Author Visit and Giveaway with Kim Dare

A Reviewer Said…

It’s not very fashionable for authors to admit that they read their reviews (although every author I know does read them!). Well, I freely admit that I read them. Sometimes I stumble on things I would rather not have read, but there are times when a reviewer really gets a particular story, or my stories in general, and that’s an amazing feeling.

When I was Author of the Month here, I was lucky enough to get some really nice reviews and some lovely comments. One of the reviews really stuck with me. With the reviewer’s permission, I’m going to talk a bit about that.

Optimist King’s Wench reviewed Once a Brat. At the start of her review, she said “Let’s call a spade a spade. I normally like kink that’s harder than what she delivers and erotica that’s probably closer to porn than erotica. So why am I so horny for her?”. She went on to say my stories are “something akin to a cozy-blanket-with-hot-cocoa-by-a-fire-and-a-great-book kind of good”.

That comment had me grinning from ear to ear.

You see, I write kinky comfort reads. I make no bones about that. If the stories makes someone smile or feel good, I did something right. If the stories give someone that cozy-blanket feeling, they worked.

When I first got on the Internet (about 15 years ago, I think), that was the first time I knew for sure that there were other people out there who were like me. I wasn’t interested in fiction back then. I searched high and low for people who I could relate to and I found them in the kinky community.

After I’d read all the factual things I could find, I finally turned my attention to fiction. Back before everyone had an e-reader and there were lots of publishers, I clambered into the world of free kinky stories. At first I read across the spectrum, but I gradually started to read more Male/Male stories because those were the ones that were most likely to contain the kinks, the dynamic and that psychology that I was looking for – for better or worse they were stories that contained the people who I felt were the most like me.

I read a lot. There were amazing stories out there—dark and intense and wonderful in so many ways. But after I while I realise that whenever I wanted to wrap myself up in a comfort read, I had to stop reading about people like me and go back to reading about straight vanilla people.

The real people I met in the BDSM community were quite capable of being silly and soppy and romantic and funny and quirky and cute, and so many other amazing things. They were quite able to fall in love and be happy, but that wasn’t making it into the fiction.

If I wanted to read about people like me getting screwed or whipped, fine. But love and happy endings? Apparently love wasn’t for people like me. It seemed like the world didn’t think people who aren’t straight and aren’t vanilla deserve happy endings. It’s one thing to get off reading about kinky people, but they have to know their place and not encroach on mainstream society’s territory—that’s what it felt like the world was telling me. 

And, do you know what? That’s not okay. The real people I met in the BDSM community deserve better than that.

I’m not saying I don’t like the dark, intense stories. I did then and I still do now. But I think there has to be balance.

Kinky people don’t just need to be able to read about their deepest fears and their darkest fantasies—which often include things that should never happen in real life. I think we also have to have the option of reading stories where kinky people fall in love and live happily ever after. There have to be stories that show SSC or RACK (Safe, Sane and Consensual or Risk Aware Consensual Kink) and that tell people there is a consensual version of the things they love that can actually be brought into real life. As well as dark tortured stories that feel like a whipping, there have to be light fluffy stories that feel like after care.

I believe in BDSM comfort reads with my heart and soul. When the world is a horrible place, I need to read stories like that. And, when I couldn't find enough stories like that, I had to write them. 

I’ve had a lot of reviews where people mention that my depictions of BDSM and kink are not what they’ve expected. I’ve learned to shrug off the people who think I’m wrong from not following what they consider the one true and correct way of depicting BDSM in fiction. But the people who read them, who think they’re different, and feel all warm and fuzzy as a result—those people are gold dust. Those reviews make wading through the bad reviews worth it.

P.S. Just in case there is any confusion - I don’t make a habit of publicly responding to reviews. When Authors of the Month were invited back for the Anniversary celebrations, one of the suggested subjects was how we felt about our experience of being Author of the Month. I asked Optimist King’s Wench if it was okay for me to use her review as a starting point for this blog, and sent her a copy for her approval before submitting it to the blog.

*blushing unicorn is blushing*

About Kim Dare

Kim is a thirty-one year old bisexual submissive from Wales (UK). First published in 2008, she has since released over 100 BDSM erotic romance titles ranging from short stories to full length novels. Having worked with a host of fantastic e-publishers, she has just moved into self-publishing.

While she has occasionally ventured towards other pairings, Kim's first love is still, and probably always will be, Male/Male stories. But, no matter what the pairing, from paranormal to contemporary, and from the sweet to the intense, everything she writes will always feature three things - Kink, Love and a Happy Ending.

You can find out more about Kim's books on her website, follow her on twitter, catch up with her blog, and email her directly using the links below.

Website: www.kimdare.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KimDareAuthor

Blog: www.kimdare.wordpress.com (New Blog Address!)

E-mail: kim@kimdare.com

Leave a comment on this post with your email address to be entered into a giveaway. One comment will be picked at random on December 1st. The winner can pick their choice of e-book from Kim Dare's currently available back list.

A very special thanks to Kim for her generosity and participating in our anniversary shenanigans.