Author Shirley Goldberg is my guest and she brought a friend with her. Lucy Bernard from A LITTLE BIT OF LUST sat down for a fun interview with Shirley. Thanks to both of you for being here today!
Thanks for hosting us on your blog, Jana. I’m here with Lucy Bernard, one of the main characters in A Little Bit of Lust, the third book in my Starting Over series.
Lucy: Let’s talk about five things readers need to know about the characters, the book, and what you can’t live without. And I want to interview you, Shirley.
Shirley: Good. That’s a lot to cover. You start.
Lucy: It’s tough to talk about the book without spoilers popping out. Readers need to know that my best friend Deon, and I get together and break up near the beginning of the book.
Shirley: Yeah, that’s in the blurb, so it’s not a spoiler.
Lucy: It’s complicated.
Shirley: Have you seen the movie, It’s Complicated? Meryl Streep and Steve Martin.
Lucy: Love it. Alec Baldwin plays the ex-husband. He’s hilarious. Sexy, too, for a chunky guy.
Shirley: So, you guys are besties, along with Phoebe. And you have this hot weekend that starts with kissing on the beach––
Lucy: Don’t remind me. Why did you do that?
Shirley: Do what?
Lucy: Have us go from friends to…well, it was a tremendous weekend and then pfttt. Nothing.
Shirley: Don’t blame me. That was Deon’s fault.
Lucy: You wrote the book! [Frowns and glares at Shirley] Why isn’t Deon here?
Shirley: I didn’t invite him. I was afraid you two would embarrass me in front of him.
Lucy: That’s ridiculous.
Shirley: Now you’re embarrassing me.
Lucy: You’ll get over it. [Clears her throat.] I think the readers need to know Lust is about starting over. All the characters start over in some way. Deon’s a widower, I’m divorced, and Phoebe is moving on after a break up. We all hang out together, so our friendship is a big thing too. [Turns to Shirley] Did you ever start over?
Shirley: More than once. I was married and living in Crete, Greece and moved back to Connecticut. Went back to school to become a teacher. Lived with my mom.
Lucy: Me too. My husband left when I as nineteen. I had a two-year-old. My parents invited me to move in with them. We’re very close.
Shirley: What’s one thing readers need to know about you?
Lucy: I love to bake and I have a small business concocting yummy desserts for local businesses. I cater to a few of the restaurants around the New Haven area and on the shoreline.
Shirley: Yes, and Lust is all about summer and the beach and going dancing.
Lucy: It’s also about me getting up at an ungodly hour because I can’t sleep and I have to bake to get my mind off…things.
Shirley: No spoilers. One more question. What’s the one fun thing you can’t live without?
Lucy: That’s easy. Besides trying out new recipes, I love posting on Instagram. I have my own account and an account for my students’ work. They love it.
Shirley: Cool.
Lucy: What’s your one fun thing you can’t live without?
Shirley: Dancing with my honey. Oh, and dropping my characters into steaming hot soup. Metaphorically.
Lucy: Not funny.
Shirley: So funny.
Lucy: Hey! Speaking of baking. I have a special recipe for the readers.
Shirley: Thanks, Lucy. They’ll love that. And thank you so much, Jana. This was fun.
Chocolate Macaroon Cookies
*How can anyone not love a crunchy, chocolatey macaroon? These macaroons are a similar version of the favorite little gem but since it’s a healthier version, it’s perfect eaten as part of breakfast or better yet, for an afternoon energy pick-me-up!
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
1 cup oats
1 cup milk of choice
1 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted or very soft
½ cup chocolate chips
2 Tbsp flour
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix coconut, oats, milk and honey together in a bowl. Stir in melted coconut oil and chocolate chips. Add flour 1 Tbsp at a time until you form a dough. Spoon tablespoon sizes of dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
This and all the recipes are originals, contributed by Eva Papadogiorgaki, The Cretan Nutritionist. Find her on Instagram and Facebook @thecretannutritionist. Thank you so much, Eva, for your hard work and support.
Blurb:
How many second chances will she give him?
Love-cynical Lucy Bernard delights in her independence. Baking, all things Instagram, the occasional special guy, and most of all hanging out with best friends Deon Goldbloom and Phoebe Karis. But when Deon kisses Lucy at the beach on a chilly afternoon, the two friends jump into a lust-filled romantic weekend. So what’s with slotting her into "ignore" status afterward?
Deon Goldbloom is a widower who can’t move on after his wife's death. Is he a little crazy spending a sexy few days with Lucy and calling it the best time he’s had in four years? Yeah. Except blue Monday comes calling, and Deon isn’t ready for the guilt.
Lucy wonders how a smoochy weekend turns into a friends-with-benefits disaster. And Deon wonders if he’s made the biggest mistake of his life putting Lucy on "ignore." Using all his nerdy charms, he launches a campaign to bring Lucy around. Maybe they can chart a course back to one another if Lucy will only forgive him.
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Excerpt from A Little Bit of Lust:
Lucy and Deon sat cross-legged, sifting through the stack of DVDs.
“Seriously?” Lucy read the movie titles aloud. “You’ve got chick flicks? When Harry Met Sally. You’ve Got Mail. Sleepless in Seattle. Nora Ephron.” She turned to him. “So you love Nora as much as I do?”
“Sure.” He dug out a few more movies.
“An Affair to Remember. That’s romantic. Heartburn, not so much, but it’s a great movie. Who doesn’t love Meryl and Jack?”
“There’s more,” he said, stacking movies on the floor.
“Let’s watch You’ve Got Mail. I always cry at the end.”
“So do I.”
“You’re a man. What are you doing with romantic––” Lucy stopped in mid-sentence. A verbal gaff. “Sorry.” She felt embarrassed. The movie collection had to be from when he and his wife used to watch together.
“Melinda loved them, yeah. We weren’t big on vacations or fancy restaurants. She loved a plain old movie night. And men cry at the movies too, you know.”
“Oh, of course.” Lucy tilted close and hugged him. “You cry at the movies, that is so, so romantic.”
“Sit, relax.” He knelt down. “And by the way, my lips hurt from all that good kissing. Do yours?”
“Nope, because I’m tough and you’re a wuss.”
Deon leaned in and kissed her a nice juicy one right when the opening credits started rolling.
Halfway through the movie, when Meg Ryan was losing her bookstore, Deon paused the movie. They opened the takeout bags to let out the oregano and basil and homemade tomato smells and prepared the plates with all the delicious Italian from Niki’s. Deon warmed the food and poured more wine, which contributed to their getting all misty-eyed at the end when Tom Hanks comes around the corner and Meg says, “I hoped it was you.” Which is what Lucy remembered her saying when she thought back on this moment.
Then Deon found Arsenic and Old Lace and they took turns fast-forwarding to all the scenes with Peter Lorre and Raymond Massey. Deon did his Raymond Massey imitation, thrusting out his jaw, threatening the Cary Grant character. “Mortimer, just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I won’t kill you.”
Lucy howled and they rolled on the couch and made out a little.
And then it was time for bed. Lucy’s new favorite time, since of course, she’d be staying over.
Author Bio:
Shirley Goldberg is a writer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look at dating in mid-life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true. A Little Bit of Lust is her third book in the series Starting Over, although all her books are standalone. Shirley’s characters all believe you should never leave home without your sense of humor and she agrees.
