Thianna D is here today to lead the discussion of Exile to Unity, Tara Finnegan's contribution to the Corbin's Bend Series.
Take it away Thianna....
Of the 8 stories so far within the Corbin’s Bend universe,
this one is uniquely its own. What do I mean by that? This story is about the
rebuilding of a relationship after a tragedy.
Ange and Jim O’Brien come to Corbin’s Bend with their tails
between their legs. Outed in their home of Ireland for being kinky and having
just gone through a horrifying court case due to it, it seems to be a last try
to get things on an even footing. Unfortunately, even footing isn’t where our
hero and heroine are at. Going to a kink-friendly community after what they’ve
gone through seems like a great idea, only Ange isn’t too interested in the
domestic discipline side of things and Jim wants to give it a go, wanting the
wife he loved, back.
Hello, compromise? Well, at first no. It’s more like hello,
confrontation. These two are new to living a DD lifestyle and that is bound to
bring out the tiger in both of them. Unfortunately, when a single woman in the
community sees Jim as her savior and kind of falls for him, Ange has two
options: Possibly lose the man she loves or put on the gloves and step into the
ring.
1: How would you react if your ‘kink’ became public
knowledge?
2: Forgiveness is a
major theme of this story. Ange’s especially. She has to come to forgive
herself, Jim, the people who tried to ruin her, even Carla. To me, this makes
her an incredibly strong character: to recognize what she needs to do and to do
it, damn the consequences. If someone tried to come between you and your
partner, could you forgive them like Ange does?
3: Discipline is at the heart of what Jim is trying to get
Ange to accept, not just physical discipline, but the ability to discipline
herself – to not let everyone else take pieces of her and most of all to lean
on him and let him know what’s going on. An important scene in the story is
when Jim punishes Ange with an enema. The symbolic meaning of it is incredibly
intense. She’s been keeping things from him and he plans to force them out of
her, one way or another.
To me this is definitely a ‘let the punishment fit the
crime’ instance. I’ve never really considered an enema as part of discipline
until Tara told me about the scene and I loved how it worked. What are some
other kinks that do well as ‘let the punishment fit the crime’ discipline?
4: At one point, Jim decides they need a document to point
out all the rules that Ange needs to follow, basically copying down some stuff
he saw online. This gave me a giggle. Has your SO or HoH ever tried to get you
to adhere to someone else’s rules of conduct? And if so, how did you make them
see sense?
Excerpt:
“Remind me, what’s it for?” He stopped spanking to give her
a chance to speak.
“For saying fuck, but I think it’s unfair, we both swear and
we always did. I don’t see why I should be punished.”
“It’s not just about one swear word, and you know it. You
made your guests uncomfortable. You saw Bethany’s face.”
“Yes, but I don’t think it was about the language, it was
because I criticized DD. But I shouldn’t have done that. Or slighted you.”
“Good girl, Ange, finally. An admission. That didn’t hurt,
did it?”
“N-no, I suppose not.”
“I know you think I’m unfair, but you really have to curtail
the callers. It’s happening too often. I agree that you would have welcomed my
friends as you said, but I don’t think you would have been happy if it was the
third evening this week, would you?”
When he put it like that, Ange could accept that he had a
point. If the house was constantly inundated by Jim’s friends in the evenings,
she would soon get irritated. And she could accept that had she walked in and
heard him deriding her the way she had been him, she would have been less than
impressed. She shook her head.
“Now relax those cheeks and open up to the punishment. This
part will hurt, more than the admission.” He brought his belt down hard, and it
was as much as Ange could do not to scream as the cruel implement met its
target, sending a wide stripe of red hot agony through her already heated
buttocks. A pillow muffled her yelp.
“One, Sir,” she counted. This continued to ten, hard and
fast and she called out the stroke, crying by now. She was already scorched by
his hand spanking and the belt was just so damn painful. “Copper,” she roared.
He stopped. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s too much, too sore,” she sobbed.
“Is that all? It’s a punishment , Ange, it’s supposed to
hurt. But you can have a breather. Go and stand in the corner . Leave your
pajamas down. Hands on your head and nose pressed to the wall.”
Ange found the waiting almost worse than the actual
spanking. She felt ridiculously embarrassed, standing there in that position,
bottom sticking out, sore and no doubt bright red. And Jim’s eyes, she could
feel them boring into her, even though she couldn’t see them. Her tears had stopped,
humiliation now overriding any physical pain. Then he ordered her to stay like
that while he checked on the children. And there she waited, not daring to move
until he returned. Ange estimated he must have been gone at least ten minutes .
The sting might have subsided but now she had aching arms to add to her
discomfort. She was almost relieved when he returned. But he kept her in that
position, standing close behind her, close enough that she could feel his
breath on her neck and his body heat radiating off him . Jim made her stand
like that for a further five minutes while he scolded her again about her
behavior, before finally telling her to return to the bed for the remainder of
her spanking.
He brought the belt down again, this time, as a concession,
switching to her pale white thighs, which hadn’t been spanked yet. She yelped
again at that, her thighs weren’t as tough as her behind as he didn’t spank
them as often but he ignored her pleas and yells. When he came to sixteen he
paused.
“Four more, Ange. You can take them here or if it really is
too much, I can do your tits. Your choice.”
Some choice , he’d never spanked her breasts, not even
lightly, but her whole back end was on fire. She’d often told him that having
her breasts punished was a fantasy, ever since reading Jane Eyre in her late
teens; the scene where Jane had to open her top of smock to be punished by her
boarding school teacher. She felt her pussy pulsate at the idea as she
considered her options. But a belt on the breasts would be too much she feared,
especially if he caught her nipples.
“N-n-no. It’s okay, continue. Nearly there.” Ange braced
herself and accepted the last four as quietly as she could. Funnily enough, she
was no longer angry. She just wanted it over with. She wanted the cold war to
end, to join the family in front of the TV, and laugh along with them.
“I’m sorry I embarrassed you,” Ange offered as soon as he
stopped spanking. “Can we start the evening over? And I’ll try not to have the
house full so often.”
She gingerly moved to a sitting position but it was a tall
order as every inch of her rear and thighs stung like hell. He sat beside her
and hugged her tight.
“I’m afraid we’re losing us and becoming two separate
people. We have been for a couple of years now. We need to get back on track
before it’s too late. I want DD to try to stop the rot, and it’s not about
punishing you, it’s more about how close we get afterwards. Can we give it a
try?”
“I don’t want you turning into something I’m afraid of.”
“Don’t be silly.” He laughed kindly, “you’re afraid of
nothing and no-one, Ange, trust me. But if we set rules and stick to them then
it could work. What if I promise not to spank outside the rules and we do a
review every couple of weeks to see how it feels for both of us?”
“Two weeks, then we review , deal?” Ange twisted his words
to her advantage.
“Too short, two weeks and we talk about it, but I think we
need to try it for at least a few months.”
“One month is the best I’ll offer. You have one month to
convince me.”
“It’s a start, I suppose,” he agreed. “Come on downstairs
now, please?” Rising, he took her by the hand and gently pulled her up. “I’d
really much rather climb in there beside you and fuck the arse of you, but we
better go spend the evening with the kids. Later – it’s a promise.”
Ange allowed him to pull her up, reluctantly. She too would
have much preferred he came into bed and put the anger behind them, starting
afresh by connecting through passionate lovemaking. But she was glad to go and
join the kids, too. They had experienced the chill in the air to some extent
and it wasn’t their fault that she had been grumpy. It could keep. Getting the
family unit back on the right track was way more important.
Coming Up!
July 25 - "Exile to Unity" by Tara Finnegan - Discussion Leader: Thianna D
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KN3BD0K/
August 1 - "Long Shot" by Cara Bristol - Discussion Leader: Kate Richards
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3I1BSS
August 8 - "Leading the Way" by Constance Masters - Discussion Leader: Maren Smith
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KXZUIZ4
August 15 - "Where They Both Belong" by Thianna D. - Discussion Leader: ?
Amazon Buy Link:
August 22 - "For Ben" by Kate Richards - Discussion Leader: Cara Bristol
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Corbins-Bend-Book-ebook/dp/B00LMU9PPS
August 29 - "A Simple Misunderstanding" by Kathryn R. Blake - Discussion Leader: Tara Finnegan
Amazon Buy Link:
September 6 - "Last Dance for Cadence" by Maren Smith - Discussion Leader: Emily Tilton
Hi guys, I loved this book and I"m actually here on a Friday for book club! WooHoo!! Ok, here goes:
ReplyDelete1. I think we're at risk for that happening constantly with the writing/blogging/pen name vs real name e-mail addresses and so many things that can so easily go wrong! I once 'liked' a book under my real name and a bunch of friends found out my pen name within a few minutes. The friends were the ones who told me about it and I wonder how many others know but haven't said anything. I think I realize how outside of my control it is and just try to keep in mind that whatever I say on line can be read by family/friends potentially. At the end of the day though, my kink is my kink and everyone has their thing so if anyone takes issue with what has nothing to do with them, they can kiss my ass. How's that? :)
2. I think the Carla piece - well, let me say it was unexpected. The easy route would have been to make her out to be the villain, but that isn't the case. She's a lonely woman and what she tried to do was wrong but for Ange to be able to forgive that - wow. I think it humanized Carla too and by the end, I was hoping someone would write Carla's story and a little birdie told me someone just might... ;)
3. OMG on the enema scene. You said it Thia, this was brilliantly done. This punishment so fit the crime and was just perfect even in the hanging of a painting there so she would know when she kept secrets what would happen. The is one of the things I appreciate with Tara's books - everything fits and it's not necessary to suspend your disbelief, it just is believable. I'm so not answering the question as I have a hair appt I have to leave for in like 5 minutes so I'm rushing!!
4. We don't do DD so we have no list. I can say for me, as silly as it may sound, it would work for me to have something concrete to go by at least maybe in the beginning??? I don't know.
I'm off. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and love the series! Thank you ladies!!
Thank you, Natasha.
DeleteOMG, on you liking the book, as you say, the real friends told you.
Lol, so if anyone takes issue with what has nothing to do with them, they can kiss my ass....I think you might have meant kinky ass ;)
I suspect that being a little bit older and wiser has made me less afraid of personal things, kink or otherwise becoming public knowledge. But that's not always easy. I don't live where my life could land me in jail...an erotic author in some countries could even be killed for what she does. It's incredibly brave to move to a whole new continent to live free and open like Tara's characters did
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate.
DeleteI agree as you get older these things are much less frightening, and what we face in the "western world" is so much less than those in more prohibitive states. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for.
Since it's common knowledge that I write sexy stories among my friends and family, I guess I have been outed in a way already. That said, I let my husband decide who and what he wants to tell those he associates with. Usually, he admits I'm writing spanking romance. He's proud of my work, but not necessarily the genre I've chosen.
ReplyDeleteForgiving someone who tried to come between me and my husband would be difficult for me. I'm a monogamous person, and my husband is, too. Neither one of us would accept someone attempting to break us up without a fight. However, in Carla's case, I might have been able to forgive--eventually.
I don't agree with using medical procedures as punishments, primarily because of the negative association such activity creates if the procedure becomes medically necessary. However, as long as Jim doesn't abuse the practice so it causes Ange difficulties later (and repeated enemas can), I have to say his punishment was perfect. And using a picture hook served as an ideal reminder for Ange not to keep secrets.
No we don't have a document outlining our rules. Anything that is disrespectful can be considered potentially punishable. That includes lying as well as not taking care of myself. Though we're at the point now where I merely get a warning if I'm pressing things too hard, and I try never to be disrespectful, even in teasing.
Hi Kathryn,.
DeleteWow, lucky you on being so "out" among your friends, and having a husband who is comfortable with talking about it. There is a wonderful freedom to that. A few people close to me know, and I love not having to pretend with some at least.
You brought up some great points on the use of enemas. Misuse can indeed cause complications and they are not something that should be used without extensive (and medically reliable) research on the subject.
Thank you.
1. I think that what happened to Jim & Ange is every kinkster's nightmare. I don't see my writing as a kink--but I'm sure others would.
ReplyDelete2. Whether I could forgive them would depend on the degree of betrayal that I felt. I would forgive, I think, but I would not forgive.
Overall, I loved the book and felt the characters were very real.
3. To be honest, the enema punishment was a huge turnoff to me, and I felt it was unwarranted. I did not feel what Ange had withheld was worth that.
4. Any document that spelled out rules would not set well with me.
Hi Cara
DeleteThanks for your honesty on #3.
I will be totally honest and say I knew I was taking a big risk with the enema punishment as I knew it would be a turn off for some, and indeed even the reason for it might not be agreeable to all, given that it was something from the past and that she had been depressed when the issue first arose. But my feelings on it were that Ange had allowed the past to continue to destroy them, by letting Jim take the blame for everything. He wasn't punishing her for being depressed, but rather for hiding so much and allowing all that destruction continue for so long once she was well again.
Thank you so much Thianna and Celeste for featuring Exile To Unity here today.
ReplyDeleteI thought the questions were fantastic, as were the replies. I really appreciate everyone joining in.
1. Knowing how much we protect our anonymity it would have to be devastating, not because of what we do but how judgemental others are.
ReplyDelete2. I think forgiving ourselves is the most difficult thing - it's so much easier to blame others for misfortunes. I'm pretty good at forgiveness, not so great at forgetting and the trust level would never be the same.
3. The enema thing turned me off even though I understood the reasoning.. All I could think about was the cleanup, the smell and the laundry.
4. We don't do dd so I can't comment.
I did thoroughly love this story and love the way Tara writes.
Hi! Sorry I'm late- Just finished this book last night.
ReplyDelete#1- I am pretty open, but it's by choice. what happened with Ange is that her choice was taken away from her, and I think we can all relate to the fear of having a medical emergency after a session and that being what outs us, actually. That's scary.
#2- I think Ange's forgiveness of Carla had more to do with what Carla did to get revenge on her, and i was impressed. There was A LOT that went on in this story. i thought it made sense and I loved how it happened at Christmas time. I'm a sucker for a good Christmas scene , and I thought having all that go down during the holidays was very symbolic.
#3- I'm actually supposed to be reviewing this story, and I was worried about it, because I knew there was an enema scene. Enema scenes are not my thing, and i truly have never understood them having a place in any type of power exchange relationship. But, both my kids dealt with extreme constipation and several times we had to use enemas to make them go. IT's awful.And, completely different, I see now, than giving an enema to an adult, who can control themselves better. However, it is still not my thing, and I still wish there wasn't a place for it in these types of relationships. That being said, I thought the way it was done, and under the circumstances made sense. I thought the punishment he gave prior was written harshly, and I didn't enjoy it. And I am a hardcore spanko, so that's something. But, all in all, once the entire scene was done, and they were talking and dealing with their emotions, I thought it was done well.
#4- I didn't think his list was so bad, considering some of the extreme advice he was being given, but I was glad to see them re-work it into something that worked better for them.
Hi, sorry I'm late, time is moving too fast for me at the moment.
ReplyDelete1. I thought the way the way Ange and Jim were outed was just terrible. I was accidentally on purpose outed by my sister who did it with nothing but love. That wasn't the case for Ange and Jim.
2. That's a difficult question. I wouldn't forgive a person that deliberately tried to come between myself and my husband. I don't know if I could even forgive them if they weren't themselves. Ange is a strong woman.
3. I wouldn't say the enema was a turn on but I don't think it was meant to be. It didn't revolt me or anything though. I could understand Jim's reasoning; Ange's hiding things had almost destroyed their marriage. I could relate to that.
4. WE don't do lists. I thought Jim copying down a list off the internet was cute. He was trying so hard. Even if he had a lot of it wrong from Ange's point of view, it was a place to start from.
I just have to say that i LOVED this book :)