Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Guest Blog and Giveaway with Shakir Rashaan


Shades of Black: Inside the Black BDSM Community

I want to thank Roxanne for having me on her blog today and giving me the opportunity to speak on a subject that most might not be aware of: that there are “Shades of Black”…or people of color (read: black people) who not only practice different disciplines within BDSM, but they do so publicly, too.

While my Nubian Underworld series is immersed with parts of fiction, it is also based on real-time people, including myself and my Beloved, who are actively living within the “lifestyle.” For us, this is a way of life, this is who we are. We just happen to be black.

Why did I choose the turn of phrase “Shades of Black”? Well, it’s not hard to figure that one out. That series has opened the door for a lot of dialog over the past few years, but what if I told you that books and series like mine were around long before that phenomenon showed up? What if I also told you that black people have been actively involved in the BDSM scene for a longer period of time than you might realize?
To be inside the Black BDSM community, regardless of where in the country you might be, is to enjoy the unique flavor that we bring to WIITWD. This is not to say that we do it better or with more swagger or anything like that, but it is to say that we like to put our own spin on something that has been around for a long time.

There are vibrant communities of black people actively engaging in BDSM practices. From Los Angeles to New York, from DC and various parts of Maryland to here in Atlanta where my Beloved and I reside, to other pockets all over the country, there are blacks that enjoy what we have come to affectionately refer to the BDSM lifestyle as, “what it is that we do (WIITWD).” As my main character, Ramesses, so eloquently stated at the beginning of the series, “Now, I think I know what you might be thinking, but here’s the real: this is a lifestyle. Everyone has a little freak in them, but the difference is we have found like-minded people who don’t judge. They just enjoy themselves and the friendships which are made within the lifestyle community, and the freedom of being within that community.”

That community comes with active munches in different cities, with more popping up every month, and events and BDSM conferences that primarily cater to black people, like Atlanta Peachy Kink earlier this month, the annual Black BEAT (Black Expressions, Alternative Tastes) conference later on in August, and the Weekend Reunion last summer, too. Yes, BDSM in and of itself is beautiful to experience with all cultures and races, but there’s something about being able to be amongst those who share the same culture as you from time to time.

A recent acquaintance, LeRougarou, said in an op-ed within his group on the popular social media site, FetLife, that I think sums up the prevailing thought within the Black BDSM community: “I want to hear some rap when I beat ass, dammit! Enigma and EDM and techno gets old. I want to make ‘In Living Color’ references or ‘Martin’ references or ‘Living Single’ references or ‘Harlem Nights’ references and people actually know what the fuck I’m talking about. I want to drink spiked red Kool-Aid and talk about grape drink. I want the deejay to put on ‘Hoochie Mama’ and a gang of ass just starts clappin’. But guess what? I have absolutely zero requirement that those people have to be black. None at all. But guess what? A vast majority of people who can relate to me in all the ways listed above: black people. And I’m not ashamed of wanting to be around just them sometimes.”

That is the reason why I created the Nubian Underworld series. I wanted to showcase a strong, black Dominant male, and a few Dominant females, in a genre that is inundated with their Caucasian counterparts. I also wanted to showcase black male and female submissives, to show that there are black men and women who embrace a term that we’re told we’re not exactly supposed to embrace…Master and slave. Even though there are BDSM erotic novels and romance novels that cover multicultural and interracial relationships, I felt that “we” needed a voice, an outlet, a way for people who have yet to see that, “Hey, black people do this, too.”

Finally, even though the literary world is swooning over shades of grey, that there is still room to revel in shades of black, too.

Legacy
Chronicles of the Nubian Underworld
Book Two
Shakir Rashaan

Genre: BDSM Erotic Romance

Publisher: Strebor Books/Atria Books
(A Division of Simon & Schuster)

Date of Publication: June 10, 2014

ISBN: 9781593095468
ASIN: B00GEEB58M

Number of pages: 272
Word Count: 67,000+

Cover Artist: Keith Saunders, Marion Designs

Book Description:

A tale unlike anything else, this second episode in the Chronicles of the Nubian Underworld series continues the erotically charged journey inside Atlanta's African-American Fetish/BDSM community.
         
"In order to be great, you have to leave your mark. Are you ready to leave your mark?"

After returning from Dubai, a power shift occurs within the Atlanta Fetish community as the "torch" is passed on from Amenhotep to Ramesses and Neferterri. The Palace is being transformed in Ramesses' image, and the new "power couple" is adjusting to life in the spotlight and the benefits -- and headaches -- that come with it.

But as Ramesses puts the finishing touches on establishing the balance of power, Amenhotep has tasked him with a daunting undertaking -- one that will test his will and re-forge a bond that was once broken, cementing his legacy within the sacred "society."

Exotic, decadent, and written by a true insider, Legacy takes you deeper into the Atlanta Fetish/BDSM community, twisting more surprises and revelations that are sure to take your breath away.

Amazon    BN  Books a Million    Personal Autographed Copy


Excerpt:
~Ten~
Neferterri

“Strip, Damian. Take off your clothes, all of them.”
He hesitated a moment, already arousing my irritation.
I didn’t have time for him to figure it out, but it was my fault for his hesitation. The last couple of times he’d visited, instead of training him, I ended up fucking his brains out. He’d end up naked by my command, and one look at his body and I got wet quicker than a blink of an eye.
Deep down, I wanted to believe he was submissive, but he was having a hard time accepting it. I think that might have been at the heart of my irritation with him, but it might have been at the heart of my irritation with myself. I hadn’t given him the chance to serve me, instead of taking directives on how to please me. There was a difference between the two, and as much as we Dominas gave our male counterparts grief for thinking with the “other head,” I was proving no more immune to my urges because of a man who towered over me when he was allowed to be on his feet.
Today, I was going to find out whether or not the problem lay with him, or with me.
“Goddess?” Damian’s hesitation to act on my commands bordered on the criminal. Instead of taking the berating approach, I thought back to previous conversations, to see if I could use them to get through to his submissive mind.
During our conversations about his submission, he told me when he questioned his desires to submit to women at times, how every time he went out in public as a submissive male he would be misunderstood by other submissive males who were all too willing to be fuck toys for any Domina willing to have them, and why he wanted to kneel to me so badly. Yes, there was one hell of a mutual attraction, but once the sex was over and the conversations faded, the service aspect had to be there. Ramesses and I demanded it of the girls, there was no way I could get away with having him boiled down to being nothing more than the fuck toys he didn’t want to emulate.
“you said you wanted to kneel at My feet, to serve Me and to serve your Sir, how you didn’t want to be used and fucked like a rag doll by your Domina.” My voice and my face were stern as he kept his eyes downward, absorbing the words being spoken in his direction. “Was that all lip service to seduce Me into keeping you?”
“Goddess, may i speak freely?” Damian asked.
“you may speak freely, Damian.”
I sensed he wanted to obey my command. His body trembled, letting me know of his inclination to obey, but his mind and body were at war with each other, trying to figure out which would have the upper hand.
“Thank You, Goddess,” he replied. With his eyes focused on the space in front of him, he tried to find the words to express his feelings. “As much as i want to serve You, i barely know You. Every time we try to have a conversation before we fall into protocol, we end up fucking like rabbits. i want to be able to serve You, but i need to know how to serve You. Does that make sense?”
His response hit me like I’d been shocked with electricity. For the first time in years, I was at a loss for words. The last time I’d even thought to have a meaningful conversation with a male submissive was when I was helping Sin with tiger years ago. I realized maybe I was the one out of practice, and I needed to step up my game to make sure I was the Domina I knew I was.
He didn’t need to know I was off balance, though.
“you are right, Damian, we have been a little hot and heavy for the past few months,” I
acknowledged. I wasn’t about to let him off the hook, either. “However, the conversations we have had, you hadn’t inquired what it might take to serve Me, either. And don’t think for a minute I held a gun to your head while you pleased Me, Damian…and for the record, you have pleased Me very well.”
            A smile crept from his lips with my last statement before dissipating as quickly as it appeared. Good boi, I thought to myself, you’re learning more than you’ve let on.
            “In order to learn what pleases Me without involving sexing Me, I propose we start today by figuring out what you’ve learned from our conversations about what pleases Me.” I wanted to find out how much he paid attention while he was busy dishing out information. “What pleases Me, Damian?”
            Sitting back in the lounger in his living room, I watched his facial expressions change from confidence to uncertainty and back to confidence again. I watched his body, still clad in the muscle shirt and shorts he’d greeted me in when I first arrived, and my body and mind waged their own war of which would win out based on the visual stimuli my eyes feasted upon.
            My mind was intent on winning this battle, but my body put up a damn good fight.
            “It pleases You when i’m able to serve You at Your whim, Goddess.” He started to recount some of the conversations we had in the beginning. “It pleases You when i am able to provide a foot massage when You’ve had a long day at work. It pleases You when i have learned other skills to enhance my service to You, such as my ability to know how You like Your coffee, Your herbal tea, and i learned how to make a Tiramisu a couple of days ago, if it would please You to try it?”
            If he wanted to endear me to him, he said the magic word! He proved he paid attention by learning the recipe based on a conversation we had a month ago where I happened to mention
Tiramisu as one of my guilty pleasures, but I never found anyone who could make it properly without having one of the girls heading over to Maggiano’s to get it.
            I tried to keep my enthusiasm under control, but inside I was squealing because he was meeting my expectations in such a short time. Hopefully, in time, he would exceed them.
            “Yes, it would please Me very much to try your Tiramisu, Damian,” I replied.
            He asked for permission to get the dessert. Upon my nod, he walked into the kitchen to grab the dessert, making sure he didn’t waste the saucer he placed it on.
            It took everything within me to keep from raping him on the spot again as he walked toward me with the saucer in his hands, slowly falling to his knees without spilling the saucer, and taking the fork in his hand, cutting a piece of the Tiramisu and offering it to me. “If it pleases You, my Goddess, would You take a bite and tell me if You like it?”
            I nodded as he lifted the forkful of the dessert to my lips. I opened my mouth to take in the morsel, and, to put it not-so-delicately, the explosion in my mouth was orgasmic! Every bit of flavor in that small piece was enough to make me want to squeeze my legs together to keep from coming.
            The smile on his face only enhanced the experience for me. He not only got the recipe right, but he put something more into the recipe, I just knew it! “Oh my God, boi, you put some serious skills into that!”
            “i’m happy You liked it, Goddess,” he replied, blushing at me while he continued to feed the rest of the slice to me. “It took a few tries to get it right, and thankfully it came out right before I spent too much more money trying.”
            I was honored by the effort. This was the type of effort in service I wanted him to understand and learn, and it only took us to keep from ravaging each other to find out what he
could do.
            I had a few more questions he needed to answer before anything more happened today. “Do you understand the rules of the House, pet?”
            “Yes, Goddess,” he answered. “i must obey You and my Sir.”
            “Yes, pet, you must always obey.” I took the last bite of the dessert he fed me, enjoying the dessert and the delectable piece of property that would soon belong to me. “you must always obey, baby boi, no matter what I or your Sir ask of you.”         
            “i understand, my Goddess.” He moved to take the saucer into the kitchen, shifting his body to face me to ask permission to leave my presence, when I placed my fingers over his lips.
            “There’s one more thing I want you to do, Damian.”
            “Yes, Goddess, it’s my pleasure to serve You.”
            “Good, because I want you to fuck Me…now.”





About the Author:

Shakir Rashaan currently lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife and two children. Rashaan's catalog includes the series Chronicles of the Nubian Underworld and the upcoming Kink, P.I., and current projects being developed under the pen name Curtis Alexander Hamilton. Other credits include several anthologies, including the bestselling Zane Presents Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3. You can see more of Rashaan at ShakirRashaan.com.




Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShakirRashaanErotica


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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for hosting on the tour, Roxanne! I appreciate you! :D