Today I am very excited to welcome Cat Grant back to Joyfully Jay! She is here today as part of her blog tour for Priceless, a new rent boy story from Riptide Publishing (see review). Cat is also giving away one of her backlist books to a lucky commenter on the blog, so be sure to leave a comment below to enter.

Welcome, Cat, and thanks for joining us today!

Thank you for joining me on my blog tour for Priceless, written for Riptide Publishing’s 2012 Rentboy Collection. Hope you enjoy this little peek into what inspired the story, and be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of books from my backlist!

May/December… or is that September?

Ah, teacher/student stories… I’ve had a serious kink for them ever since Sting sang “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” There’s something about the power dynamic that draws me in – the glimmer of hero worship in a young man’s eyes that his teacher can’t help but find flattering, the older man’s inevitable struggle against giving in…

I enjoy exploring the issues this type of story brings up – love might conquer all, but it has a rocky battle ahead when everyone stares at a May/December couple holding hands as they walk down the street together. Or when people assume the younger man’s only with the older man because of his money or connections. Then there’s the older man’s natural fear that his lover will eventually dump him for someone younger and better-looking.

So the power imbalance is a given, at least at first. But for me, the trick to writing a great May/December story lies in showing how well-matched the lovers are, despite their age difference.

Take Connor and Wes, the heroes of my new novella, Priceless. (Although I’d hesitate to call Connor a “December” – at thirty-five, he’s hardly a candidate for geezerhood!) Connor is Wes’s intellectual idol, which makes for some awkwardness at the beginning of the story, until Connor sees that Wes is as brilliant as Connor himself was at Wes’s age. They bond over their mutual passion for physics, which later leads to Connor serving as Wes’s tutor/mentor – another one of my favorite parts of the whole teacher/student dynamic. All those late nights studying together, hunched over a hot laptop, shoulders touching…

::fans self::

Ahem. And on that note, here’s a blurb to further whet your appetite:

When love’s for sale, who really pays?

Connor Morrison is a 3D optics pioneer, the star of the UC Berkeley physics department, and a socially-inept workaholic. And with his dear friend and business partner, Steve Campbell, handling their investors, he’s content to remain in the shadows. That is, until he meets the gorgeous and starry-eyed physics student Wes Martin.

Wes is brilliant but broke. Ever since his scholarship fell victim to the financial crisis, he’s had no choice but to sell his body to stay in school. Already half in love with Connor, Wes initially resists Steve’s offer to be Connor’s thirty-fifth birthday present. But in the end, Wes is too broke—and too smitten—to say no.

Connor has no idea Steve bought Wes’s attentions, and he quickly falls under the young man’s spell. Yet after one night together, Wes disappears. He can’t bear to hook with a man he could so easily grow to love, but he also can’t bear to tell him the truth. Besides, if he sleeps with Connor again, there’d be no way to hide the bruises one of his regular johns loves to inflict. Only one thing to do: let Connor go. Walking away is painful, but not nearly as much as building a relationship on lies.

EPIC Award-winning author Cat Grant lives by the sea in beautiful Monterey, California, with one persnickety feline and entirely too many books and DVDs. When she’s not writing, she sings along to whatever’s on her iPod, watches lots of movies, and fantasizes about kinky sex with Michael Fassbender.

Where to find Cat:
Website: http://www.catgrant.com
Blog: http://catgrant.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cat.grant
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CatGrant2009
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1912055.Cat_Grant

And now if you would like a chance to win one of Cat’s backlist books, leave a comment below.  The contest closes on Friday, May 18 at 11:59 pm EST.  Usual fine print applies…

  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay and leave your email address if it is not in your profile.