“The Diary of a Submissive”

From time to time, I’m approached by various authors and publishers asking me to review their latest work. I tend to decline: this blog isn’t a commercial site, after all. Yet once in a while I’ll say ‘yes’, on the proviso that I’ll only actually post about something if I like it. Free publicity for poor work? Endorsing things I don’t like? Criticising others’ labours? Not really the ethos of The Spanking Writers.

So I almost surprised myself last week when I agreed to read a copy of Sophie Morgan’s “The Diary of a Submissive”, which has just appeared for the Kindle (and, apparently, on iTunes too – with a paperback edition to follow). The cover describes the book as a real-life Fifty Shades; I was keen to see if it did provide an antidote to Ms James’s ghastly writing, and present kink in a more positive light. And I was interested to see if it stood out amidst the derivative trash that’s filling bookshops at the moment – not, I hasten to add, that I was anything other than pleased to see a display of bondage-related books so prominent in my local Waterstone’s earlier, no matter how far-fetched and badly-written some of them seem to be.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t like the opening sentence of the Prologue – or the opening sentence of Chapter 1: “The first thing to say is that I’m not a pervert”. I know that some people regard my ‘sexual behaviour’ as ‘abnormal’, to paraphrase the OED definition of ‘pervert’: I don’t really therefore view it as a derogatory term, and so bristled as the author tried to gain some moral superiority. (Still, I think young Ms Morgan goes on to disprove her statement the more she writes, anyway!)

And then I’ll continue being honest – and say that, a chapter or two in, I was completely hooked. The 30-something journalist’s frank account of her emerging interest in kink proves to be a great read: hot, insightful, often witty and perceptive. It’s certainly the best kinky memoir I’ve read since “Dances with Werewolves” – and that, from me, is praise indeed.

Her youthful fantasies about Maid Marian, ‘tied or in chains’. Her early exploration of online sites (“Present yourself at my house in Bournemouth to see if you meet my requirements”: “Firstly, I don’t like Bournemouth. Secondly, do you really want someone you know nothing about to meet you at your house?”). Her discussion of punishment and pain. Her detailed description of various relationships and encounters…  I demolished the 300-odd pages in less than 24 hours.

I doubt many readers here who actively enjoy kinky play in their lives will find anything new in Ms Morgan’s book. But it’s a sheer delight to find someone like us capturing her experiences in such an entertaining way, and I’d highly commend it. If you do read it, let me know what you think!