Xanthe Walter—one of the first authors of BDSM stories I’ve read and the creator of the BDSM universe that spawned a genre all of its own—has a new book out! Which is a good reason to interrogate her 😉

You’ve probably answered this question a lot, but for those who are not familiar with your BDSM universe yet, could you tell a bit about it? What is it and how did it come to be?

I had the idea, many years ago, of a universe where everyone was dom, sub or switch, and everyone was bisexual—that was just their reality and it wasn’t a big deal. People made their own decisions about their sexuality, just as we do. 

It started in the SGA (Stargate: Atlantis) fandom—that was a great one for being able to do all sorts of crazy things because it was set in such an ‘anything goes’ type of universe. So, it started with the story General and Doctor Sheppard. And the whole idea was that a couple from a BDSM universe were sucked into our universe and it was hugely challenging because their norms were so different to ours.

It was so popular, and I loved it so much, that I went on to write five more stories in the BDSM universe, including my original character novel, Ricochet. I should stress that this is not a heavy, chains-and-whips type of universe. If anything, because the BDSM is so everyday and normalised, it tends to be lighter and more romantic.

What prompted you to write BDSM stories? Why do you enjoy it? And what might be attractive about BDSM-themed fiction for people who don’t practice BDSM in real life?

I was always drawn to these themes. A few years ago I found a story I wrote (and illustrated!) aged about 7, where a boy called Colin is dragged off in chains by bad men. Obviously, it was quite innocent at that age, but as I got older I felt more drawn to actual BDSM themes. 

I should stress that I don’t think people need to be into BDSM in real life to enjoy it in fiction. It can be very cathartic to experience it in fiction without ever wanting to do it in real life.

I find it allows me to go deeper and explore more intense scenes and themes than in other stories. There’s something ultimately very sexy about trusting someone enough to explore BDSM with them.

I love power exchange and the idea of voluntarily surrendering yourself to someone—and I love the idea of the dom using that gift wisely and for the pleasure of the sub. I’m not into abusive or dark doms except as antagonists. For me, the enjoyment is in exploring this aspect of sexuality with a like-minded partner and finding the pleasure in it for you both.

I see a lot of fanfics based on the concept of your BDSM universe (actually, I found your fanfiction thanks to a link in someone else’s fic). How do you feel about it?

I have a mixed reaction to it. I wrote fanfiction for many years, so I’m hardly going to complain about someone else playing in my sandbox. However, I have been surprised, and sometimes upset, by how some writers interpret the universe. I therefore stopped reading other stories set in my BDSM universe a long time ago. For the most part, I’m sure they’re meant well, but I had some bad experiences where they weren’t in the spirit of the BDSM universe, by people who clearly disapproved of it as a concept. So I decided not to read them. I’m sure some of them are very good, but it’s best if I don’t. This also means I can keep my own vision of the universe intact without being influenced by others.

Many of your fanfiction stories are dark, but your first novel Ricochet is more of a light and playful kind. Was it intentional?

Absolutely. I broke my leg quite badly in 2011 and was out of action for several months and it was during that time that the idea came to me. As I was going through a difficult time, I wanted to escape somewhere lighter and more fun. I do love playing with all the expectations around the idea of a BDSM universe. I love the concept of tough subs and service doms and all kinds of people who aren’t stereotypically dom and sub. I wanted to play with some of those ideas in Ricochet. I particularly wanted to play with a lighter story about a sub who struggled to submit, and a dom who was a complete screw-up.

Is it harder to write about original characters or to make someone else’s creations behave convincingly in a fanfic?

Fanfic is easier in that you already know the characters and setting so you can jump straight in. But original fic is so interesting for being able to create your own characters and situations without the constraints of sticking to someone else’s creations. I found I loved writing original characters—but you don’t have the same way of reaching an audience, and the shared love of the original source material, so it’s tougher in that respect.

In your novel, Rick O’Shea is somewhat different from the usual fictional dominants, rather wayward and naughty than strict and demanding. Was it a deliberate choice? And how would you describe a perfect dom?

It was absolutely a deliberate choice. I loved creating Rick! One reviewer said he was her ideal dom because he was so much fun and didn’t take himself too seriously. I love the stern, demanding dom as a trope, but I’ve written him a lot—it was nice to play with a naughty dom who was always getting into trouble himself. Rick is a good dom, and in fact he’s the only dom Matt could ever fully surrender to, because poor Matt struggles to ever fully relax around doms. Rick makes him feel safe, and in part I think that’s because he’s not a stereotypical stern dom.

Was there something you found difficult about writing BDSM? What was the most challenging scene to write?

I don’t really ever find it hard to write BDSM. I’ve been doing it for decades, and I love it. I do sometimes write things in my stories that I don’t personally find that interesting or erotic, but I feel they are scenes that need to be there. I write quite a lot of whipping scenes, for example, but I’m not that interested in it, oddly. I think it can be a bit mechanical and technical although there’s something delicious about the idea of a sub surrendering themselves to it. It’s no secret I enjoy writing spanking scenes very much! I find them so intimate. If there was some aspect of BDSM that left me cold, I just wouldn’t write it. For example, I find choking a squick for me personally, so that’s not in my stories. It’s not a value judgement. It’s fine if others enjoy writing/reading it, but it’s not my thing, so I don’t write it. 

In your novel you chose not to capitalize the word ‘dominant’ in contrast to a lower case ‘submissive’ because doms and subs are equal in your universe. Was equality also partially the reason why you explore same sex relationships, so that two characters wouldn’t be defined by different gender roles? If not, why do you prefer writing M/M stories?

Absolutely it was! I didn’t want the fact someone was male or female, or dom or sub, influencing their real life status. So my BDSM universe is something of a utopia where those expectations simply aren’t there. I think some people missed the point of that and tried to put them back in, which is another reason for not reading other people’s take on the BDSM universe.

It’s been over a decade since you published Ricochet—and now you’re back with a new series (for which I’ve been waiting all this time). How is it similar or different to what you’ve been writing before? Does it also have BDSM elements? What do you want your readers to know about it?

I know—it’s been 12 years! For those who don’t know me, my life fell off a cliff a few years ago. I was writing a massive four book epic in the background, but it was slow because I was dealing with a lot of real life stuff. My beloved Mum had Alzheimer’s and it was my privilege to take care of her but that also took up a lot of my time. Then she was one of Covid’s earliest victims in April 2020 which was as truly awful a time as you can imagine. 

My dad then required a lot of my time and help and two of my best friends were diagnosed with cancer. My lovely pink sparkly friend, Penny, died in March 2023, and my Dad died in front of me, quite shockingly, three days before her funeral. It was a lot.

But then I returned to my book series, Dark Water, and found consolation in finishing it. This entire story is about grief in many ways, so it seems fitting that it was only in the aftermath of so much grief that I was able to finish it.

Dark Water is a much darker work than Ricochet. I’ve always written in many different genres, although most of my work is MM romance. Dark Water is a murder mystery, a thriller, and sci-fi with a dystopian setting, but at its heart it’s an epic MM romance. It’s not BDSM although there are very definite BDSM themes in it. It could be viewed as an exploration of what would happen if BDSM were forced upon people—if they really were the property of others. Of course, in the real world, that’s a situation open to terrible exploitation which is what we see in the novels. But I wouldn’t call it BDSM because to me, BDSM is about safe, sane consensual exploration of mutual kinks, and this isn’t that. It’s far more a work of hurt/comfort where terrible things happen to people but there is a Happy Ever After, showing we can survive even the most awful experiences.

I couldn’t be happier with how Dark Water has turned out. It’s been such a labour of love, over so many years—my own personal Everest to climb. It’s hard to believe I’m finally publishing it, but the initial response has been amazing. 

I wondered if I’d still have an audience after all this time, but it immediately went to number two in its category on Amazon, which is bonkers! I’m so looking forward to releasing the next three books over the summer and seeing people’s reactions. 

These books go to some pretty dark places at times, but there’s so much complexity, nuance and sheer love in them. I hope people love them as much as I do!