We're interviewing Cara Bristol today about her new sci-fi spanking romance Breeder.  Welcome, Cara!

Spanking Romance: You’re known for your contemporary domestic discipline novels and erotic paranormals. What made you decide to write a sci-fi novel? Have you written science fiction before?

Cara Bristol: I chose the science fiction genre because I could not tell the story any other way. Breeder evolved from an idea in which law made slaves of women. Obviously, a contemporary setting would not work. When I started writing fiction many years ago, I wrote sci-fi Twilight Zone-ish stories with a twist at the end. But then I switched to mainstream contemporary fiction, and it wasn’t until this story that I returned to science fiction. It’s great to be back!

Spanking Romance: Is that how you would describe Breeder, Twilight Zone-ish with a twist?

Cara Bristol: No. I would describe it as sci-fi for people who don’t normally read sci-fi. I created an alien world (setting), but my characters are humanoid. There are enough similarities to our world to make contemporary romance readers feel comfortable, yet enough dissimilarities to make it interesting. My goal is to engage my readers in such a way that they can’t put the book down. If they gasp, “oh no!” as they read, I will consider Breeder a success.

Spanking Romance: What is Breeder about?

Cara Bristol: Breeder is about an alien society (planet Parseon) that enslaves its females. Parseon values women so little that men pair up with each other for companionship. With the exception of sex for procreation, men are not supposed to have sex with women. The hero, Dak, acquires a breeder to produce a son. As Alpha, Dak is one of five ruling Commanders who embody Protocol, the law that has defined social status and enslaved its females. He falls in love with a breeder the law has forbidden him to want. The law that he’s responsible for enforcing. His love for Omra jeopardizes his relationship with his partner, the command of his province, and the political stability of the entire planet. The stakes are very high.

Spanking Romance: Does Breeder involve spanking? How do you incorporate spanking and/or domestic discipline into science fiction?

Cara Bristol: Yes, it does contain spanking and domestic discipline. Parseon is a violent society in which punishment—including public flogging of males and females—is the norm. Besides being sci-fi, Breeder is also a non-con domestic discipline story, although the DD relationship is not the focus as it is with my Rod and Cane Society novels. The story of Breeder is much broader—it’s about a man and woman’s fight against their society to be together. Writing sci-fi did allow me to be freer with the expression of spanking. I created alien spanking implements, and of course, noncon is a nonissue.

Spanking Romance: Besides being science fiction does Breeder differ in other ways from the other novels you’ve written?

Cara Bristol: In several ways, actually. First, as I mentioned, DD occurs in the book but it is not the focus. Second, the story is much more violent than any of my other books. I had to write a lot of physical scenes like fights and battles. Third, it contains some M/M contact, which I haven’t written before. Fourth, the setting plays a far greater role. And, fifth, Breeder is my longest book to date – about 62,000 words. Breeder is my tenth stand-alone published title (I also have two anthologies with other authors), but it contains a lot of “firsts” for me.

Spanking Romance: Are there any similarities to what you’ve written in the past?

Cara Bristol: It involves one man and one woman in a domestic discipline relationship who love each other very much. There is spanking and hot sex. So the usual Cara Bristol fare!

Spanking Romance: Is there a message to Breeder?

Cara Bristol: There is. The message centers upon acceptance and tolerance. As a society we are too quick to judge and denigrate that which we considered to be deviant behavior. We have a lot of rules for right and wrong that are not based on reason, individual needs or even the collective good.

Spanking Romance: Do you see yourself writing more science fiction?

Cara Bristol: Absolutely. Breeder is book one of a series; I just haven’t decided whether it will be three books or five.

Spanking Romance: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about Breeder?

Cara Bristol: Just that subtlety and nuance matter and have meaning. I put a lot of thought into this book—it’s definitely a “show” rather than a “tell.” Pay attention to what the characters do. Even little things mean something. And then sit back and enjoy the story. Thank you for having me today!

Breeder Blurb

To secure his legacy, Commander Dak, a ruling Alpha of planet Parseon, purchases Omra, a breeder slave. He intends to impregnate her, produce a son, and hand her off to his anointed beta partner. As Dak and Omra discover a sexual bliss banned by law, he begins to question the traditions and ways of his people, causing him to jeopardize his command and endanger the life of the woman he has come to love.

Breeder contains M/F and M/M sexual practices and domestic discipline.

Breeder Excerpt:

If not for the sneeze, Dak would have exited the musty, dank corridor. But the muffled sound caught his attention. When he squinted into the darkened cell, he spotted a female crouched on a straw mat in the corner. He hadn’t noticed her on his way into the Breeder Containment Facility; the habitation unit had appeared empty.

Dak turned to the BCF director and sighed. “What about her?”

The beta’s already crooked mouth drooped farther in distaste. “My apologies, Commander. You don’t want that one.”

Sival’s disparagement piqued Dak’s interest. The director’s opinion had proven worthless; none of the breeders he’d preselected for inspection had rated close to satisfactory.

“I would like to see her,” Dak insisted.

“Very well, Commander.” Sival saluted and opened the habitation cell with a master entry card. Dak stepped into the small enclosure. The director followed, and the metal gate clanked shut.

The naked female drew into a tighter ball and tucked her face deeper into the crook of her arm. Other breeders had preened as soon as they’d noticed him and his chest-insignia identification. He wasn’t just an alpha. He was the Alpha.

This breeder’s lack of respect and failure to adhere to Protocol by acknowledging his presence struck him as odd. Dak frowned. “Is she mentally deficient?”

Sival tightened his lips. “No, stubborn, ill behaved. She would not befit an Alpha Commander.” He nudged the female’s hip with the toe of his boot. “Rise to your feet.” She did not respond, and he moved to prod her again. Dak forestalled him with a wave and grasped the female’s arm.

“You will stand.” He hauled her upright. She averted her face, so he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Tangled hair the color of black heating stones fell back from an oval face to reveal eyes like the Parseon moon. The glimmer of intelligence that sparked within the violet depths aroused his interest more than anything else he’d seen so far. Nature had bestowed the Parseon people with an exceptionally strong immune system so that they rarely required medical intervention, but breeders by nature were weak, and so many of the ones he’d seen had seemed dull or ill or both. This one’s skin, when unsmudged by grime and dirt, probably glowed like the pale sands of the Ospian Sea. He supposed, as breeders went, she wasn’t unattractive, although the stench emanating from her was. His beta would throw a fit if he dragged such a creature into their domicile.

“Why is she so filthy?” he asked.

“She refuses to bathe.”

As Dak scrutinized her facial features for shape and symmetry, he noted little imperfection or dysgenics other than her lack of hygiene and her gender. When cleaned up, she would please the eye, but to bear his sons, it mattered more that she be healthy and strong.

He released her face, stepped back, and assessed her from head to toe. He exceeded the height of most males, alphas included, while she stood smaller than the average female. The top of her head failed to even meet his shoulder. She was thinner than other breeders too, although her chest bore an abundance of fatty breast tissue. In the chill of the cell, her nipples had puckered to hard points. Despite the coolness, he was experiencing a rise in temperature. A dormant lust chose that moment to kindle, causing heat to coil in his abdomen and groin. He could not remember the last time he’d experienced such a spontaneous reaction—if he ever had. With the pads of his fingers, he probed the sides of her neck for swollen areas. The way she trembled under his touch aroused a sliver of sympathy. Breeders lacked courage, and uncertainty frightened them. Not all alphas and their betas treated breeders well. If he chose her, she would be adequately fed and housed. His command consumed his time and energy, which left his beta alone for long stretches. A breeder would relieve Corren of household chores and provide him with a physical outlet as well.

What’s your preference in fiction…domestic discipline or erotic spanking? Why?

Reading-wise? I love edgy BDSM fiction. I can get into the romantic domestic discipline stuff on occasion, but holy hell, give me a book with a sex slave and a rough-tough Master, and I’ll dive right in.

Writing-wise? I like to switch it up. Writing domestic discipline comes pretty naturally for me. This is at least partly due to it being a personal fantasy (getting spanked for a reason is soooo hot).

I also really like writing BDSM fiction, and I write shorter stories with erotic spankings.

 Do you see a difference between spanking fiction and BDSM? What is it?

There are spankophiles who would say they don’t practice BDSM. There are domestic discipline enthusiasts who will swear up and down that what they do isn’t BDSM, either.

Spanking is a hot topic that pushes people’s buttons. They either like it or they don’t. What do you think makes it hot, both positive and negative? 

Spanking sounds, to the uninformed, a whole lot like abuse. If it doesn’t turn someone on, I can totally understand why they’d be squeamish. No sane, good person would want to be an abuser, or want to be abused (in a bad way).

Domestic violence is a huge problem. It’s the number one cause of injury to adult women under the age of 44. Sometimes it really is hard to tell the difference between a consensual Dom/sub relationship and an abusive one. Sometimes, the reason it’s hard to tell is

because that line can get blurry.

It’s great to get informed about SSC (safe, sane, and consensual) and RACK (risk aware consensual kink) practices so that, when confronted by someone who is worried about abuse, you can intelligently inform them about fun spankings, consensual domestic discipl

ine, and BDSM.