Friday, January 10, 2014

Spanking Stories Book Club---Swept Off Her Feet by Dinah McLeod

Please welcome Maddie Taylor who is here today to talk about Swept Off Her Feet by Dinah McLeod. 

Blurb for Swept Off Her Feet
Twenty-nine years old and still without a husband, Maggie Swift does her best to be happy living on the family ranch. Now that her brothers are both married, however, she cannot help but feel she is being pushed out of her own home by her sisters-in-law… especially Libby. Her brother does his best to keep his bride in line—often with a firm hand applied to her bare bottom—but Maggie cannot seem to reconcile with the beautiful, feisty shopkeepers-daughter. 

She has all but resigned herself to miserable spinsterhood, until an absentminded stroll through town leaves her standing unexpectedly in front of a rough-looking saloon. It is there that she is confronted and scolded by the imposing, ruggedly-handsome Clayborn Callahan. Offered a ride with him, Maggie accepts, promising that she will not be missed for a few hours though she knows her brothers will be worried sick. 

When her lie is found out, Maggie discovers that her new suitor is more than ready to take her out back and make her cut a switch. In spite of her sore bottom, Maggie feels something for Clayborn that she has never felt for any man, and she is excited when he asks to come calling again. She wonders, though, if she can be the well-behaved woman he expects, or whether she will find herself over his knee more often than her pride and her tender bottom can handle. 


Discussion by Maddie Taylor: 
I enjoyed Swept Off Her Feet very much.  It appealed to me as a western, which I love, portraying traditional family values and male/female roles.  The men were strong and took care of the women they loved, the old-fashioned way.  I sympathized with the lead character Maggie.  She lost her mother, and then her oldest brother took a wife.  The new bride moves into the only home Maggie has ever known, and although it is not her sister-in-laws fault, resents having to change and share with the other woman.  Of course, she is grieving, not only for her mother but also the loss of her defined role in the family.  Next thing she knows, her other brother takes a wife.  She feels pushed aside even more—poor dear.  Of course, she doesn’t always handle it appropriately and at one point runs off unescorted—a no-no for a western woman in 1880. 
Along comes Clay, thank goodness.  He is a bright star in her day, except that like her brothers, he takes her to task for her behavior—all with her eldest brother’s blessing.  So starts a whirlwind courtship, which Maggie had believed would never come to be.  

Questions:

1.       In the Swift Family, the man is definitely the head of the household.  He can discipline his spouse without question as well as the other members of the family, including an adult sister.  Considering the era, how do you feel about the brother/sister spanking issue?   
2.       The old west provides unmarried women with very few options other than living with family, or her spouse, career opportunities being extremely limited.  She feels trapped.  What would you have done if you were in Maggie’s position? 
3.       Clay, although a friend of their deceased father, is a virtual stranger to Maggie.  When he finds her in town unescorted, he brings her home and sparks fly.  He asks and is allowed to punish Maggie for her transgression.  Do you agree with her brother’s decision to allow this?  Was this realistic?  Why?
4.       Without being a spoiler, Maggie receives a severe chastisement on a special day.  It was a time of excitement, which can often be quite stressful as well.  In general, do you feel the severity of discipline in spanking fiction is just enough, too much, or not enough?  Why?  Have you ever had a spanking on a special day?   Tell us what happened and how you got through the day with a sore bottom.


22 comments:

  1. Good Morning! Thanks for leading the discussion today Maddie! Great questions.

    1. I don't love the idea of brothers spanking sisters and in this book, although it was hinted that it might happen, it wasn't actually shown in the book (or did I miss it?) so I think that's okay. I don't think I want to read about a brother taking his sister (of any age, really) over his knee.

    2. Good question. It sure doesn't seem like Maggie had many options, plus she seemed to think she would never get married, so that probably made her even more resentful of her sister in law. She could have tried to get a job in town, but that would have been more dreary than staying at home where she was at least safe and loved by her brothers.

    3. I think the brother believed Maggie needed to be punished but he also didn't want to be the one to do it, so he probably appreciated Clay's offer. :)

    4. Good question. I think there is such a range of different spankings that occur in spanking fiction that there's probably something for everyone. For me, I prefer punishments that aren't too harsh.

    I've never been spanking on a special day, but I've sure seen a few people who could use one when they get all stressed out over a big event.

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    1. Thanks for letting me play hostess today Celeste. It was fun. I wanted to address quesiton 1 a bit. This is a historical and the time period is the Victorian Era, I think HOH spankings were not uncommon. So I think a brother/sis spanking, when the bro is the HOH and it is over clothing... is not unreasonable. When it gets to be fathers/brothers with bare bottoms and exposed gentilia I get a bit freaked, borders on incestuous. In this story, alluding to it is just right I think. We have to consider the time period, male/female roles, back in the day.

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    2. Good point about the clothes vs. bare bottom and HOH. I agree. We have to remember that this story was set about 50 years before women were even allowed to vote.

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  2. I enjyed reading this book.

    I'm not sure I agree with brothers spanking sisters except in the case of missing parents, then it stops at a certain age and never bare bottom.

    Not sure what I would do -not many options. Housekeeper or school teacher seems about all that would be available at the time in that area.

    I understand the brother's reluctance but I don't think Maggie should have been given the choice.

    Sometimes, I think it's over the top but it's fiction. Sometimes, according to some blogs, I think it is too much but I'm not there and only reading what is written. I've received birthday spankings but any other time it's my choice.

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    1. Thanks for your input Leigh. I was wondering, on question 3, was Maggie given a choice? I'll have to re-read that part. I thought Clay asked and Wes agreed. Maybe we can get Dinah to weigh in. It started them on the road to a relationship so in this case the means, justified the end I suppose. I thought his character was sexy.

      As far as the severity of spankings in fiction, it depends on who is reading it. It's a very subjective things. I have people lambast me for spankings and submissive heroines but they were obviously vanilla readers who strayed into a genre that they weren't ready for. I find spankings in the >100 range a bit over the top, I mean really... after about 20 I'm bawling and ready to agree to anything. As I said its a subjective thing and definitely a personal preference.

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    2. I didn't mean to say had a choice but that she should have been given a choice - between her brother and Clay. My bad.

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  3. No, she wasn't given a choice about who would spank her. She didn't want a spanking, period! LOL. Clay suggested he should be the one to do it, since she lied to him, and noticing the obvious reluctance on both Wesley's and Trent's part to carry it out.

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  4. As far as number of strokes goes, 20, Maddie?! 20 with what? LOL. I am usually much more...um...bull headed? LOL.

    Thanks for reading and commenting, Leigh!

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    1. I'm a wimp Dinah, what can I say. Although with a switch or a belt, the number for my breaking/begging point woud be much lower. Ouch!

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  5. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to get to this book in time for this discussion. Dinah, it's a pleasure to know you as an author, and I wish you every success! How great, Maddie, for you to support Dinah this way. Thank you also to Celeste for hosting the weekly discussion.

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  6. I loved this book!

    1. Brother/sister spanking doesn't bother me. Quite the opposite actually...it's a spanking scenario I love to read, mostly because I think it's a tad more embarrassing for the heroine if her brother has to take her in hand.

    2. Not sure what I would have done if I was Maggie. Good question. Hmm. I guess I would have stuck it out living with my brothers. Good thing Clay came along!

    3. I like to think Maggie's brother let Clay spank her that first time because he had an inkling they'd end up together.

    4. It's been a while since I read this and now I can't remember what Maggie was punished for here. A good spanking is great to calm one down a special day to help with the excitement though. As far as severity, I think some books go beyond what would be needed in real life, but I don't see that often.

    When does book 2 come out? :)

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    1. Sue, you are the sweetest person in the whole world! This made my day! I too enjoy the sibling spanking thing if deserved and non-sexual. For them, at least. :) I like the humiliation factor as long as it's not overdone.
      The spanking was for her running away at which time she almost gets killed by a cougar. He does spank her on her wedding night, however, he also says he's waited two weeks so I think that's more than generous.
      Book 2 is in the works right now! Thanks for asking, it makes me excited to finish! :)

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  7. Thanks for contribution Sue. I know if one of my older brother had taken me in hand, it would have been a severe beating and would have mortified the life out of me. I was a bit of a handful and loved to pick on him, you see. My grandmother used to say "the lion and the mouse". Well, this mouse never learned. As far as the special event, Maggie was spanked on her wedding night. I guess Clay wanted to start out on the right foot, or maybe I should say cheek. As far as going beyond real life, some folks forget that we write fiction and fantasy. We might add a bit of real life, but I suspect most of us couldn't take what our Doms, Masters and Daddy's dishout on paper.

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    1. So true about it being fantasy. We want to be taken away. I think that's also part of the appeal of westerns. Would I want to live in an era where they didn't have indoor plumbing? No! But I like reading about it and being transported to another time.

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    2. I agree, Maddie. I try not to take it too far out of context, and I have gotten punishments that are more severe than the ones I write about (I'm stubborn) but most of them are less. WAY less. And in this particular scenario, she could have died, so...

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  9. I have not read this book, but it sure sounds interesting. And, Maddie, your questions are quite thought-provoking.

    For me, the brother/sister spanking would be so uncomfortable that I might put the book aside. I hate to be such a wimp, but I have a brother who used to spank me as a child and it left some psychic scars. Generally, when something hits my hot buttons, I walk away. That is not the fault of the author, but is purely my own preference.

    If I was an unmarried woman in the old west, I think I would become a shop girl. You'd meet a lot of interesting people, live in a town, and have access to goods and services.

    As I said, I haven't read this book (apologies, Dinah), but from what I gather here, Clay was a friend of Maggie's father. That allows some leeway. And much would depend on how well the brothers knew Clay as well. If the deceased father is the only connection, then it seems like pretty risky judgment on the brother's part to let Clay punish her. It doesn't take much to inflict lasting harm.

    All that being said, these are works of fiction and all the rules go out the window with the first typewritten character. People love to escape, and if you can take them to a happy place, I say go for it.

    Best wishes, Dinah, for much sucess.

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  10. Thanks for weighing in Trish and showing how personal some of these very sensitive issues can be.

    In a recent book, I also tackled the limited job options women in this era. Those lucky enought to have money could open their own shop but they still had the challenges of operating a business in a mans world. Imagine going to the bank and seeking a lone in 1880. Ugg, we are treated poorly enough now. I had a loan officer ask me once, "when is your husband coming in honey?" His funeral was not well attended.

    As for women without assets in 1880, many desparate women of the west turned to saloons and even brothels because they felt they had no other options. Most of the shop girls were the store owner's own family. Dress shops and milliners might be the exception as there was more volume of work but one had to have skilled hands to be employable.

    All in all it was a sad situation. Thankfully we don't live in the 19th century and an author like Dinah, can create a HEA for a heroine like Maggie, by sending a sexy cowboy like Clay riding in on his horse, to sweep her off her feet and into his arms to save the day.

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  11. Trish, thanks for stopping by! There is, thankfully, no brother spanking in this book! Rest assured! :) As far as Clay is concerned, he was mainly a friend of the father's but Wesley, her eldest brother, knows him fairly well since he'd just come to talk to him about Maggie...oops spoiler alert! We don't find this out until Book 2. So a lot of people's questions--that I didn't even realize would be questions, honestly--will be answered there! Thanks for contributing to the discussion!

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  12. You ladies got a good discussion going on today! I didn't get a chance to read this book yet, but based on the blurb and the answers to the questions I will definitely read it!!

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  13. Dinah, your book is in my TBR pile, and after reading all the comments I want to get off line right now and read it. But first, I'll answer Maddie's questions.

    1.) Brother and sister spankings. I'm an only child, so I never had a sibling who fought with me, let alone laid into me. I'm in the camp that if he's the HoH, and it's over clothing, it's okay.

    2.) I've no doubt Maggie felt trapped, and I would most likely feel the same way. From the excerpts I've read, her sister-in-law could vie for the B*tch of the year award and win. I probably would have gotten angry and run away, just like Maggie did.

    3.) Clay is the hero. I'm not sure if the brothers knew him as well as the father, but he rescued her and brought her home, when she could have gotten in a lot of trouble at the saloon. That alone probably made him a "good guy" in her brothers' eyes. I'm sure they believed she should be punished for running away, and since she lied to her rescuer, it seems only right.... It's a spanking romance after all.

    4.) For me personally, the severity is often too much. I'm more of a wimp than Maddie claims to be. Twenty, for me, is the high end. Actually, I crumble at the mere threat, and I'm a good girl, most of the time. A part of me would love to be a brat, but I can't quite manage it.

    I think this is going to be a great series, Dinah, and I look forward to reading them all.

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    1. Kat, thanks so much! You are so sweet! I enjoyed your comments thoroughly especially the more personal ones. I'm not going to tell my husband, though, he'd get too jealous wondering what his life would be like with a good girl. :) I don't think I'm a Libby, but definitely strong willed at times.

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