Fetish Friday: World BDSM Day
Today is marked as World BDSM Day due to the date 24th July being a play on 24/7 which is often used as shorthand for the dynamics of conitinuous power exchange and commitment to the lifestyle within the BDSM community. Since these relationships feature in some of my books it seems only right that I should do my bit to inform and educate my readers and maybe even to sweep away some of the misconceptions surrounding the community. It’s time to do away with ‘fetish shaming’ aimed at happy practitioners.
BDSM is a clever acronym which encompases six words in three overlapping pairs: Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, Sadism & Masochism
World BDSM Day was begun in 2003 by the Swiss advocate Kurt Walter Fisher who was the owner of the famous Rosa Cinco Club in Barcelona. The aim of the day is to increase the visibility of BDSM, to reduce some of the social stigma surrounding it and to promote community support. BDSM exists not only in the LGBTQ+ arena but across all areas of the human social and gender spectrum.
At it’s core are a set of values which apply to all genuine practitioners, namely safe, sane, and consensual practices, mutual trust and clear communication.
Moving forward I aim to post regularly (Fetish Friday)on this blog about the BDSM practices portrayed in my books. If it’s not your thing then that’s ok, but if it is and you want to know more please drop me an email to tj@tjmasters.com or master@mastertim.co.uk
Rainbow Book Fest, York
I am pleased to announce that after the Indie Lit Convention in Manchester, the T.J. Masters roadshow moves on to York and the fabulous Rainbow BookFest at the Radisson Hotel on 10th October. Yet another chance to mingle with fellow authors and chat to lots of lovely readers about my books including new ones to be annopunced ahead of the events.
Indie Lit Con, Manchester, 15th August
I am so looking forward to attending the Indie Lit Con in Manchester and we are now just a month away from this fabulous event.
These book festivals around the country are a fantastic opportunity for authors like myself to network with our fellow writers but more importantly to meet our lovely readers. Attending both Shimmer and Queer Lit Southwest last month, I was really impressed by the quality of our readers theses days and how ready they were to engage with authors about their books. Of course for authors like myself, any excuse to talk about our books is a joy! Why not come and join us in Manchester and meet dozens of great authors.
Ursa Major - Fact or Fiction
My new novel Ursa Major probably falls into that category of fiction known as docufiction since the background story of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenco is entirely real and factual, as are all the dates mentioned. The satellite emerged from hibernation just as described in the story on 20th January 2014 and from then on the story unfolds over the same two year period that the mission did in real life. All the numerical information such as speeds and distances are real as are the activities carried out by the satellite and it’s wayward lander Philae. The European Space Agency website was an invaluable source of information while I was researching the story and for anyone wanting to learn more about the mission, the spacecraft or the comet itself, ESA is the place to go.