#WIPITUP WEDNESDAY - Rachel's Journey

Welcome to my blog, and this week's WIPITUP blog post! 

Rachel's Journey, my second book, is due for release in a month and I'm SO EXCITED!! Because I'm a newbie I'm uber-enthusiastic about life in general at the moment - the excitement of an impending book release is spreading to all aspects of my life. But my kids are happy, as it means I'm not as grumpy as usual when they have very selective hearing :)  All you experienced authors are probably laughing at me right now, thinking 'what a dork ... it's not that big of a deal!' but it still is, to me. One day, I'll probably not get quite as excited, I'll get old and jaded and a new book will just be a 'meh ... whatever ... another one done' but to be honest, I hope that doesn't ever happen because it might mean I've lost my love for writing. And I can't imagine that.
Anyway, enough aimless waffling. Onto this week's excerpt:

“Ow!” Rachel squealed, twisting out of his grasp, jumping around and trying to rub the sting out of her behind.

            

James just laughed as he returned the spatula to its home. “Don’t be a girl. I bet you barely even felt anything through your jeans, I didn’t hit you very hard!”

           

“It felt hard to me!” Rachel protested, quickly retrieving her mug from the sink and stacking it tidily in the dishwasher next to the one James had used, before he was tempted to whack her again, to show her what ‘hard’ actually felt like.

           

“Pfft …” James scoffed. “That was only soft. As I’ve already told you, if you be a brat, I will punish you. And next time, I will actually punish you, not just play.” Despite his playful expression, there was a threatening tone to James’ voice and Rachel heard it.

           
“Yes sir,” she saluted him cheekily. 




This is just one of the spunky cowboys that inspired James: 



To see more of these sexy men check out my Pinterest board here



Thanks so much for visiting!



Please check out all these other great authors participating this week

SATURDAY SPANKINGS!! ** Bracken Ridge **

Welcome back to my blog for this weeks #SaturdaySpankings snippet! 

Like previous weeks, I'm sharing a wee bit of my horsey romance Bracken Ridge. And because I quite like ogling them, I've found a sexy shirtless cowboy for your viewing pleasure too. I've no idea who he is, I found him on Pinterest (you can find more of them here if you're so inclined. You can also scroll through my blog - I've got more!) but I reckon he's mighty fine!

Anna still had three stalls to muck out before she could get on with the rest of her workload, so she was grumpily working as fast as she could when Jeremy stood in the doorway of the stall, blocking the wheelbarrow.

            

“Move,” she snapped at him. When he didn’t, she threw the muck she was about to pitch in the wheelbarrow all over his boots. “Bugger off Jeremy. Let me get on with my work. Seeing as how you’ve given me extra, I don’t have time to stand around and chat.”

            

“I was actually going to take over for you. But carry on, if that’s how you want to be.” He went to move out of the stall but before he could, Anna threw another load of dirty sawdust over him, straight at his chest.  Muffled laughter coming from across the building spurred her on, and she managed to throw another two loads at him before he stopped her.            

Grabbing her wrist, he wrestled the rake off her and threw it down. Spinning her around he gave her butt a solid slap then grabbed a handful of mucky sawdust that was still stuck to his shirt and rubbed it into her hair, before slapping her butt again. 

Anna shrieked, trying to escape, but Jeremy was too strong. He had her pinned to him with an arm around her waist and alternated between slapping her butt ferociously and transferring the muck he was wearing onto her, rubbing it into her hair and dropping it down the back of her neck.

            
Anna was laughing, squealing and squirming all at once, but she couldn’t get away. 

Amazon




Blushing Books




Barnes & Noble

Blurb: When Anna Fletcher comes home from University back to Bracken Ridge, the equine centre where she grew up, she is stunned to find Jeremy McCrae working as the manager. They were children together and she has had a crush on him forever. The years she's been away, Jeremy has only gotten cuter. 

Anna has plans for Bracken Ridge, but before she can implement them, she needs to prove herself. The biggest obstacle in her path is Jeremy. He's the boss - but she can't work for him. He's been her best mate forever, and to cede to his authority now is going against every grain of her nature. 
Can Jeremy tame Anna's rebellious spirit before it is too late?


Don't forget to check out all the other great authors for more tantalising teasers!

ANZAC Day - #Gallipoli100

Welcome to my blog! Thank you for visiting me in my little corner of the web!

It's ANZAC day here in New Zealand and all over the country people are commemorating 100 years since our soldiers landed in Gallipoli, Turkey, many of whom went on to lose their lives.

In keeping with this, I thought it appropriate to share a poem I wrote back in 2010. The original idea of this poem was to make a picture book out of it, but once the poem was finished I decided it didn't have quite the right tone for a picture book. But one day, it may go in the front of a novel I have the bare bones of in my head. One day ... but I've got lots of other books to write first ...

There's a great big box in Nan's wardrobe

I wonder what's inside?

Maybe there's ancient treasures,

or just a place for spiders to hide?

It's covered in dust and cobwebs

the lid has been shut with tape

it's old and squashed and dented

and somewhat bent out of shape.

It smells just a little bit musty

there's a name printed on it in blue

I wonder what the box contains?

because really, I haven't a clue.

The carton is made of thick cardboard

the name on the side is "J. Snead"

the cardboard is squashed at the corner

the name is a mystery indeed.

Curiosity overwhelms me

so I pick at the tape on the lid

I'll have a quick peek then tape it back up

and no one will know what I did.

The tape rips off and I quickly peep in

but there's nothing exciting to see

just piled and piles of scrap paper bits

that's of no importance to me.

I shouldn't have looked so I tape it back up

but oh no! the tape will not stick!

the dust and the cobwebs have stuck to the tape

in desperation, I give it a lick.

The dust and the cobwebs have stuck to my tongue

the dust up my nose makes me sneeze

the dust and the cobwebs have stuck in my throat,

I'm coughing and starting to wheeze.

I can hear footsteps just down the hall

the flap on the box won't stay down;

Nan's face appears at the wardrobe,

she looks down at me with a frown.

"That box has been there for 65 years,

it's full of my memories and treasures.

Joe's uniform is there, and letters,

reminders of long-ago pleasures.

See, have a look, come and sit next to me

and I'll show you what everything is;

everything in here reminds me of Joe -

it's a memorial box, so it is.

I once had a brother, Joseph Snead

he was seven years older than me,

he went off to war with all the young men

many died, so we could be free.

He sent me some letters from war zones

he wrote to me near every week

telling me of fighting adventures

and sleeping in a trench by a creek.

Then they all stopped - there was nothing

and then came the knock at the door -

a telegram from the war office

said Joe wasn't with us any more.

Missing in action they told us,

but Mum wouldn't believe Joe was dead.

She kept on insisting they'd find him

but we got sent his belongings instead.

I got to keep his spare uniform

it's right here, down deep in this box.

I also kept all of those letters

and his hat, and his military socks.

It made me too sad to look at it

so I lovingly hid it away;

for 65 years it has sat in the box

and here is it going to stay.

The letters are tattered and ripped now,

they're yellow and fragile with age.

I've even got stored here his favourite book

but it's missing the very first page."

Nan stops talking and wipes at her eyes

then pushes the box back away

back deep in the wardrobe, way out of sight

"and that's where my memories will stay.

War doesn't do anyone any good

we just lose the ones that we love

Uncles, our brothers, our fathers, our sons

they're no up in heaven above.

I'm an old lady, I've lived a long time

and I've got just one piece of advice:

only fight for things that you truly believe

because all fights mean a sacrifice."

The Nan got up and she hurried away

back to her chair in the sun

I closed up the cupboard and quickly crept out

feeling guilty about what I'd done.

1915 Gallipoli, Turkey

They shall not grow old

as we that are left grow old;

age shall not weary them, nor

the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning,

we will remember them.

Lest we forget.

** WIPITUP WEDNESDAY ** Rachel's Journey

Welcome to my blog! Thanks for visiting :)

James and Rachel are back for this week's  WIP IT UP Wednesday and even better, I can tell you that Rachel's Journey is scheduled for release at the end of May! Yay - so exciting!!

Rachel has always admired James' belt. It's one of those big, thick hand-tooled leather ones, the type rodeo cowboys wear, with their championship buckles attached. The really stingy ones ... Rachel finds out just how stingy a belt can be after she risks her life trying to prove a point:

Even with the meagre protection her jeans offered, James was making her bottom sting and burn like he’d never done before.

                

“Please stop!” she wailed, tears threatening to fall.

                

James did stop then, and as he helped her up she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at him in wide-eyed horror as his hands went to the thick leather belt he wore around his waist and his fingers fumbled with the big rodeo cowboy championship buckle. 

She’d admired that belt many times – it was a real “mans” belt she’d always thought – hand-tooled thick brown leather, supple and strong. It would be dynamite on her ass, and she knew it. 

There was a whooshing sound as he ripped it through the belt loops on his jeans then a crack as he whipped it through the air before doubling it over. 

Realising she needed to escape now, Rachel turned to run, but James was too quick for her. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt at the back of her neck and dragged her, kicking and screaming, over to the motorbike she’d rode in on and wordlessly pushed her down over the back of it, holding her in place with a hand on the small of her back.

       


This is just one of the many cowboys who inspire my writing. You can check out the others here on my Pinterest board.  This yummy cowboy is off there too - I don't own this picture. But I wish I did! :)   














Thanks so much for stopping by! Please check out these other authors too for more sexy snippets!       

Sneak Peek Sunday *Anna's Cowboy*

Welcome to my blog, thank you for visiting! This is my first-ever Sneak Peek Sunday blog post and I've got something different this time. 
    

The WIP I'm sharing today is romance - rural romance - set in New Zealand. There's no spankings in this one though, but it does contain my favourite characters: ruggedly handsome cowboys and the strong, stubborn women who love them. 

I don't own the credits for this photo - I nicked it off Pinterest (check out my new heroes board here for more drop-dead-gorgeous cowboys who inspire me) but meet Todd - Anna's cowboy. 

Blurb: Anna’s Cowboy is the story of a young woman who, newly-acquired Ag Degree in hand, has come home to run the family farm, only to find her old-fashioned father, who still thinks women belong in the kitchen, won’t let her; and the ruggedly-handsome rodeo cowboy who has taken her place.

A rodeo injury forces Todd out of action for several weeks, giving Anna the opportunity to realise her dream – she’s running her beloved farm, single-handedly. Until her father finds out and kicks her off the place. After being forced to leave and return to the big smoke, Anna realises Todd has not only stolen her place on the farm, he’s stolen her heart.

Can she forget Todd and make a life for herself in the city, or will she follow her heart whatever the cost?

Here are my 6 paragraphs: 

“I told you there’s no place here for you!  Not on the farm, not here in the office, not in the accounts.  It’s mans’ work!” He fair shouted at her, pointing a shaky finger at her accusingly.

            

Anna took a deep breath, tears pricking at her eyes.  Rejected again, just because I’m a girl.  It’s so unfair!  “The man you’ve hired to do the job can’t keep up with the workload!  It’s too much! You should be THANKING me Dad, those books were a mess!  Took me hours yesterday to sort it out!”

            

“I’ll NEVER thank you for poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong!  Go back to the city, go back to your job.  If Todd needs more help he can hire himself a MAN.  You’re not needed here.”  The voice was so harsh, so strong, so firm, it sounded wrong coming from a man who looked so old and broken.

“But I want to be here, Dad.  I can help! Please give me a chance!" 

            

“No!” The word was abrupt, and the old man spun around in his chair too quickly, nearly losing his balance.  His hands scrabbled around on the desk top trying to right himself.  Quickly, Anna stepped forward to help him, but he swatted at her outstretched hand.  “I don’t need no help from you,” he muttered.

            

Dejected, Anna turned away.  It was pointless, she knew it.  But at the same time, she wasn’t prepared to give up.  This farm was in her blood, it was her home.  She wanted to run it more than she wanted to do anything else.  And if there was one thing she’d inherited from her father, it was stubbornness. She straightened her shoulders with a determination she didn’t really feel.  She wasn’t giving up.  She just had to come up with a plan. 

If you want to read more of Anna's Cowboy check out the snippets I shared for #SaturdayScenes over the past couple of weeks on Google+ here and here

Meanwhile, please check out all the other authors in this blog hop!

Thanks for visiting, please come back again soon!

Anna's First Spanking

Welcome to my blog, thanks for visiting!

Last week in my Saturday Spankings blog post the snippet I shared was Jeremy promising to spank Anna if she got out of line. She made it clear to him that she didn't care about his threat; if anything, she was looking forward to it.  Turns out she didn't like it quite as much as she thought she would ...

Without a word he bent her over his desk and held her down with one hand on her back and he started smacking her butt. Hard.

“Ow!” she yelled. “Jeremy what’s going on?” she cried, but he just smacked her again. And again, and again. 

She tried to push herself up off his desk but he was too strong for her and her struggles just made him increase the force behind the well-placed swats. 

The next few wallops were extra-hard ones and she grunted in pain, gritting her teeth to try to stop herself crying out.  

No way would she give Jeremy the satisfaction of letting him know he was hurting her! But hurting her he was, and as he continued to rain spank after spank down on her upturned butt the pain in her rear-end intensified.

     

“Jeremy, stop!” she commanded, pain evident in her voice.

Blushing Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Blurb: When Anna Fletcher comes home from University back to Bracken Ridge, the equine centre where she grew up, she is stunned to find Jeremy McCrae working as the manager. They were children together and she has had a crush on him forever. The years she's been away, Jeremy has only gotten cuter. 

Anna has plans for Bracken Ridge, but before she can implement them, she needs to prove herself. The biggest obstacle in her path is Jeremy. He's the boss - but she can't work for him. He's been her best mate forever, and to cede to his authority now is going against every grain of her nature. 
Can Jeremy tame Anna's rebellious spirit before it is too late?

Thanks for stopping by! Please remember to check out all the other awesome authors in this week's #SaturdaySpankings blog hop!

James and Rachel are back for #WIPITUP Wednesday!

Welcome back to my blog and thank you for visiting!

In my first #wipitup post (2 weeks ago now) I introduced you to James and Rachel – the main characters of my soon-to-be-released novel. At least, I hope it’s soon-to-be-released; I actually have no idea. It’s been accepted; that’s really all I know.

Actually, I lied in my title. James and Rachel aren't back - it's just Rachel in this snippet, but she wishes James was there to save her: 

           “Now listen to me,” Mike snarled softly, patronisingly. “If I take your gag off are you going to be a good girl?”

            Rachel nodded her head vigorously. Pressure was building up in her jaw unbearably, and even to be able to tic freely would be a huge relief. And being able to communicate her urgent need to attend to nature would be an added bonus.

            Carefully, slowly, keeping his manhood out of the way of her knees, Mike moved around beside her and untied her gag, freeing her mouth. Immediately, before he had even moved away, she cracked her jaw and moved the lower half of her face in a series of rapid, violent contortions, releasing the urge within her to tic.

            Mike snorted. “I take off your gag and that’s the first thing you do? You really are a freak.” He shook his head in consternation – he hadn’t meant to say that. This whole kidnapping charade was meant to win her over, to get his grubby hands on her farm; not to insult her. Why didn’t he think before he opened his big mouth? He silently chided himself.

            “I need to pee!” Rachel burst out. “Really badly!”

I hope you enjoyed this taste of Rachel's Journey!

Please be sure to check out all the other authors in this blog hop for more great excerpts!

Snow! In APRIL!!!

It's April. Here in New Zealand, that means it's Autumn. Summer is over, Winter is coming. But it's not here yet - at least, it's not meant to be here yet. But, apparently, it is.
Out-of-season snowfalls are quite common in this, the southernmost part of New Zealand, but even after 7 years down here, I'm still not used to it. 
I'm from the North Island - where my first book, Bracken Ridge, is set.  But my soon-to-be-released book Rachel's Journey is set down here in Southland. And there's plenty of snow in it too. 
The snippet I'm sharing with you here is snow at the other end of the season - the end of winter/beginning of Spring - right in the middle of lambing. 

Rachel was so cold she couldn’t feel her limbs. She tried to move her fingers, but she wasn’t sure if they worked or not – she couldn’t feel anything. She was drenched from being out all day in the elements, and the wind had chilled her to the bone. Her oilskin over the top of 3 layers of fleece outdoor gear had kept her warm initially, but once it got saturated the wind got in, and she’d started to get really cold. But she’d kept going – she had to save the lambs. She had no idea where James had gone, hopefully he was saving lambs too – and she hoped he was saving more than what she was. She’d managed to put wool covers on most of the vulnerable newborn ones, and mothered-up a few abandoned ones and several triplets. But there were so many she couldn’t save. She’d just come across another dead one. At first she’d thought it was just weak and cold, but after rubbing it all over, she knew there was no hope for it. So cold, and feeling so helpless, all she could do was cry.

            And that was where James found her, half an hour later, sitting down on a patch of wet grass, surrounded by snow, cradling a dead lamb in her lap, tears frozen to her face.

            “Come on mate, let’s get you home,” he told her tenderly, as he disengaged her fingers from the lamb and helped her to her feet. She couldn’t stand, her legs were too cold to work, and she clung to James helplessly. He was wet and cold too – his hair was plastered to his face and water was dripping off his chin and the end of his nose.

            “I… I … c…c… can’t … st… st… stand,” she stammered through chattering teeth, her whole body shivering violently.

            “It’s all right mate, I’ve got you,” James said, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m going to carry you okay? Just over to the bike.” 

            “Mmmfff,” Rachel groaned, as James threw her over his shoulder none too delicately. Can’t you carry me in a nicer manner? She complained in her head, but her tongue was too cold for her to get the words out so she couldn’t voice her discontent to James. Not that she had long to mull over her most unladylike position – the bike was only a few metres away and it only took a few seconds before James slid her down onto the bike before climbing on as well to drive them home.

Down here, unfortunately, lambs die when we have a big snowstorm right on lambing time. It's heartbreaking for the farmers, who work tirelessly to save as many as they can. 

                This is what it looks like where I live (and where Rachel's Journey is set) when it's not snowing: 

I hope you enjoyed my portrayal of farming life in NZ with this snippet of Rachel's Journey. Keep an eye on my blog for more snippets coming soon! 

Saturday Spankings!

As I (so far) only have the one book for sale, my Saturday Spankings blog post this week is about Bracken Ridge. Again. I've got a different 8 sentences for you all this week though!

Here they are: Enjoy!

"Your father reckons I’m not allowed to fire you. However, I have his full support in doing whatever I want to gain your compliance, and he will not question my methods.”

      “And what methods will they be?” Anna asked sweetly, looking up at him flirtatiously. As her father had told her the exact same thing last night she wasn’t surprised, although she was curious as to how Jeremy thought he would force her to obey him.

      “Spanking.” Jeremy replied, a twinkle in his eye.

      “Spanking? Are you serious?” It was all Anna could do not to laugh.

      “Ah-ha. Spanking. I take it you’re familiar with the concept?” This time the smallest of smiles escaped Jeremy’s lips even though he fought to stop it – he’d grown up with Anna. He knew for a fact that she was very familiar with the concept of spankings.

      “Crikey, that will just about be worth being naughty for!” 

Blurb:  When Anna Fletcher comes home from University back to Bracken Ridge, the equine centre where she grew up, she is stunned to find Jeremy McCrae working as the manager. They were children together and she has had a crush on him forever. The years she's been away, Jeremy has only gotten cuter.

Anna has plans for Bracken Ridge, but before she can implement them, she needs to prove herself. The biggest obstacle in her path is her nemesis, Sharon, the stable hand who thinks Jeremy is mighty fine. Once Anna gets past her, Jeremy is standing in her way - he's now the boss, but she can't work for him. He's been her best mate forever, and to cede to his authority now is going against every grain of her nature. Being the daughter of the owner, Jeremy isn’t allowed to fire Anna, so when she gets rebellious and sassy he decides to spank her instead.
Can Jeremy tame Anna's rebellious spirit before it is too late?

Buy from Blushing Books   Buy from Barnes & Noble  Buy from Amazon

This is a blog hop so please check out all these other fantastic authors for tantalising teasers!

** WHAT I'M WORKING ON RIGHT NOW **

Welcome to my blog and thank you for visiting! 

My #WIPITUP post this week is a snippet from the story I am working on right now. It's an historical Western, which probably sounds bizarre coming from a Kiwi writer, but I've been reading, and loving, Westerns forever, both books and movies. Louis L'Amour remains one of my favourite writers to this day; Larry McMurtry is another writer I really love. One of the books I read a few years ago, about an Englishman and his two daughters who hire some young cowboys to take their cattle to market over the plains, even has a couple of spankings (or threats of spankings anyway) in it, and I'd love to re-read it, but for the life of me I can't remember the title of the book :( If you know it, please help me out!

Anyway, I'm planning to write a series. I've got the first 3 books planned out, and while I'm more of a pantser than a plotter, so far this first book is going pretty close to my original plot outline. The old TV show Rawhide was the original inspiration for my series, and I'm madly in love with this man, trail boss Mr Favor.   I have no idea who owns the credits for this photo - I stole it off Pinterest.

So now for the excerpt:  Johnny and Rachel were part of a wagon train that got massacred by Indians, and they are the only survivors. For two days now, they've been travelling together, riding double on Johnny's horse, out of food and water, with no idea of where they're going.

“Look!” Johnny’s exclamation startled her so much that she nearly fell off the horse in surprise. She must have dozed off, as none of the terrain they were now travelling looked familiar. But she looked curiously in the direction Johnny was pointing. Dust, lots of dust; and it wasn’t more than a mile in front of them.

“What’s making that, do you think?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Cattle drive, I think. There’s too much dust for it to be anything else.”

Now that Jessica was awake, her stomach rumbled loudly, and she realised just how hungry she was, and thirsty. She’d never had so much beef jerky in her life, and while she was grateful for the nourishment it provided, she was desperate for a decent meal to fill her belly. Johnny must have heard her stomach protest, because he fished around in one of his saddle bags and pulled out a piece of jerky.

“Here you go – last one. You better pray the trail boss is nice, and willing to share some chow with us. I’ve got a bit of money to buy supplies off them, if they’ll sell.”

“You don’t need to spend money on me Johnny, I can’t repay you.”

Johnny twisted in his saddle to fix her with a stern stare. “Do you want a spanking?”

“No. I just …” Jessica shook her head emphatically, searching for the right words to express the way she was feeling. “It’s just … I’m grateful, truly I am, I just don’t want to be indebted to you. As I said, I can’t repay you.”

“I’m not asking to be repaid,” Johnny snarled. “Dammit woman, why can’t you just let me care for you?”

“Why do you want to? I’ve got nothing to offer you.”

Johnny flexed his hands as he crossed his ankle over the saddle horn and twisted around to face her properly. “You really do want a spanking, don’t you?  I told you I would take care of you, and I intend to do so. It’s just the way I am. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a pretty lady by my side. A mighty long time.” Johnny turned back round the right way, put his foot back in the stirrup and pushed his horse into a faster pace. Now that they had a destination in sight, he wanted to get there as fast as they could.

And that's my teaser for this week. I hope you like it! Check back again next week for more snippets of my new WIP!

Thanks for visiting! Please hop to the other blogs and check out all the other fantastic authors participating this week!