#WIPitUP - 1/2016 - Acting Lessons & Lessons in Love - Facing doubts #DD #KissMeKate #OfficeRomance

WIP: Work in progress.  WIP it up Wednesday is a hop where writers share portions of the project they're working on with readers.  I really like the idea because it allows me to share something that's still in the creative stage as well as work behind the scenes as a prompt to keep me writing.

So, I want to continue sharing "Lessons in Love" with you, but today, I'm also going to share a snippet from my 5th spanking book, Acting Lessons, loosely based on the story of Kiss Me Kate. So, it's another two-fer from me.

He was a strict and demanding college professor turned professional director who excelled at giving acting lessons.  She was his shy and uncertain former student who became a professional actress under his tutelage.  They fell in love, married, and won two Tony Awards before tragedy struck and a simple kiss ripped them apart.

After a six month separation, Peter Thorton decides to take matters into his own hands by making his famous wife, Kate, an offer she wouldn't refuse.  Plainly put, he wants her back and he intends to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goal, even if it means giving his stubborn, willful leading lady a daily reminder over his knee that she promised to obey him.

In this scene, which occurs two-thirds into the book, Peter Thorton is directing his wife and some college students in a production of Kiss Me Kate and they've reached the famous spanking scene near the end of the musical. Though Peter spanks Kate in real life, she's done everything she can to get him to cut this scene, because spankings are intense, intimate and extremely personal for her and she doesn't want one to happen on-stage. Peter, however, assures her the stage spanking will be nothing like the real ones, and it is essential to the story, so it can't be cut. Kate reluctantly agrees to try, but she has severe misgivings about doing this scene.

             The afternoon sped by getting them to the critical juncture of Scene V around four PM.  "All right, guys, I'd like to attempt blocking this scene following "Were Thine That Special Face" all the way through to the end.  You okay with that, Lilli?"

            Kate's eyes immediately widened with apprehension.  "I'm not sure.  I mean my 'knee' has been aching today.  Perhaps we should wait to block the spanking another day."

            "Let's give it a shot.  If your knee hurts too much, we'll stop and try again tomorrow."

            She nodded, but he figured she'd use her knee as an excuse.  Then again, she had another area, which also might be a bit too sore today for this scene, so he'd have to mimic the strikes to avoid causing her more discomfort.

Kate may be a professional, but there are some things that are just too personal to share with an audience.

M/F, DD and a staged production of Kiss Me, Kate.

If you're 18 or older, you can read the first three chapters at Acting Lessons

Buy the book directly from Blushing Books

"Lessons in Love" centers around a wealthy business owner who believes in helping his executive admins using politically incorrect, H.R.unapproved, and therefore clandestine, Domestic Discipline techniques.  Since DD isn't for everyone, he does tend to go through admins rather frequently.  However, he also makes sure if they choose not to work for him because of his unorthodox management style, that they are given another suitable position in his company if they wish to stay, or a handsome severance package if they choose to leave.

Pam Weston has worked in Robert Peterson's company for nearly six months as a temp when she is reassigned to the President's office.  She has caught glimpses of Mr. Peterson when she temped on the executive floor, but she never expected she'd be summoned to work for him.  Pam has a criminal record and a murky past, which has made her practically unemployable, and yet now H.R. has assigned her to work for the president of their company, and after her first day she suspects working for Mr. Peterson will be a very different experience.

This excerpt follows on directly after last week's. Mr. Peterson has ordered Pam to block off the morning on his calendar so they could have a "discussion" about his expectations for his assistant. Pam is understandably nervous to have his intentions spelled out in black and white.

Pam swiveled in her chair as he turned to walk back into his office. "Would you like me to get you some coffee, sir?"

He smiled back at her. "No need. I'm going to order some breakfast brought up for our meeting, since I'm certain you didn't take time to eat anything this morning. Did you?"

Pam flushed with embarrassment. How did he understand her so well in so short a time? "No, sir."

"You now have twenty-nine minutes, Miss Weston, before I pull you out of that chair and escort you into my office."

Her cheeks growing even warmer, Pam gave a small nod and waited for him to shut the door before she gazed at Krista in terror. "I'm not sure I can do this."

When Pam Weston was ordered to report to the CEO of Peterson Enterprises she had no idea her new boss had hired her specifically as his next pet project, so she took the assignment suspecting he would fire her before the end of the day. Recognizing a prison record rendered her unemployable by most companies, she worked hard and kept a low profile. Except, working as an executive assistant for the CEO was about as "high profile" as any job could get. And working for Robert Peterson in particular would present Pam with challenges she never expected.

The novel was accepted by Blushing Books and is scheduled to be published on January 27, 2016

Hope you enjoyed the excerpt(s).  Thanks for visiting.  Now go visit the other authors and see what they're sharing by either clicking one of the links below, or visiting WIP it up Wednesday.