Young Women - Old Wolves, Part II

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  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!