Today historical romance author Monica Burns is here with us to celebrate her upcoming release, Pleasure Me (Berkley 3/1/11 ).

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There’s the old adage, age before beauty. A lot of times it’s used as a snide, deragatory comment implying that somehow age isn’t as good a beauty. Even in today’s society, women in their 40s and 50s still have the stigma that because they’re no longer young, they’re therefore no longer beautiful. But that’s changing. You have women like Demi Moore, Jamie Lee Curtis and other female public figures who are breaking that glass ceiling that says, older isn’t good.

I explored that theme in Pleasure Me. This story is about an older, experienced courtesan, Ruth Attwood, who becomes involved with a younger man, Garrick Stratfield. While Ruth thinks Garrick is only a few years younger, the age gap is much larger. Garrick is a male virgin hero who finds it difficult to keep away from Ruth. His deformity makes him assume he’s not good enough for her. Two characters with major complexes, one physical, and one strictly emotionally.

Ruth, by Victorian standards, is completely over the hill. She knows she’s no longer viable as a courtesan and she’s just been dumped by her latest lover for a younger woman. She’s decided to retire, but she needs a little bit more money to accomplish some tasks before she can leave society. Garrick believes that no woman in her right mind will want to have anything to do with him in the bedroom, so he’s completely inexperienced when it comes to sex.

Although, in order to present a certain image to society, he’s become quite proficient at kissing, and allowing rumors to present the image that he’s a man who seduces and beds women easily. There’s instant attraction between these two characters. Garrick is continuously telling Ruth that age isn’t important, what’s important is how you feel about someone and yourself. For Ruth, she points out to Garrick that who he is as a person physically doesn’t matter, what counts is what’s on the inside.

When I was preparing to write Pleasure Me, my editor had asked me to write a virgin hero in my older woman, younger man theme. That wasn’t an easy thing to do, but I think I accomplished it by giving Garrick a deformity that makes sense as to his sexual inexperience. What I love about this book is that it allowed me to explore my own personal issues with age.

As a woman enters her late 40s, early 50s, peri-menopause or menopause has usually set in. This plays an important role in how a woman feels about herself. Estrogen is a big culprit as it vanishes pretty much during menopause. The body doesn’t do what it used too. I sure wish I could do a cartwheel again. There’s something about a cartwheel that’s freeing. Estrogen is what keeps the skin and muscles tight and firm, so when that dries up wrinkles follow. Then there are the mood swings. For some women it can be a breeze to get through this stage of life, while for others it’s a walking nightmare of highs and lows, and staring at oneself in the mirror and wondering where did the years go.

I wanted to tell a story that dealt with the emotional aspects of aging. The fact that a woman often finds herself believing that her self-worth is all wrapped up in her age when in reality that’s not the case. As Garrick tells Ruth, age is just a number. The number of years one is does not dictate how you live. For me, Ruth’s’ journey in coming to accept the fact that whatever number she is doesn’t define who she is. It was a real eye opener for me.

For the last few years, I’d been focused on how old I am and was continuing to age. It’s not been a pleasant feeling. But as my younger husband has said, genetics and frame of mind have a lot to do with how well one ages. For example, look at Betty White and how at 89 she’s still going strong. John McCain’s mother who is older than 90, and while he was campaigning for President, she got a speeding ticket for doing 90mph. Those are the kind of women I aspire to be. I aspire to be like Ruth who comes to realize that she’s not defined by a number. I refuse to grow old. Inside I’m still a kid, and I intend to live every minute to the fullest. Ruth and Garrick showed me how to do that. 

An award-winning author of erotic romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

You can find out more about Monica and her novels at her website, Facebook, Twitter and blog.
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Thanks so much for being here with us today, Monica! What a lovely post.

Monica has kindly offered one copy of Kismet to a lucky commenter. What do you think about older women, younger men stories? How about virgin heroes? Leave a comment here answering either question (or both) for a chance to win. Please Note: You must include a valid email address with your comment to be eligible. Contest ends  Tuesday March 1, 2011 @ 11:59pm.

Pleasure Me will be available from Berkley March 1, 2011. You can preorder it here or here in e-format.