Please welcome author Starla Kaye back to the blog. In the past Starla has entertained us with posts about hair, Medieval warhorses, and posts about heroes and heroines. Today she’s here to talk about something she’s been doing for a long time…writing spanking stories. Please make Starla feel welcome by leaving your questions and comments for her at the end of this post.
Writing a spanking story
By Starla Kaye
I have been writing and publishing romances with spanking elements for over ten years and have gradually figured out what works for me. My stories vary from erotic play to light domestic discipline elements to harsher punishments, even with some BDSM at times. I do not write the severe type of discipline stories, which doesn’t mean that I don’t read them occasionally. They just aren’t the stories that I prefer to write.
Above all else in my books involving spanking, my characters trust each other. They also either love each other or are falling in love—be it a f/m or a m/m story. Even in my harshest punishment books, Hawke’s Lady (a pirate story) and Royal Directive (a sci-fi story), the hero and heroine had strong feelings for one another.
Anytime you write a romance there are a lot of basic components to consider: the time period, setting, basic mores of the time, and the general plot. Then there are the characters and their backgrounds, their emotional baggage, and their individual goals. And there are the conflicts that keep them from reaching their goals too easily, and conflicts that have the main characters basically butting heads from time to time.
In a spanking romance (which is how I refer to the stories I write), there are even more components to deal with. How intense should the discipline be in the particular story? Who is the dominant character? Who is the submissive? How does each of them feel about discipline and what made them feel that way? Do they agree between them to certain rules and certain types of punishment? Will all of the punishments be consensual, non-consensual, or a mixture?
The writer of such stories should also understand the basics of various types of discipline. This includes the how and why of the different kinds of punishment: casual, pre-emptive, disobedient, maintenance, motivational, multiple, stress relief, punishment, or erotic/play. It is also good to have knowledge of the various types of implements.
Here is an excerpt from “Snowed in with Her Cowboy” from the anthology Cowboys in Charge that shows some of what I have described. This is a couple with a struggling marriage, who have agreed on domestic discipline with certain boundaries, and they love and trust each other. This would be more of a stress relief type of discipline.
Kelly’s heart pounded, her whole body thrummed in anticipation. Her husband was going to spank her.
She’d pushed him to the breaking point this time. How had this gotten so out of control? She hadn’t meant to attack him. Her head hurt, her heart hurt. Everything in her life seemed to be wrong at the moment. Her job. Their marriage. It was Christmas time and she usually loved this part of the year. This year it was yet another burden to bear.
James sat down on the side of the bed and drew her to his side, jerking her from her musings. “This isn’t necessary,” she said and looked anxiously at him. The sad expression on his ruggedly handsome face made her feel even worse. She loved this man with all of her heart, and yet lately all she seemed to do was argue with him and cause him pain.
“I think it is.” He guided her over his hard thighs. “It’s been a while since I’ve burned your butt. Usually it calms you down. I’m hoping it will again.”
Yes, she’d calm down.
In this excerpt from “Santa Wore Spurs” from the anthology Ranch Christmas published by Blushing Books, I used the erotic/play type of spanking.
He moved his thumb so that it smoothed lightly over her lips and he heard her breath catch. “I wouldn’t mind at all spanking you a bit. Letting you find out for yourself how exciting it can be. If you’re game, that is.”
Her eyes widened and she mulled it over. It sort of tickled him that she thought everything over so much.
“Yes, I believe I would like to try it,” she said quietly.
Well, hell! She continually surprised him. Before she could change her mind, he helped her move next to his stretched out legs. Then she slid across his lap, squirming forward until she had her bottom over his right thigh.
“Is this right?” She looked back at him, cheeks pink, but determined to do this correctly.
“Perfect, darlin’.” He fingered the edges of the tiny lace panties. “Normally I give bare bottom spankings. But I don’t think these little scraps are going to lessen either your pleasure or mine.”
She buried her head in her arms and he heard a muffled, “I’m ready.”
Every square inch of her looked tense. You’d have thought she was in for a serious walloping and had braced for it. He almost chuckled, but he didn’t want to embarrass her. This was a brand new experience for her and he wanted it to be a good one. Gently he smoothed his hand over her creamy buttocks until she seemed to settle down. Then he lightly smacked one cheek with his open palm. He quickly followed that one with a slightly harder smack to the other cheek.
Head still buried, she moaned, “Oh. Ummm.”
He picked up the pace and spanked her lightly, then harder, then lightly for several minutes. Her smooth cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink and he was getting a serious hard-on. Unsure if he could do anymore, he asked huskily, “Had enough, sweetheart?”
She wriggled back off his lap, reached back to touch her bottom, and smiled. “Interesting. It stung just a little. But mainly it made me hot all over.”
She rubbed her butt. “Warm. Tingly.” Then she smiled sassily and reached around to touch between her legs. “Inside, too.”
Dexter fought the powerful urge to lay her down right then and take her. But he remembered all the planning for tonight she’d done. He had to hang on a while longer. “How about we try something else now?”
“Really? You’re still up for these little games?” She looked so excited he couldn’t have denied her anything. But it would cost him.
In answer, he guided her to lie down beside him. As she watched him curiously, he picked up the can of chocolate and ran a tiny line of syrup around each nipple, trailed a line down her abdomen, stopping just above her curly auburn bush. She quivered and sucked in a breath as he set the can down. At this point his cock was throbbing something awful, frantic for thrusting deep within her. But he couldn’t do it yet. She was waiting, watching, anticipating. He’d finish this game for her, even if it killed him.
My final example of using a spanking element in a story to heighten the sensual/sexual intensity comes from my latest book from Decadent Publishing, The CEO and the Cowboy, a m/m romance. These are two alpha men, both strong-willed and confident who began a relationship that surprised them both. As in all romances, they reached a save-it or break-it moment and have discovered how badly they want to save it. I won’t fully explain the circumstances that led to this moment, but it was a situation that turned things around for them.
He watched Calhoun’s face redden in embarrassment as he stepped next to him. His respect grew even more. He’d never been spanked as an adult, but he’d done it before to other men. He wasn’t exactly a Dom, yet he got a certain thrill out of baring a man’s ass and turning it red with his hand. His lover had one of the best asses he’d ever seen. That fact, along with the musky scent of arousal and the sight of that long, thick shaft, made his own erection grow even harder. He wanted this man. He wanted him down on all fours, his fine ass waiting for him to drive deep inside his tight hole.
“You know this is difficult for me to do,” Calhoun said uneasily, pulling him from the pleasant thoughts.
“You can change your mind,” he offered, testing him. He could take the apology and give him a second chance. But getting the big man to submit to him in this manner seemed important. If they could get through this, maybe they really might have a chance at a solid relationship.
“No. I came here to say my piece, knowing what you might do.” Calhoun heaved a disgusted sigh. “I did wrong by you. Said things I shouldn’t have, and I didn’t mean.”
The cowboy’s cock remained fully aroused, and he sensed it embarrassed his lover to be in such a state under the circumstances. It took a lot of courage and determination to stand there so exposed and vulnerable. If he hadn’t already been in love with him, this would have done it. No other lover had ever made him feel as deeply as this one did. No other man had ever made him as desperate to fuck as he did.
But they needed to deal with his problem first. It was one of those “start as you plan to do in the future” times. He expected to be respected, or there would be consequences to pay. In turn, he expected to pay respect to him or pay the penalties himself. He believed in fair play.
He nodded at his lap, waiting to see if Calhoun would actually make the next move. It took a second, but he stretched his six-foot-two body awkwardly over his thighs. The stiff cock settled against the side of his leg. Just the feel of it had his heart pounding. He knew well how good it felt to have the shaft thrusting into his ass. But it wouldn’t happen tonight. No, after this unpleasant business was taken care of, he would be the one driving home, firmly in charge.
“I suspect this is the first time you’ve been in this awkward position as an adult.” He nudged the jeans and briefs down to mid-thigh, pulling in a breath of admiration at the sight of the taut ass before him. He loved that butt.
“Definitely.” He kept his head down, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s been a long damn time since I went over my dad’s lap.”
He shifted his shirt higher, thinking about how much he wanted to strip his lover of every shred of his clothes. He smoothed a hand over the butt cheeks, and they quivered under his touch.
Calhoun craned his head around. “If you’d rather forget this….” He let the hopeful suggestion fade away, but his expression was resigned to what he meant to do.
Books Referenced:
HAWKE’S LADY from Blushing Books
ROYAL DIRECTIVE from Blushing Books
COWBOYS IN CHARGE from Black Velvet Seductions
SNOWED IN WITH HER COWBOY (as a single story) from Black Velvet Seductions
RANCH CHRISTMAS from Blushing Books
SANTA WEARS SPURS (as a single story) from Blushing Books
THE CEO AND THE COWBOY from Decadent Publishing
I love hearing how a writer thinks, and all the story excerpts were great. Loved the line: “Yes, I believe I would like to try it.”
Sometimes finding out how a writer thinks can be scary. We hear voices in our heads. Some writers even carry on conversations with their characters. But thanks for stopping by.
Great post, Starla! I loved the M/M excerpt especially. Well, I loved them all– you’re my hero!
I’m your hero? Woo-hoo. Stay tuned to my upcoming releases. I’m about to send Rose’s Cowboys to my editor…it’s a menage story.
HI STARLA, I LOVE COWBOYS! WITH OR W/O JEANS!! LOL
I have to agree!
Hi Starla, great post. I enjoyed reading about your journey with writing. I agree that the trust and love element are extremely important in a spanking story. It increases the intimacy between the characters too I think.
Constance, thanks for stopping by and reading about my writing journey.
Great post. I enjoy reading stories like these and more. I love seeing the bond that develops between the couples and the trust that is shared.
In a way the trust in these relationships can be stronger than other ones. Letting someone touch your body in that way… doing that to someone you love… very complicated emotions.
Great post Starla! I agree that trust is a key element in these stories and creating a man (or woman) who is worthy of that trust, by the heroine and the readers, is key.
Absolutely! Thanks for commenting.
This sounds like an interesting book. I’d love to read it.
Hi Starla!
You mentioned that you don’t write the severe type of discipline stories. I think people’s perceptions of what is severe might be vary. One person’s vision of what is light might be another person’s view of severe. What defines the line between severe and not very severe discipline? Are there certain lines you won’t cross?
You’ve been writing spanking stories for 10 years. Have the lines you’ve been willing to cross changed in that time? If so, what fueled the change?
For me, severe discipline stories include whipping, total humiliation, harsh BDSM, and usually non-consensual. I just can’t write that type of story.
Over my years of writing spanking stories my lines of what I’m willing to write have definitely changed. My first stories involved only hand spanking and were essentially fairly tame. I’ve read a lot of spanking stories since then and done a lot of research. I always like to test myself as a writer and like trying new things, so I dabble in many different types of “spanking” discipline now.
One of the things I like most about your stories is that your heroes and heroines always love each other. They might be frustrated with each other. The marriage might be suffering a rough patch. But in spite of anything else going on in the story there is a sense that these two people really do care about each other.
I wouldn’t say that one couldn’t include that kind of emotional connection in harsher stories…but I think it would be quite a bit harder to carry off. It’s hard to believe in the love if one character sets out to totally humiliate another…especially in a non-consensual context.
No matter what kind of stories I write, there will always be a deep emotional involvement between the main characters. I’m a HEA kind of girl and I want that for my characters. Their lives have problems, like everyone else. But my heroes and heroines will always find a way to make compromises and work things out.
Casea, thanks for stopping by…and for appreciating my stories.
Woo Hoo! Starla – I love your spanking stories. Thanks for the post!