Hitting the spot

‘FIND a comfortable chair, loosen any tight clothing and settle down to enjoy the experiences of Peter Jones, solicitor, charmer, complete b*****d and London Spank Daddy extraordinary!” It is with this tantalising suggestion that the erotic book, The True Confessions of a London Spank Daddy, begins – and what an invitation. For most women, the idea of reading a book about spanking must be unusual, to say the least, but this is not your average pornography, to be surreptitiously enjoyed by men or schoolboys – no, this is sex but with sophistication.

Peter Jones, the narrator, introduces himself as a respectable, middle- aged man, who just happens to have a penchant for spanking ladies’ bottoms. He explains, quite matterof- factly, that spanking induces adrenaline and certain pleasure-giving endorphins in the spankee – as well as exciting the spanker – and goes on to detail some of his encounters.

Despite the strangeness of the subject matter, he makes it all seem surprisingly normal – as if it is the most natural thing in the world for a grown woman to want to be spanked – and the facts that he is erudite and charming, and that his clients are always willing, give what he does a kind of credence. Hazel Cushion, the book’s publisher, says the key is that the women in the stories feel empowered.

“Our writers’ guidelines say stories must celebrate female sexuality in all its forms, so if she gets a damn good spanking, it’s because she wants one. We don’t include anything that’s too extreme because we don’t feel that’s what women want.”

The Spank Daddy’s memoirs – for which both the film and TV rights have been sold – is just one of many titles published by Xcite, the company Hazel runs. Aimed ostensibly at women, though men do buy the books, it produces short stories designed to titillate without being sordid – and if current sales are anything to go by, it’s hitting the mark.

So mainstream has Xcite become that its titles are stocked by the likes of Borders and WH Smiths, and even Moto Services, making them just as accessible as Mills and Boon. So what is the appeal? Hazel has her own theory.

“Our research shows that women enjoy erotic fiction whereas men tend to prefer pictures,” she says.

“You can read a short story in five or ten minutes and it just helps transport you out of your everyday life – it really works. We have a lot of sex therapists recommending the books as well. They help women sexually by introducing a lot of themes and ideas into a relationship and that helps keep things exciting.”

SHE may now be a successful entrepreneur but Hazel, 47, hasn’t always been in publishing.

In fact, the mother-of-three, who lives near Cardiff, came to it late in life. Having done a plethora of jobs – including working as a silversmith and selling duty free on cruise ships – her mother’s death made her pursue her love of writing.

“I’d always loved writing – English was definitely my favourite subject at school – and when I worked on the cruise ships I used to write my mother long letters home and she always encouraged me to be a writer,” she says.

“Then, unfortunately, she was killed in a car accident and as part of my way of trying to cope with that I used some of the money she’d left me to join a writing course. That led me to selling articles to newspapers and magazines.”

When Hazel turned 40, she embarked on an MA in creative writing.

It was this that introduced her to the world of publishing – and she has never looked back.

“I was doing it to develop my writing, but as part of the course we had to put an anthology of our work together, so we learned how to create a book,” she says. “As soon as I did that I was hooked. I realised that I didn’t want to become a writer, I wanted to become a publisher.”

A series of romantic, but not erotic, short stories, called Sexy Shorts, followed. They helped raise money for cancer charities, with big-name authors such as Katie Ford among the contributors. She may have been a novice, but Hazel was on the road to success.

“I didn’t know what I was doing at all because I’d had no training in publishing, so I just made it up as I went along,” she happily admits.

“But luckily I had no fear and just ploughed on. That led on to doing mainstream fiction and in 2003 I set up my own publishing company, Accent Press.”

Having garnered several awards for the fledgling brand, whose titles include crime, romance and diet books, Hazel was invited to Buckingham Palace as recognition for her achievements. The date was Valentine’s Day 2006 – the same day Xcite Books was launched.

“I realised I couldn’t find any decent erotic stories out there,” she explains.

“I realised there was a market for stories that helped women get out of day mode and into play mode.”

The target market is women like Hazel – ordinary, middle-aged mums who just want a little bit of sexy escapism.

It’s all just meant as harmless fantasy – although, amazingly, there really is a London Spank Daddy. “That is a genuine story and he is a genuine person,” says Hazel.

“He has his own website with an awful lot of women on it. I had a letter from a lady who had bought the book in Smiths and had since met the Spank Daddy and been spanked by him. I was a bit like ‘what have I done?’”

Hazel has no trouble attracting authors, both male and female, and says it can be quite liberating to express your fantasies. She considers submissions from everyone, not only published writers, and is vigilant on quality control.

“I know my target market, so I read the stories and make sure that they’re going to hit the right spot,”

she says. “The important thing about these books is that women can read them and feel good about themselves.

We’ve got a book coming out called Ultimate Curves, and I must admit I’ve got a few curves myself.

It’s nice to have real people.” This philosophy extends to disabled characters, with a woman in a wheelchair chatting up a man in one of the stories.

While it may not be for everyone, Hazel feels that erotic fiction has its place – and this is out in the open, not hidden away. She believes that women have the right to indulge their fantasies.

“I think society is very accepting of this sort of thing now – it’s lost its taboo,” she says. “Apparently people read the books on the Tube. It’s really important that we bring this into the mainstream and include everyone, because we all have these thoughts and fantasies. I think we are doing a good job in keeping lots of relationships going across the UK.”

■ The True Confessions of a London Spank Daddy by Peter Jones, Xcite Books, £7.99, xcitebooks.com