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