Romance Blog Hop

I'm very excited to participate in Romancing the Hop . The hop includes a wide range of writers and bloggers and lasts from August 31 to Sept 3, so you'll have plenty of time to visit all the different blogs.

Each blog will have a post about romance.
And...there will be prizes. Lots of prizes. Every time you leave a comment on one of the participating blogs (and include your email address in the body of the comment too) you'll be entered to win one of these three great prizes.  You can enter as many times as there are blogs to visit.
 

First Grand Prize: Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
Second Grand Prize: $130 Amazon or B&N gift card

Third Grand Prize: This Swag Pack

In addition, many of the blogs, including this one, will be giving away prizes too. I'll be selecting one commenter to receive a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card. Please include your email address in the comment. So, if you've been paying attention, that means that each comment you leave on this blog post will enter you in the grand prize drawing and also in my own drawing.

It's going to be an exciting, and romantic, weekend!

Whew. Now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, let's talk about romance.

When I was a child, my mother had a friend named Mabel who was a widow. When I was about ten, Mabel met a man and fell in love. The two of them, both in their early seventies, came to visit. They cuddled up on the couch like a couple of  lovebirds and looked so happy. When it was nearly time to leave, Mabel's fiance went out in the snow to start the car so his true love would be warm and cozy. 

I had never seen anything so romantic or chivalrous and I vowed that I when I met a man who did that, I'd marry him.

Fast forward several decades. I had met someone new and on our first date he took me to a New Year's Party. When it got late, we agreed to leave in about fifteen minutes. A couple minutes later I saw him digging through his coat pockets. I thought "I didn't say we needed to leave right away. What's he doing?"

He pulled the car keys from his coat pocket and head for the door. A jolt went throught me and I remembered the senior citizen lovebirds sitting on my parents' couch...and I remembered my promise to myself...Of course I kept that promise and we were married a few months later. And someday we'll be senior citizen lovebirds sitting on the couch too.

Why is this gesture so romantic? I think it's because women like to feel cared for and cherished...even if the way their man shows it is to warm their backside instead of their carseat.

Here's an excerpt from my new release, Underwear Probation, which I think shows the care a man should take of the woman he loves:

In the shiny finish of the desktop Daisy saw Reece’s reflection as he reared back for another swing---a wooden ruler in his hand. She’d be sure to throw that thing away the first chance she got.

She could not believe that he was making such a game out of this when just a few feet away, anyone, including her boss, could come to her door and see this little domestic scene playing out across her desk. She’d never work in this city again.

She stiffened her resolve knowing that the quickest way to end a spanking was to keep quiet and hold still.

Daisy’s fingers clung to the edge of the desk for support and Reece continued to redden her bottom. The flat wood of the ruler made concentrated stripes of heat across her butt. He moved rhythmically up and down one cheek and then the other. Daisy wriggled her toes in her shoes and bit her lip, but she didn’t cry out.

A couple more smacks to the tops of her thighs and he was finished. He covered her stinging backside with her skirt.

Silence filled the office but Daisy kept her face pressed to the desk.

“You can get up now.”

Daisy quickly stood and through sheer force of will, looked at Reece instead of the door.

“Come stand here.” Reece beckoned her with his outstretched hand. Knowing the penalty for disobedience, she complied.

 

     Reece positioned her in front of himself and pointed to the framed photograph on the wall perpendicular to the office door. Realization caused her jaw to drop. From this position, Reece could monitor traffic outside her office door as it was reflected in the glass of the photo. “You deserved to be punished for not trusting me and you should know that I would never want to cause you public embarrassment, especially not at work. I respect you too much.”

His words rasped in her ear and Daisy was sure she could hear disappointment in his voice.

He turned Daisy to face him but her eyes were downcast. “I’m sorry. I should have known you wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“How could you not trust me, Daisy? Haven’t I always done my best to protect you?”

Even though it had been a short spanking, Daisy’s butt burned. However, the pain disappeared and was replaced with shame over hurting her husband. Reece valued trust above all else in their relationship and she had fallen short.

Unsure of what to say, Daisy raised her eyes and looked to Reece for guidance. Disappointment washed over her and a tear trickled down her cheek.

Reece gathered her in his arms. “I know you’re sorry.” His hands stroked her hair. “But we’re in this together. You need to remember that we’re a team.” Daisy nodded her head and snuffled into her husband’s neck.

Underwear Probation, as well as my other books, is avaiable on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to leave a comment with your email address in it to be entered in the drawings.

Check out the other participating blogs.

Read Minelle's Review of Underwear Probation

Minelle at My Breath as written a wonderful review of Underwear Probation. I hope you'll check it out (the review and the post).

Thanks Minelle! It's so gratifying to have people enjoy my stories, especially because this one is a little different from my usual...a bit more spanking, a bit less slapstick.

Talking Romance

As you know from Monday's post, I'm participating in a romance blog hop this weekend (with prizes!) If you haven't read Monday's post, be sure you do to get all the details.

So, to get warmed up for all that romance this weekend, let's talk about romantic movies.

Here's the topic: what's your favorite romantic scene from a movie (or book)? And, what made it so romantic?

I'm going with The Sound of Music (stop groaning!) and my favorite scene is when Maria is dancing with the children on the patio during the big party and the Captain comes out and dances with her.

Why is this so romantic? First, Christopher Plummer. Very sexy as the Captain. He was so austere, but with a twinkle in his eye. Second, I love the formality of his putting on his gloves. And finally, dancing is just plain romantic. Slow dancing (even though I always try to lead) is the most romantic thing, I think. If you don't believe me, put on some music, grab your sweetie, and take a couple slow spins around the room.

What about the rest of you? Is there something more current that can out-do The Sounds of Music for romance?

Make your case!

Ready, Set...Hop!

What is your favorite thing about Romance? Well, we authors are ready to share our romantic tips and favorite romance reads! Starting on Friday and ending on September 3, over 100 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about romance, reading romance, and dating.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 100 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!

Yep. ALL of that! Whoot! Be sure to come back here on Friday and over the weekend to enjoy some stories and facts about our favorite Romance events and reads and enter to win!

Six Sentence Sunday

It's time again for Six Sentence Sunday. You can find posts to Six Sentence Samples from a wide variety of writers at the Six Sentence Sunday site.

This week's offering comes from my new release, Underwear Probation.

Here's the set-up: When Daisy has trouble remembering the rules, her husband, Reece, declares a day of Underwear Probation---no underwear---so that the feel of her bare butt against the fabric of her skirt will help her to focus on her behavior. Here is Daisy's reaction when she finds out that the next day she will be on Underwear Probation.

Daisy grabbed the edge of the dresser and bent herself over. “Just go ahead and spank me now. You can even use a spatula or wooden spoon. Just get it over with.”

The sly smile that crossed Reece's face made Daisy's stomach do strange things. “Oh no,” he said, “I'm starting to like this idea.”

Twitter-pated

Most of the time I love Twitter but, sometimes I find it confusing and a bit annoying.

Twitter can be a great source for finding and sharing information and finding others who have similar interests.

But, here are my issues/questions about Twitter.

1. How much Tweeting is annoying? I suppose this varies from person to person, but when I open my Twitter feed and there are 8 or 10 tweets in a row from the same person, I have a tendency to ignore them all.

2. What should I Tweet about? Constantly tweeting about my books, although that is my job, seems a bit too self-serving and that doesn't feel quite right to me, but I also don't necessarily want to tweet about the fact that I just dropped a glob of peanut butter on my computer (I think I got most of it cleaned up). I want to interact with other people and build my following, but I don't want to seem like a big suck up either. Or, is it just understood that we are all on Twitter to suck up to each other so it's not a big deal?

3. Twitter Peeve: Political Tweets.  Although I am very interested in politics and have taught college level American Government courses, I rarely discuss my political views with anyone other than my husband and maybe one or two friends. Why? I've found that most people who ask about my political views aren't really interested in a discourse of sharing ideas, they just want to know if I agree with them (which makes them happy) and if I don't, then they feel free to attempt to browbeat me into submission. Since writing is a job for me (which is also very fun) I see my blog and Twitter as my virtual office, where I would not discuss politics. I really wish people would have two Twitter accounts, one for their "work" related tweets and another for their thoughts on sports, politics and photos of their children.

What about you? What do you think of Twitter? How many Tweets are too many? And, am I the only one who gets annoyed with political tweets?

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter I'm @CelesteJones130  I promise not to Tweet anything political or sports related or send out photos of my child.

My Spanking Stories at Barnes and Noble

In yet another impressive display of tech know-how, I have uploaded Underwear Probation to Barnes and Noble. In fact, all my books are available there.

Sales on Amazon have been good, so thank you to all of you who bought the book already. Reviews are a big help so if you have some spare time this weekend to write a review, I'd really appreciate it.

By the way...this story has not been published on Discipline and Desire, so if you want to read it, you'll have to buy it. xoxox

Thanks everyone for your encouragement while I attempt self-publishing. If any of you are thinking of giving it a try and have questions, feel free to contact me. Again, I'm not an expert, but I can at least try to be encouraging.

Talking About Myself

Hi Everyone--

Stevie McCoy is interviewing me today on her blog, Glitterword. I hope you'll stop by and visit!

Celeste

100 Posts and Underwear Probation

Thanks for stopping by for an exciting day here at my blog.

First, this is my 100th post! How cool is that? It's a funny thing to start a blog and start posting your thoughts or stories and wonder if anyone cares if you post or not. I want to thank all of you for stopping by and reading my stories and random posts. There are so many great blogs out there, the fact that people regularly make time to stop by and see what I've written is incredibly flattering and humbling. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And---my first self-published book, Underwear Probation, is now available on Amazon.

In Underwear Probation, Daisy has trouble remembering the rules. Her husband, Reece, decides that the feel of her bare butt against her skirt will be a good reminder, so he declares a day of Underwear Probation---no underwear.

Here's an excerpt:

“I'm just so mad at myself. I should have waited in line like everyone else. Plus I didn't make my two week mark. If I'd been paying attention, I would have known I was breaking the rules and none of this would have happened. I really thought I was doing better.”

“Maybe we need to up the ante a little bit so that your attention doesn’t wander.”

             Alarm thundered through Daisy. “Up the ante?”

“Ah, my pet,” Reece slanted his eyes at his wife. “Tomorrow you will be on underwear probation.”

“What?”

“No underwear.”

“No, Reece, please.”

“You said yourself that if you’d been paying attention, you would have behaved better. I want the feel of your clothes on your bare ass to remind you all day long that I expect you to live up to my expectations of you and to behave like a lady.”

Daisy grabbed the edge of the dresser and bent herself over. “Just go ahead and spank me now. You can even use a spatula or wooden spoon. Just get it over with.”

The sly smile that crossed Reece's face made Daisy's stomach do strange things. “Oh no.” He said. “I'm starting to like this idea.”

While You're Waiting...

While you're waiting for my new book to be available---and I know you're excited---head on over to Amazon for a FREE download of Renee Rose's latest book, The Elusive "O". I haven't read it yet, but I'm pretty sure that "O" does not refer to Oprah.

You can read an excerpt on Renee Rose's Blog.

It's free! So go get your copy and tell your friends and neighbors...

Slaying a Dragon...And It Turns Out to be a Kitten

Ever since self-publishing on Amazon became an option, I've been intrigued. But also intimidated. It seemed complicated and technical and like something I couldn't do.

I wrote a story this summer, Underwear Probation, with the intent of self-publishing it, come hell or high water, as they say. I finished the story up and got some feedback over the weekend and was ready to go.

But then I started wondering if I should send it to a publisher. They make such nice covers and handle all that technical stuff. I started to waver in my goal.

Don't worry...my husband set me straight."You said you were going to do it and you'll never know how it works out unless you try."

So I did. And you know what? It really wasn't that hard at all. Ok...I did have a couple of panic-y moments, but my husband talked me in off the ledge.

I made a cover. I think it looks pretty good, especially for my first time.

And, if all goes according to plan, the book will be available later today.

Stay tuned!

An Easy Way to Help Out Your Favorite Spanking Writers...and Me Too!

Renee Rose has an awesome blog post about tagging, liking and reviewing on Amazon and how those things are helpful to authors. I hope you'll pop over to her blog and check it out.

Adding a P.S. To Spanking Author Sue Lyndon's Interview

Hi Everyone---

After learning so much about Sue Lyndon a few days ago, I wanted to let you all know that she has yet another new book out and it sounds great. You can read all about it here.

Spanking Fiction Writer Sue Lyndon Spills Her Guts

Hi Everyone! I'm pleased to have author Sue Lyndon here for an interview about her adventures as a writer of spanking fiction.

Celeste Jones:  What is it that you like about being a writer, particularly a writer of spanking fiction?

Sue Lyndon:   Writing is my creative outlet and it allows me to work from home – two big bonuses in my book.  I enjoy reading spanking fiction, as well as BDSM romance, so naturally I like to write those kinds of stories.  You can never have too many spanking and BDSM stories!

Celeste Jones: What do you consider to be some of the challenges of writing spanking fiction and domestic discipline stories?

Sue Lyndon:  I think the biggest challenge is dealing with people who are appalled by this genre of erotic romance, mostly because it’s usually a man spanking a woman – and that’s wrong and unequal in their eyes.  I’ve seen some authors get bad reviews on their book based on this argument.  It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I know it’s a possibility I’ll have to deal with someday.

Celeste Jones: Tell us a little about your latest release. 

Sue Lyndon:   My latest release an erotic spanking romance novella called Dark Without You.  Here’s the blurb:

Total Love. Domestic Discipline. He takes her world firmly in hand...

Alice Grove owes her brother a lot. After all, he adopted her after their parents died and worked several jobs just to keep food on the table. When he asks for her help keeping a musician from the band he manages happy until the end of their tour, Alice is more than willing. She'll do just about anything to please the enigmatic drummer she's had a crush on since they were kids.

Andy Steel detests life in the limelight. Touring for weeks on end with no company besides his fellow band members, trashy girls, and an endless supply of booze doesn't suit his old-fashioned ideals. He aches to have a long-lasting relationship with just one woman--but not just any relationship. He expects obedience inside and outside of the bedroom, and he won't hesitate to enforce his rules by giving his woman a good spanking. When he meets up with his childhood friend Alice in Chicago, all grown up and aiming to please, Andy knows the heat they generate is something special. Until he hears about Alice's real reasons for joining the tour, and until she skips town without so much as a good-bye. Andy has no qualms about chasing after her, but he may not like what he discovers along the way.

 Celeste Jones: What is your writing day like? Do you have a set schedule for writing?

Sue Lyndon:   Writing first thing in the morning is my favorite thing to do.  I grab some breakfast and a big cup of coffee and open up my laptop to my latest work-in-progress.  

Celeste Jones: Are you a panster or a plotter?

Sue Lyndon:   Most of the time, I’m a panster.  On the rare occasion that I decide to jot down a plot, I always veer away from it before I even reach the middle of the story.  No matter how much I like the idea I plotted out, something I like better always pops into my head as I’m typing away.

Celeste Jones: Who in your life knows about your career as a writer of spanking fiction? Do you find it challenging to keep that part of your life a secret?

Sue Lyndon:   I tell anyone who asks what I do that I write erotic romance, and if someone asks about my pen name, I pull a business card out of my purse and say, “Sue Lyndon.  Here’s my card.”  If they dig further and discover I write spanking fiction and BDSM romance, I’m not embarrassed by it.  I wasn’t comfortable admitting what I write a year ago, but I’m pretty much out of the closet now.  It’s amazing how much you can change in a year. 

Celeste Jones: Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so, how do you reconcile feminism and submission?

Sue Lyndon:   Yes, I consider myself a feminist.  I don’t think there’s any reason why women shouldn’t have the same rights as men.  I think women should have the right to seek out the kind of relationship that fulfills their emotional needs, whether that relationship is one in which they are submissive, dominant, or something else.

Celeste Jones: What tips or advice do you have for people who might be thinking about writing spanking fiction?

Sue Lyndon:   There are many subgenres of spanking fiction.  Get to know them and decide which subgenres you are best suited to write.  Katerina Kinsley of Bottoms Up Book Review nails these subgenres down well in an interview with Cara Bristol.  If you’re not familiar with spanking fiction, you’d be surprised how many different subgenres are out there, from western to christen domestic discipline to fantasy.  Check out the interview here.

Celeste Jones: What’s your guilty pleasure?

Sue Lyndon:  Red wine and pretzel M&MsJ 

Celeste Jones: Anything else you’d like to share?

Sue Lyndon: I love to connect with readers and other authors.  Please feel free to connect with me on Facebook or Twitter – I promise not to bite!

Thanks for having me today, Celeste.  I had a blast visiting you! 

Blog Link: www.suelyndon.com 

Buy Links:  Dark Without You is available on  Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance.

Excerpt: 

He ignored her whimpers of protest as he guided her over his lap, but was pleased she didn’t resist physically.  Her sweet, albeit reluctant, submission was a precious gift, and it moved a previously unaffected place in his soul.  The profound depth of his feelings for Alice at this moment caused his heart to skip a beat as he rubbed gentle circles on her back.  “I’m going to take your temperature first,” he said, his voice thick with emotion and lust.

“Um, what do you mean?”  Her innocent question brought a smile to his face.

Spanking Good Six Sentences

Yes, it's time for Six Sentence Sunday again! Thanks for stopping by. You can check out links to other writers' Six Sentence Snippets here.

This week's Six Sentences are from Judge Not: Class Reunion which is a short story in my new book Legal Briefs: Over The Knee Justice.

Eileen wants to remake her regular guy husband into someone he's not for her class reunion. Here's his reaction to the clothes she bought him.

“I don’t wear shirts with alligators on them,” he said.

“It’s not an alligator. It’s a man on a horse. I thought it sort of went with your cowboy image.”

“Which cowboys use polo mallets? Seems like a rough way to herd cows.”

This isn't my sexiest bit of writing, but it cracks me up. Hope you enjoy it too.

Getting Probed by Sue Lyndon

Hi Everyone---
I don't want to take away from the interview w/Cara Bristol, but I am being interviewed on Sue Lyndon's blog today, so I hope you'll stop by and say hi.

Spanking Fiction Writer Cara Bristol On the Hot Seat

Hi Everyone! I'm very excited to have a guest today---Cara Bristol, who is the author of several books, including Unexpected Consequences and False Pretenses, which are both spanking/domestic discipline books set at The Rod and Cane Society. Read on to learn more.

Celeste Jones:  You’ve written vampire romance, erotic romance and spanking/domestic discipline novels. Has this been an evolution from one genre to another or do you still give each genre its share of attention?

Cara Bristol:  Good question. I enjoy writing spanking fiction. Because it’s a niche market, a subgenre of a subgenre, I didn’t want to become known as the “spanking romance/domestic discipline” author and wanted to broaden my appeal, so I wrote some non spanking stories that were knocking around in my head wanting out. However, although the reviews for my vampire and contemporary erotic romances have been stellar,  my spanking/domestic disciplines romances WAY outsell them. Clearly, spanking is what my readers want to read about. I will always write what truly inspires me, but I plan to focus more on spanking in the future.

Celeste Jones: What do you consider to be some of the challenges of writing spanking fiction and domestic discipline stories? 

Cara Bristol: The biggest challenge is that it’s a turn off to some people. Maybe a lot of people. LOL. So the market of potential readers is smaller than with other erotic romance genres. However, it’s also an advantage because it is such a clear target market.  It’s kind of like, “if you write it, they will come.”

Celeste Jones: You’ve created The Rod and Cane Society and two of your books take place in that world. Do you foresee more Rod and Cane Society books?

Cara Bristol:  Absolutely. That was the idea from the very first book, Unexpected Consequences. I will start number three soon and have an idea for number four.

Celeste Jones: Tell us a little about your latest release.

Cara Bristol: False Pretenses is book two in the Rod and Cane Society domestic discipline erotic romance series about men who spank and the woman who love them. In False Pretenses, aspiring journalist Emma Dupree goes undercover at the Rod and Cane Society to expose the organization, but falls in love with a spanko who happens to be member.

Celeste Jones: What is your writing day like? Do you have a set schedule for writing?

Cara Bristol:  I spend about six hours a day, seven days a week writing and promoting. I’m usually on the computer by 5:30 a.m. I check my blog, email, tweet a little, then start to write. When I’m writing an initial story draft, my goal is 1 K per day every day. I’ll take a break midmorning to run errands or do whatever else needs to be done, then work for another couple of hours in the afternoon, either on writing or promotion.  I see authors writing 1K in 1 hour, and I don’t know how they do it. I probably do 1K in four hours. I think a lot as I write, I don’t just hammer it out. And sex scenes take a long time to craft.

Celeste Jones: Are you a panster or a plotter?

Cara Bristol: I’m a hybrid. I plot enough that I know how to get from point A to point B, but I want there to be some sense of discovery for me. (Maybe if I was more of a plotter I could do 1K in 1 hour!) At a writing conference, one author said she wrote fifty-page outlines. If wrote a fifty page outline, I wouldn’t write the book. I’d consider it done! LOL.

Celeste Jones: Who in your life knows about your career as a writer of spanking fiction? Do you find it challenging to keep that part of your life a secret?

Cara Bristol: I don’t keep it a secret anymore. I tell everybody because how am I going to sell books if nobody know about them? I’m quite bold now, but it took me a couple of years to get here.  The only person who isn’t fully informed is my mother. She knows I write “erotic romance,” but doesn’t know my name, my publisher, my titles or that the books involve spanking.

Celeste Jones: Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so, how do you reconcile feminism and submission?

Cara Bristol:  I am a feminist. First, I believe that women have the right to make choices for themselves. And if that involves being submissive, then so be it. To exchange one set of prohibitions for another would not be liberating. Second, there are a number of Femme Dom stories (though I haven’t written one – yet) in which the man submits, so it isn’t always the woman being spanked. Third, I also think that when one is a feminist, the notion of submission becomes titillating because it does seem taboo. Finally, I write fiction. No real women are spanked in the creation of my characters.

Celeste Jones: What tips or advice do you have for people who might be thinking about writing spanking fiction? 

Cara Bristol: Do your research into spanking and the genre, which is much broader than people realize. There’s spanking for eroticism and spanking for strictly discipline. There are realistic spankings, and what can be called “fantasy” spankings, which are over the top. Some stories are romantic, others are just about people being punished.

Celeste Jones: When you read for pleasure, who are some of your favorite authors or what are your favorite genres?

Cara Bristol: I enjoy spanking romance/erotic domestic discipline stories (no surprise there), Regency historical, paranormal when it doesn’t get too out there, and a good solid contemporary erotic romance.  I have a lot of favorite authors, but I hesitate to name them here because I’ll leave somebody out who deserves to be mentioned. On my blog, I have a list of “recommended reads.” People can see who/what I read– as well as on Goodreads.

Celeste Jones: You have $1,000 to spend in the next twenty four hours. You cannot use it to pay bills. How would you spend the money?

Cara Bristol: My husband and I are building a house, so I would put it toward a new sofa.

Celeste Jones: What’s your guilty pleasure?

Cara Bristol: Reality TV shows. My fave? Real Housewives.

Thanks Cara! Below are the links to her books as well as an excerpt from False Pretenses.

Blog Link: http://www.carabristol.com

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Excerpt from False Pretenses:

Emma curled her lips downward. “Why am I so careless?”

“Perhaps because your inattention hasn’t resulted in consequences,” Dan suggested quietly, his desires assuming control of his brain. “You want to keep Jinx inside, but other than the inconvenience of rounding him up, nothing happens when you don’t follow through.” His heart leaped at the direction in which he was heading, while his common sense and conscience rang the alarm. Tanner, don’t go there.

He continued. “Maybe you need to experience some.” Every muscle in his body grew taut as a bowstring, and his cock swelled. Why the fuck was he doing this? Emma’s ass would be the last thing he saw before she hightailed it away faster than a cat on the lam.

“What do you mean?” Emma frowned with confusion.

Dan crossed his arms to keep from touching her. “Perhaps a spanking would remind you to be more careful in the future.”

Her jaw dropped. “You-you want to spank me? For real?” she squeaked.

Now I’ve done it! He’d obviously lost his mind to some sort of lust-induced insanity. While his stomach lurched with dismay, his ever-optimistic cock throbbed.

He had one last chance to pass off his comment as a joke and leave Emma with, if not a favorable impression of him, then at least not an unpleasant one. “Yes, I want to spank you,” he said instead.

He was fucking, squirrel-assed nuts.

Eyes round, Emma swallowed hard, as if something had stuck in her throat. “All right.”

http://www.amazon.com/False-Pretenses-Cane-Society-ebook/dp/B008ENPBH2/ref=la_B004D8KZTQ_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343852558&sr=1-2

Unicorns and Other Oddities

Renee Rose was kind enough to include me in her posse for the The Meta Awesome Blog Unircorn. 

Renee's post about Unicorns was certainly enlightening and I may never look at those fanciful animals the same way again.

When I think of Unicorns, this song is what comes to mind. Give it a listen and you'll be humming it all day.

Here are the award rules:

1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
2. Answer 10 questions you have about yourself.
3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.
5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.

Since I like to put my own spin on things, instead of answering 10 questions about myself, I thought I'd share a story. Cara Bristol interviewed me for her blog and one of the questions had to do with how I got started writing spanking fiction. You'll have to go to her blog to read my answer, but it had to do with my mother. A couple of readers wanted more details, so I thought I'd include this funny story about my parents.

When my first story was published on Discipline and Desire my mother subscribed to the site and later told me that she read the story aloud to my father---blow job scene and all. TMI for sure!

What this story (and the one on Cara's blog) tell me is not that my parents are wild and sexually adventuresome (I really don't think they are and I want to continue thinking that) but, that in all things, whether it was sitting through horrible band concerts when I was in seventh grade or going through law school as a single mother,  they are supportive of me and will do whatever it takes to help me succeed.

And...they are funny as hell.

Blog nominations---I feel funny picking out favorites so I'll just send you to my blog roll since that's where I go to find my favorite blogs too.

Thanks for the nomination, Renee. And now I'll have to get that unicorn song out of my head.

 

 

Yet Even More About Me

Cara Bristol was kind enough to interview me for her blog and I know you want to check it out so that you can learn even more about me. :)

Cara's a tough interviewer with some probing questions, so don't miss the fun.

And...I'll be posting an interview with Cara here on August 11, so be sure to come back to see me turn the tables on her.

A Bit of Blog Remodeling

I did a bit of blog remodeling this weekend. Not a huge amount, but I just wanted to point out a couple things---mostly because I was proud that I figured out how to do it.

At the top of the page I've added some buttons. These will lead you to info about my books, my email address so you can contact me, and links to all my posts that include spanking stories. All of the stories have been broken down into mulitple parts, so you may have to click a few times to read the whole thing...but they're free so don't complain. :)

Just curious---what are the sorts of things that make a blog user friendly and vice versa? Are there any blogs out there that you'd recommend because they are easy to read and navigate? What are some of the things on blogs that you dislike? I don't necessarily mean content, but the packaging. I try not to have too much clutter, but I also want to have easy access to information.

Is a list of popular posts useful? Are you likely to search very far into the history of a blog for more posts or just what's viewable right away?

Just wondering. Looking forward to your thoughts.

Author Interview---Renee Rose

Hi Everyone! Today I am happy to introduce all of you to Renee Rose, author of Loving Lucia, Betrothed, and her newest release Courting Celia.

Celeste Jones: Of all the different genres you could write in, why did you choose spanking fiction? Have you written in other genres before?

Renee Rose: I originally thought I was going to be a straight romance writer.  The trouble was, as a spanko, all the stories showed up in my head with spankings.  Since they are no longer politically correct in the romance genre, I was just editing them out.  I accidentally stumbled upon the sub-genre of spanking romance and I knew immediately that I'd found my niche.

Celeste Jones: What do you consider to be some of the challenges of writing these types of stories?

Renee Rose: When I submitted my first novella to Blushing Books, there weren't enough spankings in it to make interesting to their audience.  My editor was kind enough to work with me, suggesting that I amp up the spanking scenes by slowing them down and describing more, as well as adding a few more.   

Another interesting challenge in spanking stories is deciding how the spankings figure in the plotting.  If you follow the basic structure of the three decision points and a black moment, are the spankings the decision points, or are they just incidental (sub plot) material?  I guess it's a challenge and a blessing, really, because it gives you more material to work with...

Celeste Jones: Your three books are historical romances.  Did this require significant research? 

Renee Rose: I read a lot of historical fiction, so I already have a pretty good feel for it.  I always research the basics – buildings, clothing, food, and anything else I have questions about, but after that I don't worry too much.  I know I'm not writing the Great American Novel here.   

Celeste Jones: Do you have another book in the works? Can you tell us a bit about them?

Renee Rose: I have three in the works.  Two are already written and I'm just polishing now.  The first, No Return, is a book-length contemporary vampire tale and the second, Courting Celia, is the sequel to Loving Lucia.  I'm also in the early stages of writing a regency romance-- just call me Janie Austen! 

Celeste Jones: What is your writing day like? Do you have a set schedule for writing?

Renee Rose: Set schedule-- har har.  Very funny.  I have two little kids, so I write in snippets and interruptions any time I can sneak it in. 

Celeste Jones: Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Renee Rose: Somewhere in between.  I am trying to get better as a plotter, because I'm a pantser by nature.  Plotting is a skill I am definitely still working on. 

Celeste Jones: Is Renee Rose a pen name? If so, who in your life knows about your career as a writer of spanking fiction? Do you find it challenging to keep that part of your life a secret?

Renee Rose: Renee Rose is a pen name.  So far, only four friends and my husband know about my career.  I had a technology gaff and Facebook started publishing Renee Rose's spanking fiction reviews from Goodreads on my personal account.  I totally flipped out.  I am not ready yet to go public! 

Celeste Jones: Do you consider yourself a feminist? If so, how do you reconcile feminism and submission? 

Renee Rose: I am definitely a feminist and I am still struggling to reconcile these two parts of myself.  You could not possibly ever make me believe that a man knows more than a woman and therefore should be in charge.  Yet...submission is really, truly hot to me and I understand how domestic discipline improves marriages.  I am only just beginning to explore submission in my own bedroom, so maybe I'll come to some kind of peace about it eventually. 

Celeste Jones: What tips or advice do you have for people who might be thinking about writing spanking fiction?

Renee Rose: My personal rule is to get myself off.  I figure if I get off reading it, someone else will too.

Celeste Jones: What’s your guilty pleasure?

Renee Rose: Besides spanking?  Metaphysics.

Thanks Renee!

You can check out Renee's blog here.
Here Amazon author page here.

Read excerpts on PK's New Beginning's blog, Bright Bottom, here and Blushing Books.

How to Write Reviews on Amazon Using Your Secret Spanko Identity

Yes, it's another tech tip from me. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are.

Amazon reviews are really important to writers. First, because we like to get feedback (especially when it's good). Second, it helps with sales and well...writers need to eat too.

If you're like me (and who wouldn't want to be? LOL) you have your kindle or ereader set up with your real name Amazon account so if you write a review it will show up with your real name on it. I can understand why you might not want to do that.

But, did you know you can open another account on Amazon? Just sign up with your secret spanko email account and create a password. You have to buy one item before Amazon will let you post reviews. I ordered a paperback book to activate my account, but I assume you could order any product (book or otherwise) to get your account activated. You can even pay with your real name credit cards.

I know you're all avid readers, so now you can let the world know about the books you've been reading.