When you first started writing, did you have any idea you’d be writing BDSM/kinky books? Do you write in any other genre?

I wanted to write for a living since I was little, but at some point I realized how little fiction writing pays these days, and that sort of stalled. Starting about ten years ago, I’ve worked as a freelance journalist on a variety of topics. I would like to write a column or something else about kink. Fiction writing is a secondary career goal, but something I don’t want to abandon. The two sides can actually help each other.

Are you actively involved in BDSM? If so how do you identify yourself? Dom(me)/sub? Top/bottom? Switch?

I’ve been involved in the BDSM culture since about 1992, so quite a while. I’ve helped run parties and organizations. I was the co-founder of Metro Vancouver Kink, a non-profit educational/social group, and served on the board for three years. I’ve also been blogging about the history of BDSM since 2005, plus various articles and columns. Personally, I identify as a sub/masochist, perhaps more the latter.

Was there something that happened to you in your life or career that made you want to begin thinking about writing BDSM/kinky-themed erotica?

This was kind of a fluke. When I was just a newbie kinkster, I was busy reading everything I could find in the university bookstore and library. Half my brain was full of Pat Califia’s “Macho Sluts” story collection, and the other half full of early 90s critical theory on gender and sexuality. I somehow read about Circlet Press’ call for the S/M Futures anthology (now out of print), and a bunch of ideas came together. I wrote this white elephant story, over 10,000 words of rather talky stuff about fantasy and consent and brain-scanning, printed it out and mailed it in. (You had to do that back then.) To my surprise, Cecilia Tan accepted it. One of my first fiction sales. It was also part of this gigantic future history project that only had a handful of short stories published, which I’ve since abandoned.