And we’re outta here

Nick and I are taking off this morning for a short vacation. Just the two of us. We’re heading to one of my very favorite places. I won’t be around much for the rest of the week, but I do have a post over at the Reading Room. Cassie and Sue are answering a few questions today. Tom will answer a few next week. I hope you’ll check it out.

I’ll be back next week and I’ll try to get caught up with everyone.

The cane made all the difference

Since most of you know how I feel about the cane, I hoped I could entice you in with the title.  It’s so true, but it wasn’t really like the canes we sometimes talk about here. It was more like a stick. And Nick didn’t use it on me. I was the one using it.

Let me explain. Earlier this year Nick and I headed up in the mountains and he lured me on a hike in the woods.  Here’s what I wrote about it, complete with pictures, back in July.

We took a day to ride up into the mountains and I always enjoy that – the riding part. Hiking is not my thing. I can walk quite well on reasonable flat smooth ground.  Picking my want through toe snagging roots and climbing up rocks, not so much.

I desperately needed my walking stick, which I didn’t have but I did make it up one trail to a place Mollie had suggested. She said it was a short easy hike. She lied. I told her later, “Try this again when you’re sixty.” To which she replied “I will. And I’ll let you know what I think.” 

It actually wouldn’t have been all that bad if I had had that good walking stick and for all my complaining I’ve told Nick I’d go back with him again this fall when the leaves turn. It should be specular. Here are a few pictures of what I thought was a rough trail, but a great reward at the end.

We started with toe grabbing roots.

This was the smooth easy part.

These looked even steeper in real life and they

turned near the top to the left and kept going.  

Not fun going up or down with nothing to hold on to.

But I have to admit the view was incredible.

This is why I'm willing to try it again in the fall.

We went again this past Saturday. And I had my walking stick – that’s what made all the difference! It wasn’t like I was flying up the path or anything, but I did it! Nick was often far ahead. He’s in great shape and trots up those hills like a mountain goat. But he didn’t lose me and the view was still great. The clouds were hanging low in the valley giving it a whole different look and the fall colors are a little behind this year. 

I just wanted to show you I’m not sitting on my butt writing all the time. And I’m sure Ronnie will be pleased to know I’ve finally found a use for at least one kind of cane!

Thank-you, thank-you!

You all are the best! So many of you checked in over at the Reading Room and I really do appreciate it. My writing is my hobby, my career, the fulfillment of a dream, and one of my true loves. When you all step in and participate, it makes me feel that this love of mine makes others happy and that makes everything worthwhile. And I don’t just mean those who commented or asked questions – I mean everyone who came by. I can check stat-counter for the number and it was way more than I usually get on that site.

The questions have been great! I feel I know my characters very well, but hearing them answer the questions helps me go even deeper into who they are. I can even feel stories coming from some of them as I let these questions roll over in my head. Since I’m only posting two or three questions each Wednesday you are giving enough to post for several months at least. Please keep coming back.

Now there is one question that has never been asked and I’m always expecting it. If I were just a reader, I feel it would cross my mind to ask.  To be fully honest when I’ve gotten together with some of you I feel like it was touched on briefly in a conversation, but we didn’t go into it in depth. It’s one I would like to answer, but I want one of you to ask it first.

I’ve decided to have a contest. The first person to ask that particular question, in comment or by email, will get a free copy of Cassie’s new book. I won’t have Price Waterhouse checking behind me, you’ll just have to trust me. The first time I see the question that person will be the winner. I’m sharing this with all of you here first. If I don’t get a winner by next Wednesday, I’ll put this up at the Reading Room.  It you leave that certain question in comment, be sure to include your email address if I don’t already have it.

I know you all don’t run around daily thinking about my characters, like I do, so I appreciate you playing along and helping me get this new ‘questions’ idea off the ground at the Reading room. I hope you’ll come by there each Wednesday to check it out. Every Saturday I have a snippet from one of my books there, well, most Saturdays. In November, I’ll begin posting snippets there from the new book. On Tuesdays, I usually host another author and their book. So, drop by anytime.

I won't put this up every time, but for any newcomers:

If you haven't ever read a Cassie book, you should give one a try.

     Cassie's Space (book one)   

Cassie's Tale (book two)                       

Cassie on the Move (book three)          

Cassie's River Living (book four)        

Cassie's Conflict (book five)

Cassie's Influence (book six)

Cassie's Ordeal (book seven)

Cassie Corralled (book eight)

Cassie's Road Trip (book nine)

Cal's Law (book one)

Becoming Family (book two)

Cassie's answering questions.

Remember Cassie is answering some questions over at the Reading Room today. Please come by if you get the chance. 

Letting go of fear

We all have fears. Fear keeps us from running into a burning building, it keeps us from leaping off high cliffs and it can keep us from walking down a dark dangerous street late at night. There is nothing wrong with good honest fear.

But as I think to the time I began blogging, my fears surrounding the idea were substantial. I feared ‘strangers’ on the internet.

Haven’t we all been warned since the internet began? I feared sharing my strange desire for spanking with Nick. I certainly feared someone else would find out – my boss, my friends, my church, my in-laws, and of course my children. I was so careful I created a different identity, new email, new passwords for my computer. I even feared these things. Would I be in trouble (with whom I didn’t know) for creating this false identity. Probably some of the fear caused excitement and that wasn’t a totally bad thing.

Over the years I’ve watched these fears fade away almost to the point that I can’t remember what I feared in the first place. Would I have lost my teaching position if those at the education center had found out I wrote a spanko blog and eventually that I wrote books containing spanking and sex? I don’t know. Here in a southern small town, I guess I could have. Fighting it would have been embarrassing at the time. That fear could have been legitimate.

As the years went by I began telling my real life friends, they were great. Most were amused, and all seemed to have a live and let live attitude. As for the church, I remember asking here on the blog about what to tell the new minister the first time I met her. I asked, “Should I lead with the fact that I write sexy books, or that my son’s gay?” Turns out we discussed both the first day we met and she was totally fine with both things.

As for Nick’s family, no reason to fear there. I could be on the New York Times best seller list and make more money than EL James and they would never acknowledge it. These people, who are fine people even if they do piss me off, could ignore an elephant as big as a house in the room. Just as they ignore LJ and his marriage. To them gay marriage, as well as my books, don’t exist.

I did fear my children discovering ‘our secret’ before they were old enough to understand just how consensual it was. I couldn’t let them help me with my technology questions because I didn’t want them to see the spanking pictures I posted. But as they grew up, that last fear faded with their maturity. Both know what I write and both seem glad that it makes me happy. Mollie has never read one of my books, she says she doesn’t want to. But she has bought everyone when it came out to support me. I think that’s very sweet.

This weekend Mollie was home. She was cooking for a tailgate party she was going to and I, being the good mother, was in the kitchen pestering her and generally getting in her way. Exasperated she came out with an empty threat she heard often as a child, ‘If you don’t get out of here I’m going to get the paint stick.’ Then she added, ‘Never mind, you weirdo, you’d probably like it.’  I burst out laughing and she joined me. We’ve come a long way.

It’s been a long journey, letting go of these fears. It’s been a good journey. I’ve gained confidence in myself and lost the worry of what other’s think of me. I’m comfortable with who I am and what I do. That’s a wonderful feeling.

If you're curious, you can help me

I guess you all know this is my online diary. Occasionally it’s exciting, most of the time it’s, at best, ordinary. It’s where I come with great excitement when Nick spanks me for one reason or another. It’s where I come to complain that Nick doesn’t spank enough. I’ve talked here about spanking, marriage, kids, retirement, sex, friendships, spanking implements, butt plugs, sex toys, writing, desires… I could go on and on. I past my eleventh-year blog anniversary back in the summer. I’ve put up more than 2,100 posts and I’ve had over a million hits.

This isn’t, however, where I do my ‘advertising’ for the books. When I put up about my books here or the two or three other writers whose books I’ve told you about, I don’t think that’s advertising. Talking about it here is simply telling my friends about them. Even if you are not one of the friends I’ve met in person, the community here feels like friends. Whether you comment anonymously or even if you never comment at all, you are taking time out of your day to read here. I think that makes us friends.

I do have a ‘professional’ site, PK Corey’s Reading Room. Now that site feels much more like a business. Sadly, I’m not very business minded. I only post there twice a week. On Saturday’s I usually post a snippet from one of my books for the blog hop, Saturday Spankings. I’ll soon be posting snippets from the newest book, but right now I’m in the earlier ones. Then on Tuesdays I post for the Never-Ending Blog Tour, hosting another author and other’s host me.

I’d like to try something new there and this is where you all could help. On Wednesdays, I’d like to put up questions to my characters. I’ve already emailed some friends asking for questions, but now I’m asking everyone. All my characters are opened for questions – Cassie, Tom, Sue, Steve, Annie, Andy, Allie, Ryan, Lily and Drew as well as, Cal, Jenny and any other characters that have appeared in any of the books. Is there anything you would like to ask any of them? I’ll be hosting this over at the Reading Room and I’d love to have you come by.

If you do think of any questions you can leave them in comments or you can email them to me a elisspeaks@yahoo.com  I have other ideas, but I just don’t know what all might work. I’ve thought of having a Pinterest page for Cassie. I am going to try to use twitter and Instagram more, I have accounts but haven’t really used them. If I get the hang of it, I’ll let you know.

My life is wonderfully busy at the moment. I’m reading a real, hold in my hand, book, listening to another on my phone, reading one on my kindle, and beta reading one for a friend on the computer. I’m writing for two blogs, finishing the edits on this last book and heavy into the third Cal and Jenny book. And I’m loving every minute of it. I hope you’ll help with questions and I hope you’ll come by the Reading Room on Wednesdays. I can use all the support over there I can get.

The Writing Conference

Look, I’m a pro – it says so right here on my name card! The headdress if from the Mardi Gras party the last night. You’ll notice it does not say what kind of professional I am.

I’ve been and come home. I enjoyed myself, I really did. I’m not sure that going to writing conferences will ever be my thing, but there were very nice people there and I found the lectures interesting. There were a few who asked what I wrote and I told them. Everyone was very nice. Some were puzzled and asked a few questions, several laughed – but not in a mean way. And many asked for my card.

I found the easiest ways to describe what I write to vanillas was to say it was about a lovely older couple, deeply in love, combined with FSOG. Then they seemed to grasp it. The lectures I feel I got the most from was one on time management – I needed that one. Often my morning writing sessions turn into Facebook time. I need to do better.

Another lecture I needed was about having a presence on social media. You can’t sell books if no one knows they’re out there. I got some good practical advice, a little of it I even understood. Obviously, there’s Facebook and I do have a PK Corey page. Then she discussed twitter and Instagram. I have these too, wish I could remember how to use the darn things. She insisted we all needed out own web page. I agree wholeheartedly. Haven’t a clue what the woman was talking about.

Okay I vaguely know what a web page is but not how to get one or what to put on it. The good news is that when there was a question and answer period I politely asked the presenter if she could come live in my home for a couple of weeks and truly explain what the hell she was talking about. Enough of us volunteered to host her to keep her from having to pay rent for the next six months at least. Bad news, she’s not coming – the good news she gave me one of her books which, hopefully, will help me with all this.  

There was, however, a problem I hadn’t anticipated. I should have realized it was going to happen. One of you could have warned me and then I could have made up something and I wouldn’t have seemed like such a fool each time the question came up. And what was this difficult to answer question?

What does PK stand for?

All I could do was stand and stare. I sure as hell wasn’t telling them the whole story, which even when you hear it’s still a ridiculous name! I blame Eve for all this. I mostly stammered and said it’s just initials. If anyone has a better response, please share with me. And for those of you who don’t know how Eva saddled me with this strange name can read the whole sorry tale here.

In spite of my worrying, I had a good weekend. But I am so very glad to be home! And to have the week stretching out before me with time to write. The new Cassie book should be out just before Thanksgiving and I got to see the new cover Saturday. It’s the most beautiful, perfect cover I’ve ever seen. I nearly cried. It’s going to be a while before I can show you, but any Cassie fans will love it.

I’ve also finished the rough, very rough, draft on the third Cal’s Law book. And I’ll be working on that for the next little bit. I hope you all will like these next two books as much as I do.