Today, I have the great pleasure of hosting spanking romance author and friend, Natasha Knight, on my blog. Now, I’ve known Natasha for a while – we’ve drunk many a Martini whilst typing increasingly garbled DM messages about life, sex and writing to one another – but this is the first time I’ve ‘officially’ had her as a Chintz Special Guest Star – cue lights, fireworks and excited fanfare. Shame on me. However, with the somewhat turbulent release of her latest book, Given to the Savage (read on to find out more about what I mean by that), I thought it would be the perfect time to pull her behind the curtain and pepper her with deep, probing and intelligent questions. Oh, all right. Pervy, inappropriate questions. That’s why you visit this blog, right?

 

Jane: I’m going to let my smutty self jump right in: your favourite sex scene from Given to the Savage and why?

Natasha: I’m laughing. I liked them all…it’s kind of hard to choose just one actually. OK, I’m going with the sex scene where Silas and Rowan are outside of his house very early in their relationship. I’ll try to explain why without giving too much away.

Both Silas and Rowan are forced into this situation and neither is sure of the other. Rowan is a breeder and with the setting as it is it gave me some freedom to write the scene exactly as I wrote it without having to soften or sugar coat anything.

The two are attracted to each other physically, and Silas, although he is portrayed as this mercenary type man – or the reader is made to believe that by some of his earlier actions – he is not, but his struggle comes when he wants to be that, he wants to not care, he wants to do what he has to do in order to get what he’s been promised by The Colony. I think this made quite a few people dislike him actually and this scene is a good example of how he turns his human emotions off in order to alleviate himself of his guilt as he takes Rowan whether willingly or unwillingly.

There’s this line in this scene where Silas says:  “You come every time I fuck you, you’re wet every time I punish you.” He’s trying to dehumanize her, make her into just a breeder in order to make what he is doing ok, even as he knows she is as human as he. I want to say poor Silas as I write this but I know most readers were thinking poor Rowan… This scene is a favorite because it’s hard and it’s raw. Silas is taking, he’s not making love to her, he’s fucking her and he’s showing her he owns her and the fact that what he said is true, that she’s wet ever time he punishes her and that she comes ever time he fucks her, it kind of confuses what happens, makes the situation more difficult in a way.

 

Jane: As you know, I’m a huge fan of capture fantasy and we’ve previously talked about how this book feels darker to you than your previous ones. What themes and ideas have you explored in Given to the Savage that you haven’t in your previous novels?

Natasha: I think the biggest difference between this book and my others is the non-consensual theme. It’s something I’ve just touched on in other books – like literally a toe dipped in the water, but it’s a theme that is a huge fantasy for me. I love reading capture fantasy and I’ve wanted to write it for so long, just couldn’t give myself the ok to do it. The setting of this book and the fact that it is a breeder book gave me that ok and I took off the censors and let it go. My publisher requested that I edit some pieces – I think the non-con made them uncomfortable, and I did do the editing, but still left the story as a whole the way I wanted it. At the end of the day, it’s fiction, and it offers a place for people to escape reality and simply be a part of a story.

Jane: Were there any scenes that were particularly hard for you to write?

Natasha: Maybe they should have been but this is one of those books that I loved writing. You know how people say ‘it wrote itself’? I never used to believe it but this book wrote itself.

There is one scene though that does stand out in that I questioned how it would be received. It’s toward the end where Silas takes Rowan anally and it’s a punishment. There is no ceremony to it at all – it happened organically and fit. But this was the one time that I did pause, that I did think ‘will people hate Silas if he does this?’ and I did sort of turn it around just a little, just enough that even though the act was a taking when it began, by the time it ended, it became a giving.

 

Jane: Some of your readers may be aware that this bookwas originally released under another title. What are your thoughts on the ‘breeding’ genre in relation to erotic romance and why do you think it’s such a controversial topic for certain eBook retailers?

Natasha: Given to the Savage was originally released as His To Breed and within twenty-four hours, was tagged and sent to the dungeon of the biggest e-book retailer out there. At this point, it was already sitting on two of the retailer’s bestseller lists. My publisher was quick to pull it, make modifications to title, cover and blurb and resubmit. Luckily, and I don’t know how and am still thanking my lucky stars – the book recovered.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but what happened to the original book was unfair. The word ‘breed’ triggered it, but that same word has been used by my publisher as well as many other publishers in their titles. I just got unlucky and am glad to put it behind me.

I sometimes shake my head and wonder what year it is but it’s the reality of things for erotica writers right now. I have so many friends who have been tagged and there will be more to come, I’m sure. There are no specific guidelines to follow and that’s unfair and unfortunate, but aside from that and as a reader, I don’t want someone telling me what I can and cannot read based on their standards of what is acceptable and what is not. I’m an adult and can choose for myself. I have my own limits, everyone does, but I can and want to decide for myself.

Jane: Silas: discuss!

Natasha: I love Silas. His situation is so completely hopeless and still, he stands strong and even as he’s doing the wrong thing, you’re kind of still rooting for him. Or I am I kind of wish I could share the image of him that I have in my head but you’ll have to stick figure that one!* Big, beautiful, rough not just around the edges but all around! He is the ultimate fantasy for me – a man who isn’t afraid to take, a man who isn’t soft at all. I just sighed thinking of him…

* Oh, dear God, Natasha, I’m so sorry.

 

Jane: Spanking is a definite feature of Given to the Savage but I also noticed that there was a lot of anal play, too. How do you balance the needs of those who like to primarily read spanking stories with those who’re looking for other types of erotic interaction?

Natasha: I love anal play. It’s kind of big in all my books. For me, it’s the ultimate form of dominance over another and submission to another. Plus I just like it. I think my readers know there will be anal and there will be a lot of it in my books… There was a review I read on this book where the reviewer wrote ‘this writer is obsessed with bottom holes’. I still giggle at that where there was a time I would have been upset. It’s true even if it was impolite to say it :-) If you read any of my books, there will be hot anal. Know that!

As far as the spanking piece, I just find it utterly hot. You’ve got humiliation and pain, dominance and submission. I know those things shouldn’t turn me on but, well, they do and I’m really ok with it. As far as balancing, I’m not sure I’ve figured that out yet. There is a place for sweeter romance, for sure, but if I can push a boundary, take a punishment a little further, it just feels hotter to me.  I guess the best way to answer this is I write what I find hot myself and I try to do it in a story that’s a worthwhile read and would be even if you took out the spankings and sex – not that you’d ever do that because why??? I think if I were smarter, I’d write what sold really well, but if it doesn’t turn me on, I don’t think I would be able to turn anyone else on either.

 

Jane: Lastly, what’s next on Natasha Knight’s red-bottomed agenda? Can we expect more stories about, er, not entirely consensual reproduction in the near future? :-) 

Natasha: You’re making me giggle. I haven’t actually announced this anywhere yet so here’s an exclusive for you! I’m working on a not quite consensual – wait, I like the words dubious consent – novel with the uber-talented author Trent Evans. I know you’ve read his stuff. I’m a huge, gushing, fan girl. He pushes all the right buttons for me and I just really like him as a friend too. How cool is that?

In addition to that, I’m working on a book of short spanking erotica titled The Disciplinarian. This is with my friend and author Casey McKay and we’re hoping to publish this fall. Yes, I know that’s a few days away but Fall goes through December…

I’ve got a medical BDSM coming up in October and I’m working on (well, really, just about to start but shh…I was supposed to have started a long while back) a cowboy spanking romance. I’ve got some variety going on and I kind of love that. It keeps the writing exciting and challenges me.

That is it for me Jane. Thank you so very much for having me – you asked great questions and made me think about my answers. I adore you and I adore Behind the Chintz Curtain and feel honored to be here. Thank you.

Blurb:

In the aftermath of a plague which brought civilization to its knees and left most of the world’s female population sterile, breeders—the few women who remain fertile—have become a precious commodity. Breeders live in relative comfort, but upon reaching adulthood they are tasked with bearing one child after another to carry on the species. Frequent medical assessments keep the breeders healthy and harsh punishments keep them in line.

As a breeder who has just come of age, Rowan knows she will soon be little more than a slave, but when she dares to resist her fate the penalty is severe. After a shameful, public chastisement and a thorough, humiliating examination to determine her suitability for child-bearing, Rowan is given to a savage from outside the community—a huge brute of a man named Silas—to be bred.

Against all expectations, Rowan finds herself drawn to her new captor. Brave, ruggedly handsome, and even kind at times, Silas is everything the men who enslaved her were not. When the time comes for him to breed her, despite the circumstances something deep inside her begs for him to take her long and hard. But while she soon finds herself longing to be his forever, Rowan knows that eventually those who gave her to him will try to take her back. When that day comes will Silas fight to keep her at his side even if it means risking everything he loves?

Publisher’s Note: Given to the Savage is an erotic novel that includes spankings, sexual scenes, extensive medical play, anal play, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to purchase a copy:

• Amazon US
• Amazon UK
• Blushing Books
• AllRomanceEbooks
• Barnes&Noble

 

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