Young Women - Old Wolves, Part II
192.4
Hi, folks. This has been a surprisingly
productive week for me, and the publication of the second Red Wolf novel, The Dragon of Doughton Park, is drawing
inexorably near. I got some very enthusiastic responses from beta readers, the
cover art should be finalized this weekend, and the final edits from beta input
should be completed next week.
Along with the publication of the second book
of the series, The Draculata Nest
will be re-released with a new cover and both
books will soon be available in other venues, not just Amazon and Barnes and
Noble. I’m excited, and I hope you are, too.
The only negative feedback I’m getting from The Dragon of Doughton Park is that the
ending really makes you want to read the next book, which won’t be available
for maybe a year yet. I’ll apologize up front for that, but y’all will just
have to deal with it. I feel your pain, but I’m currently waiting for the next
books in several series, myself. In particular, I’m losing patience with
Richelle Mead, Samantha Young, Kristy Berridge, and Red Tash. Y’all get them to
get off their duffs, then come to me crying about, “when’s Red Wolf Rising gonna be done?” Wah-wah-wah. (Hey, just kidding.
I’m glad folks want to read the next Red Wolf novel, and as soon as Dragon is
published I’m a be workin’ on it, hear?)
Now…
I have a few more thoughts on the old man/young woman thing I started
talking about several posts ago, after which I promise I’ll put the subject to
rest and never mention it again, okay?
When I set out to write the Red Wolf Novels,
part of the story I wanted to tell is that of an older man who gets a second
chance at growing up. It’s the old question that I think all of us who are
getting, shall we say, more mature, ask ourselves… if I knew then
what I know now, would it be any different? Now, I don’t know about y’all, but
when I ask myself that question, nine-times-out-of-ten it has to do with a
woman. So I guess it’s only natural that much of the angst I put Clifford Crane
through involves his relationships with members of the opposite sex.
It just so happens that Clifford’s first
sexual encounter in The Draculata Nest
is with a young woman not quite out of her teens. Why is that? Is it because
I’m a dirty old man trying to live out my sexual fantasies through my writing? (Well,
that could be part of it but, uh, no,
not entirely. And I promise my readers that not all of Clifford’s – er, uh – romantic relationships will be with
young nubiles.) No, it’s because he finds himself thrown back into college, he
doesn’t look nearly as old as he is
since he’s been turned into a werewolf with a thousand year lifespan, and he’s
surrounded by college-aged girls.
The
other part of the equation is that we live in a youth-obsessed culture. Slim,
trim, and young is sexy. “She ran her
fingers over his muscled torso” sounds more attractive than “she grabbed
generous handfuls of the sagging skin around his middle.” I’m not a good enough
writer to sell the second scenario. My characters need to at least look attractive, and that equates to youth.
Sigh. It shouldn’t
be that way. I know some damn handsome women who are in their fifties and
sixties, but as soon as you mention age, an image pops into your mind that is
hard to overcome. Not just your mind,
but my mind, too - even though I fit
nicely into that older demographic
myself.
Yes, I can appreciate the beauty of a full
figure and a face with lines of character, but what turns my head consistently
is a young woman walking down the street. When I myself returned to college
recently for a two-year refresher, I was enthralled during the spring and
summer sessions when the girls wore their tight shorts and cute tops. And it’s
only a matter of time until I run my bicycle into a tree along the local
greenway while gawking at the girls track team going through their
regular afternoon workouts.
But as much as I may appreciate the beauty
of a young girl, I really don’t think those May-December romances work out. It
certainly has caused Clifford Crane some grief. If you want to see how he’s
dealt with it so far, check out one of the links below.
Draculata Nest for Kindle Draculata Nest for Nook Draculata Nest in Paperback
Until next time... Happy Reading!
Yes! looking forward to the next release, and don't worry I will be very patient as I know what a pain in the butt publication can be sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I'm super excited to hear that you are re-releasing a new cover for The Draculata nest, that was one of the aspects, that I am sad to say, steered me clear for so long.
Good luck, John - I can't wait to read more about Clifford Crane and his antics!