The fictional St. Clare School is very near and dear to Mija's heart. It exists largely in her mind and, prior to these stories, hadn't ever been shared with anyone. It has a long history, however, and the stories in this collection aren't written in any sort of serial fashion. Characters change and time moves forward and backward so only the school itself is a constant.

Mija's vision of St. Clare is roughly drawn from both her Catholic girls' school in the United States and her imaginary vision of a British girls' school - though the setting will seem more British than American. It also comes from her reading about schools in Britain and visits to Scottish museums and uniform shops.

Most of all it is an imaginary female space, so the stories will revolve around schoolgirls and their relationships with each other. And spanking too, of course. St. Clare School is nothing if not traditional.

Emily's Report (July 2001)
by Mija
M: This is more parental than the other St. Clare stories, but the school is still there (though maybe in not-so-central a fashion). It reflects my daddy/daughter-ish vein of stories.

Overdue (June 2001, SSC)
by Mija
M: A short St. Clare story for the 2001 SSC. I've always been fascinated at the power that prefects and the like were given over other girls at school - including the power to punish their peers.

A Meeting with Our Headmaster (September 2000)
by Mija
M: Mariana writes to her friend Vera about a visit to their headmaster's study and a very painful waking up!

The Comfort of Small Things (April 2000)
by Mija and MollyB
M: The third of the St. Clare stories, co-written with the ever-bratty MollyB. It's a tale of friendships between girls and women as two field hockey players pay with an OTK for an intimate transgression.

Can't Buy Me Love (September 1999)
by Mija
M: The second of the St. Clare stories. A new girl's attempt to win friends at St. Clare through gifts of sweets lands her in painful trouble as she painfully learns that true friendship must be earned.

Tessa's Summer Uniform (June 1999)
by Mija
M: The first of the St. Clare stories, inspired by a trip to Aitken and Niven in Edinburgh. A daughter's transfer to St. Clare and the shopping trip for her new uniform becomes a lesson in the discipline her mother 'felt' at both home and school.