Trusting Ingrid

#Saturday spankings - constant craving

Thanks for joining the writers on the Saturday Spanking blog hop.

This weekend I’m sharing bits from Trusting Ingrid.

Ingrid has spent her entire life looking after number one. Charming when she needs to be, she can lie more persuasively than an Academy-award winning actor. After all, society’s rules don’t apply to her.

If her outrageous behavior made her happy, it wouldn’t be so bad. But she’s a desperate woman, wrestling with alcoholism and not winning the battle.

In this scene, she had just accepted Lachlan’s offer to help her get her life on track.

Lachlan, a man with a commitment to rehabilitating feral, frightened creatures, is taking her in hand. This is her first spanking.

From Trusting Ingrid, book 3 in the Romancing the Coast series:

Lachlan shimmied his right hand under Ingrid’s hips, forcing her bottom in the air before cramming a pillow under to hold her backside high.

“You have a beautiful ass,” he said.

Ingrid relaxed at the compliment, not expecting the fierce smack that followed. It echoed in the room, for a second drowning out the sound of the fire.

She yelped as the pain sank in. A second stroke followed. Then another, more intense with a sharper bite. The amount of burn he could deliver with his wide palm and long fingers defied belief. He must be using an implement she hadn’t seen. Surely a man’s simple hand couldn’t hurt so much.

She gulped. “No.”

Lachlan stopped. “Those weren’t strong enough to hurt a fly, which is why the color of your bottom will be the deciding factor of when you’ve had enough.”

He sounded amused, as if he was nothing more than a masseuse working through a stubborn knot in a muscle.

“If I listened to your complaints, I’m sure I’d have to stop after a few strokes.”

The air stuck in Ingrid’s lungs as she braced herself for what was coming next.

One smack followed another after that, so closely paced, it was impossible to know where the pain from one ended, and the next one began. Ingrid wheezed from the shock and sting. The pre-heating in front of the fire now magnified every stroke as Lachlan’s hand fell relentlessly on her bottom. First one cheek, then the other. Then what felt like a dozen on one side before a dozen more on the other. She wriggled and danced on his lap, reaching back to stop him. He pinned her hands to the small of her back without breaking the pace of the punishment.

She wanted it. She hated it. She wanted him in control like that. She wanted to be helpless, to surrender to his will. She craved the lack of control.

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#SaturdaySpankings - the schedule

Welcome to the Saturday Spanking blog where every week we look at who is in the naughty corner.

I hope you enjoy this excerpt from my latest book Trusting Ingrid.

Ingrid has spent her entire life looking after number one. Charming when she needs to be, she can lie more persuasively than an Academy-award winning actor. After all, society’s rules don’t apply to her.

If her outrageous behavior made her happy, it wouldn’t be so bad. But she’s a desperately unhappy woman, wrestling with alcoholism and not winning the battle.

In this scene, she had just accepted Lachlan’s offer to help her get her life on track.

Lachlan, a man with a commitment to rehabilitating feral, frightened creatures, intends to take her in hand.

From Trusting Ingrid, book 3 in the Romancing the Coast series:

“I’m going to spank you tonight. That much you’ve figured out already, right?” Lachlan asked, although it wasn’t really a question.

She nodded hesitantly.

“What you may not realize is that I consider your problems, your bad behaviors, to be long term, entrenched habits that can only be broken and rebuilt over a period of time, with regular and consistent correction.”

Ingrid froze. “Period of time? What does that mean? What is consistent correction?”

“The initial period will be a month. For the next four weeks you will be spanked at least once a day.”

Ingrid gasped. “No!”

“Yes” Lachlan kissed her neck.

With his warm lips caressing her skin, her determination to resist him weakened. She protested feebly, “That’s too much.”

“It’s barely a start, considering some of the things you’ve done. The spankings aren’t the only important thing. Far more important is your submission. That will tell me that you know you need to change, that you consent to my direction for the process.”

“At least once a day?” She hated the timidity in her voice.

“Once a day to pay for old sins. More than that for new offences. You’re lucky. Today you’re only going to be punished for today’s wrongdoing.”

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#SaturdaySpankings - Boundaries

Welcome to the Saturday Spanking blog where naughty behaviour usually ends up with the roasting of someone's backside.

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my latest book Trusting Ingrid.

Ingrid has spent her entire life looking after number one. Charming when she needs to be, she can lie more persuasively than an Academy-award winning actor. After all, society’s rules don’t apply to her.

This scene happens shortly after she has behaved outrageously in a movie theatre.

Lachlan, a man with a commitment to rescuing feral, frightened creatures, intends to take her in hand.

From Trusting Ingrid, book 3 in the Romancing the Coast series:

“Until you’ve got a much stronger moral compass, you obviously need help.” Lachlan patted Ingrid’s two clasped hands with his free one before letting them go.

She sat back, savoring the lingering strength of his touch. Heat rose from her clenching pussy. This was it, the dangerous, exciting aspect of love that she’d been so curious about.

Lachlan drummed the table with his left hand. “Yes, I will punish you. As you demonstrated tonight at the cinema, you have few boundaries. I will help you develop a few more. I don’t want to take over your life or make all your decisions for you. What I want is to help you make better decisions by yourself which is a simple matter of training and practice, otherwise known as discipline. The only discipline worth a damn is self-discipline. If you want to be with me, you’re going to need a lot of it. I’m willing to help you get it. Are you willing to let me? Are you willing to be accountable to me?”

“Starting when?” Ingrid asked in a whisper.

“Starting as soon as we get home.”

“That’s not fair,” she protested. “I didn’t know that rule when we got to the movie.”

“I didn’t say it was fair. But you have between now and when we pull up at Casa Morrison to decide if you’re willing to abide by my terms. They aren’t negotiable.”

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#SaturdaySpankings - a challenge for Lachlan

Welcome to the Saturday Spankings blog hop where some of your favourite writers share their work. Today I'm sharing Trusting Ingrid.

Ingrid is incredible in the old-fashioned sense of the world – almost beyond belief.

She has spent her entire life looking after number one. Charming when she needs to be, she can lie more persuasively than an Academy-award winning actor. After all, society’s rules don’t apply to her.

If all this made her happy, it wouldn’t be so bad. But she’s a desperately unhappy woman, wrestling with alcoholism and not winning the battle.

Enter Lachlan, a man with a commitment to rescuing feral, frightened creatures.

From Trusting Ingrid, book 3 in the Romancing the Coast series:

Ingrid melted against Lachlan, driving her long powerful thighs against his. She was hungry, her need at least as great as his. He could feel it in the heat pouring from every cell in her body.

Then she shut herself down.

She wanted control, a power-exchange game he knew well. 

What does a control freak need the most? Someone to take over the helm for a while. When he told her he’d spank her, he’d swept his hand over her breast. Sure enough, her nipple had hardened at his words. That was all he needed to know. Even if she said she wouldn’t pick him up at the airport, he’d come back here anyway. She wasn’t going to get away that easily.

The biggest challenge with Ingrid would be reading her true desire. Even if she said she was direct, sex was never that simple. Lachlan’s type of sex was even more precarious. He’d have to get her consent without her conceding any sort of defeat.

Conquering a woman of Ingrid’s complex combination of strength and frailty would be like walking through a minefield. He couldn’t wait to get back to her.

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#SaturdaySpankings - Incredible Ingrid

Ingrid is incredible in the old-fashioned sense of the world – almost beyond belief.

She has spent her entire life looking after number one. Charming when she needs to be, Ingrid can lie more persuasively than an Academy-award winning actor. After all, society’s rules don’t apply to her.

If all this made her happy, it wouldn’t be so bad. But she’s a desperate woman, wrestling with alcoholism and not winning the battle.

Enter Lachlan, a man with a fondness for rescuing feral, frightened creatures. The first time they are alone (edited for brevity):

He pushed his fist into her hair, guiding her closer to meet in a kiss. His lips parted as they met hers. His tongue tasted of chocolate, whipped cream, and sweet strawberries. She sucked it hungrily.

Her heart pounded. Her temperature soared. This was exactly what she’d wanted – craved – since the moment she’d seen him.

When his breathing became ragged and urgent she wrenched away. “You’ve got to go to work,” she said.

He cupped her chin with his hand. “Are you a cockteaser, angel?” His eyes glinted with amusement.

“Of course not.” She smoothed her hair, walking away from him with an exaggerated swing of her hips. “That would be rude.” She breathed slowly, willing her body to cool down.

“That wouldn’t just be rude. It might get your backside tanned.”

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New release: Trusting Ingrid

My road trip has drawn to a happy conclusion and I’m home again. Just in time to share the news that Trusting Ingrid, book 3 in the Romancing the Coast series is out now.

Ingrid has been expecting to have this conversation her entire life. She’s skated on the edge of the law for so long, she’s always expected to have it with a judge or prison warden.

Blurb:

Ingrid Nickel doesn’t want to go into rehab. Again. She tried it once but it didn’t work.

When she meets Lachlan Morrison, the connection is electric. She sees a handsome man, directing and challenging, who won’t be intimidated by a powerful woman like her. He sees a woman whose bluster and sarcasm is a cover for something deep inside her that is badly broken.

The daughter of a grifter, Ingrid has grown up street-wise and lawless. Lachlan has rescued more than one creature whose bark was worse than its bite.

Will his stern, loving magic work on Ingrid?

Publishers note: Although loosely part of a series, Trusting Ingrid, a spicy romance can be read as a stand alone story. It includes scenes of domestic discipline and power exchanges.

Buy link: Amazon

Trusting Ingrid.jpg

Excerpt:

The newsreaders said the rain was part of an atmospheric river that would pass in twenty-four, maybe thirty-six, hours but Lachlan insisted they walk Cotter regardless.

“A dog like that needs lots of exercise,” he said.

Ingrid trudged along silently, unable to talk to Lachlan because they were both hunched under their hoods, deafened by the hammering downpour. In those drenched miles, Ingrid learned what it would be like to walk along a riverbed, with water constantly washing over her. By the time they were home, she was chilled, tired, and in a mood darker than the skies above. She decided to get the next bad part of the day over with, sending Lachlan the usual text.

He found her in the bedroom, playing poker on her iPad.

Without looking at him she said, “Guess what? I’m too tired for a spanking.”

He sat beside her. “Guess what? You’re getting one anyway.”

He took the iPad out of her hands and wrestled her to her feet in front of him. She stood, stubbornly not looking at him. He tried to pull her leggings and panties down. She locked her legs together, pressing her lips into a thin line, her jaw set.

“You want to make this last longer, do you?” he asked. “Because I’ve got the rest of the afternoon free. If my hand gets tired, I have a belt. You decide.”

Her eyes met his. She blinked before pulling her own pants down. She was barely across his lap when he started to spank her. Hard. He spanked her quickly, efficiently, with more force that he’d ever used before. Within seconds she forgot the rain, she forgot being embarrassed by having to ask for a spanking. She forgot everything but the river of pain being delivered to her backside. By reflex she cried for him to stop, even though she knew he wouldn’t. Every ounce of willpower she possessed was devoted to not breaking the position on his lap, even though she knew she was strong enough to get away if she wanted to.

Lachlan wasn’t a caveman dragging her by her hair to a beating because she was helpless to resist. She was physically strong. She was mentally devious. She could scream loud enough to wake the dead if she wanted to. In short, she could get up and walk away. And then what? Try to find someone else as sexy, as affectionate, as caring as Lachlan?

Impossible.

Besides, the idea of the spankings turned her on. The reality of them scared her. But they didn’t last forever and he was always so gentle after.

When the spanking stopped that afternoon, she burst to her feet like a diver coming up for air. Grateful for his determination to spank her, to not let her weasel her way out of what they both knew she needed, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing the top of his head, she said, “Thank you."

The art of submission

No, not that type of submission. But if you’re interested in this beautiful sculpture, here’s the buy link on ebay.

I’m talking about this type of submission:

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Last week I submitted my most recent novel to my publisher Blushing Books. Until they answer, I will check my mail with bated breath.

Finishing the working draft of a book always feels like the completion of a long journey. It’s when I sit back and think: how did I get to "the end" this time? I’ve seen authors discuss their writing process.  I’ve never attempted to. Perhaps because I’ve never written any two books with the identical process.

But all my books have had some common elements:

·       As soon as I get the idea for a story, I sketch out a plot arc. It includes the end of the ordinary world, halfway point, crisis, climax, and resolution.

·       For my last four books, I’ve set up Pinterest boards to collect the images that help me see the story. The board for my latest book, Trusting Ingrid, is here.

·       I make copious notes as my stories reveal themselves to me. I carry a notebook and pen always. Often it looks like it has snowed inside the house because my desk is buried under a blanket of white.

·       As I start each book, I open a new Excel workbook where I track the names and details of each character on one spreadsheet. I use another spreadsheet to track chapters. When a book is finished, a copy of the names sheet is added to the workbook called Book Bible. Then, when new characters come into a subsequent work, I can check this workbook to see if I’ve already used whatever names I want to give them. I started doing this after a workshop with the amazing Cora Seton last year. I wish I’d known the tool earlier and avoided a name duplication in two of my releases.

·       I read my books aloud as I write them. The Leading Man listens patiently. He offers suggestions, catches continuity problems, and takes notes when I wish he wouldn’t.

·       I revise. Many, many times.

·       I plug the entire manuscript into Natural Reader. I started using this with A Time For Will. A typo queen like me needs all the help she can get.

Those are the common points in my writing process as of February 2018.

This week I’m full of post-submission hope as I sketch out my next story.
What do you do after submission? Do you celebrate each step of the writing process: completing a book, submitting it, getting rejected, getting accepted, publication ... etc?

Update: February 28: Trusting Ingrid has now been accepted for publication. Watch this space for more details.