A Hertfordshire author has revealed how a shock confession from her mother inspired her raunchy writing, from implementing BDSM (click here to learn more), to just being downright naughty.

Bronwyn (Bibi) Paterson, 40, has penned a wealth of romantic novels with an erotic twist – inspired by her own experiences and the people she’s met.

“I started writing in 2013 after taking a break from my marketing job,” the Hemel Hempstead woman said. “I was reading Fifty Shades of Grey and, having always been interested in writing, I thought to myself there’s no reason why I can’t write something like that!

“I think your best work comes from your own world, so all of my characters have a little bit of the real people around me in them – they reflect the traits of my nearest and dearest.”

Bibi was first given the spark to write after a confessional from her mother. She said: “I’d moved back to England after living in Perth, Australia, for a while and she called me up to confess about her proclivities in the bedroom.

A picture containing text, indoor

Description automatically generated”Her reasoning was that if they had an accident with their BDSM gear or they were to suddenly die, they didn’t want their kids to be surprised.”

Rather than sweep it under the rug, Bibi insists this only inspired her writing more. She said: “I’ve always seen my mother as a strong woman and this only reinforced this. The female characters in my novels are strong and independent – breaking the image that BDSM has to be some form of dominance over women.

“My novels go beyond the cookie-cutter formula that many stories took in the wake of E L James’ success. My writing looks into the dynamics of these relationships, using my own perspective to flesh it out.”

Bibi grounds her novels in places she knows, exemplified in her novel ‘Tied To You’, a story about a young woman giving up a year of her life to travel around the world to marry an Australian winemaker – who seems to come with more baggage than he knows what to do with.