Gracie Malling - Claimed by the Captain

Claimed By the Captain

Gracie Malling

Key words: Historical, Romance, Spanking, Discipline, Head of Household, Witch
Finder, Adventure

I'm so happy to have Gracie Malling over to visit today with her book Claimed by the Captain. It seems her heroine will be facing some moral dilemmas in this one. I'm looking forward to reading it.


Blurb:
When Captain Thomas Edwards returns home after twenty years at sea to
take ownership of the White Hart Inn following the death of his father, he has not
even reached the edge of the village before he comes across a miscreant stealing
apples from a local farmer’s orchard. Upon discovering that the thief is a young
woman named Ellen who has been employed in his father’s inn for years, he
considers it his responsibility to bare her bottom and spank her soundly.
In addition to working as a servant at the White Hart, Ellen has become
known for her skill as an herbalist, and the last thing she needs is a stern sea captain
getting in the way of her curing the ailments of her fellow villagers with a potion or
tonic when the need arises. But despite her shock at being punished in such a
shameful manner for nothing more than stealing a few apples, to Ellen’s surprise the
painful chastisement leaves her aching for Thomas to take her in his arms and make
her his.
Despite his willingness to spank her bare bottom whenever he feels it
necessary, Ellen finds herself falling deeper in love with Thomas with every passing
day. But when plague strikes the village and a witch finder is summoned, Thomas
forbids Ellen from using her herbs to aid her friends and neighbors. As the situation
grows more desperate, will she disobey him and put her skills to use even if it means
risking her life, and can he keep her safe if she does?

Excerpt:

Ellen was not a fool; she knew when she was caught. “Sir, if you
heard it all, why are you asking me these questions?” she asked with an impatient
sigh.
“To see if you would be honest with me,” he replied, his voice heavy with
disapproval. “But now I see you are a liar as well as a witch.”
Ellen wrenched her arm out of his grip. “How dare you!”
“Do you deny it?”
“Aye, sir,” she replied angrily. “I merely help others as nanny did before me.”
“With charms and poultices and spells? Do you not see the very great danger
you put yourself in by indulging in these practices?”
Ellen planted her fists on her hips. “Nanny said—”
“Your grandmother should have known better than to teach you such tricks,”
said the master, taking a step closer. “She has made a target of you.”
“You will not speak of nanny that way!”
“Take care, girl,” warned the master, “or I shall put you over my knee.”
Ellen felt heat rush to her face and the muscles in her stomach clenched
painfully. It was all so sudden; her body reacting to his words, against her will.
She swallowed. “I have not stolen anything, sir.”
“Not tonight,” he said. “But you have been disrespectful and argumentative.
As I told you yesterday, it is my responsibility to protect you as it is your duty to obey
me. I would be failing in that responsibility if I allowed you to continue with this
reckless behaviour.”
The brief flare of fear (or was it excitement?) was extinguished in a rush of
outrage. Ellen drew herself up to her full height. “It is not for you to tell me what I may
and may not do! Sir,” she added with venom, attempting once more to return to the
inn.
But the master was quicker and she found her way blocked again.
“Have you already forgotten your promise to obey me, Ellen?” he demanded,
his voice quieter now but still intense. “Were the tears and remorse yesterday a lie
as well?”

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo

Bio: Gracie Malling lives in the UK and has been writing BDSM erotica since she
was 21. All round nice person on the outside and a bit of a bad girl in secret, Gracie
loves reading and writing stories about spanking: her favourite kink.
Social Links: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Goodreads


Questions:
So first, of course, the obvious question. How did you become a writer?

I’ve been obsessed with writing stories for pretty much as long as I’ve been reading
them: so since the age of about five at least! I must have started thousands of stories
between then and my mid-twenties but I never finished anything: I just didn’t seem to
have the stamina. This was constantly frustrating – because I love writing so much –
so for my 26 th birthday, I bit the bullet and bought myself a place on a creative writing
course… and I haven’t looked back since!

Are you like any of your heroines?

If I had to choose, I’d say I was probably most like Jo (from Troublemaker). A bit
cheeky, occasionally sulky, and completely in love with being spanked!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love going for long walks with our awesome dog, watching all the films and reading
all the books, having millions of cuddles with the people I love, pursuing increasingly
ridiculous hobbies (including Scottish Country Dancing and pirate re-enactment),
practising yoga, playing the piano and going out for cocktails with my friends.

If you were attending a Halloween party, what would your costume be and why?

I quite like the idea of getting together with a bunch of friends and dressing in those
red dresses and white hats from The Handmaid’s Tale… non-traditional, I guess, but
definitely terrifying!

What's your favorite dish to cook?

It’s not really a dish, but I love to bake focaccia bread! It’s so lovely and salty and oily
and it smells so gooooood…

Have you ever jumped out of a plane?

Yes! I did a sponsored sky dive for a children’s charity when I was 20 years old. It
was amazing but I think once was definitely enough for me…!

What mythical creature would you want to be?

I would definitely be a fairy. I mean, they can fly, they get to be naughty all the time,
and they only ever really eat cake – what’s not to love?!

Do you have any advice for other writers?

The best writing advice I’ve ever seen is ‘you can’t edit a blank page’. It’s so simple
but so true. My advice to anyone starting out would be to give their inner critic a
holiday and just write and write everything that’s in their head – you can turn it into
something that makes sense afterwards.