what badass Doms do.

Excerpt, Happily Ever After:

They were going to be okay. Tom sighed and pushed his head closer, resting it in the crook of Mischa’s neck. Mischa had been about to get up, but now Tom’s lover sat down next to him on the spanking bench in the quiet playroom, putting both arms around Tom and hugging him securely.

Tom took a deep breath, and then another, the air feeling as if it was somehow cleansing him. He could feel Mischa’s hand caress his shoulder, and he relished the touch, relished the simple fact that touching felt good again. It had been so fucking long.

He had tried telling himself over and over these last months that it had only been an assault. An unfortunate meeting, only a few minutes of close contact with some homophobic asshole who didn’t like the look of Tom’s face or something like that.

It was just that the consequences had stretched far beyond those few minutes. Tom had been messed up when the man had left him in that alley, bleeding and unconscious. It had taken weeks, months even, before his broken bones had mended and the bruises had paled and taken that horrible deep pain with them. The pain that kept him from what he needed most: being touched and comforted by Mischa.

Unfortunately, those hadn’t been the only aftereffects. Somewhere along the way, Tom had completely lost faith in himself, in his ability to be touched. To be loved. He shuddered and pushed closer.

“Shh, you’re okay.” Mischa cuddled him, gently stroking his hair.

The knowledge that Mischa was right, that he was finally going to be all right, almost took his breath away for a moment. The relief made his throat tighten up, and he chuckled ruefully.

“What?” Mischa pulled back far enough to look questioningly at Tom’s face. The dark eyes were soft.

“Nothing,” Tom shook his head. His voice came out slightly strangled. “I’m just…” He cleared his throat. “I’m just happy.”

Mischa smiled. “That’s okay.”

Mischa took one hand away from Tom’s shoulder, jostling him slightly, and the movement made a twinge go through Tom’s ass. He gasped.

Mischa quickly looked at Tom, worry on his face. “Anything wrong?”

Tom snorted. “Well, that depends if you ask me or my asshole. You just fucked me pretty thoroughly.” Pretty fucking amazingly, as well.

Mischa huffed. “I don’t talk to assholes. Come on, let’s get up. You need to get dressed.”

“In what? You fucking shredded my clothes.” Tom still couldn’t believe that Mischa had actually tied him up, cut off his clothes, and fucked him. It had been completely out of character from the way Mischa had been acting the last couple of months; it had been the old, badass Mischa. Exactly what Tom had needed.

“You have other clothes. You should be happy I won’t have you clean up the kitchen naked.”

Oh, God. The kitchen.