Welcome Riptide Press Author Rachel Haimowitz/Contest

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What draws you to the BDSM genre?

I’m a real-life practitioner, so a lot of what I write in the BDSM genre is an exploration of things I’d like to try, or a sharing of things I have tried, or simply a love song to a practice that brings me so much pleasure.

Also, as a reader, I’ve not found too many BDSM writers who really delve into the psychology of BDSM, whose stories might help a non-practitioner understand why someone might do this, whose stories might help a Dom or sub self-reflect and understand exactly why they do this. Don’t get me wrong—there are some amazing writers out there who delve with talent into all these things, but by and large this is an underserved niche, especially in the M/M space (most BDSM is M/f). So if I want to read it, I often simply have to write it J

When you choose a character’s name does the actual meaning hold any weight for you, or is it just an aesthetic preference kind of thing?

Names are hard for me. Often it’s just an aesthetic preference, though names do have music, and certain kinds of music carry certain emotional connotations. For instance, I might give a hard, edgy character a name with a lot of hard consonants, something short and brusque that can be barked or growled out. A softer, more feminine character would probably get a prettier name, something you can savor, that unfolds gently off the tongue. In a few cases, names do have very specific meanings for me, either as an homage to someone for whatever reason, or as a literal translation. In Counterpoint, for instance, most of the character names are literal Norse translations of traits that embodied their owners—a kind of Easter egg for those dead-language-speakers among us J

Do you have any favorite authors that inspired your writing?

I used to want to be Kurt Vonnegut when I grew up. Whether or not he’s shaped my writing I’ll leave to others to decide, but I can say with certainty that he shaped my worldview, and certainly one’s worldview infects everything they write. Douglas Adams is another big inspiration for me. My love of snark and clever wordplay began with him and his writing, and I do think that carries over into several of my characters and occasionally into my narrative voice. I’ve also taken inspiration from Stephen King, who is a master character-builder, and in particular a master of exploring the potential darkness of the human soul. I love the way he takes perfectly ordinary people and puts them into these perfectly extraordinary situations, how he bends and sometimes breaks them, how he fixes them in the end.

What is it about male relationships that draws you to writing about this subject most?

Many things, some considerably shallower than others J From the psychological aspect, I’m fascinated by the power play between two men, the way a relationship forms when there are no clear roles, expectations, or societal baggage dictating interaction. With a man and a woman, there are thousands of years of (slowly evolving) history that shape everything they do. I mean, I’m as independent and strong as any man, but when I go out on a date, odds are still good the guy will pay (though I’ll probably only let him do that once) because that’s tradition, that’s gender expectation, and as much as we like to think we’ve moved away from that and grown beyond it, in a lot of ways we haven’t. But when you put two men (or two women) together, all those “rules” and expectations and traditions fly right out the window. And that’s a space that fascinates me.

I’m also, for some reason, more likely to sympathize with and connect to male characters than female characters. I have no idea why that is. Maybe I’m curious about the thing I’m not. Or maybe I relate better to males than females in general, as I’ve always been more interested in traditional “boy” activities than “girl” activities, even as a child.

On the shallower side, if one hot guy getting’ it on is sexy, then two hot guys getting’ it on is double sexy!

Broadway darling Nicky Avery is a shooting star by night, but by day he bounces from one heartless one-night stand to the next. A quick flogging, a rough lay, a new whip-hand to manipulate—yet still he yearns for something he cannot even name.

He finds his first true hint of satisfaction in Devon Turner, a self-possessed film star and expert Dom. Devon knows what he wants the moment he sees it, and what he wants is Nicky Avery. Nicky’s never learned to trust and has a nasty habit of topping from the bottom, but he learns fast that in the bedroom, Devon won’t tolerate his actor’s masks.

Nicky's a broken boy, but Devon knows exactly how to put his new sub back together. With patience, care, and all the punishments his little pain slut can handle, Devon breaks Nicky down one scene at a time, revealing a mind that yearns to trust and a heart that hungers for the ecstasy of true submission at last.

 Buy Link for Master Class: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/master-class-master-class-1

Author Name: Rachel Haimowitz

Email address: metarachel@gmail.com

Website URL: rachelhaimowitz.com

Blog URL: Rachel-haimowitz.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RachelHaimowitz

Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/rachel.haimowitz

Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4110966-rachel-haimowitz