Get a good spanking, in Japan!

As if there weren’t enough reasons to visit to Japan — crazy vending machines, maid cafes — this video ought to convince you.

It was taken in a town called Asuka in Nara Prefecture, which was once home to the rulers of Japan and is replete with ancient culture like temples, shrines, and archeological sites. And then there is the annual Onda Matsuri festival celebrating the rice harvest and fertility.

One of the traditional customs at the festival is for men in devil masks to go around whipping the visitors’ backsides — men and women, boys and girls — with a big stick that is split at the end. Here, the camera follows a couple of them around, amid much hilarity.

Back to work: “Sea Pilot’s Daughter”

It’s been almost a month since I published Straits Academy. That’s enough of a break so today I got back to writing.

My new project is to finish “Sea Pilot’s Daughter,” a historical romance set in 19th century Holland. I’m ashamed to admit that I started this story years ago, but despite the fact that the first four chapters were serialized on Bethany’s Woodshed, I never finished it. For this I deserve a really sound spanking.

Here’s a description:

What can a father do when his beautiful daughter stubbornly refuses all suitors? Very little until he realizes that he doesn’t have long to live. When Piet van der Molen makes one last attempt to arrange a match for his only daughter, Katarina, his choice reveals that he has some inkling of understanding about why she is so unwilling to give herself to a man. After his death, Katarina is still in mourning when a handsome, older English sea captain comes to pay his respects. While pushing Katarina to discuss her future, Captain John Bishop probes dangerously close to Katarina’s secrets. She throws up her defenses, but he is determined to win both the battle and the woman, even if it means turning her over his knee. This historical romance, set in 19th century Holland, offers rich period detail as well as hope that two people with unusual desires may in fact have a chance at true love and happiness.

My goal — and I’m stating it here publicly so you can hold me to it — is to get it published before the end of this year. Feel free to nag if you don’t get a promising update by the end of November.

I rank…at least in Amazon’s new ‘Author Ranks’

On Oct. 9, Amazon announced its new “Author Rank” feature, still in beta, which the company says is the “definitive list of best-selling authors on Amazon.” I’m kind of excited to see that I’m currently ranked #83 in Erotica, and that the ranking page prominently features my newest book, Straits Academy. Straits hit the Amazon Top 100 rank this past weekend.

Sorry for the tiny photo — if you click on it, it gets bigger. (Why does that sound dirty?)

Straits Academy is on the shelves!

I’m delighted to announce that Straits Academy is on the shelves!

The year is 1921 and a young Englishwoman named Adelaide has sailed halfway around the world to marry, only to learn that her fiancé has been brutally murdered. She is alone in a faraway colony and doesn’t know a soul — except Drake, a friend of her intended. Adelaide poses as his orphaned niece so she may help him solve the mystery. To complete the deception, before she’s been with Drake even a day, he subjects her to an embarrassing public spanking.

Drake wishes to enroll her in Straits Academy, a mysterious girls’ school he believes is somehow connected to the murder. Before she agrees, he warns her that she will have to trade her smart London fashions for a schoolgirl uniform, and she’ll be subject to the strictest bare-bottom discipline both at home and at school. But it’s only when Adelaide actually enrolls in the Academy that they realize just how peculiar the school really is. Will Adelaide submit to genuine punishment, mortifying examinations, physical restraint and intimate touching at the hands of women — all for the sake of the investigation? Will Drake allow Adelaide to go into real danger, despite his growing feelings for her? And most confusing of all, Adelaide is a proper young English lady: Why is everything that is being done to her so terribly exciting?

To view or buy Straits Academy on Amazon, click here.

Thank you!

Sneak Peak at Straits Academy

I just got the final cover for Straits Academy back from the designer, and am posting it here so you can have a sneak peak. I’d say it’s got the right “dark, sexy” feel for this full-length erotic novel about a woman who pretends to be a schoolgirl to investigate a murder and get herself in all sorts of delicious trouble.

It’s a little hard to tell in the thumbnail but that shadow in front of the model is a woman’s gloved finger raised for a scolding, which is appropriate as there’s F/f action in this story as well as M/f spanking and sex.

The novel has been submitted to Amazon — processing usually takes about 12 hours. It should be available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Blushing Books this weekend. I really hope you like it! I think it’s got some very original punishment/kink scenes you won’t see anywhere else (hint: middle-of-the-night “bed checks” and a kinky dominance scene set in an infirmary). Definitely not the “same old same old.”

“Straits Academy” is coming! Soon!

Finally. At last. Today — September 8, 2012 — I finished writing “Straits Academy.” It’s been years in the making, and I’ve never worked so hard on a book, but the story is now complete. It’s going into production — editing, proofing, cover design — but it will be at your favorite e-book seller by the end of this month. If you sign up on this blog, or send me your email address through the contact form on this blog, I’ll notify you the day it’s available. Thank you for your patience. I really, really, really hope you like it.

Free story!

  Peach Village

Great news! I’ve posted a free story for you to enjoy. It’s a wonderful story by K. Taira, set in a remote village in pre-modern Japan. Now where else are you going to find a story like that?

Some of you may remember Mr. Taira from his Encyclopedia of Spanking Art, a fabulous collection of art he posted on the internet from the early days until last year, when he unfortunately took it all down. [Update: it's now back on line and I've provided a link.]

I translated this story from the Japanese a number of years ago with Mr. Taira’s permission and support. It’s generally historically accurate; Mr. Taira knows his stuff, and he’s a wonderful fetish writer.

This is a long, descriptive story with some hot punishment scenes and dialog that will make you squirm. It’s almost 7,000 words and easily a $2.99 value, if we were to publish it as an e-book. But it’s yours for free — here and no where else. Please do not copy it or send it around, but you’re welcome to “Like” it on Facebook or otherwise share the link with anyone who’d might enjoy reading it.

While you’re here, please sign up to receive notices of new posts and special announcements. I’ve got a new story coming out next month. I’d love to let you know just as soon as it’s available.