Life imitating art

I’m a worrier. I worry about social injustice, climate change, animal cruelty, racism, child poverty…the list goes on.

One of these issues seems to crop up in every book I write, either directly or indirectly.

The basic premise of His Land, His Law was inspired by days of wonderful hiking in the forests of Salt Spring Island (one of Canada’s Gulf Islands). His Land, His Law is about competing claims on an important tract of forest. Both of the main characters have indigenous roots (Luke is 1/8th Tsawout and Cara is 1/8th Inuit). She wants to save the forest, he wants to reap the material wealth that would come with its destruction.

When they confront each other, there is major conflict which, of course, is resolved by the end of the book.

One of my main pleasures in writing is being able to give stories a Happily Ever After (HEA) ending. You know, the thing that happens far too infrequently in real-life.

The Gulf Islands have seen many chainsaw conflicts. Now, four and half months after the release of His Land, His Law, a new one has arisen:

First Nations at odds over logging of reserve land on Saturna Island.

As the article concludes, the decisions about whether to log or not are never easy, like a lot of environmental and social issues. Economics and preservation will always be at odds.

That doesn’t mean we should hide from the hard choices. So I touch on them gently in my novels, in the hope that visualizing a HEA might be one step closer to finding one.

What do you worry about? If you could have a single HEA today, what would it look, smell, and taste like?

Clear-cut on Tseycum and Tsawout First Nation lands on Saturna Island. Photograph by Nick Claxton.

A new release - His Land, His Law by me!

My latest book, His Land, His Law, is live today. I loved writing this time travel-paranormal romance so much, I keep wanting to call it, His Land, His Love because Luke is a very loving character.

Blurb:

Since she inherited her parents’ home, Cara Eckford has used walks in the nearby woods as inspiration for her art, so she is shocked and upset upon finding that ‘No Trespassing’ signs have recently been put up on the property. But when she angrily confronts the land’s new owner, the infuriatingly sexy Luke McCrae, she merely earns herself a stern scolding and a sound spanking.
Despite her irritation, Luke’s bold dominance leaves Cara’s heart racing and her panties soaked. He soon proves more than ready to tame her fiery temper with his belt applied to her bare bottom, but even with tears in her eyes and her backside on fire Cara’s need for Luke cannot be denied, and when he takes her in his arms his masterful lovemaking satisfies her deeply.
Cara’s newfound romance with Luke grows stronger and more passionate with each passing day, but when conflict over his plans for her beloved forest threatens to tear them apart, can she make use of her powerful connection to both of their ancestors to convince him to change his mind?

Publisher’s Note: His Land, His Law includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Cara wants to save the forest. Luke wants to log it. He wins the first battle. Who will win the war?

Buy link: Amazon

Excerpt:

We join Luke and Cara mid-spanking. She has accepted a spanking rather than face the police after she has gone into his house when he wasn’t there:

[Luke] sighed like a man doing a difficult but essential job. “But you’re not sorry enough for my purposes. I’m going to continue until I’m sure I’ve left a lasting reminder. I may even continue until you beg me to stop.” He rubbed one cheek then the other, an almost soothing gesture except for the fact that he was telling her the session wasn’t over. “I will stop when I think you have a lasting reminder of the consequences of your misbehavior. Some of the websites I’ve read say true contrition can only be reached if I bring you to tears. Do I need to make you cry, baby doll? Is that the only way you’ll believe I mean what I say?”
“No, you don’t need to make me cry. I’m upset enough as it is.” Cara’s voice wobbled although she was speaking the absolute truth. If she could rewind her actions from the morning, she’d undo what she’d done. No, she wouldn’t. She’d be more careful to leave no trace.
She wasn’t going to share that with Luke. She said, “I know I trespassed. I know I shouldn’t have. And I’m very very sorry.”
Luke murmured something she couldn’t quite hear.
“Pardon me?”
He spanked her right cheek, then her left. Both slaps were soft, closer to love taps than punishment. “Just a little more then…”
He continued to spank her softly for what seemed like an eternity but was really only another minute or so.
By the time Luke helped her to her feet, she was hiccupping tiny sobs. Her eyes were dry, but her bottom felt like it had been stung by a thousand bees. He patted the sofa next to him but Cara snatched up her panties and slid them on before sitting down.
“You okay?” he asked, stroking her back. “You did well. You were brave.”
“Yeah. Fine.” Her hiccupping eased. “Do you always do this when you don’t like what a woman has done?”
He laughed. “Yesterday was the first time I’ve spanked a woman as punishment. What about you? Any Fifty Shades of Grey games with your boyfriend?”
“What boyfriend? No, none of that.” In spite of her stinging bottom, she gave a short bark of laughter.
Luke put an arm around her, drawing her close. He smelled like lime and wood smoke. She melted against him, trying not to accept his gesture of comfort too easily. At the same time, she wanted him to hold her, tell her everything was okay between them. But worse, she wanted way more than that. She wanted to take his handsome head in her hands and run her fingers through his hair while she planted kisses all over his face and neck.