INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Sugar Babies
by Mickey J. Corrigan
Sugar Babies is currently on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The tour stops here today for my interview with the author and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
A sugar daddy can make your money woes disappear. But for sugar babies, life is like a chocolate-covered time bomb: sweet on the outside, deadly on the inside.
Young, beautiful, and hungry, Esme, Maire, and Niki want what every woman wants: love, work, safe shelter, the bills paid off, a diamond-studded Rolex and a two-bedroom condo with an ocean view. Working as sugar babies seems to be the only way to make this happen. But the sugar life is more dangerous than they thought.
Excerpt
Not that she wanted to make love to this man. She didn’t. Not at all. But for the first half-hour, she thought they might be able to negotiate an arrangement, and then her troubles would be over. Soon enough, however, her hopes flattened faster than the bubbles in her crystal champagne flute. He was hideous, yet here she sat, smiling sweetly, reminding herself to sit up straight, bust high and proud, displaying the obvious to the undeserving.
“I like a bright gal, one who can hold her own in a social setting, ask smart questions, be witty,” he said around greedy bites of bloody prime rib. “But she’s gotta keep her mouth shut when it’s not time to talk. See, I like a girl who carries herself like a lady, somebody I can trust to not say something stupid when I take her along on business.”
He pronounced it bidnez, like a ham actor in a grade B mob movie.
“You gotta be able to make conversation with the smartest guys in the room, but not take over the room. Got that?”
He smacked his lips, swallowed a chunk of meat. Glug. Very unpleasant. Still, he owned an international corporation, had homes in four countries, six (count ‘em, six!) Ferraris and a Gulfstream.
Esme smiled hard enough to make her dimples show. She brushed her long blonde hair from her eyes, leaned across the banquet table to allow him a deep gaze at her exceptional cleavage, and whispered, "What else?"
Praise for Sugar Babies
"Mickey J. Corrigan has written a story that is lively and entertaining. You will find yourself drawn into a world that is at once compelling and mysterious. You certainly don't want to miss this well told tale! Mickey J. Corrigan is one of my favorite authors and I urge you to give her a try. Her stories are very well written and always entertain! Sweeten your reading this month with Sugar Babies." ~ Romance Junkies
"Sugar Babies keeps the reader guessing ... I liked the plot, the characters and the sad reality behind every page, I recommend it if you want a very different book that involves sex, love, passion and suspense." ~ Sinful Reads
"I do not know how to start, wow! Sugar Babies was extremely mysterious and intense. The characters were complex and it was certainly a thriller. Mickey J. Corrigan has a fabulous writing style that keeps the reader wanting more and kept me guessing who is the murderer, who will be the wife, the murdered and the broken? It was all very twisty and the ending was fantastic." ~ Turner's Antics
"This is an unexpected good read. Please don't be turned off by the topic or the title. This is a book that will entertain, intrigue and leave you complete without questions and maybe a new outlook." ~ Lustful Literature
"To describe the book in one word: unique." ~ Crazy Book Reviewer
"Sugar Babies is a great read for all those who love a good story with lots of drama and angst. The cover fits the description of the book to a T ... I personally know a few sugar babies and I have to say the book got it right about their lifestyle and their behaviors." ~ Kaidan's Seduction
Interview With the Author
Hi Mickey, thanks for joining me today to discuss your book, Sugar Babies.
Hi, Lynda. Thanks for inviting me!
For what age group do you recommend your book?
Sugar Babies includes some very dark subject matter because the plot is focused on the soft prostitution industry. So I wouldn't recommend it for young readers. The audience is women mainly, age 15 to whatever. The book takes a close look at the choice to trade oneself for a desirable lifestyle and to accept payment from men who want a woman for sex and display, not love and intimacy.
This subject is of great interest (or should be) to today's college coeds who are being lured into funding their steep tuition fees and overwhelming education loans with their bodies. Students across the country who are struggling to stay in school or to find jobs are saying, why not? It's like being with your boyfriend, only you get paid. But the psychological toll and long-term emotional ramifications can be severe.
What sparked the idea for this book?
I'd read a number of articles in the mainstream and alternative press that seemed to glorify the practice of joining online sites that allow you to trade sex for salary. The numbers of college students signing up on these websites have multiplied at an alarming rate. I'm an old school feminist so I got curious. How does the sugar world work and who benefits from their involvement in it?
I did a lot of research. Eventually the characters came to me. Three young women. Each beautiful and independent, strong and vulnerable. All struggling to achieve success in a hard world, to stay afloat and pay their bills. And maybe make their dreams come true.
What was the hardest part to write in this book?
The narrator is a mystery man and he's a misogynist. The guy is downright evil. He begins to tell readers the story of the three young women by admitting he broke one's neck, broke another's spirit, and married the third.
I found it very difficult to write in his voice. He's so icky. Plus, I had to disguise his voice so readers wouldn't know which man in the women's lives is the truly evil one. His identity is the reveal at the end of the book.
I would never want to meet a man in real life like the character I created. But I had to think like him while I wrote and rewrote the book. Not fun.
How do you hope this book affects its readers?
It is my hope that Sugar Babies will amuse and entertain readers. It's not all dark, the book is funny and romantic as well. But I really hope the story makes readers think. Women can make it on their own in contemporary society, but we are too often lulled into thinking we are second rate citizens who need to stay in the roles men assign us. Not true. And, sometimes, doing so can be dangerous.
How did you get your book published?
First I suffered through a few rounds of rejections from romance publishers. The editors said the writing was too "literary" for their romance lines. I think they meant it wasn't romantic enough. I admit, my books are not typical romance stories.
Champagne Books published my novella about 50-year-old college friends on a tear in small town Vermont. I loved working with them on Me Go Mango, so I submitted the manuscript for Sugar Babies. They loved it. When I saw the cover they designed, I was thrilled. I really think they did a great job with the book.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Read a lot. Buy books in all genres by both male and female writers. Study what they do: how they bring the characters and their stories to life and make you want to keep reading. Take a class or attend a writers conference that includes workshops. Join a writers group. Listen to what others think about your work. It can be very helpful.
Practice with shorter pieces, flash fiction and short stories, before you attempt to write your first novella or novel. And be patient. Writing is an art, it's a craft that takes time to learn. Be kind to yourself. Don’t expect your early work to be perfect.
Great advice, Mickey. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I liked to write when I was a kid, but I didn't plan to be a professional writer. I studied nutrition in college and grad school, and that was my profession. But I wrote textbooks on the subject, and articles for magazines, and mainstream books on health. I wrote under my real name.
Eventually I branched out. First with poetry, then short fiction, and more recently (as Mickey J. Corrigan) I've been publishing novellas and novels. It's lots of fun. Not like writing textbooks!
What can we look forward to from you in the future?
My new series with The Wild Rose Press is called The Hard Stuff, novellas about tough women in tough situations. The first book in the series came out recently: Whiskey Sour Noir is the story of a woman who falls in love with a convicted sex offender. The next book in the series is scheduled for release soon.
I also have a novel in press with the wonderful Australian publisher Bottom Drawer Publications. The Ghostwriters is a coming of age story for New Adult readers. It's funny and twisted and romantic. The scheduled release is spring 2014.
Sounds like you've been busy. Thank you for taking the time to stop by today and best of luck with your future projects.
Thanks, Mickey!
About the Author
Her titles include the novellas Geekus Interruptus, Dream Job, Professional Grievers, and Me Go Mango. Sugar Babies is her first novel.
Giveaway
Mickey will be awarding to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour a download card for Sugar Babies (US only - international winners will receive a digital copy of the book). So follow the tour and leave your comments. The more tour stops you visit and the more comments you leave, the greater your chances of winning (ends 28 April).
Links
