Licorice Whips

For some reason, I've been filled with writerly ennui lately.  Meaning I've been lazy.  Or uninspired.  Uninspired to break through my laziness.  Too lazy to break through the uninspired barrier.  In any case, I haven't been writing, even here.

But, I have been reading!  (Never too lazy to read!)  So, to get back in the game, I will briefly write about something I read.

I just read the Susan Elizabeth Phillips' new book, The Great Escape.  I'm such a fan of hers, and I found her latest just as charming, funny, and sexy as all her others.  There was a great, playful sex scene in Escape, where the hero uses a licorice whip to whip the heroine (with some of that whipping between the thighs).

It got me thinking about how I just use the standard implements in my spankings stories--hairbrush, bath brush, wooden spoon, paddle, belt, crop, and I think that's it.  Phillips has inspired (inspiration--yay!) me to see if I can come up with some new ones.

Whew, okay, I've written some words.  Next up, I'll be starting my story for the Spanking Fiction Authors' Spank or Treat blog hop.  And I'll be blogging at you.

CHECK OUT THE COOL (HOT!) HALLOWEEN SPANK OR TREAT CONTEST

TOO MUCH SPANKING?

Recently I got this review for my story The Scheming Miss Sinclair:

"i really like a story where the husband has to discipline his wife for bratty behavior but this was a little to over the top. yes she did trick him to have to marry her but she loved him and wanted to be a good wife to him and she did deserve punishment but the last punishment really was cruel and undeserved."

I reread the ending, and I could see where this comment came from.  It got me thinking.

I'm someone who goes for a happy ending in pretty much every story I write, including Miss Sinclair.  But is there a point where the hero has been so harsh that a happy ending is impossible?  Is there a place where there's no going back to romantic feelings? 

One of the reasons that I often switch back and forth between the male and female point of view is that I think it can help in situations where the hero might be coming off as, if not cruel, then unfeeling, because it can show that he cares deeply about the heroine.  And when I move into the heroine's point of view, it can show thoughts and feelings, especially about being spanked, that she isn't ready to share with the hero.

Are there stories that have stopped working for you because the punishment didn't feel as if it fit the crime or because you felt like the hero was way out of line?

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

I just finished writing a new Regency spanking story (now on to proofreading!), The Scheming Miss Sinclair.  In the course of three days, the heroine, Lucy, receives four hand spankings (all on a bare bottom, one on a bare, wet bottom), two hairbrush spankings, a whipping with a willow switch, and a whipping with a crop.

Her new husband, Lord Reece, is very angry with her.  (I'm sure you must have surmised she'd made someone angry.)  It's my opinion that he has every right to be furious with her.  Lucy concocted a scheme to be found alone with Lord Reece at a ball, intentionally ruining herself, so he would be forced to marry her, something he had no desire to do. 

And yet, by the end of the three days, three days!, even with all that punishment, even with starting out their marriage in such a manner, Lucy and Lord Reece are in love.

I thought about all the other stories I've written, and realized I always go for a happy ending, usually with the characters in love, although a few just have them on friendly terms.  I pretty much always have a sensual aspect to the spankings too, not in every spanking I describe, but usually in a story, the characters get to the point where there is pleasure mixed in with at least some of the discipline.

A happily-ever-after ending just makes me happy, whether I'm reading a spanking story or writing one.

MY OBSESSION WITH RESEARCH

I've gotten all caught up researching details of Regency life for the spanking story (which at the rate I'm going  may turn into a novella) The Scheming Miss Sinclair.  I thought I'd share some sources.  Last night, I found info on:

Regency undergarments (vital to a story where a bottom is repeatedly bared)
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/corsets-and-drawers-a-look-at-regency-underwear/

http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2011/11/regemcy-era-ladys-prodigious-layers-of.html

Regency bathing (for sexy, one hopes, earl bathing his new bride and then administering a spanking to her wet bottom)

http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2011/08/bathing-customs.html

http://www.lydiajoyce.com/blog/?p=1022

I thought it was interesting that they had Pear's soap back then.

Although I read that hair washing wasn't done often, I decided I still wanted the hero to wash the heroine's hair.  Improbable, yes, but not absolutely impossible, so I decided to go for it. 

Regency hairbrushes (for I assume obvious reasons)

http://www.ehow.com/about_5091254_history-hair-brushes.html  '
The above links to an article about the history of hairbrushes.  In very early days, porcupine quills were used.  Can I get a yowch?  This is where I found out about Kent Brushes, which led to this next link.

http://www.kentbrushes.com/shopexd.asp?id=179&catid=25

This handmade hairbrush looked positively wicked, and since the manufacturing process for this particular brush has not changed in 230 years, I decided it was the one for my earl.  It kind of made me go weak in the knees.

Regency expressions (for flavor, and because I love them, though I try to use them sparingly).  I wanted to use the phrase "hung the moon," but discovered it's too modern.

http://www.georgette-heyer.com/slang.html

http://joannawaugh.com/Expressions.html

FYI, usage of the word "spank" as in a "smart, resounding slap" began 1720-1730, so my poor heroine could certainly be threatened with that word.

Regency wedding customs (my heroine tricks the hero into "ruining" her, leading to a quick marriage requiring a license the allowed a marriage without the traditional reading of the banns three weeks running)

http://www.songsmyth.com/weddings.html

http://everythingofinteresttoaromancewriter.blogspot.com/2009/10/marriage-customs-in-georgian-and.html

Regency food and drink (cause administering so many spankings requires fuel and cause I wanted my heroine to fein drunkeness)

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/category/regency-food/

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/category/regency-food/

http://www.lesleyannemcleod.com/rw_food.html

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/regency-drinks-jane-austen-food-cooker/

Regency night gowns (My heroine hasn't had the chance to wear hers as of this point in the story.  The earl seems to like her nude.  This is what I see her as having planned to wear on the wedding night.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18269526@N08/3266457288/

Aside:  What would writers of Regency stories do without Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer?  And the scholars who have explored the works of these women?

Regency titles.  (So you know when to "my lord" and whatnot.)

http://chinet.com/~laura/html/titles12.html


The research was all great fun, as well as great procrastination.  I need to do a lot of procrastination while writing, and doing research allows me to feel somewhat virtuous while slacking off.