I was in my early twenties when Sex and the City came out. I watched it religiously, relishing the candid humor and brutal honesty about sex and relationships. It wasn’t until several seasons in that I realized that the best part of the show was the relationships between the women.
True friends are the people who will see you through all your romantic ups and downs, who’ll support you in everything from shacking up to breaking up. I wanted to celebrate friendship in my two related novels Worth The Wait and All I Ever Wanted, which tell the stories of Monique Mackenzie and Claudia Demers. Both women are thrust out of their comfort zones into circumstances that freak them right out. But they have each other to turn to.
I was inspired by the lovely ladies in my own life who, like the gals of Sex and the City, saw me through a great deal of hurdles in the love department. True friends aren’t afraid to tell you to aim higher, that you deserve better or that you need to do something about that chin hair.
Friends remember. They witness you move from romance to romance and they can recall in an instant what you were like in the past. They know who is right for you because they know you. In the love department, friends sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. They see more than we do because they have the bigger picture.
In Worth the Wait, I really wanted to focus on the friendship between Monique and Claudia. While Monique struggles with her crush on her boss Jerome, Claudia is there to remind her of all the ways in which she is fabulous. Like friendships in real life, the connection between Monique and Claudia actually complements her life. The two have each other through thick and thin, which makes for a satisfying read, I find.
In the following scene, Monique has just made an idiot of herself in front of her boss with whom she is completely infatuated. Claudia to the rescue!
Excerpt
If I hadn’t already proven that the night was more than I could handle, I might have stayed. But no. It was time to go home. I had to find Claudia and get her. I prayed Jerome wouldn’t remember he’d seen me like that. I never did find out whether he was there with someone. It didn’t matter. I felt like too much of a dweeb to do anything even remotely sexy. What a waste of a gorgeous dress. I shook my head as I walked hurriedly toward Claudia who was talking with Stuart from upstairs.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, but it was more of an order than a suggestion. Like a good friend, she performed the niceties required of the situation, and thanked Stuart for a lovely evening and grabbed my arm as I pulled her out of there.
“Are you okay?” she asked out in the lobby.
“I’m a fool,” I said.
“What happened?”
“Long story.”
I filled her in once we were safely in a taxi headed far away from there. What an awful night. Why was it that the one guy I didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of was the only guy in the whole world who was able to bring out my inner moron? It was a paradox that I really detested.
“I think he really wanted you to stay,” Claudia said.
“He was just being nice, trying to smooth things over so I wouldn’t feel like a dweeb.”
“He meant it.”
Why was Claudia taking his side?
Title: Worth the Wait by Destiny Moon
Publisher: Totally Bound
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance
Length: Novel/Word Count: 61,708
Summary:
Monique Mackenzie has it all. The only thing missing is the one thing she doesn’t know she can get—her boss.
Sassy and glamorous, Monique Mackenzie has everything a modern woman could want—great career, fabulous home, wardrobe and friends. Men throw themselves at her constantly, but after years of meaningless flings, the charm has worn off. The one man who truly ignites her passion is the only man she can’t have—her boss, Jerome Fontaine.
Mysterious Jerome drops clues that he sees her, too, but he seems to have a secret life outside the office. He remains elusive until Monique accidentally stumbles upon his secrets and discovers the reasons for his stoic behavior. As the fiercely private Jerome begins to trust Monique, Monique’s world is turned upside down as she figures out what she truly wants out of life. Jerome’s presence makes her question everything from her ambitions to her erotic tastes, and in falling for him she must face her own demons.
Just when she thinks she’s got it all figured out, Monique finds herself challenged in ways she never imagined, though the one thing she knows for certain is that she has never loved anyone as much as she loves Jerome.
Reader Advisory: This book contains characters who appear in All I Ever Wanted, also by Destiny Moon.
Purchase Link: Totally Bound
Author Bio
Romance heroines have saved my sanity numerous times through break-ups and life changes. I find escaping into a romance both soothing and revitalizing—and even better when there are some steamy scenes to tantalize the imagination.
For most of my adult life, I’ve concentrated on carving out a serious career, but a number of love-hungry, sassy characters keep taking over my mind, insisting that I daydream, live vicariously through them and tell their stories. Watching these women emerge on the page gives me a different sort of satisfaction than I get from my day job. It is a joy to share them with readers.
I live in a tiny apartment in a crowded city and I like to think there is something romantic about this. I did manage to find my soul mate here.
Author Links: Website * Twitter
Giveaway
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Hi Kathy,
Thanks so much for having me on your blog!
My pleasure!
Thanks for the giveaway