Cara Bristol is visiting me today, with her story from her brand new set, Correcting the Coeds, along with Celeste Jones, Sue Lyndon and Renee Rose. This whole set was awesome, and I loved it. Here’s my review đ And here’s Cara:
Thank you for having me today, Katherine!
When Celeste Jones approached me about writing a spanking romance set on a college campus in the 1950s, I didnât know much about the decade other than what Iâd gleaned from TV shows I Love Lucy, Happy Days, and Ozzie and Harriet. I wanted to make the setting and time period of my story, Educating his Bride in the Correcting the Coeds spanking romance collection, as authentic as possible. Once I got into the research I found the 1950s fascinating. You can think of my research like an iceberg: the details readers âseeâ in the story is only the tip of what I learned.
Here are few fun facts that didnât make it into Educating His Bride:
- Couples married at younger age in the 1950s than at any time in US History. In 1951, the median age of a first marriage for a man was 22.9 and for a woman, 20.4. Compare that to 2010 when it was 28.2 for men and 26.1 for women or 1890 at 26.1 for men and 22.0 for women. Getting married right out high school was very common in the 1950s.
- Fewer women (by percentage) received bachelor degrees in the 1950s (24% of bachelor degrees went to women) than in the 1920s (35%).
- Smoking was considered glamorous, and a lot more people smoked. In 1955, 56.9 % of men and 28.4% of women smoked. In 2010, that figure was 21.5% and 17.3%, respectively.
- In 1950, the median price of a single family home was $10,050 (at 4% interest).
- The average annual salary was $3,851 in 1955 and minimum wage was raised to $1 per hour from 75 cents.
- The first color TV (RCA) came out in 1954. It cost $1,000. Adjusted for inflation, that would be like paying $8,873 today.
- Playboy magazine debuted in 1953 with actress Marilyn Monroe as its first centerfold.
- The term âsex symbolâ came into usage in the 1950s, and the decade produced sexual icons Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Brigitte Bardot, Raquel Welch, and Elvis âthe Pelvisâ Presley.
- âThe Pillâ did not exist yet. The first oral contraceptive became available in the US in 1960.
Educating His Bride from Correcting the Coeds blurb
Never much interested in her studies, Margaret Atwater attends college hoping to graduate with an Mrs. degree instead of a bachelorâs. When she catches the eye of English Professor Henry Thurston, sheâs thrilled to marry him, drop out of school, and begin a new life as a married woman and faculty wife. However, Henry is a kinky man who has much to teach his eager young brideâin, and out, of the bedroom. As Mrs. Henry Thurston, Margaretâs education has just begun.
An excerpt from Correcting the Coeds
In this scene, Margaret is being taken to task by her professor for not doing well on an assignment.
âNow, tell me why you believe I grade you harder than anybody else.â
She wet her lips. âBecause you do.â
âMy standards are no more exacting for you than they are for any other student. I expect excellence from each of you.â
âIâm sorry. Iâll try harder.â
He flipped open a record book and ran his finger down a list. âAs it stands now, your grade is a shaky C minus. If you donât do well on the final next week, you run the risk of getting a D in the course.â He snapped the grade book closed. âWe had a discussion after your last paper, did we not?â
âYes.â
âI believe I warned you what the consequences would be if you failed to get at least a B.â He opened his middle desk drawer.
Yes, theyâd talked aboutâbut he couldnât be serious.
He withdrew a thick, heavy eighteen-inch measuring stick. âLock the office door, please.â
Her feet obeyed, even as her mind rebelled. Will he really do this? Her hand shook as she twisted the key. She supposed she could have fled screaming down the corridor, except ladies did not run, let alone scream.
Henry closed the Venetian blinds and switched on a lamp.
She leaned against the stout wood of the door, her eyes riveted on the nasty ruler.
âCome forward, please.â He beckoned with a curl of his fingers. âPut your hands on the desk. Do not remove them until your punishment is over.â
âHenry, please,â she beseeched.
âNow, Margaret.â His expression implacable, he folded his arms. There would be no budging him.
Seeing him so, so stern did something funny to her insides. Made them quiver. It wasnât all nerves, either. She shuffled forward to place her palms against the blotter. I can do this. How bad can it be? He wonât spank me hard. He only intends to scare me.
He moved the chair out of the way. âFifteen spanks.â
Fifteen? Sheâd expected two or three at most. Hadnât expected any if the truth be told.
She sensed movement and then the ruler struck her backside, blazing a line of fire, and she cried out.
âThatâs one,â he said.
The only thing worse than being spanked would be the humiliation of discovery. She clamped her lips together and braced for the next strike.
Another pain-laden streak lanced through several layers of clothing. She couldnât imagine the impact on bare skin.
âTwo,â he said.
Thwack! The length of the ruler struck both cheeks at once, and her hands flew off the desk to protect her bottom.
âYou know where your hands belong. Put them there unless you want extra strokes.â
She slapped her palms onto the desk.
âThat was three,â he said.
A whoosh then the measuring stick seared the crease where buttocks met thigh and, despite her resolve to remain silent, a little cry escaped.
âIâm sorry I have to punish you, but you promised to do better. You made a commitment. That was four.â
Margaret sucked back the tears. âMaybe I didnât break a promise. Maybe Iâm not smart enough.â
âI donât believe that about you for an instant. You didnât do well because you didnât apply yourself.â
He applied himself with another stroke that got Margaret dancing on tiptoes in an attempt to alleviate the burn.
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Author bio
Multi-published, Cara Bristol is the author of more than 20 erotic romance titles. She writes spanking romance, contemporary romance, paranormal, and science fiction romance. No matter what the subgenre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently lives in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When sheâs not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.