Tanya Chris enjoys almost all kinks, as long as her characters are enjoying them too. Let’s get into details 😉
What do you find most appealing about BDSM fiction?
The endless variety of ways a power exchange relationship can be structured, both in terms of the kink and in terms of how the non-sexual relationship relates to it. There’s always a new dynamic to explore, and it gives me more ways to play with the characters and how they work together.
Sexually, BDSM play adds intensity. I find it easier to write kinky sex scenes than straight vanilla ones because of all the emotions and sensations involved. The best sex scenes, in my opinion, are specific to exactly those two characters, and it’s harder to achieve that specificity with a simple blowjob.
What are your favorite kinks to read or write about?
My favorite is sadomasochism. I like a sadistic top and a pain-slut bottom, where the pain is all about the pleasure. That’s the pairing I’ve got in Aftermath. It’s the most intense BDSM of the three books in the Ever After series.
But I enjoy almost all kinks, as long as the people involved are enjoying them too. In addition to the books I write as Tanya Chris, which are fairly standard D/s with light pain play, I write less mainstream kink as T. M. Chris, including long-term chastity and brocest.
When if I’ve got a hankering for something even further out-there, or I just want to toy with a kink without dedicating a lot of words to it, I’ll write a short story and put it up on my website for free. Some of the free stories on my site feature sounding, play piercing, CBT—
I recently wrote an M/M cuckold story (coming soon). Cuckolding isn’t a kink that’s going to sell well, and it’s not a major kink of mine, but the free-short-story format gives me freedom to explore anything that captures my fancy.
Is there a difference in writing M/M and M/F BDSM? Your M/F BDSM stories are mostly Femdom. Why is it more interesting for you to write about dominant women than submissive ones?
The answers to those two questions are closely related. When I first started reading and writing BDSM stories, they were all M/f. M/f represents the majority of what’s out there, and it fed into my stereotypical idea of what a man ought to be—a tough, dominant “bad boy.”
But real-life experience with how women are objectified and abused has made M/f too triggering for me. I know there’s a difference between consensual power play and abuse, and I don’t judge women who enjoy the M/f dynamic, but it’s gotten to a point where I can’t. So I only write male subs now. If there’s a woman in the story, she’s going to be the Domme. I can’t find women’s pain or humiliation erotic anymore.
Plus, I’ve grown up enough to realize how wrong I was about what makes a “real” man. Submission requires so much strength. Derek, the sub in Mine, comes from this place of confidence and stability that’s so beautiful. Without his quiet courage, he’d never be able to give himself to Amanda the way he does. Most of the subs in my books are tremendously strong.
What about M/M stories—do you prefer to write from a Dom’s or a sub’s point of view (and why)?
I don’t think I can choose. I identify with both. I know what erotic pain feels like, but I also really enjoy the sound of a guy screaming. All my favorite porn clips are indistinguishable from murder.
Outside of the sexual aspect of it, there’s opportunity for character development in both roles. It’s the interplay between the two that I enjoy most. The majority of my BDSM books include both viewpoints, but in the few where there’s only one, it does seem to be the sub’s more often than the Dom’s. I don’t know if that means anything.
In Aftercare, one of your characters isn’t sure he can play a Dom’s role. What would you recommend to those who doubt they can be Doms/Dommes but want to try, for the sake of their partners or to fulfill their own fantasies?
Aayan in Aftercare has moral concerns about acting out his sadism, which isn’t something I personally identify with. What worked for him was seeing firsthand what he could do for Garrett, how his domination gave Garrett immediate sexual satisfaction plus longer-term contentment. By making their play primarily about taking care of Garrett, he was able to relax and enjoy it himself.
My personal attempts at playing Domme in real life were stifled by embarrassment—the fear that I wasn’t doing it right. It feels very conspicuous, like you’re acting, even if what you’re acting is true. This might be a little out of left field, but I think taking an improv class would help build confidence that would be useful in running a scene.
Obviously, it’s important to talk to your partner too. Again, embarrassment kept me from doing as much prior communication as I should’ve done, so being in a kink community where discussion is normalized would be helpful.