Cougar Growls Blog Tour - Day Four - Mia Watts

Okay, so I’m probably out of order or something but for those of you who know me, that’s to be expected. I think I’m supposed to tell you a little about me and then a little about my story and possibly a little about the whole “cougar/cub” thing. I can do that. Sometimes I actually stay on task so I’ll give it a go.
Howdy, I’m Mia. I usually write guy on guy erotic romances but occasionally take the dive into guy on gal or, um, gal on guy. (That would be my intro. One down, two to go) This Anthology is about the wonders of experiences women with younger men. Now, I’m not talking sluts. I’m talking about LIFE experience. ‘Cause honeys, some of these young men know what they’re doing! I’m just sayin’. You can’t tell me that if a younger man (whether a couple of years to a couple of, um, more years) hit on you and made you feel like the sexiest creature to walk the Earth, you wouldn’t at least be curious about how he intends to follow through. Nope, you can’t because I won’t believe you. Liar.
(That was part two. See? I can do this!) My story is about an older woman and a younger man. *cheesy grin* Surprised, aren’t you? I mean, such a theme in a cougar anthology has your head spinning doesn’t it?
Heh.
Oh, you want a little more insight?
She’s a woman who is very close to her best friend. Though she’s a bit younger than her friend, they have known each other for years. The catch is, her friend has this son. This HAWT son whom she’s tried to overlook, but younger son isn’t having it. He’s in his thirties so he knows what he wants and isn’t into games. An innocent hug turns into a whole lot more than she bargained for.
Anyway, the Anthology is out now at Total-E-Bound(dot)com. Here’s a week’s worth of fantastic authors bringing you hot sex. Could there be anything better than that? NO! Go buy your book. Do it now. It’s good Karma. For all I know, a cluster of hunky young men will show up at your door begging you to let them please you.
*blink* *blink*
Seriously.

Cougar Growls Tour - Day Three - Catherine Chernow

From a Cub’s Point of View...

Jake Conroy stopped by to chat recently. He’s the handsome, drop-dead sexy, hero from LUCKY IN LOVE, my story in the ‘Cougars and Cubs’ erotic romance anthology, available for sale from Totalebound Publishing beginning May 10th.

Jake’s an alpha male, the kind of hero I adore writing about. He fits the ‘alpha male’ profile, where a guy’s got to be strong, sexy, smart, protective and focused solely on the heroine. While Jake’s all of that, he’s got a little twist to his character, because he’s younger than Maddie Summers, the heroine.

I’m not surprised Jake’s got what it takes to go after his heart’s desire, but I wanted to see things from his point of view as a younger male hero.

While we chatted together (lucky me!), Jake gave some candid answers to my very personal questions…

Q: Jake, what did you think when you first saw Maddie?

A: I felt sucker-punched, right in the gut. Maddie is different from the type of woman I’m used to.

He sits back, stretching his long legs out in front of him. On the surface, Jake is relaxed, composed, but I sense a coiled tension in him, like anticipation. Maybe its because he can’t wait to see his Madz again.

Q: In what way? I mean, what kind of woman have you been with so far?
A: A woman who is my age.

A corner of Jake’s sensual mouth lifts. He gives me one of his killer smiles. No wonder Maddie is wild about him!

Q: So, you usually date or have relationships with women your age. How old are you?
A: 35

Hmmm...

Q: And Maddie is how old?

He leans forward, resting his tanned, muscular arms on the table in front of him. Reaching for his coffee mug, he sips slowly. Watching the play of muscles in his gorgeous forearms and seeing how the corded muscles on his neck contract when he drinks that coffee, I now understand Maddie’s attraction for him.

Then, he answers…

A: Maddie is fabulously 50.

Now, it’s my turn to smile. Wow, he’s got it bad for her.

Q: Why fabulous?
A: She’s more mature than the women I’m used to…

I roll my eyes.

Q: That’s a given, considering her age.
A: I’m talking about what’s in here.

Jake lifts his large hand. Using his palm, he pats his heart.

Q: You mean something else entirely?
A: Correct. She’s got more inside her, more depth of character, simply because she’s experienced more.

Q: Like what, for instance?
A: Life’s ups and downs. She’s had to learn to roll with lots of stuff, things that make you stronger.

Q: And younger women, or women your age, don’t?
A: Maybe because the women I’ve know who are my age are totally focused on themselves and what they want.

Q: You can’t blame age for that entirely, maybe it’s the person.

He gets a thoughtful look on his face, like he’s remembering something painful, for his face is drawn in tight lines.

A: All I know is, Maddie is patient and kind – she’s forgiving, too. I’m always in a hurry, striving to get to the next goal, the next part of my life. Maddie’s there already. It’s like she balances me.

Q: That’s what you sought then, balance in your life?

Again, he appears thoughtful.

A: I can’t say it’s what I went looking for. When I moved from California to Long Island, I left behind some painful memories. I sought change.

His grin widens. He continues his answer...

...and it came in the form of Maddie.

Okay, so now I’m dying to know…

Q: So how is making love with an older woman?

His smile turns rueful.

A: I never kiss and tell.

Damn!

I pinch my thumb and index finger together, lifting them both in the air…

Q: Just a little hint, maybe? Please?

His voice drops an octave. It sounds positively sexy and wicked.

A: I can tell you that it gave me great pleasure to give Maddie everything she wants in bed, no matter how kinky.

Okay, so now my entire body is flushed…

Q: Great! Now I need a cold shower.

He chuckles. The sound is warm and rich, like smooth honey poured from a jar.

A: Ah. Yes. The shower. My favorite place to make love with my Madz.

I close my notepad because I suddenly can’t write. My fingers are shaking.

He’s grinning again. The wretch! No wonder Maddie is head over heels about Jake.

But I wonder, can they truly make it work with the difference in their ages?

Q: Do you think society accepts your relationship?
A: You’ll have to read LUCKY IN LOVE to find out.

Q: Maddie is one lucky lady.
A: I’m the lucky one.

After Jake left, I was in a great mood for the rest of the day. I hope he and Maddie can make a go of it. Read my story, LUCKY IN LOVE, to find out, and all the other super hot stories in Totalebound’s Cougar and Cub Anthology. You’ll find them all right here...
10-May-2010
Cougars and Cubs

Anthology



Catherine ChernowRomance Authorhttp://www.catherinechernow.com/www.myspace.com/catherinechernowhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/catherinechernowsheartofromance/

Cougar Growls Blog Tour - Day Two - Elizabeth Coldwell

Waiting on a tube station platform the other evening, I saw a huge poster advertising Courteney Cox’s new TV show, Cougar Town, which has just started airing in the UK on the Living Channel. Featuring a shot of Courteney straddling a chair provocatively, it bore the slogan “No Experience Necessary”. It made me smile, because experience is one of the themes running through my story in the Cougars And Cubs anthology, Something Within Him.
I originally started writing it when another publisher was looking for cougar-themed stories. At the time, a cute young man I knew had started on a journalism course, and friends were teasing me that I should offer him work experience – even though his degree was in sports writing and I edited a magazine dealing with sex and human relationships ­– just to have him brightening up the office! Out of the jokes came the idea for a story in which a woman whose policy was not to accept interns was forced to take one on as a favour to her best friend, only to find herself deeply attracted to him. The story ended up being sidelined because of work deadlines, but when the call for Cougars And Cubs came out, I had the time to work on it again. By the time I’d finished it, it had become one of my favourite things I’ve written.
I couldn’t resist setting some of the action in Amsterdam, a city I really love. The place has a unique mixture of the blatantly erotic (the red light area, where cougar Kate and her young lover, Stephen go shopping for adult toys) and the romantic (the canalside hotel where they finally act on the sexual attraction they feel for each other), and a beautifully relaxed vibe which actively encourages you to do nothing but take it easy and enjoy yourself. As the story unfolds, Kate has the opportunity to give Stephen the benefit of her experience, both in a work setting and in bed, but he also turns up with a few tricks of his own. Out of their everyday environment, they have the opportunity to explore the dominant and submissive sides of their personalities and play some deliciously naughty games together.
Of course, no relationship where there’s a big age gap between the two partners is ever free of conflict, and I knew I had to explore some of these in the course of the story. Kate initially worries – needlessly, as it turns out – about having to compete with younger women for Stephen’s affections. She and Stephen also have to cope with the negative reaction of Stephen’s best friend, Charlie, who thinks Stephen should really be dating someone of his own age. But love always has the possibility to conquer all, and there are enough real-life cougars in long-standing relationships with hot young cubs to prove that if you overcome those obstacles it really can be happy ever after…
Elizabeth Coldwell worked on Forum magazine for twenty years, and has had stories published by Black Lace, Cleis Press and Xcite Books among many others. Something Within Him in the Cougars And Cubs anthology is her second release with Total-e-bound, her first being The Christmas Box, part of the Christmas Crackers series. Her other big passion apart from writing is Rotherham United, and she lives in London with her partner and two cats, only one of whom thinks walking over her keyboard when she’s typing is a good idea…

Hello everyone and welcome to the kick off day of the Cougar Growls Blog Tour to celebrate the release of Total E-Bound’s newest anthology Cougars and Cubs (Romance between older women and younger men).

Featuring the artistic collaboration of erotica’s hottest authors Ashley Ladd, KS Augustin, Mia Watts, Catherine Chernow and Imari Jade.

First up is Imari Jade, author of “Something to be Thankful For.” Please introduce yourself and tell the readers something about your story.

Hi everyone, my name is Imari Jade and I hail from Marrero , Louisiana , sister city of New Orleans where I was born and raised. I’ve been writing for a number of years but this is my first release with Total E-Bound and hopefully not my last. I’m divorced, have three sons and six grandchildren and during the day I work as a financial analyst.

I’d like to share my take on an article I just read:

“Kick Ass” Cradle Robber: 19 year old star of Kick Ass is engaged to the 43 year old director of his last film and she’s pregnant with his child.

I was sitting in the office when I seen the story on the Internet. One of my coworkers is a male in his early to mid forties and the other is a male in his late twenties. Naturally they took the side of the 19 year old actor while I gave props to the 43 year old director. So when one of them asked me if I’d date a 19 year old I answered “Hell yeah.” (Relax folks, I’m only kidding). My three fantasy dream dates are Tom Welling, Orlando Bloom and Taylor Lautner. All three are gorgeous, sexy and full of stamina. What older woman wouldn’t be tempted when given the choice of them or a man our own age that have to use the little blue pill to entertain us? If a 30 year old wanted to spend some quality time with me I’d probably jump at the chance as soon as I checked out his medical history, his earning potential and his family background. 19 year olds are a bit young and inexperienced and we cougars are looking for someone to spend time with. Hell, you can’t take a 19 year old clubbing, you can’t reference anything before the nineties, and they don’t share their video games.


Something to be Thankful for by Imari Jade - Music manager Julianne Richmond life gets turned upside down when her musical prodigy Cameron Justice announces that he is in love with her. Normally she would be flattered but she’s in her forties and he is just a babe which in her book has the making of a bad love song.

Bad boy rocker Cameron Justice has everything…money, a beautiful mansion, expensive cars, and the lead in an upcoming movie. He is admired by women from all over the world and the envy of men. Spoiled and rotten to a fault, Cameron is used to getting his way. So when he confesses his love to his manager Julianne he naturally thought she would accept. Unfortunately, Julianne turns him down like a hot potato because he is too young for her and bruises his fragile little rock star ego. On one of his wild tirades Cameron packs up his things and leaves Hollywood .

Spurred by the mass hysteria of Cameron’s fans Julianne hops in a car and drives halfway across the country to bring his psychotic butt home. But once she finds him back in the sleeping little mountain town where he was born, dressed in tight-fitting jeans and a plaid shirt she discovers maybe having a sexy young blond mountain man might not be a bad thing.
Imari Jade is multi-genre romance and horror writer, and bit of a humorist. You can contact her through her website: http://www.imarijade.com/
Or at her blogs: http://imarijade.blogspot.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/imarijade
Buy Link:
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=777

Cougar Growl Blog Tour Update

Just a reminder:

Join me here tomorrow for the kickoff of the Cougar Growls Blog Tour and the release date of Total E-Bound's latest anthology, Cougars and Cubs.

Six of Total E-Bound's hottest romance writers are sheduled to appear:

May 10, 2010 - Imari Jade
May 11, 2010 - Elizabeth Coldwell
May 12, 2010 - Catherine Chernow
May 13, 2010 - Mia Watts
May 14, 2010 - K. S. (Kaz) Augustin
May 15, 2010 - Ashley Ladd

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=777

Cougar Growls Blog Tour

Cougar Growls Blog Tour
May 10, 2010

Featuring Total E-Bound authors, Ashley Ladd, KS Augustin, Mia Watts, Catherine Chernow, Elizabeth Coldwell and Imari Jade

Join us in the celebrating the release of Total E-Bound upcoming anthology Cougars and Cubs (Romance between older women and younger men.) Stop by to just say hello or to leave a comment, or to tell us your take on the cougar and cub relationships.

Scheduled to blog:

May 10, 2010 – Imari Jade
May 11, 2010 – Elizabeth Coldwell
May 12, 2010 – Catherine Chernow
May 13, 2010 – Mia Watts
May 14, 2010 – KS (Kaz) Augustin
May 15, 2010 – Ashley Ladd

A joint blog production

Revisiting Old Prose

Revisiting Old Prose

I’m often asked where I find my story ideas. The answer is simple, they just pop into my head. I only remember suffering from writer’s block once, and now I think it’s was probably caused by stress. I always have something waiting to be completed, and one day I hope to get it all finished and published before I die. Time is my biggest adversary with family life running a close second. So yesterday I decided to revisit a manuscript I started last year. Why didn’t I finish it? I just simply ran out time. The basic leg work had been done, the characters were created, but only one-fourth of the story was written by the time the deadline for submission arrived.

So here I am with a July 15th deadline staring me in the face. Will I finish this time? Hopefully.

So where did I begin this time? First I printed off the forty-two pages I’d previously written and read over them with my trusty ink pen in hand to make corrections along the way. Boy am I glad that I didn’t attempt to send this story off last year. Everything needed to be redone. I think I developed some pretty great characters but they were lacking description and purpose. I found that out in the first paragraph. I needed to add some scenery and add transition to move them from one scene to the other. I really didn’t know how important this was to the story until a couple of weeks ago when my new editor beat my story “Cursed” to death with over 1100 comments on how to improve it. So after three weeks of moving from page one to four hundred and sixty I finally understood that people need to move, smell, hear and eat.

Show, don’t tell. That was hard for me to grasp but I think I finally have the hang of it. Example: Dave looked frighten.
Editor: How does frighten look? Describe the expression on his face. What is he thinking? What is his reaction?
Thank god for editors.

The fear ran through Dave’s body like an electric current. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his legs shook and his heart palpitated wildly in his chest as he stared into the eyes of the monster that wanted to devour him. (Not perfect but I’m writing thins on the bus on the way to a doctor’s appointment).

The idea is to make the reader feel that he or she is a part of the environment of the story. Don’t assume readers know what you mean to say. Spell it out; clearly…let them experience the fear.

This manuscript I’m revisiting is a Halloween story. It’s got a beautiful and charming heroine, two of three gorgeous heroes/villains, and a geeky female side-kick. Of course there is going to be a HEA but its missing something. It needs more conflict, more romance and a lot more showing.

So how do you start reworking a manuscript that you’ve put on the back burner for a while?
That’s simple. Find it, re-read it, and then polish it up. Finally, when it’s the best it can be submit it.