Coercion

This afternoon I introduced myself to the Goodreads discussion group The Erogenous Zone. They're a fun bunch that centers on an appreciation of BDSM, as a fantasy or as a lifestyle. They encourage book promotions (or, as they call it "pimping"). So I pimped my novel Mandi, which is the most BDSM story I've published.

For those of you not familiar with meaning of BDSM, here's a definition from Wikipedia: BDSM is a preference and sometimes form of personal relationship centering around activities that are erotic but may not be sexual, and which may include the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role play.

To me, some form of constraint is a key ingredient of erotic fiction. Characters must be compelled by some force, need, or circumstance that forces their sex lives beyond where they'd normally go. A love story with a lot of sex is a hot romance. A love story with an overmastering whether-you-like-it-or-not complulsion is erotic. If the restraint and compulsion are pushed to the whips, chains, and agonizing foreplay level, it's BDSM.