The Fight for Control

On of the things I really enjoy exploring in my fiction is the idea of a powerful person who surrenders some of his or her control, usually with ambivalence, to another. Some of my characters are powerful, accomplished women who might like it rough, but also like to be in charge--and they happen to be attracted to strong, dominant men.

In the Taken by the Incubus stories, Mala, a succubus, finds herself up against Soren, an incubus who is just as powerful and dangerous as she is. Letting him control her would be the ultimate surrender, because it would also result in her death.

Grace, an experienced lawyer, meets her match in Sam, a lawyer on the opposing side of a contentious legal battle. Both of them are ruthless, competitive personalities, and as the titles Breaking Him and Breaking Her suggest, both are interested in being on top.

Despite these themes of control and domination, these stories are not BDSM erotica. There isn't one character who plays submissive to the other's dom, no actual agreement regarding who's in charge, and no safe word. Instead, both characters in the developing romance are dominant, and they are struggling for control. Neither wants to give in to the other, and yet both end up surrendering at some point. That's where the tension and the friction comes from, and for me, that's what makes it hot!