His Lordship's Apprentice

This is my 'H' post for the Spanking A-Z Blog Challenge. "What's that?" you ask. Check out my page here for more information and a list of all the wonderful bloggers taking part.

Buy it now! Even if you have it already. Because, you know, that would make me happy.

This is a very short and sweet post. You may even call it 'hastily cobbled together' if you were feeling uncharitable.

But, blimey, this writing a blog post every day is a bit of a challenge. Especially if you are as disorganised as I am. And, yes, I know I can skip a couple of days what with there being more days in June than there are letters of the alphabet, but hey as today's letter is 'H' and one of my books starts with the letter 'H', I figure I can just bung in an excerpt from said book and consider the job done.

So here you go, enjoy a nice long snippet from my very first spanky romance novel, His Lordship's Apprentice.

There's no sex or spanking in this excerpt but I am rather fond of this bit. His Lordship's Apprentice is basically a Cinderella story. The heroine, Violet Plover starts off as an impoverished scullery maid who nevertheless secures the admiration of her titled employer, Lord Hardcastle. Her life is transformed when she becomes the onstage assistant for Lord Hardcastle's successful magic act. And later, despite her incredibly humble origins, his cherished wife. (I would have put a spoiler warning in there, but, hey, I think it's fairly obvious from the start where our heroes' story is headed.)

This scene takes place immediately after Violet has accepted Lord Hardcastle's offer of working with him onstage as his assistant. Their first task as theatrical colleagues is to go and see the popular Victorian magic act, Maskelyne and Cooke that very evening.

Attending the theatre with a member of the nobility presents a sartorial challenge for a young girl with a limited wardrobe. If only she had a Fairy Godmother to help her out.

Violet stood on tiptoes, trying to see enough of herself in the small oval mirror on her bedroom wall to decide if her attire was suitable for a night at the theatre. Not that it would matter if it wasn’t, she thought glumly. She only had one dress to wear which wasn’t a maid’s uniform. Her simple blue dress had seemed pretty enough at the Spring Fair but she knew it wasn’t really smart enough for an evening spent in the company of a Lord. 

She had polished her boots so that they gleamed but they were still practical leather boots designed for working. She had been excited by Lord Hardcastle’s offer to take her to the Egyptian Hall, but looking at her limited wardrobe made Violet think that the whole idea was hopeless.

There was a sharp knock on the door and in walked Mrs Davenport, the Housekeeper. Violet would admit to be slightly frightened of Mrs Davenport. She was always brusque with the girls and brooked no nonsense while the maids were on duty. 

“I hear you are attending the theatre with his Lordship tonight.” She looked Violet up and down. “This won’t do.” 

Could she stop me attending? thought Violet, panicked. She didn’t think so but she would have no idea what to say to Mrs Davenport if she tried. 

“I could have done with a bit more notice,” Mrs Davenport continued. “Like as not his Lordship would have been happy to buy you a gown suitable but there’s no time now. Still I’ve brought a few things as might help.” She placed some items on Violet’s bed. There was a delicate shawl, some shoes and a silver comb decorated with sparkling jewels that Violet suspected might be sapphires. “These were given to me by his  mother, Lady Hardcastle as was, when I was her lady’s maid. God rest her soul. I doubt they’re much the fashion now but you may as well borrow them. Lord knows, I have little chance to use ‘em.” She passed the shoes to Violet. They were kidskin leather with silk ribbons. “Put these on. They’ll do better than them boots you’re wearing.” 

Violet tried the shoes on eagerly. They were a little large but not so anyone would notice. She felt more elegant already. 

Mrs Davenport draped the shawl around Violet’s shoulders. It was made of a thin silver fabric which complimented the blue of her dress nicely. 

“Now let’s sort your hair out,” said Mrs Davenport undoing the plait that Violet had fastened in her hair earlier. She brushed through Violet’s hair and then with nimble fingers styled it into an elegant chignon which she secured with the silver comb. 

Mrs Davenport took a step back and looked at Violet critically. “Well you’ll not be fooling anyone you’re a Duchess, that’s for sure. Still, you’re certainly pretty enough and that covers a multitude of sins.” 

“Thank you so much, Mrs Davenport,” said Violet “This was very kind of you.”

“Hmmph.” said Mrs Davenport. “Well you’d best not keep his Lordship waiting.”

His Lordship's Apprentice is available from the following retailers:

Blushing Books

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

Domestic Service

This is my 'D' post for the Spanking A-Z Blog Challenge. "What's that?" you ask. Check out my page here for more information and a list of all the wonderful bloggers taking part.

Violet Plover, the heroine of my first book His Lordship's Apprentice, is a scullery maid at the home of our hero, Lord Hardcastle. She is far older than most scullery maids actually would have been at the end of the nineteenth century. Most girls in service started as children and scullery maid was very much the bottom-most rung in the hierarchy of servants. I had to tweak the story a bit to ensure that she could hold this lowly position while still being old enough to take part in the sort of things required in a spanky erotic romance.

Just your everyday story of  a scullery maid who lucks out to an extraordinary degree.

In 1891, one in three women between the ages of fifteen and twenty were employed in domestic service. Violet had a far better time of it than her real-life counterparts, progressing quickly from scullery maid to parlour maid to onstage magician's assistant to Lord Hardcastle's alter ego "The Marvellous Marvelo". Do things between Violet and her sexy, titled boss progress further still? (Spoiler: Yes. Of course they do.)

The following scene takes place near the beginning the story. Following an unfortunate incident in the dining room involving an escaped dove and a lot of bad language, Violet has been summoned to Lord Hardcastle's study. Nobility such as Lord Hardcastle wouldn't normally be involved in the hiring and firing of lowly domestic staff. Violet has no idea what to expect from this encounter. But, hey, this is a spanky romance. You can probably guess how it's going to pan out.

Lord Hardcastle turned to Violet. “Very well,” he said. “To business. I understand that you have been in my service for two months.” 

“Yes, my Lord” Violet replied. Her nervousness rendered her throat so dry that she could barely speak at all. Was that a sufficient response she wondered? Should one provide more information when addressing a lord or speak as little as possible? She honestly had no idea. Much as she had been warned that Lord Hardcastle was highly irregular compared to other men of his station, she hadn’t imagined that a scullery maid such as herself would have to interact with his Lordship face to face. Certainly not this soon.

Ah well, Violet reasoned, it hardly mattered. She fully expected to be fired without a reference and doubted she would need to interact with the nobility again.

“Well, Violet,” continued Lord Hardcastle, oblivious to Violet’s internal panic. “Firstly, I want to thank you for the swift way you dealt with my escaped dove. I should not have left her on the table like that and it was understandable that you disturbed her. You dealt with the recapture very professionally. I was impressed. She is a trained bird and very valuable. I should have hated to see her injured or upset. Thank you.” 

Violet stared at Lord Hardcastle in shock. This was not what she had anticipated. 

“However,” Lord Hardcastle continued. “There are standards of behaviour – and of course language – we uphold to in this house. I reserve the right to entertain visitors in my own home without them being subjected to the kind of words that would shock a sailor.” 

Violet’s heart sank once more. “I am very sorry, my Lord” she mumbled. 

“I am sure you are,” responded Lord Hardcastle. “I am also sure you are a valuable member of staff here. I have no desire to terminate your employment over this incident. However, you will be punished.” 

“Yes, my Lord.” 

“I’ll offer you the choice, Violet. Either you can forfeit a day’s wages or submit to a spanking.” 

Violet’s head was a confusion of different emotions. While she was elated that she still had a job, she was truly terrified at the prospect of being physically punished by Lord Hardcastle. She knew she didn’t have a choice. She could not afford to lose a day’s wages; her family were relying on her. 

“I will take the spanking, my Lord.”

Domestic servants are usually the bit-players in books. Historical romances normally focus on the lives, loves and, hopefully spankings, of the nobility.

However, there are some great examples of books where the domestic staff get the chance to enjoy sex and/or romance with their employers out there. Below are three of my favourites.

Geneva DeCroix's The Lady's Maid (which annoyingly, now seems to be only available to purchase separately as single chapters rather than the complete book that I bought) follows the story of Jesslina who accepts the post as a Lady's Maid to the wife of Lord Piers. Lord Piers household is a veritable orgy of sex and sexy violence. Everyone fucks and spanks everyone, it seems. The story starts with Jesslina receiving a harsh spanking from Lord Piers, but soon she's watching the male servants being beaten and buggered by the butler and happily administering punishments to the mistress herself. Honestly, they're all at it.

Utter filth. In a good way.

Maren Smith's Angel of Hawkhaven is an altogether more romantic affair. Ella Rayette is down on her luck following the death of her debt-ridden father and forced to work in a tavern where she is rescued from a savage beating from her boss by a mysterious 'angel'. She promptly steals his watch because, hey, a girl's got to get by somehow. Awkwardly, when she procures a new position as lady's maid to a difficult and demanding woman with a severe disability, she discovers that her new boss - the lady's brother  - is none other than her 'angel', Matthew Hawkhaven. It's a wonderful and unexpectedly moving story in which Ella struggles to prove herself in her new position while battling the conflicting feelings she feels towards the Master of the house.

Beautifully written historical romance

And for absolute, adorable romance, look no further than Renee Rose's Pleasing the Colonel. Our heroine Amanda Downy has been employed as a governess to the children of widowed Colonel Watson. As a governess, Amanda is not really one of the servant classes. Nor, of course, is she one of the family. Governesses occupied a sort of limbo between Upstairs and Downstairs. Although the sweet and believably written romance between Amanda and her employer means that she is certainly headed Upstairs. (And that sounded a lot more innuendo-y that I intended it.) This was one of the first books I read by Renee Rose and it is still one of my absolute favourites

"He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a leather strap." Mm.

If  you can recommend any books where domestic servants get to enjoy some sexy, spanky or romantic action, then please let me know in the comments. I do love a historical romance. Real life servants may have had a terrible time of it but, happily, their fictional erotic counterparts get to have a lot more fun.

Anger (and other deadly sins...)

This is my 'A' post for the Spanking A-Z Blog Challenge. What's that I hear you ask? Check out my page here for more information.

When it comes to sinning, I reckon I'm halfway there. Of the seven deadly sins (made famous by Dante's Divine Comedy and that movie with - spoiler! - Brad Pitt's wife's head in a box), there are three that I regularly indulge in, three that I don't and one that I'm not really sure about. Pride? Do I do that? Is that even a sin, do we think? ("Hey, you got your degree, you should be really proud of yourself." "Thanks, I am." "SINNER!")

There's quite a bit of weird shit in Dante's books, to be fair

Gluttony, lust and sloth are all key motivators in my life. The importance of each of these things switches around depending on the time of day (and time of month, come to think of it) but generally if you need someone who is an expert in eating too much, having sex (sometimes even with other people) and twatting about on the internet for hours on end to no productive purpose, well then I am your woman. (Slothfulness is so much easier these days than in Dante's time. They probably didn't even have Cracked.com in the fourteenth century.)

On the other hand, envy, avarice and anger aren't really my thing at all. Maybe all the snacking and web browsing and wanking distracts me from furiously coveting my neighbour's possessions and trying to achieve my dream of diving into massive piles of wealth like Scrooge McDuck. Sloth and avarice aren't really compatible bedfellows, anyway.

I do occasionally get angry. Not necessarily about the right things, mind. I feel like I am always banging on about my depression here, but as I am sure many of you know, 'sadness' isn't the only emotion associated with depression. Most of the time, depression robs you of feeling any emotion at all. Sometimes, however, it can make you feel angry for no good reason. I was flicking through one of those free magazines you get at the supermarket a few weeks ago and every single thing in it made me ridiculously bloody furious. All these products are stupid! All this food looks horrible! None of it should exist! Cadbury's Dairy Milk Puddles? Fuck the fuck off.

Becoming incandescent with rage about the existence of a confectionery product is not something that guides to 'Living with Depression' necessarily warn you about.

Usually, though my anger levels never really rise feeling a bit miffed. Any disgruntlement usually passes pretty quickly.

Anger is a common theme in spanky romance books, of course. Romantic heroes and heroines usually have a lot of issues and misunderstandings and conflict to work through before they can reach their happily ever afters so it's no wonder that tempers can get a bit frayed along the way.

It's an interesting subject to tackle because as any responsible adherent to a BDSM or Domestic Discipline lifestyle knows, anger and spanking really shouldn't mix. It's perfectly fine to punish but if you go around hitting people in anger then that's when things can get awkward. It's the sort of thing that is embroidered onto a sampler and hung on the walls of BDSM clubs.

Or would be. If I were in charge of a BDSM club.

This issue is handled very well in Renee Rose's The Bossman. In the below snippet the hero Joey is angry at his girlfriend Sophie. She has made some bad decisions and when you're involved in the mafia, bad decisions have the potential to be very bad indeed.

“You could’ve been killed, Sophie! Or you could’ve got me killed for breaking the code and telling you. Jesus Christ, Soph!” 

“Jesus, yourself, Joey!” she yelled back. “Why don’t you just spank me and get it over with?” 

“I’m going to,” he thundered. “But I’m too angry to touch you right now!” 

She drew in a sharp breath, realizing how meticulous he’d been to not lay a finger on her. Instead, he’d shaken the chair she sat in, banged on the end table beside her, waved his hands in the air. 

Hearing he was mad reduced her to a small child. She drew her knees up to her chest, perching her bare feet on the seat cushion and hiding her face, her tears turning into a full sob. She must’ve looked pitiful, because when Joey knelt beside her and peeled her hands back from her face, his expression was kind. “I’m sorry. Don’t be scared, little girl.”

I cover a similar theme in my first book, His Lordship's Apprentice. Lord Hardcastle is justifiably very pissed off indeed when following a misunderstanding his stage apprentice, Violet, throws a prop at his face with enough force to leave him with a bruise and a cut below his eye.

Violet’s rage may have subsided but Lord Hardcastle’s was only just beginning. His face was set as hard as granite. He grabbed a leather strap which had been used to secure one of the props trunks and took several swift strides towards Violet grabbing her forcefully by the arm. He pulled her towards the desk and pushed her over the desktop so that her face was pressed against the wood and her bottom was raised in the air. His hand pressed down heavily on the small of her back so that she could not move from her position. 

Violet heard the noise of the strap swishing through the air and held her breath waiting for the thick leather to make contact with her body.

But the contact never came. Instead the strap forcefully struck the side of the desk to Violet’s left. The startlingly loud crack it made caused Violet to jump with surprise. 

Lord Hardcastle threw the strap away from him and let go of Violet. He returned to the sofa. 

“I’m too angry to do this” he said softly. “Just go.”

 Luckily in both cases, the ladies get the spankings they deserve once their spanker has had the chance to calm down a bit.

Although anger isn't a good mix with spanking scenarios, there are of course other sins available. And some of them fit very well indeed. Well maybe not gluttony - that sort of thing can lead to indigestion. And slothfulness isn't a terribly good fit either. There needs to be a certain amount of effort expended in a good spanking.

Lust, on the other hand? There's a sin which fits with spanking very nicely indeed.

Fifty Shades of Grey managed to combine spanking with a whole bunch of sins that Dante had never even thought of.
Appallingly bad film-making for one.

Saturday Spankings - She felt the sharp sting of Lord Hardcastle’s hand

I really don't think she's learnt her lesson yet. Keep going.

Hello my shiny happy fellow Spankos! Happy weekends to you all.

It's Saturday Spankings bloghop time. Therefore, I will deliver the expected eight lines of spanky, spanky goodness. Let's carry on with parlour maid Violet's first spanking from His Lordship's Apprentice, shall we?

Following some disreputable language in the drawing room, Violet has been told by her employer, Lord Hardcastle, that she is going to be punished with a spanking. His Lordship has just fetched a cane and told Violet to bend over his desk.

Violet walked to the desk; her body felt as though it was full of lead. She was shaking so much that her teeth were chattering. She leant over the wide desk as instructed. “Hold on to the far edge,” said Lord Hardcastle.

She gripped the edge of the desk and turned her face to the side. Lord Hardcastle laid the cane on the desk and stood behind her. 

Violet hardly had time to wonder why he had put the cane down before she felt the sharp sting of Lord Hardcastle’s hand as it struck her buttocks. The covering of her skirt and petticoat offered her some protection but she could still feel the force of the blow which left her bottom feeling red hot.

 And, you know what, yes I think that cane will see some action later on.

Go buy His Lordship's Apprentice now! I guarantee you'll love it.
Even if you don't like sex or spankings or canings or romantic proposals,
you can play your own "Real or Made Up?" game with my various theatre names and Victorian London celebrities.

As always, go and check out all the other awesome Saturday Spankers. (You probably already are, of course. You probably came from one of them. Hell, you probably are one of them.)

Saturday Spankings - “I will take the spanking, my Lord.”

You two again? It's like you literally never stop doing that.

Happy weekends everyone! Let's carry on where we left off last week shall we? Violet the scullery maid is about to be punished by her employer, Lord Hardcastle. He's offered her the choice of either losing a day's wages or submitting to a spanking. I think we all know how that's going to pan out.

Violet’s head was a confusion of different emotions. While she was elated that she still had a job, she was truly terrified at the prospect of being physically punished by Lord Hardcastle. She knew she didn’t have a choice. She could not afford to lose a day’s wages; her family were relying on her. 

“I will take the spanking, my Lord.” 

“Very well,” Lord Hardcastle replied. He walked to the corner of the room and to Violet’s wide-eyed horror removed a long thin cane from the umbrella stand. 

“Bend over the desk,” he instructed.

Available at all good (and some slightly evil) bookshops

And while we're talking about His Lordship's Apprentice, there was a very nice review of it on Charlie J Forrest's blog this week. I think it was nice. It's possible he's taking the piss. Either way, I'm happy. I will take all the reviews I can get. "The kind of book I could see myself recommending to my gran." probably deserves to be a book jacket quote. You know, if my books had jackets.

As always, check out the rest of the Satspankers. They're all marvellous. Almost certainly.

Saturday Spankings - "You will be punished"

New year. Not so new spanking.

Happy Saturday! I haven't been part of the SatSpanks gang for the last couple of weeks. Because of, um, not sure why really. Let's blame Christmas.

But now I'm back and feeling suitably spanky (and Saturday-y). I don't have a book I'm particularly trying to pimp at the moment (I assume you've all bought East End Girl by now) so let's go right back to the very beginning. The very first mention of spanking in my very first book, His Lordship's Apprentice.

Violet the scullery maid inadvertently came out with a few choice expletives when, unbeknownst to her, her boss, Lord Hardcastle and several of his friends were in the same room. She is about to pay the penalty.

Lord Hardcastle continued: “There are standards of behaviour – and of course language – we uphold to in this house. I reserve the right to entertain visitors in my own home without them being subjected to the kind of words that would shock a sailor.” 

Violet’s heart sunk once more. “I am very sorry, my Lord” she mumbled. 

“I am sure you are,” responded Lord Hardcastle. “I am also sure you are a valuable member of staff here. I have no desire to terminate your employment over this incident. However, you will be punished.” 

“Yes, my Lord.” 

“I’ll offer you the choice, Violet. Either you can forfeit a day’s wages or submit to a spanking.”

Spankings! Romance! Victorian-style showbiz! More spankings!

Have wonderful, wonderful weekends, everyone. Remember to check out the rest of the SatSpanks posts on the list below.

2014: Thank you and F**k you

I hate New Year. Stupid, made-up, melancholy festival that it is. I have recently decided to ignore the bloody thing altogether but that gets tricky when you spend the evening browsing Facebook and everything’s all “End of 2014! Beginning of 2015!”

Oh fuck the fuck off.

Maybe it’s my inner Pagan but I think that the New Year should start in Spring. It used to, you know. That’s why Aries is the first horoscope sign. Late-ish March (coincidentally around my birthday) is the proper time to celebrate New Year as far as I am concerned and you can take your Gregorian Calendar and your de facto international standards for dates  and shove them up your arse.

Aries.
So little of this picture makes sense

If I have resolutions to make, I’m doing it in Spring. Or possibly Autumn. That  always feels like a good time of year to make changes – presumably because the school year starts then and that “New Term! New Start!” mentality gets seared into your brain at an impressionable age.

You know when the worst time to make resolutions is? A week after fucking Christmas when we still have the worst of winter to get through. That’s when.

Always Winter and never Christmas, you say, CS Lewis?
We have a word for that: January!

And I hate the idea of taking stock of the previous year. “What did you achieve in the last twelve months?” Fuck off. Admittedly, while I may have in previous years had every reason to be angry about this question, my anger this year may be somewhat misplaced. Because, by any possible measure, this has been a corkingly good year for me.

This is my favourite book. Don't tell the others, though. I don't want them to fight.

• I published my first (and second, third and fourth) spanky romance books.  

• I finally got onto the property ladder (which is no mean feat for a single parent living in the most insanely expensive area of the UK outside London).

• I got my bloody degree! And a 2:1 at that! I can still scarcely believe it. Seriously, no-one gets a first. It’s literally a myth. A 2:1 is everything I ever dreamed of degree-wise. I have booked  all my graduation gubbins for next March. Tickets for my daughter and my parents? Check. Hire stupid-looking gown and hood? Check. Book photographer to do both individual and family shots of me looking stupid in my gown and holding a rolled-up bit of paper pretending to be my degree? Checkity-check. I can't wait.

And there was another thing that was rather marvellous at the time but now that it’s over, is probably contributing significantly to my melancholic mood. I thought I was going to talk about it when I started this post. On reflection, I realise I won’t be.

I'll acknowledge it was a good year. But you know, I’m still not happy with where my life’s at, right now. There’s some significant stuff I want to achieve in 2015. Luckily, I made a wish when I was stirring my Christmas Pudding so the main life-changing thing will definitely happen.

Honestly, Christmas-pudding-stirring wishes are the most reliable wishes ever. They’re even better than Birthday Cake wishes. This is based on at least ten years of research where I think all of my wishes have come true. Christmas Pudding wishes are  totally cast iron. So much so that next year, I’m going to wish for a glow in the dark unicorn that shits gold doubloons instead of wishing for stuff that will inevitably happen in the next 12 months anyway as I have previously been doing.

The flame mostly burns on MAGIC

So yeah, 2014, you were probably a brilliant year for me but right now I feel too bloody grumpy to acknowledge it.

Raises virtual glass. “To 2014. Thank you and fuck you.”

Happy Halloween!

So the other day, I gave the cover of my latest book, Lord Westbrook's Muse a bit of a Halloween makeover.  Then I felt a bit bad for all my other ladies. I didn't want Cass to be the only one enjoying the spooky fun.

So here you go, all three of my heroines on all three of my book covers getting into the Halloween spirit.

Lord Westbrook's Vamp

Lady Westbrook's Devilment

His Lordship's Apprentice Witch

Have a Happy Halloween, everyone! Or have a Hideous Halloween or a Horrible Halloween if you prefer your season a little darker (but still with alliteration, natch).

Saturday Spankings - "I'm too angry to do this"

There's no need to look so surprised, missy. This happens every week.

Happy Saturday, spankfans! And happy Labor Day to my American readership! (And my Canadian readership, of course. You guys even spell Labour Day properly).

I have no idea what Labor Day entails but if it gets you the day off work and maybe some cake then it's got to be worth having.

I just whipped these up.
I am going to eat them one after another until I feel slightly sick
and am sweating blue frosting in support of you guys.

This week's spanky snippet comes from my first book, His Lordship's Apprentice.

Former scullery maid, Violet Plover has been promoted to the position of magician's assistant to her employer, Lord Hardcastle. She's remarkably talented, agile and a quick learner. Unfortunately she's also hotheaded and prone to jumping to the wrong conclusions.

When Lord Hardcastle tentatively brings up the idea of the two of them embarking on a relationship, she assumes that he means to dishonour her and responds by shouting insults at him and hefting heavy items at his head. Lord Hardcastle is not amused.

His face was set as hard as granite. He grabbed a leather strap which had been used to secure one of the props trunks and took several swift strides towards Violet grabbing her forcefully by the arm. He pulled her towards the desk and pushed her over the desktop so that her face was pressed against the wood and her bottom was raised in the air. His hand pressed down heavily on the small of her back so that she could not move from her position. 

Violet heard the noise of the strap swishing through the air and held her breath waiting for the thick leather to make contact with her body.

But the contact never came - instead the strap forcefully struck the side of the desk to Violet’s left.

Lord Hardcastle threw the strap away from him and let go of Violet. “I’m too angry to do this” he said softly. “Just go.”

Don't worry folks! He calms down later and the spanking still happens.

Remember to check out the rest of this week's Saturday Spankers on the list below.

Saturday Spankings - An unpleasant encounter

Hi, everyone! Happy Saturday! I didn't participate in Saturday Spanks last week because Real Life got in the way but I'm back now!

I am including an excerpt from my book His Lordship's Apprentice where the heroine Violet has been followed into the dining room by the unpleasant Mr Galloway. Nothing bad is going to happen at this point, but, you know, he's not a nice guy and he's putting doubts in her mind about the legitimate nice guy, Lord Hardcastle.

 “This is the room where I saw you for the first time - that business with the escaped dove. Such naughty, terrible language you used. I hope Hardcastle punished you most severely for it.” 

Violet felt herself blush crimson. Of course, Lord Hardcastle had caned her as a punishment for the incident back when she was still his maid but she had no desire to discuss it with odious Mr Galloway as she hoped it was a private matter between herself and Lord Hardcastle. 

Had he discussed it with his friends? The idea that her punishment may have been turned into an entertaining anecdote infuriated her.

As always check out the other great links.

His Lordship's Apprentice gets reviewed on Spanking Romance Reviews

I've done a few reviews for Spanking Romance Reviews lately. Most recently Casey McKay's Emmaline's Groom which I raved about like a starstruck fangirl. Seriously, I'm like one step away from stalking the woman like an obsessed One Direction fan.

Because the only true way to appreciate art is to totally lose your shit.

So I am genuinely excited and pleased that Casey has reviewed my book His Lordship's Apprentice for Spanking Romance Reviews and that she actually seemed to rather like it.

Check out the nice things she said:

I really enjoyed this endearing story about a woman who is down on her luck and ends up having her dreams come true. Etta Stark shows a promising start with her first book. The characters were very believable and Lord Hardcastle and Violet have a chemistry between them from the very beginning

I may stitch her above words into a sampler. Or possibly have them tattooed across my lower back. (There's a lot of space there actually, I could probably fit in the whole review.)

Check out the whole thing here!

Saturday Spankings - After her spanking

For Saturday Spankings these last few weeks I have been posting excerpts from my book His Lordship's Apprentice each snippet occurring directly after the last and describing scullery maid Violet's spanking across her employer, Lord Hardcastle's knee.

The spanking is now over.

Violet rose to her feet. She tried to wipe away the tears with the side her of her hand. Lord Hardcastle passed her his pocket handkerchief. “Keep it.” 

He looked at her intently as she wiped away the tears. “Good girl,” he said. “Now, off to bed with you.”

He landed another sharp smack on her already bruised and tender bottom. 

“And try to keep out of mischief this time.”

This means I shall have to give some thought to what excerpt to share with my fellow Saturday Spankos next week. I'm not sure my work-in-progress - tentatively entitled 'Like the Lightning' - is ready to share yet but we'll see. It's almost finished but it could be all gibberish. It's hard to tell.

As always, make sure you hop about and visit all the lovely spanking writers on the below list.

Saturday Spankings - Violet's Spanking Concludes

Hello! Welcome back for another Saturday Spanking! The excerpts I have been posting for the last couple of weeks have been from my book His Lordship's Apprentice. Violet, a scullery maid working for Lord Hardcastle has been caught stealing wine by his Lordship himself. He takes her over his lap for a swift, hard spanking. The spanking is now drawing to a conclusion although the last few spanks won't be easy for our heroine...

He then laid five swats in quick succession. If Violet had though the preceding spanks were hard, they were nothing in comparison to these.  

These made her realise that he had been holding back for most of the spanking. Each of these five swats made her yelp loudly although she managed to remain in place and not jerk upwards or kick.  

Those hard swats seemed to signify that the punishment was over. Lord Hardcastle did not spank Violet further. 

She lay across his lap choking back sobs and trying to regain her breath.  

“Up you get, Violet.”

Remember to check out the other Saturday Spankers in the list below! Hope you all have wonderful weekends doing whatever makes you happiest.

Saturday Spankings - Spanking the Scullery Maid

Yay! It's the weekend! The sun in shining, the birds are chirping, the clocks go forward this weekend* - Spring most definitely has sprung.

And, of course, it's time for another Saturday Spankings excerpt.

Following directly on from last week, Violet the scullery maid is about to undergo a spanking from her employer, Lord Hardcastle after being caught in incriminating circumstances in the kitchen. As he doesn't seem at all angry when he tells Violet to go over his lap, she dares to hope that his good mood will result in a less severe punishment. That might be incredibly wishful thinking on her part...

His Lordship might not be angry but he certainly wasn’t going to be gentle on Violet’s poor backside.  

Her dress and petticoats gave her bottom some protection but every swat of his Lordship’s hand sent a new wave of pain.  

She managed not to kick or scream but she couldn’t prevent the tears streaming down her face or the sobs of pain that she tried to choke back. As she lay across his thighs, she felt his hard hand smack her again and again across every inch of her buttocks.  

He did not stop after a couple of swats as Violet had hoped he might. Rather he spanked her again and again until her beleaguered bottom felt as though it were on fire.

Hope you enjoyed it. If you haven't bought His Lordship's Apprentice yet, please do! It's available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble and Blushing Books.

If you have bought it, please let me know and tell me what you thought.

Remember to check out all the other great spanking excerpts on the Saturday Spankings blog list.


*If you're in the UK, that is. If you're American, you did it a couple of weeks ago. As anyone who works in an international environment will know, this lag is a total pain in the arse but there's no one way to reconcile it short of the USA changing its date to that of the UK's (unlikely) or us changing ours to second Sunday of March which would be weird and unnatural and wrong**. What kind of madness would follow? Moving to Mother's Day*** to May, maybe?

** I don't really think this. If I ruled the world (and I think I should), I'd abolish daylight-saving time altogether.

*** Oh yeah, it's Mother's Day in the UK this weekend, too.

Saturday Spankings - Across his Lordship's lap.

I enjoyed #SatSpanks so much last week, I figured I'd come back and do it all again.

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and responses last week. Especially since I had annoying tool of the devil - Captcha - activated without realising it which meant you had to go to extra effort to do so. I appreciate you all squinting at the little boxes, thinking "Is that a B or a 3? Wait, is it a stray cat hair on my monitor?"

I dearly hope that I have got it sorted this week. I work in IT, you know. It shouldn't be beyond me.

The below snippet is from my book, His Lordship's Apprentice and follows on directly from last week's. Having been caught in somewhat incriminating circumstances by her employer, Violet the scullery maid is about to pay the price.

Violet’s heart was racing. 

Having been at the receiving end of Lord Hardcastle’s discipline once before, she really didn’t want to be subjected to it again quite so soon. 

There was no cane this time which was a blessing. However, lying across his Lordship’s lap felt like a far more intimate proposition than bending over his desk as she had last time.

Still, there was no helping it, thought Violet and she lay across Lord Hardcastle’s lap as directed. He seems in a good humour, she thought to herself. Perhaps the spanking would not be that hard. 

She realised the error of that supposition at the first swat.

Thanks for stopping by. It's been lovely. We must do this again sometime.

And remember to check out the other blogs on the list!

Saturday Spanks!

Well, this is all very exciting. My first ever participation in the Saturday Spanking bloghop.

I am sure you are all familiar with what's involved. That's probably why you're here in the first place (hello!) but just in case anyone isn't in the know, SatSpanks is a weekly opportunity for spanking authors to post 8 lines from one of their books and for spanking readers to hop about the place reading all those lovely snippets.

My extract is from my book His Lordship's Apprentice (available from all good retailers, folks!).

Violet Plover, a scullery maid has been caught by her employer, Lord Hardcastle stealing wine from the kitchen. Her attempt to avoid being caught by hiding in the tiny wine cupboard didn't work as well as she hoped.

Lord Hardcastle peered inside the wine cupboard. “How on earth did you manage to fit in there?” he asked. “I appreciate that there isn’t much of you but even so... that cupboard’s tiny, I can barely fit my foot in there.” 

Violet shrugged slightly, “I’ve always been good at fitting into small spaces - I am unbeatable at Hide and Seek.” 

Lord Hardcastle laughed, “I bet you are.” 

“Anyway” he continued with the air of a man who has business to attend to, “Let’s get this over with.” He seated himself on a nearby kitchen chair and patted his lap. 

“My Lord?” 

“Oh come now, Violet, you don’t think you are going to get away without being punished for this, do you? I have caught you red-handed and now intend to see to it that your bottom ends up the same colour.”

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and remember to check out all the Saturday Spanking links in the linky list below.

His Lordship's Apprentice - Caned in the Study

Below is an extract from my book, "His Lordship's Apprentice" which is available from all these lovely places:

Blushing Books
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes & Noble

Why not buy it from all four and quadruple your enjoyment? (Disclaimer: There's a possibility this will not actually quadruple your pleasure. Only mine. Perhaps buy it once and then read it four times instead.)

The story is set in Victorian London and following an unfortunate incident in the dining room, scullery maid Violet has been summoned to the study of her boss, Lord Hardcastle.

Lord Hardcastle rose from behind his desk as Dawkins and Violet entered the room.

"Thank you, Dawkins. That will be all."

If Dawkins was ruffled by this instruction, he didn't show it. It was, of course, a butler's job to remain unruffled.

"Very well, my Lord." Dawkins bowed slightly and exited the room, leaving Violet alone with Lord Hardcastle.

Lord Hardcastle turned to Violet. "Very well," he said. "To business. Your name's Violet Plover, is that correct? I understand that you have been in my service for two months."

"Yes, my Lord," Violet replied. Her nervousness rendered her throat so dry that she could barely speak at all. Was that a sufficient response? Should she provide more information when addressing a lord or speak as little as possible? She honestly had no idea. Much as she had been warned that Lord Hardcastle was highly irregular compared to other men of his station, she hadn't imagined that a scullery maid such as herself would have to interact with his Lordship face to face. Certainly not this soon. Ah well, it hardly mattered now. She fully expected to be fired without a reference and doubted she would need to interact with the nobility again.

"Well, Violet," continued Lord Hardcastle, oblivious to Violet's internal panic. "Firstly, I want to thank you for the swift way you dealt with my escaped dove. I should not have left her on the table like that and it was understandable that you disturbed her. You dealt with the recapture very professionally. I was impressed. She is a trained bird and very valuable. I should have hated to see her injured or upset. Thank you."

Violet stared at Lord Hardcastle in shock. This was not what she had anticipated.

"However," Lord Hardcastle continued. "There are standards of behaviour – and of course, language – we uphold to in this house. I reserve the right to entertain visitors in my own home without them being subjected to the kind of words that would shock a sailor."

Violet's heart sunk once more. "I am very sorry, my Lord," she mumbled.

"I am sure you are," responded Lord Hardcastle. "I am also sure you are a valuable member of staff here. I have no desire to terminate your employment over this incident. However, you will be punished."

"Yes, my Lord."

"I'll offer you the choice, Violet. Either you can forfeit a day's wages or submit to a spanking."

Violet's head was a confusion of different emotions. While she was elated that she still had a job, she was truly terrified at the prospect of being physically punished by Lord Hardcastle, but what choice did she have? She could not afford to lose a day's wages; her family was relying on her.

 "I will take the spanking, my Lord."

"Very well," Lord Hardcastle replied. He walked to the corner of the room and to Violet's wide–eyed horror, removed a long thin cane from the umbrella stand.

"Bend over the desk," he instructed.

Violet walked to the desk; her body felt as though it were full of lead. She was shaking so much that her teeth were chattering. She leant over the wide desk as instructed.

"Hold on to the far edge," said Lord Hardcastle.

She gripped the edge of the desk and turned her face to the side. Lord Hardcastle laid the cane on the desk and stood behind her. Violet hardly had time to wonder why he had put the cane down before she felt the sharp sting of Lord Hardcastle's hand as it struck her buttocks. The covering of her skirt and petticoat offered her some protection, but she could still feel the force of the blow that left her bottom feeling red–hot.

Lord Hardcastle then continued with a volley of swats to her rear, covering every square inch of her bottom so that her backside smarted from the very top to the crease at the bottom where her buttocks met her thighs. Violet had managed not to scream or move from her position across his desk. Tears were running freely down her face as her bottom throbbed in pain.

She realised his Lordship had stopped spanking and thought for one glorious moment that the punishment might be over. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lean across and pick up the cane.

"You are doing very well, Violet," said Lord Hardcastle. "Four strokes of the cane and then it will be over."

Four strokes? How bad can it be?

The first cut of the cane answered that question. It whistled through the air and landed at the highest part of Violet's buttocks, hitting both cheeks with an almost unbearable force.  It took all of Violet's strength not to leap from the desk and hop around the study in agony.  She would not, she vowed to herself. His Lordship had offered her the chance to redeem herself and she was determined not to jeopardise it. She steeled herself for the next stroke of the cane, which came down quickly an inch below the first. Her bottom throbbed so much that it felt like it had its own pulse. The pain was excruciating. The third stroke hit just below the second one. Violet sobbed into Lord Hardcastle's desk as she continued to grip it tightly. Lord Hardcastle took a step back in order to administer the last stroke of the cane. She heard the cane whistle through the air for the fourth time and then it hit the delicate part of her buttocks just above her legs. Every stroke of the cane had made its mark on her backside through the fabric of her maid's uniform. Violet felt them just as keenly as if they had been applied directly to the skin itself.

"You took your punishment well," said Lord Hardcastle. "Well done. You may get up now." He walked across the room and rang a small bell attached to the wall. Violet hadn't moved from her position across the desk. Her tears were still flowing freely and the pain in her throbbing buttocks made her disinclined to move at all. "Violet, I have called Dawkins to come and collect you and take you back downstairs. I suggest that you get up now as you may not want him to see you in your current position."

Violet stood as directed and once again tried to wipe her tears with the heel of her hand. Lord Hardcastle passed her his handkerchief.

When Dawkins arrived, Lord Hardcastle spoke to him directly. "Violet and I have spoken. Rest assured the matter is now resolved. No further admonishments are required regarding the matter."

"Of course, my Lord," replied Dawkins.

"I believe you told me that Violet is currently a scullery rather than upstairs maid, and that she wouldn't normally be clearing up the dining room?"

"That is correct, sir," replied Dawkins. "Apologies, there were... extenuating circumstances."

"Not at all, not at all." Lord Hardcastle waved away Dawkins' apology. "I think Violet is eminently well suited to upstairs work. Please ensure that she is promoted to parlour maid immediately and that this is reflected in her weekly wage packet."

"Very good, my Lord."

Violet followed Dawkins downstairs, her mind reeling.

On the one hand, she had just received the most brutal correction of her life at the hands of Lord Hardcastle. The pain was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Just walking down the corridor caused her petticoats to rub against her bruised bottom in a way that was almost unbearable. On the other hand however, Lord Hardcastle had made it clear that he did not retain any ill will; he had thanked her for recapturing his dove and most astounding of all, he had promoted her to parlour maid and ensured that she would get an increase in her salary to boot.

Despite the pain in her bottom, despite the humiliation of being bent over Lord Hardcastle's desk and spanked and caned like a naughty schoolchild, Violet's main feelings at that moment were of gratitude and relief.

Hello!

Well, hello there. Come in. Make yourself comfortable. Cup of tea? Maybe a mini-twix? (Well I say, 'twix' but they're actually Sainsbury's own pretend twixes because I think the biscuit tastes nicer.)

As of last weekend, I became a published author of spanking fiction. My first book, His Lordship's Apprentice was published by Blushing Books.

You'd think my life would have been a whirlwind of excitement, glamour and mild sexual fetishism since then but, nah, not so much. Largely, because I haven't actually told anyone I've written it. 

I'm not ashamed of it - I'm rather fond of it in fact. But I think the half dozen or so opportunities I find for the protagonist to spank the heroine's bottom rather gives away more about my own sexual fantasies than I want my real-life friends and family to know about. And there's sex in it. Penises* and everything. (Although I have been advised by my publishers to try to make it hotter next time. "Don't be afraid to be a little less restrained; remember, you are writing for an erotica market and it's OK to be a little more descriptive, or frank with your language." they said.)

So I'm quietly checking my Amazon rankings (without the slightest clue what they mean with regard to actual book sales) and writing the next spanking novel which I am tentatively calling "Like the Lightning" because it's both a quote from Romeo & Juliet and a cunning reference to the hero's work with electricity.  Given that I've been told to be less restrained in my sex scenes, expect even more penises next time. Well the same number of penises** but described in greater detail and more enthusiastically employed.

Please go read the first chapter of my book on Blushing Books website. (You get slightly more of it there than if you get a free Kindle sample from Amazon. That one cuts you off before the first spanking.) And then go buy it for actual cash money if you like. If you're a fan of short, sweet romantic fiction set in late Victorian London with a load of spankings and numerous references to magic tricks and London landmarks then it's incredibly fortunate you stopped by. Bit of a lucky coincidence really.

* Well, one penis.
** Still one penis.