Lisa Renee Jones answers a burning question about BDSM

Lisa Renee Jones, whose No In Between, book four in her Inside Out series, comes out this week, answers a burning question that she gets often … (Psst! The rest of the Inside Out Series is on sale to celebrate this week's release of No In Between!)

Lisa: Often authors are asked if they have experienced all of the things in their books, and all I can say is, I certainly hope not! Would you really want Stephen King to do all the things in his books? But we sure want him to keep writing!

I do try to be true to what I write, and that means research. When I started writing the Inside Out Series and decided to include BDSM, it wasn't to have sex in the books. It was about trust. School teacher Sara McMillan, the narrator of the series, inherits a journal her friend found in a storage unit she bought after obsessing over Storage Wars. Sara becomes worried about the way the sexy entries turn rather dark and ominous, and so she seeks out Rebecca, the writer, who is involved in the art world Sara dreams of being part of. In doing so, Sara discovers that Rebecca is on an extended vacation that is rather suspicious, and she ends up taking Rebecca's job at an art gallery. She becomes involved with the same people as Rebecca, who may or may not be alive.

So back to the BDSM. Why include that element? When conceiving the series, I thought, What is one of the most vulnerable moments in life? Answer: When you dare to do something you've never done, especially sexually. So what if you dare to put yourself out there and you give someone your trust, and you shouldn't? Could it put you in danger?

To write the series accurately, I wanted to be sure I wrote the BDSM true to reality and as I do not live that lifestyle, I interviewed a lot of people and consulted Dr. Kat, a real sex therapist who is also a TV personality. When the series led me to Paris and a swingers club, I decided to actually experience the country and the club with my husband. How else could I write about two things I knew nothing about? And let me tell you, we are so far from swingers that it's like vanilla and chocolate. Let's just say, it was ... unique.

Here is a little video about our experience, but don't worry! It's PG, because the truth is, so are we. But don't tell. My readers might be disappointed! My character in Inside Out, Sara, reacts to the club she's tricked into entering pretty much the way I did, too.

(If you can't see the video here, you can watch it on YouTube.)

You can find out more about the series at lisareneejones.com.