I’m very happy to have Tara Finnegan here today, with her new book, Mastering Maeve. We have a fun interview and a lovely spanking excerpt which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Welcome, Tara. Grab a comfy chair and we’ll get started with the questions :).
How did you get started writing?
Totally by accident. When I started writing, I didn’t realise there was a full spanking fiction genre in its own right. I had read some erotica, and while some of it was very exciting, I thought what if I wrote what I thought was exciting, not realising it was already being done. (I was still a paperback reader then, and had belligerently rejected the idea of buying a Kindle.)
What was the best piece of writing advice you received?
Two things have really helped me, one was to write then ending early on, it tells you the direction you’re headed in and it also means you don’t rush it because you want the book finished already! The second was cut, cut, cut. I have a tendency to be too long winded so I had to learn to be generous when applying the scissors!
What do you think makes good spanking erotica?
I can really only answer that by saying what I like in spanking erotica. Personally, I don’t want to see the heroine cowed down or frightened, or always being to blame. So for me, and I do realise I’m possibly in the minority here, I prefer consensual to non-con.
Where do you get your ideas and your characters from and how did you come up with the plot for Mastering Maeve?
While I have a few books on the go using my own plots, the main characters and a broad plot for Mastering Maeve came from James at Stormy Night Publications. Once I started with that the characters took on a life of their own.
Who would play Larry and Maeve in the film of the book, and why?
That’s a really good question, but one I honestly can’t answer as I rarely watch a movie and I haven’t a clue who the current actors and actresses are. I could have seen Minnie Driver as Maeve if this was a number of years ago as Maeve was tall, athletic looking and had similar physical attributes, but I’m guessing Minnie might be quite a few years out of her mid twenties by now!
What do you think makes a good sex scene?
If the reader wishes they were there, then it’s a good scene!
Seriously though, I think it’s important to focus on more than one sense, in real life sex, there is touch, sound, scent, taste and sight. I think a really good sex scene will incorporate most of, if not all of those senses.
With my own writing, a good indication I think, is if I feel excited after writing it.
Do you have any advice for new writers of spanking erotica?
Hmm, I’m trying not to laugh. I am a new writer of spanking erotica so I’m very much learning as I go.
But yes, if I was starting over, I’d have researched my market better, gotten involved in the spanking fiction groups and started blogging and following twitter sooner. I’m still clueless with social networking and it’s probably the most difficult thing for me to learn.
Do you have a writing routine? Do you need absolute quiet to write or background music/noise?
I love absolute quiet, especially when writing a sex scene. I want nothing to disturb me then. I usually put them off until everyone is gone from the house. Or late at night when everyone is gone to bed.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and if so, how do you get over it?
I’m still very new at this. I might have an outline for the story, but I have had problems getting it started, and have come up with two alternatives and then waited to see which one speaks to me. I also have three books started but left on the back burner, when something else took over. But I intend revisiting them as soon as I’ve finished my two current WIP’s.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I started as a pantser and My Naughty Little Secret was pretty ad hoc, as were some of the ones I’ve put on the side. Mastering Maeve was plotted a reasonable amount. And the next two, I’ve started out by drawing out the characters and the plots first. They may take a detour, but it’s good to have a roadmap.
What do you like most about being a writer?
I suppose the best thing about writing is that it means the voices in your head aren’t just madness but creativity :).
I also like creating my own little world; it’s an escape from reality at times.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
In my spare time, mostly, I read. I also run around like a madwoman after my children, I seem to spend half of my life in the car. I also enjoy swimming, good food, nice music and love musicals.
What’s next for you?
The thing getting most of my attention right now is part of an exciting project that will come to fruition in Summer 2014, called Corbin’s Bend. You might have seen a teaser or two popping out on Twitter or some of the blogs. I have to admit I’m really geared up about it. I never intended to write one, let alone two books, and now I want to write more and more.
Thanks so much for visiting and answering all my questions, Tara. Now we’ve got blurb and a wonderful spanking excerpt for you :).
Blurb:
Finished with college and unable to find a job in her chosen field, twenty-four year old Maeve O’Reilly saw little choice but to return to her hometown in Connemara and work in her grandmother’s hotel. Maeve has barely walked in the door, however, when she learns that the establishment is deep in debt and an American visitor is considering an investment which could be the only chance to avoid foreclosure.
That visitor turns out to be a tall, ruggedly handsome rancher by the name of Larry Williamson, a man whose dominant personality immediately puts him in conflict with the willful Maeve. When she slaps Larry across the face during a heated argument, Maeve learns to her horror that Larry is more than ready to haul her over his knee and back up his firm tone with a firm hand applied to her helpless bottom.
Larry might like to tell himself that he has chosen to move forward with the hotel investment only to avoid any legal difficulties stemming from the spanking incident, but he knows full well that there is only one thing in Ireland he is interested in right now, and that is a beautiful, feisty, sore-bottomed young lady named Maeve.
As the days pass, Maeve quickly finds her anger at Larry fading to grudging respect, and the memory of his chastisement begins to kindle a powerful need within her… a need only the arrogant, bossy Texan can satisfy. Maeve longs for Larry to strip her bare and claim her in a way no man has before, and when at last he does all she can do is beg for more. But will the wide gulf of the Atlantic and the hard realities of a long-distance romance tear the unlikely couple apart, or will they find a way to defy the odds and forge their passion into a lasting bond?
Publisher’s Note: Mastering Maeve is an erotic novel that includes spankings, anal play, sexual scenes, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
Buying Links:
Excerpt:
Setting the scene: Maeve has just snatched Larry’s phone from him and checked up on his incoming call records and he’s absolutely furious!
Fed up with her recent behaviour overall, he’s dragged her by the arm to the small schoolroom, threatening to carry her if she doesn’t come willingly. When they get there he tells her to remove her skirt and then go fetch the old school strap that’s hanging from the door and hand it to him.
*****
He watched her drag her feet to the door, and knew that the very act of fetching the implement herself, while in a state of undress, was adding to her dread. He held out his hand as she returned and passed the leather strap to him. It was about three inches wide and fourteen inches long of double-thickness leather. It was crafted to cause serious pain and he could see she knew that as she passed it over.
“Now pull your panties down to your knees and lie across the desk. Grip the other side with your hands.” She obeyed as expeditiously as she could, considering what was coming. He gave no warm-up, partly as time was limited and partly as this was meant to cause her as much hurt as she had caused him with her accusations. He swished the strap through the air, getting the feel of it, and saw her shudder and tighten her bottom cheeks at the sound.
“Don’t clench, Maeve, or I will cane you later too while using a plug to teach you not to clench. Be a good girl and relax.” He rubbed her milky white globes once, then spread her legs apart to help prevent clenching. He had a glimpse of her pussy, slick and moist in spite of her trepidation. Her white cotton panties were bunched up in a twist just above her knees. He clucked his disapproval at her obvious arousal to increase her mortification, but really, if she had any clue how hot she looked like that, she could so easily have distracted him from his intentions.
“Count to six, and don’t make me start over.”
“Ok,” she rasped.
“Pardon?” he asked as he brought the strap down in the centre of her bare pale arse. Immediately a wide red welt formed as she yelped.
“Sorry, sir, I mean, yes, sir, one.”
“No, that one doesn’t count, and I want to hear ‘sir’ after each number.”
“O-one, sir,” she howled as he brought the strap down again. She wriggled, trying to escape the burning sensation.
“Be still,” he ordered. He delivered each of the remaining five in quick succession, starting up at the top of her bum and working his way down. By the time it was done, she was aflame right along to the tops of her thighs, the width and length of the implement ensuring every bit of her posterior felt the impact. It wasn’t enough strokes for tears, but that was what he wanted. He wasn’t so heartless as to force her to go to a rehearsal with the embarrassment of red eyes. A scorched bottom was humiliation enough. He rubbed her momentarily and then told her to thank him and dress quickly.
“Thank you, sir,” Maeve said meekly. At that he pulled her in for a quick cuddle; she had accepted her correction much more readily than he had anticipated. If she knew how badly he wanted her now. All the appearance of defiance had gone and her face was placid and calm. His penis was aching from a desire to plunge into the glistening moist crevice he had spied only a moment earlier, but there really wasn’t time. He brought his mouth down on hers and she responded hungrily until he reluctantly pulled away.
Tara’s Bio:
Accidental writer from the west of Ireland, Tara likes to write about strong, feisty modern day heroines who meet their match with even stronger spanking heroes where the sparks will fly.
When not writing, she is a wife, mother, taxi-service, gofer and general finder of lost items!
