Blurb: Newly divorced and returning to law school after a twenty year absence, Ali Stewart has just one class to complete before sitting for the bar exam, becoming a lawyer and moving on with her life. She feels out of place with her much younger classmates, but she's determined to succeed and put her ex-husband far in the past.
When she is paired with Griff for the semester, she learns that he even though he is much younger, there is much he can teach her, in and out of the classroom.
Laying Down The Law is an erotic romance which includes spanking, anal sex and graphic sex.
Inside scoop: The legal case Griff and Ali worked on is based on a case I had in real life. It was very satisfying to expose a big fat liar and I hope that came across in the book.
Questions:
1. Ali, the heroine, is 45 and Griff is 29. Some have called this a cougar romance. I tend to think of Ali as more of a reluctant cougar since Griff is the one who pursues her. What do you think? Is Ali a cougar? How do you define a cougar?
2. One reviewer said that a scene involving Ali's ex-husband pushed her close to her limits. I'll admit that scene was more violent (and unexpected) than my usual. If you've read the book, what did you think of that scene? If you haven't read the book, what are your limits for what makes you feel comfortable? Have those limits changed over time?
Laying Down the Law Buy Links Amazon Blushing Books
Next Up: Detention With Professor Black by Dinah McLeod
Michelle Johnson has been down on her luck for the past year and life only seems to be getting worse. First, she's diagnosed with cancer, then she loses her job, her apartment and her boyfriend of six years one after the other. Now she has to move back in with the father that abandoned her after her parents' divorce. Life just couldn't get any worse.
That's what she thought, until the only teaching position she can find is Kindergarten - her least favorite! Worse yet, the principal is her old high school crush who doesn't hesitate to punish tardiness with a special kind of detention.
Questions:
1. Dinah's books often delve into tricky or deeper subjects. In this case, the heroine has just dealt with cancer, although the more troubling issue is her broken relationship with her father. How dark are you willing to go when reading erotica/spanking fiction - do you think any topic can mix successfully?
2. Confession time: Did you ever get detention when you were in school? If so, why?
3. Michelle is way down on her luck and who does she run into but her high school crush. Have you ever run into a former crush or boy/girl friend years later? If so, did they still have the same affect on you or did you look at them and say "what was I thinking?"
Detention With Professor Black buy links: Amazon Blushing Books
Get the whole School's In Session Boxed Set: Amazon Blushing Books
I really enjoyed this story!
ReplyDelete1. You know, I really didn't feel like this was a "cougar romance" because of Ali's reluctance. I feel like "cougars" get all dressed up and go to nightclubs specifically on the prowl for younger men...LOL. Despite Ali and Griff's age difference they were very well matched.
2. The scene with Ali's husband was dark and it did surprise me because I've never read anything this dark of Celeste's before. Personally it didn't push me to my limits (ya'll might be freaked if you knew where my limits were), but at least it was very brief for the readers who might not feel comfortable reading a scene so dark.
Can't wait to dig in to the rest of the stories in the boxed set! Have a great weekend everyone! :)
Thanks Sue. I was surprised by that scene too. It just sort of happened. Yes, dark for me, for sure.
DeleteSorry I scrolled way too fast and missed that there were two books in book club today...geesh. Dinah I can't wait to read your story this weekend...it sounds so good! I've got the boxed set loaded on my Kindle and ready to go. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue! I hope you enjoy it and thanks for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI bought the boxed set as soon as it was made available, but I have yet to read the books. However, they all fascinate me.
ReplyDeleteCeleste, from your description of Ali, I'd have to say I agree with Sue. Cougars go on the prowl, and Ali was not only "not" on the prowl, she's reluctant to get involved with a man so much younger than she was. So, she wouldn't qualify as a cougar in my mind.
As for violence and darkness stretching my limits, I haven't read anything yet that has exceeded my limits that way in a non-romance (but then I also read horror), and I don't mind violence or extremely edgy kink at all as long as the scene isn't happening between the hero and heroine. I know, double standard. But I don't like heroes who get a thrill out of hurting the heroine. Really bothers me. So, even spanking scenes where he intentionally leaves visible welts that he caresses in admiration while he fantasizes about, or indulges in, anal sex with the lady, can have me pulling back with a grimace of distaste. So, in that regard, I'm a wimp. As for anyone else hurting her, I don't get the same visceral reaction I get if the guy is supposed to be the loving and protective protagonist. So, this scene between Ali and her ex-husband really intrigues me.
Dinah, I love the fact you're not afraid to tackle the tough topics. Cancer is an especially difficult one because an individual is never considered completely cured, only in remission. Another reason I find it difficult to write as well as read is because my mother had breast cancer and a simple mastectomy when she was in her thirties. It came back and eventually killed her when she was in her seventies. It's an insidious disease, and I'm not sure I could write a romance in which the hero or heroine had to deal with it. So, bravo to you. I mentioned darkness in my earlier comments, but I'd have trouble reading a romance in which the hero or heroine was struggling with an incurable, disabling disease. I'm not saying the topic is taboo, but it would be a difficult read for me. I felt that way about Tymber Dalton's The Reluctant Dom. Great book, but an emotionally devastating read that had me in tears near the end.
Detention? As a young girl, I was a model child and never got in trouble. As a teen, well, yes I did get sent to detention, though probably no more than five times total between junior high and high school. The reasons could be anything from passing notes in class, to letting a fellow student cheat off me (that one got me sent away to a boarding school, so it went way beyond detention.).
As for running into a former crush years later, yeah I did that. I can't say we experienced the same attraction we had in high school, but we had a wonderful talk and I enjoyed visiting with him. However, the plot device is a fantasy of mine, and having the man be a teacher as well just adds to my interest. Can't wait to read the story.
I am partly through Dinah's story and loving it but I have finished Laying Down the Law! (so proud when I actually get to read for fun!) and I actually started out thinking oh cougar...but then...it didn't feel like one to me at all. The age difference wasn't the point...with so many other points of connection
ReplyDeleteI'm only halfway thru with Celeste's book. I'll finish it and come back and answer the questions!
ReplyDelete1. Hmm, I never thought of Cougars as needing to the be active one in the role. If that's the case, cougar spanking probably doesn't exist. Yep, you guys are right, urban dictionary defines it as an older woman on the prowl. Okay, so I guess she's not a cougar. Sorry for calling her that!
ReplyDelete2. Hmm, I really liked the scene with Ally's ex. I guess the dramatic tension and satisfactory result were a win for me.
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1. In Detention - I think the heavy subject goes perfectly well with this spanking story. I think it's possible some people don't want to go heavy when they read erotic fiction, but it seems like most people are willing to go anywhere the author leads them, so long as there are spankings and an HEA .:)
2. Never ever had detention. Actually, my h.s. didn't have detention, but even if it did, I never would have gone. Good girl. 3.99 GPA. ballerina. you get the picture...
3. I actually haven't been home much at all, as neither parent lives in the state anymore. I did have my first boyfriend look me up and ask me to coffee once and it was AWKWARD. He apologized for two-timing me. I still hadn't forgiven him. Can you say teen angst drama?
I purchased the box set and have already read and reviewed it. I loved the stories. I like that each author has their own style and each brings a different approach to the stories.
ReplyDelete1. Dinah stories bring real life issues. Cancer, family problems, etc. I was 31 when I had to have a hysterectomy. I was developing cervical cancer. I was married and already had my children. The worse that happened was I went into menopause and had to go on HRT.
2. No, I was a good girl at school. But I did get my last belt from my father 2 months before I married, was already graduated from high school. :(
3. No high school crushes. I guess marrying and moving to another state. I was engaged my entire senior year. The guy I was dating before I met who is my husband scared me so bad that I broke it off and have never regretted it. I watch his violent temper and taking his fist and hitting a brick wall. I thought to myself, could that be me someday. No regrets ever.
Laying Down the Law
ReplyDelete1. Women dating much younger men have gotten a reputation as being the aggressors, but it reality it is the men who approach them. (I have research the cougar issue!). So Ali/Griff's relationship is true to life in that respect.
2. If the bath scene pushed a reader to her limits, she's been reading some pretty tame stuff! I did not expect that scene, and it was more violent than other Celeste Jones, but I don't think it was over the top. I gasped when Ali popped out of the water and Dirk was there.But the scene was short. I'd read this question before I'd gotten to that part in the book, and I was half expecting Ali to be raped.
I really liked how Griff helped Ali find her confidence and that he believed in her so much. Liked the case they had to deal with too!
Detention with Professor Black (I haven't read this book yet)
1. The big C scares me to death. I would never write about it any detail (although in a current WIP the hero is a cancer survivor). I haven't read Dinah's book so I don't know how she deal with the topic.
2. No, I've never gotten detention. I was one of the good kids who never got in any trouble.
3.Oh yes. This has happened to me more than once. One incident: After college I found out the guy I'd had a serious crush on in high school was still in town. I'd decided I done enough secret crushing and decided to ask him out to lunch. He initially agreed, then had his secretary call and cancel the lunch.