Today it’s my pleasure to welcome over Jewel Quinlan, author
of Man Candy, The Cougar Journals, Book 1.
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Date of Publication: January 9, 2015
Word Count: 13692
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Giveaway! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter after this post
for a chance to win one of the following: 5 copies of Stealing Cupid’s Bow
(print version open to US Shipping), 5 e-copies of Man Candy, 2 audio copies of
Rock Star Ex, 2 audio copies Surrender Sweet Succubus, 2 audio copies of Extreme
Heat
Book Description
Commercial real estate agent, Ava Baldassari, is done with
being a good girl. Recently having revamped her self-image, home and wardrobe
she finds there is one thing left that needs updating; her sex life.
She runs into her friend and running partner, Cole, one
night when she is out with a friend. A bit drunk she flirts with him and is
surprised by the enthusiastic response he gives back.
Things reach a point where she has to make a decision
whether or not to cross a line she never has before.
Ava is forty and Cole is twenty-five, is she really ready to
become a cougar?
Where you can buy Man Candy:
Evernight
Publishing | Amazon
| All
Romance e-Books | Barnes and Noble | BookStrand
| iTunes or add it to your shelf on Goodreads
Let’s Interview!
What inspired you to write this book?
Definitely my own experience in the dating world. As soon as
I hit forty there was a noticeable shrinking and ickifying (not a real word) of
my dating pool. When you get to this age it gets a lot tougher to find a good
catch. And I started to think about the phenomenon of cougars and the feelings
and reasons behind making the decision to hook up with a younger man. Of course
that also led to the question of what it would be like the first time. For
women, there are so many boundaries, emotions and thoughts entangled in
intimacy…it just was really interesting to me to explore that scenario. And
that’s what this book is all about. It is Ava’s first time with a man fifteen
years younger than she is.
If you could spend an hour in real life with one of your
characters, who would it be and why?
I would love to spend time with Ava! I think she and I would
be best friends and go shopping together. I love women who have come into their
own and aren’t afraid to explore life and take risks. Heck, if we got drunk
together there’s no doubt we’d somehow end up in Switzerland the next morning
and not remember how we got there.
Tell us a little bit about the conflict in your story.
The conflict in this story is really between Ava and all the
boundaries, limitations and rules of society that woman are raised with. While
these things have changed a lot during my lifetime I am of the opinion that
they haven’t changed fast enough. It was really fun to outline Ava’s internal
thought process as each of them came up.
What sources do you use for research?
Aw man, you caught me. My name is Jewel Quinlan and I use
Wikipedia. Yes, I really do, lol. But I also love Google Maps so I can get
right down on the street and walk around in a city I’ve never been to. And
YouTube is great for the most random sh**. Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to swear on
the blog. But it really is great! I’ve looked up kiteboarding videos on there
(Extreme Heat), videos on celebrity motorhomes (Rock Star Ex) and clips of what
it looks like when you are standing on Syndey Harbour Bridge (Surrender Sweet
Succubus). I also once looked at Madonna and Lenny Kravitz’s websites for when
I was trying to figure out what a tour route looks like for big name musicians
(Rock Star Ex). The internet is so completely awesome for us authors! We don’t
have to leave home or flip through the card catalogue in the library — yes, I
am that old — to get the details we need anymore.
How long have you been writing? How long have you been
published?
I get those questions a lot. I dabbled in writing since I
was a kid. After having the life sucked out of me in college I finally came
back to myself when I was hitting the verge of forty (yes, years old) and took
myself seriously. My first book, Rock Star Ex, came out in October of 2013. It
wasn’t the first one I finished, that was Stealing Cupid’s Bow. They kind of
got published in the reverse order from which I wrote them….
Anyway, since then I’ve written six more, two of which I am
waiting to hear back from publishers on. The other four are published already.
All of my work is also in audiobook version, available on Amazon, ACX and
iTunes. I drive a lot for my day job and audiobooks really help me keep my
sanity while on the road. Who’s with me on that?
What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other
genres you’d like to write in the future?
My preference is paranormal and fantasy but I somehow keep
getting caught up in contemporary, which has been fun actually. And I got
myself entangled with a suspense recently. That all started when I set out to
write a story based on a fairytale for one of my publishers but the fairytale I
was given was clearly a suspense. But I am not one to walk away from a
challenge, it was really fun to write the action scenes in that one. In the
future I will be writing a post-apocalyptic series. Still plotting how I will
destroy the world and then what comes after. There are so many options!
Do you prefer to write short stories, novellas or novels?
Why?
I’m one of those wacky authors who writes whatever I want
and for however long it takes me. I have stories in all of the lengths you
mentioned (short story, novella and novel). However I do find short stories the
most challenging. I mean, there’s just so much to say when people are falling
in love, so many thoughts and feelings that need to be described, that I tend
to find myself drifting toward novel length. I just finished up a story that
was supposed to be a short (a side project, if you will) but it ended up being
over 40,000 words. Oh well, it’s been a while since I heard someone complain
that a story was too long. Not since the TV series Lost wrapped up, as a matter
of fact. Lol.
Do you write books in series? If so, share a bit about the
series you currently have published or are coming soon.
Man Candy is book one of a series titled The Cougar
Journals. It is the first series I am writing and I am looking forward to
seeing what Ava will put me through as I try to detail her experiences as a
cougar. I have high hopes that she will find love in the end. Book two is
tentatively titled Boy Toy. I’ve also been wanting to write a post-apocalyptic
series so I am writing down the bones of the ideas for that as I work on The
Cougar Journals.
Excerpt
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he whispered in
my ear, still pressed against me as he unzipped my dress.
Me too, I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I was adrift in the
onslaught of sensation as he slid the fabric from me, trailing kisses down my
back as it went. Making me aware as I never had been of how sensitive the skin
there could be. When he reached the small of my back, he lingered, kneading my
skin with his tongue and teeth. His hands ran down my legs and then back up to
my breasts, and I savored the feel of his fingers. My breaths came heavier. I
had been needing this for too long.
He rose and turned me toward him, towering over me. His cap
was gone and his dark hair was askew, as though he had run his fingers through
it, giving him that sexy just-woke-up look. I slid my fingers from the waist of
his jeans, underneath his shirt, to his muscled back. The ridges of strength
there were too tempting beneath my fingertips. How did he find the time to work
out that much? I had to see with my own eyes. Fisting the hem of his shirt in
my hands, I pulled his t-shirt up to remove it. Why should I be the only one
standing here naked? With a chuckle, he complied, lifting the shirt over his
head and flinging it away in the casual manner of an underwear model on TV.
Sure, I had imagined what he looked like with his shirt off,
but the reality was ten times better. He had a runner build, but that was
filled out with muscle. The planes of his chest were topped by strong shoulders
and arms, which seemed to blossom over the lean ridges of his abdominals,
creating a definite contrast. I couldn’t help reaching out and touching him. I
ran my hands over his skin, tracing my way upward to the light coating of black
hair on his pectorals. He leaned his pelvis into me, forehead on mine, his
erection pressing into me, making me shiver with anticipation.
We were on the brink of something oh-so-good, and I was
dying to plunge ahead. Yet, I hesitated.
Questions burned in my mind. I tried
to hold them back, knowing serious talk would ruin the moment. That lasted
about two seconds before I gave in.
“Um…” I said.
He lifted his head from mine and looked at me.
I cocked my head at him. “Did you just say you’ve been
wanting to do this for a while?” Had he been scoping me out all this time, as I
had him?
He nodded. “Who wouldn’t? Look at you. You’re gorgeous.”
I glanced down at myself. My ample buxom looked perfect in
the black, lace push-up bra I wore, and the matching thong sat just right, low
on my hips. I still had on my red heels, which added a lady-killer effect.
Then I glanced at him. The smoldering look he gave me
trumped anything I observed on the physical plane. The messages coming from him
on a subliminal level promised pleasure that made me squirm with heat.
“You know it’s going to be good between us, Ava,” Cole said.
Readers can get tickets to sit with her
at the luncheon event, she would love to meet you!
About the Author
Jewel Quinlan had an abundant imagination and a strong
desire to write novels from a young age. She particularly enjoys writing
paranormal and fantasy romance but also writes contemporary as well.
An avid traveler, she has visited fifteen countries so far
(which she enjoys using as settings in her novels) and has plans to see more of
the world. She has a particular fondness for Bavaria and studies the German
language as one of her hobbies.
During the day, she works as a pharmaceutical sales
representative and, at night, she writes romance. She currently lives in Orange
County, California with her dog Penny.
For
more information about Jewel Quinlan
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1 comment:
Thanks for having me on the blog!
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