Friday, April 11, 2014

Spanking Stories Book Club---Becoming Lady Amherst

Patricia Green is here today to talk about my newest book, Becoming Lady Amherst. I don't usually feature my own books for Spanking Stories Book Club, but when Trish volunteered, I was thrilled. 


Thank you, Celeste, for allowing me to host this discussion. Your book very much merits it, and I hope you'll get the great feedback you deserve. 


Celeste Jones has written a thoroughly entertaining tale about sparky American, Sarah MacLean, and the rakish, and very British, Lord Jeffrey Amherst. Sarah is looking for a husband, or rather, her father is looking for one for her. She's not too keen on the idea, though she's going along with it under pressure.

Caught up in a spanking scandal, Amherst and Sarah find themselves married, and poor Sarah proves she has a penchant for getting herself into trouble. Lord Amherst has a rather definitive way of dealing with her various faux pas: a solid spanking.

Jeffrey and Sarah have to navigate the waters between a loving marriage and a forced one. They come out well in the end, but plenty of humor, loving, and spankings happen first.

I truly enjoyed this book by Celeste Jones. It can easily inspire a reader to read more by her, which can be nothing but a pleasure.

Discussion questions:

(1)    Becoming Lady Amherst has some great humor, which cannot be said for all of our books. How important do you think humor is to a spanking romance novel? If you are an author, how difficult do you find writing humor into your books?
(2)    A marriage forced by scandal is not a new concept, but done well, it's one we can all find fun. Do you think the spanking that sets off the firestorm in Becoming Lady Amherst is believable, or is this one you have to suspend your disbelief for?
(3)    Celeste captures all of the senses fairly equally in this book. Do you find one sense should be more emphasized in a novel over any other one? Which of the senses affects you most as you read about it?
(4)    There is no anal sex in this novel. When considering spanking novels, how important would you rate anal play/sex?

Thanks for joining me here today!

~Trish

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I've created an FAQ for Spanking Stories Book Club. Click here to see what it says.  

Next week, Katherine Deane will be here to lead the discussion of the Sam McGee Series by Laura Smith. 

26 comments:

  1. I think that humor is definitely Celeste's trademark, and is what sets her book apart from most other spanking romances. I think humor always adds likablility to a book, no matter what the genre. But it has to be appropriate for the tone of the story. Humor offers a refreshing change in spanking romance.

    For me as an author, I don't set out to write a book with humor, my characters dictate that..

    And although I often incorporate anal into my stories, I don't feel a spanking romance must have anal. The lack of it adds to an aura of innocence to a story,

    I really enjoyed Becoming Lady Amherst. Celeste does Regency so well!

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    1. Thanks, Cara!

      Good point about the lack of anal adding to the innocence of the story. I thought about including anal at one point in the story, but since Sarah had just lost her virginity a few hours before, it seemed a bit much. But for other couples maybe not.

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    2. I think humor plays an important part in making characters realistic in fiction. People are funny sometimes. Some people bring on the goofy slapstick stuff because they're clumsy or awkward or tongue-tied. If a book makes me laugh out loud, it's a success -- and I don't mean laugh because they've misused a homonym; that's not the "nice" kinda laugh. :)

      Good comments, Cara!

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  2. I'm going to answer backwards. First anal sex in spanking fiction. I love it and it adds an edge to books that I appreciate. I sometimes miss it when it's not in a book.

    As far as humor, honestly it was that and the writing itself that made me want to read this. I think it was a post during the writing in 1st person posts Celeste did. As for adding humor into books, I agree with Cara that the book dictates that, however, I have on more than one occasion stopped part way through writing a book because I'm too serious and want more fun/humor. I think most important though is the click between characters.

    As far as the first scene being believable, I don't know - I liked it because I really liked her and him straight away for it. The banter was terrific. I think I'm easy to suspend my disbelief when it comes to a good story - it is fiction!!

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    1. Thanks, Natasha. I think you make a good point...if I like a character I'll believe anything that happens just to go along on the ride w/them.

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    2. Your comments about anal six in a spanking book are noted. Like Celeste, I can be on the fence about whether to put it in or not. I think it has to be an organic part of the situation and, let's face it, it's not for everyone.

      Thanks for adding your opinion, Natasha!

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  3. First of all, I loved reading your summary, Trish! Especially "spanking scandal" LOL. This was a great book and I really enjoyed it!

    1. I think humor is very important and Celeste incorporated it very well into this book. As a writer, I try to infuse humor in my books, but this is less purposeful and mostly because I think I'm funny and can't stop it from seeping into my writing. Now, whether readers agree or not I couldn't say.

    2. I hadn't thought about this before, but now that you mention it, yes, I find it very believable--particularly from the time period--that a young lady who behaved as Sarah did would be spanked for said behavior.

    3. I'm not quite sure how to answer this so let's go with: yay, Celeste! You Rock! :D

    4. First of all, nice question, Trish. ;) I didn't even notice there was no anal in the story. I think that speaks for itself--but no, it's not that important to me. I thought the sex scenes were pretty hot without it. :)

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    1. Thanks, Dinah!

      I know what you mean about humor seeping in. Sometimes I have to go back and take it out because I don't necessarily want the story to be too slapstick.

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    2. Thank you, Dinah. I'm glad you liked the intro.

      Becoming Lady Amherst has a lot going for it, and it sounds like you found all the good parts. Like you, I didn't notice that there were no anal sex scenes in the story until I got to the end. Then I had an ah-ha! moment. :)

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  4. I enjoy a book so much more with a little humor and this book really made me smile. The interactions between the characters was so natural, I didn't have to suspend disbeief at all. :)

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    1. When the characters mesh, the book just feels right. You can root for them so much easier when they have foibles you've seen in your own life or around you. Celeste was able to slide in some of those humorous life events smoothly.

      Thanks for commenting, Kate.

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  5. I never enjoyed spanking in books until I read Patricia Greens spanking series. Other stories always seem to be written with a demeaning quality as apposed to something mutually agreed upon on some level. I even incorporated it in my next book, which is no way erotic, but for the married couple it seemed to fit an emotional evolution in their relationship. She wasn't feeling sexy after having twins. I will have to check out this story, Celeste. Great post.

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    1. I'm proud to have been able to introduce you to spanking romance stories. You'll definitely enjoy Celeste's as hers have the same feel as mine, albeit historical. I'm excited that you're using spanking as a part of your next book. I'm sure it'll make me smile when I read it. Thanks for commenting, Cora!

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  6. I like the humor in a story. I believe that when a character is sassy and opinionated like Sarah is there is going to be humor. The first spanking that caused the scandal is very believable because Sarah was too outspoken about her opinion (loved that part). Most men do not like that so his reaction was expected. Not to sure about the senses. The anal being absence was not missed.

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    1. I agree that the humor has to fit the character's personality. If it's forced, it's obvious and doesn't belong. That chemistry is what makes Celeste's story so good. Thank you for dropping by, Shelly.

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  7. I loved the humor. I think it's hard to write unless you're already a funny person, like Celeste! It's definitely not my forte!

    I love anal, but I don't mind if it's not there. I think the sex was plenty hot in this book without it.

    The first spanking fit with their personalities, which I guess means it felt believable in that context.

    I haven't quite finished this book yet, but I'm absolutely LOVING it!! I think it might be my favorite Celeste Jones book yet!

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    1. You're so right about the sex being hot in this book. It couldn't have been better and was never disappointing or awkward. Glad you could come by, Renee. I know you're going to love the rest of the book.

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  8. Thanks everyone! When I wrote the FAQ for Spanking Stories Book Club I said this was just like your real life book club, but with today's discussion of anal sex, I'm going to guess that this book club might not be quite like most real life book clubs. And that's why it's so much fun!

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  9. I loved this book! Celeste writes humor into her stories very well. I always look forward to that when I start one of her books. As a writer, I try to add a little humor, if the characters allow it, but I'm always worried it's not really funny and I end up struggling a little with it. Suddenly I'm a self-conscious comedian: "Is this really funny?"... "What if no one laughs?"

    As for the anal, I'm fine if a spanking book doesn't have it. It's hot and can be a fun part of the discipline process, but it's not necessary, just as detailed sex isn't absolutely necessary for my enjoyment of a spanking novel.

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    1. One of the most pleasant things about spanking romance as a subgenre is that it has such a wide variety of elements. We're not all cookie-cutter products, even though we all have spanking and romance in the mix. So, like you, Sue, I find it's not necessary to have either graphic sex or anal penetration to make the book a keeper. Those things can be enjoyable, but it's the romance that forms the basis of the story for me. That's the one thing I couldn't do without. And, of course, it wouldn't be "spanking romance" without the spanky parts. :) Thanks for commenting, Sue.

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  10. I really enjoyed "Becoming Lady Amherst". As a reader, one of the things that I like about Celeste's books is the humor that she incorporates into her stories. Besides with Sarah's personality, I can't see it being told any other way.

    With these two characters, I think the first spanking at the beginning was fitting.

    As far as anal sex goes, I honestly didn't realize until I read the questions of this blog that there was no anal. So, obviously anal sex for me in a story is not too important.

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    1. It's great to get your perspective, Rhonda. I agree that Sarah's antics naturally gravitate into the humorous. Celeste does such a marvelous job with it, too.

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  11. This was an awesome book and I loved it!

    I love humor in books if it fits and Celeste always makes it seem natural. I love when there is a little part to make me chuckle, not everything has to be so serious all the time.

    About the anal sex. I love reading it, I love writing it, I did not notice the lack of it in this book so I guess I did not miss it. I don't think it needs to be there all the time, and I think because Sarah was pretty innocent when the book started and her relationship was new with Jeffrey it would have seemed like a jump.

    I thought the spanking in the beginning seemed believable. Maybe because of the time period? Yes, it is weird for a guy to spank a woman he has not even met yet, but Lord Amherst seemed confident about it. So it made it believable! And I love that she spit on him, just sayin.

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    1. Thanks for commenting, Casey. I thought the opening spanking scene was marvelous. And the spitting...priceless.

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  12. This book is next on my Nook.
    I love humor, when it fits the characters and doesn't seem forced. Unless it is a very dark story, I usually think humor can fit in with a spanking, beautifully.

    As far as anal goes, I am just as satisfied usually with a book without it. The spankings are what interest in me. So I guess I can go either way. It can be very hot. But not necessary for me to enjoy the book. Now if it only had one small spanking... that would disappoint me.

    As for senses, I like reading all of them. But when reading a spanking scene, I prefer to visualize it and "hear" it. So sound and sight are very important to me.

    Great questions, Patricia!
    I can't wait to read this!
    :)

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    1. I'm glad you could come by, Katherine. You're going to love this story.

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I love getting feedback. Thank you for taking the time to comment!