JessicaK:
Hi, I'm new here.
Welcome! And thanks for jumping right into a Forum discussion.
For me, the interest goes way back, as far as I can remember. Of course, I didn't figure out until years later that I was "into" it. I wasn't spanked myself as a kid, and never longed to get or receive one. I just found myself drawn to the idea of it. As others have noted, I repeatedly looked up spanking-related words in the dictionary, re-read any story (or just the "good" parts) where someone received a spanking.
Then, post-puberty, there was one girl at school about whom I had some rather elaborate fantasies, a part of which was me spanking her. And of course, the girls I found attractive always had the most delicious backsides. Fantasies about giving spankings remained present, albeit in the background, as I entered my adult years. Unfortunately, I still wasn't aware that I was "into" it until after I got married. By the time I discovered that I was - and that she WASN'T - it was too late.
When the internet came along, like so many other people, I found that that I wasn't alone. I began my writing as a way to express my interests long before I had any experience. Only after my marriage ended (for mostly non-spanking-related issues), was I free for r.l exploration. And here I am, still writing.