Guest Post & Giveaway: Patricia Green

Why Texas? 

by Patricia Green 

Where does a book take place? Is it on a ranch, a manor, a sailing boat, a lonely stretch of desert? Is the time period current, historical, a mix (as in time-travel), the future? What is the political situation at the time of the story? How about the religious mores? What's the technology like?

All of these questions pertain to setting. They are the black velvet background on which the writer paints her portrait of Elvis. Without this kind of detail, the story will be flat and lifeless.

I start my writing process with a what if question, but having answered that, I try to put that scenario in its proper place and time. So, when I thought about the Journey Family series of books, I knew that the characters had to have Mom and apple pie values, a strong sense of family, and a tie to the land. They had to have religious convictions (but not so many that the story would be about those convictions), and they had to hail from someplace I was familiar with. "Write what you know" applies.

I've lived all over the US and in Canada. For about five years I lived in Texas. We had a house in a rural burg a bit more than an hour outside the state capital. It was a small town of about 2,000 people and had a Western, nineteenth century kind of feel to it. The people were hunters and farmers, ranchers and Main Street merchants. Even in a town of less than 2,000 folks, they had three churches. All the values I wanted my characters to have were present in that little town. It was a no-brainer for me to choose rural Texas for the setting of the Journey Family series. It started with Liv's Journey, at the fictional Journey's End ranch near Sonora, Texas, (a real town of about 4,000 souls) and in the current era. But that wasn't where it stopped.

Although I had a great time in Texas (and would love to live there again), I've also had quite a bit of experience living in some very large metropolises. And, for book two of the series, Ace-High Flush, I wanted to take a very confident and capable character (Ace Journey) out of his element in Texas and into something he was much less familiar with, Manhattan. We have the impression that Ace has been there before, but he's fairly out of place there anyway, with his cowboy hat, boots and bolero tie. Nevertheless, he's confident and capable, and when the going gets tough, he sticks with it and rides the bull the full eight seconds. Thus, I used my citified, east coast experience to flesh out the setting of the book.

Choosing a setting for a story can also set the erotic tone of the piece. Not to put too fine a point on it, I write erotic spanking romances. The story has to have a thread of domestic discipline for me to fit in well with the publisher and sub-genre I so frequently target. And the erotic part…well that's just how I write. All my romance books have a strong erotic component; the Journey Family series is no exception. So, you might ask, how does a Texas ranch work with an erotic story about domestic discipline?

Domestic discipline is spanking, standing in the corner like a naughty child, writing lines over and over again on paper (keyboarding doesn't work), and things like that. The Journey family's old-fashioned values and strong male characters were a natural for a family tradition of spanking recalcitrant women. I could easily envision a fellow with a deep Texan drawl giving a stern lecture while he smacks a heroine's behind. And there would be hot, sensual, all-consuming love between the hero and heroine—love that naturally led to erotic encounters. To me, it's incredibly sexy to imagine pillow-talk in a deep, male voice with a native Texas accent.

All six of the Journey Family books (four are available now and two more will come out this Fall) have a strong Texas component. Texas works for the Journey Family books and it was great fun to write the whole series. I feel like I got right into the heads of a traditionally-minded Texas family. Hopefully, I've shared that wonderful experience with readers.

Trey likes to spank and he makes that pretty clear early in their acquaintance by spanking Liv during a walk among the pecan trees. It turns out that Liv likes it, but he holds some back as a reward to be given at a more appropriate time.

Not long after they meet, Liv finds out that spanking isn't always fun—she gets mouthy and disrespectful in front of some of Trey's friends, and he takes her out to his truck to teach her some manners. Unfortunately, while he's spanking her, a paparazzo snaps a photo of her bare-bottomed and face turned toward the camera as she's being spanked.

Liv is mortified and sure that her career will be over if that photo gets published. Trey feels guilty for putting her in that position, not to mention that his commanding officer is displeased with his behavior. They simply must get the rights to the picture so that it can't be published.

Here is a taste of the story:

At first, there was a cool breeze on her bare bottom, as the pecan trees shielded her from the harsh sun. Birds chirped incessantly; it seemed like all the birds in the world came to Texas in the spring. Trey's thighs under her belly were warm and hard and there was a growing lump against her left hip where his excited cock lay tucked into his jeans. As his hand passed over her bottom, Trey hummed softly. It was a sound of pleasure, a calm sound, a controlled sound.

Liv's heart beat faster, knowing what that sound presaged. The humiliation of being bare-assed and over his lap was nothing compared to what was to come.

The sharp retort of the strap on her butt cheeks silenced the birds entirely. Some flew away in fright. And it hurt, but Liv gasped not out of pain but surprise at the sudden smack. Even knowing that it was to come, the exact moment it fell was always one second before it was expected. The first blow was still echoing through her mind when there was a second, third, and fourth. Heat blossomed over her rear and a sharp sting became a bright bloom. She moaned as the count rose above ten, and she couldn't help but squirm.

"Still, angel." His free hand pressed down on her back to keep her steady. She couldn't do it herself. Her body wanted to wriggle away from the pain. Or, parts of it did. Some parts, the parts that sometimes wouldn't heed her better judgment, got wet and slick and very ready for the reward Trey would share with her.

As the count reached twenty-two, tears began to stream from Liv's eyes and her moans became sobs. She wanted this spanking, she knew she both needed and deserved it. Tears would cleanse any lingering feelings of guilt over poor behavior and her reward for taking her punishment would be hot, hotter than her flaming ass.

Liv lost count after twenty-five blows from the strap. She knew her bottom would be striped and fiery red. She'd seen it in the mirror after times like this. Perversely, she wore those stripes like a badge for the day or two they lingered. She'd earned her pleasure. She'd paid for her transgressions. Conflict was over and only sweet contentment remained.

Crying freely, she sobbed and sniffled as the spanking stopped. Trey's big, hot hand glided over her stinging behind reverently, and sometimes a finger would trace one of the welts left by the strap.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick and watery.

His fingers slipped between her legs and found her pool of excitement. Her hot face got hotter. "You gonna be a good girl now and mind when I'm tellin' you to do what you know you should?"

"It's a habit…"

"A habit we need to get you over or you'll be miserable, Liv."

His fingers dipped deeper into her pussy and explored a little. A wave of pure desire washed through Liv's belly.

"Yeah," she agreed, though her mind was on those fingers. They retreated slightly and slid toward her swollen clit. "Please. Trey. Please."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he responded. "Please what?"

The last of her tears dripped onto the leaf-strewn ground. "Please, fuck me."

He rolled her over on his lap and pressed her face against his broad chest. "You'll have to wait until after."

"After! But that's hours from now!"

"Yup."

She looked up into his face, hoping for a teasing look in his brown eyes. The crinkles at the corners told her that he was smiling, even before she noticed his grin. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"Trey!"

He slid his hand up her torso and cupped a full breast, his thumb flicking over her nipple as it pressed against her bra and thin cotton blouse.

"You're being mean."

"Maybe."

She growled her frustration and squirmed, her bottom hot and itchy against his denim. One more try. "Please?"

"Nope. After."

Trey did things in his own time, and in his own way. Liv was usually happy about that; she trusted him after all they'd been through. So she'd wait for her reward. After wasn't so far away.

You can check out all the books in the series:

• Liv's Journey
• Ace High Flush
• Spanking Her Highness
• Deuce's Dancer

Or visit Patricia's website for more information.

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