A Little Bit of Lust by Shirley Goldberg
Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Shirley Goldberg, author of A Little Bit of Lust. Have a seat and grab an insulated mug. I’ve got hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee. Choose your pot, they’re labeled. Pick your choice of a Snicker-doodle, Chocolate Chip or Peanut butter cookie from the plate. Yep, I baked them myself. Lets see what A Little Bit of Lust is all about. Thanks for joining us!
Shirley, tell us about your inspiration for A Little Bit of Lust?
Before covid, I used to go dancing with a few friends on Sunday afternoons at a restaurant on the Connecticut shoreline called Donahue’s. Over the years, I met other dancers and we became rabid regulars. The idea of three friends who hang out, go dancing, and work together grew and became part of the storyline for A Little Bit of Lust. But something was missing.
Not only was I online dating at the time, I devoured books on dating as if I were earning a PhD in the subject. Relationships, courtship, and the stages of dating? I read anything with the word “dating” in it, about sixty books in all. I knew from my reading that most relationships had a beginning and, most likely, an end. Despite being a fan of the happy ever after ending.
I didn’t wish this on my characters. Especially since I was dating a widower, and it wasn’t going well. As in, five months after his wife’s death, it was too soon for him to be dating. Need I say we didn’t work out?
So after deciding on the friendship theme for the book, I threw in the widower as one of the friends. Well, I didn’t exactly throw him in––I chose the opposite of the man I’d been dating. To better understand my character, I researched support groups for the bereaved. In the book, my widower, Deon, hates the idea of moving on and dating.
And so, the Three Musketeers were born. They dance together, happy-hour as a threesome, and support each other no matter what. Lucy and Phoebe even encourage Deon to date, although he ignores them. Until the ice cream social, the eight-minute dating event Phoebe engineers at her family restaurant.
I loved that Deon had enjoyed a loving and happy marriage. He was afraid no one else could measure up to his wife, and that made him unwilling to move on.
Until he did. But that’s another story.
Wow what an inspiration. So tell us about A Little Bit of Lust.
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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Now for a peek inside the pages of A Little Bit of Lust.
Lucy, Deon, and Phoebe go to their favorite CT shoreline hangout on a Sunday afternoon
“You know,” said Steve, the interloper. “You and your friends are like The Three Musketeers. Always together.”
Together indeed. Lucy loved their routine. Arrive early while the band set up, grab seats, and make the rounds among their dancing friends. The band quit at eight, and they went home and got up early Monday morning to wrestle middle school kids, metaphorically speaking.
Steve leaned an elbow on the bar. “I’ve been here half a dozen times––”
He jerked back as Lucy’s best friend, Phoebe, trotted up and plonked her bag on the bar, startling them both. “Deon’s late. I don’t see him,” she barked.
Lucy sniffed and cleared her throat in a loud ah hem. “Mrs. Interruptus why don’t you?” she growled. “And hello to you, too. This is Steve.”
“Sorry, darling.” Phoebe bobbed her head in Steve’s direction, said a quick “hi,” and wrapped both arms around Lucy. “By the way, interruptus sounds sexual.”
“I was trying to be snotty.” Lucy turned up her nose.
Steve stood and gave Phoebe his seat. “Thank you, very thoughtful.” She shot Steve a quick smile and reached for her bag. “I’m stealing this dating idea from an ad for eight-minute dating. Some restaurant in Stamford.” She opened her bag and peered into its depths. “Can’t remember where I put that ad.”
“Dibs on Deon for ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo.’” Lucy raised a hand to signal the bartender. “I think Travis is impressed by my vast knowledge of Glenn Miller tunes.”
“I’m certain he is.” Phoebe, riffling through her handbag, gave Lucy a doubtful look. “You’d better alert Deon. He just came in. There’ll be a ton of good dancers here today with this band. Competition.”
Lucy glanced over at the stage where Deon stood talking to Travis, in Buddy Holly glasses and a porkpie hat.
“Got it.” Phoebe brandished her phone and scrolled. “I forgot it was in my photos. Look.” She thrust her phone at Lucy.
“Can’t read it; the print’s too tiny.” Lucy flung her arm in the air and waved in Deon’s direction, eventually catching his eye. He wandered over wearing his customary smirk, and Lucy handed him Phoebe’s phone. “Read this, would you?”
Deon cleared his throat and launched into his favorite accent. Elvis. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen––”
“Hah, it doesn’t say that,” Phoebe protested.
“Meet your dream gal or guy. Only eight minutes to your SoulMate IRL! Here’s your chance. Ages forty to sixty-five. Follow the link for more information.’”
“That sounds like torture,” Deon said, dropping the Elvis. “IRL? What’s IRL?” He cocked his head. “Code for I’m really likable?”
About the Author
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.
Social Media Links for Shirley
https://www.facebook.com/midagedating
https://twitter.com/mylifeasadate
https://www.instagram.com/shirleygoldbergauthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3916624.Shirley_Goldberg
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/shirley-goldberg
Shirley’s books on sale for .99!
Middle Ageish
https://books2read.com/u/mY7jvV
Eat Your Heart Out
https://books2read.com/u/m2dDEj
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with A Little Bit of Lust!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Little But of Lust, Contemporary Romance, Shirley Goldberg by Tena Stetler with 12 comments.
