Bound by desire...

I"ve been banned!

Ack! Erk! Gahhhh......

LOL So much for death scenes... Never was any good at them anyway.

I've just recieved word that Ebay, that incredible marketplace that sells anything... Ebay, where everyone can be a capitalist...will no longer allow Ellora's Cave to sell my first novel, Secret Submission (still available in print if you order through www.amazon.com or via an email to orders@ellorascave.com).

You heard me right. Secret Submission has been deemed too hot for Ebay. How was that determination made? I haven't a clue. Probably someone saw the cover or read the blurb, saw that it was about BDSM and then freaked. By the way, Jaid Black's The Possession, Lora Leigh's Menage a Magick and Tawny Taylor's Private Games were also banned. All books that have BDSM as a theme.

Theme? Wrong word. BDSM isn't so much a theme as it is a sexual flavor...one I obviously feel should be savored, explored, tasted in many different ways. I remember the first time I had a cup of coffee and told my mother later that it was disgusting. I didn't understand how anyone could drink it. She asked me how I had it and I told her it was "black." She laughed and told me I needed to experiment to find out how I would enjoy it. Two sugars? Cream? There were thousands of ways to prepare the drink most American's can't start the day without.

I never did learn to like coffee...but BDSM as an expression of one's sexuality should be approached the same way. Silk scarves and spread-eagled? A simple blindfold as he explores your body...or perhaps has you explore his while you can't see. Perhaps it's just one telling the other, "don't move and let me taste every inch of you." Simple, yet not vanilla.

And if it's more? If it goes to whips and chains and Doms and subs...heck! all the way to Masters and slaves...what is it but still an expression of sexuality between consenting adults? Just as some need their coffee strong and black, so some need their sexuality with hearty flavors.

Banning books is never right. Voltaire said it best: "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." The free and open exchange of ideas...even when couched in romanterotica...is vital to a democracy, is vital to a society that sees itself as healthy and growing, is vital to an enlightened people that understand the most dangerous weapon an enemy can have is a closed mind.

So, what to do about Ebay? Not sure on that one. Am open to ideas. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to write sexy, romantic stories exploring the various flavors of BDSM because I want to and because I need to speak out against those who would silence me. This author is not going to go silently into the cyber-void.

Without apologies...and waving my red flag of defiance, I am still playing safe...

Diana