Luna Rising
By Selene Castrovilla
Genre: Women's Fiction
About the Book
Life begins at thirty-eight for Long Island mom and writer Luna Lampanelli, when she kicks her secretly gay husband to the curb. She's got her freedom, but what she wants is love. Luna knows she doesn't need a man to exist, but try telling that to her heart. Against the advice of Sunny, her snarky best friend, and Jiminy, the cautioning voice in Luna's head who just won't shut up, Luna sets course to find a mate. Luna speed and on-line dates her way into several short-lived, surreal relationships. There's Ari, the humorless Israeli who refuses to assimilate – to America, and to humanity. There's Alex, the young and handsome ex-crackhead who informs Luna he doesn't want to be monogamous—while they're in bed. There's Memphis, the wild-eyed sadomasochist. There's Red, angry and crippled, who becomes the catalyst for Luna to join Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. But before Luna can proceed to recovery, she meets the elusive but oh so appealing Trip. He's emotionally unavailable and has the Madonna-Whore Complex, but how can Luna (aka "whore") let him go when she enjoys his dry wit so much, and his body even more? Humorously haunting and packed with unspeakable truths, Luna Rising follows a woman's funny and heart-breaking struggle to relate with un-relatable men and an un-relatable world, and to figure out something even more un-relatable: herself.
Breaking Bad
Why do we like “bad boys?” Well, let me rephrase that. Perhaps not all women like bad boys. (Although millions certainly do like bad boy characters.) Why do I like bad boys?
I mean, they pretty much suck.They’re permanent Peter Pans, whooshing me off to Never, Never Land. The flight is fun and fanciful—but what have I got when you land? Stuck on an island, eventually forced to walk the plank.
But oh, the allure. The sex appeal. THE SEX. Why is is so much better with a bad boy? Is it because I never really know where I stand with him, that teenaged lust wafts from his chakras even though he’s well past being a teen? That there’s this rhythm strumming from his soul, like he’s playing an acoustic guitar only I can hear?
But can a bad boy be broken, paper-trained like a puppy. Neutered, perhaps? And could I find happiness with a broken-in bad boy?
This is what I ponder as I sit typing on my deck, facing the water. It’s the same spot where I started writing LUNA RISING over ten years ago. And I admit it, Luna is me. To a point. I wrote about Luna as a way to try to figure out if I cold harness a man like Trip—her main love interest in this women’s fiction. There’s other men along the road from her divorce toward him. Crazy, funny, dangerous men. She learns boundaries the hard way. But Trip is the guy she wants—she’s got that aching,craving lust for him—but she also loves him. What a conundrum. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to work out between Luna and Trip as I was writing. I simply followed their lead.
Does it work out? Well, that would spoil your fun of reading their story. But I will tell you that there is more than one path to a happy ending.
Still, Luna has not helped me to come to any conclusions of my own. Why oh why do I love those bad boys? Can I break free from bad? We shall see…
If you have any suggestions, please share. And thank’s for taking the time to read my guest post!
Thanks so much, Leigh, for having me!
EXCERPT FROM LUNA RISING
In the car Luna asked Trip, “You think we could find somewhere to park?”
“You wanna park? No one’s asked me to park since high school.”
She did want to park, so they headed to a lot by the bay next to the
recreation center. She worried about it being too public. He said not to.
He moved his seat back and she climbed on his lap, facing him. He
wore a small silver hoop that she found incredibly sexy.
“I like your earring,” she said.
“Thank you!” he said, sounding quite pleased. “I got it three years
ago. It was my niece’s idea. She said, ‘Unk, when you’ve had your heart
broken, an earring’s just the thing.’”
He showed Luna the woven bracelet knotted around his wrist. “This
is from her. She met the Dalai Lama, and asked him to bless it for me.”
Luna ran her fingers over the colorful threads, and his surrounding skin.
Maybe it was the power of suggestion, but she felt centered, like balance
was tingling into her tips.
“I never take it off,” Trip said.
He gave her that little, secretive smile again, lifting the corners of
his mouth ever so covertly. He had glistening brown eyes with beautiful,
flirty eyelashes. When he focused on her there was such magnetism
between them, it really was like they already knew each other. They kissed
again, and the energy level rose. He reached into her pants, touching the
small of her back, and she climaxed.
He moved across her body, touching different parts and making her
climax again and again. He asked her to take her pants off; she was nervous,
but did it.
There was no denying him.
He didn’t want anything in return. She asked, adding, “You know I’ll
do whatever you want.”
He said, “Just enjoy yourself.”
Sand sifted around them, moving from their clothes and bodies to
the car. Luna’s energy swirled and surged, relentless and euphoric to have
found a mate. The window was open but still their bodies overheated.
Trip said, “That’s it! This shirt’s coming off!” She helped him out of it,
tugging it over his head and across his outstretched arms. Then he held
her against him, against his chest. She nuzzled his neck. He smelled sweet
and tangy, like butterscotch pudding.
He said, “You smell wonderful.”
Trip was commanding, but gentle. He was masculine, not brutal.
Wrapped in Trip’s bare arms, Luna said, “You’re so tender.”
“You’re so soft,” he said.
A little bit later Trip said quietly, “I can’t tell if it’s me you want, or
just anyone.”
She’d known it at the email, and now it was confirmed. Squeezing
her fingers into his chest – it had just the right amount of hair and just
the right amount of muscle – she said, “You’re the man I’ve been waiting
for.”
About the Author
Selene Castrovilla debuts in women’s fiction with Luna Rising, but she’s no stranger to publishing. An award-winning teen and children's author, Selene believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. Her novel Melt, Book One of the Rough Romance Trilogy, received six honors including the IndieReader Discovery Award Grand Prize for Fiction. Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, her third nonfiction picture book about the American Revolution, was the recipient of four awards including Booklist Top Ten Biography for Youth, International School Librarians’ Honor Book and Eureka! California Reading Association Honor Book. A companion book, Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold, is hot off the presses. Selene holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from The New School and a B.A. in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons and too many cats, where she sits on her deck in the summer, fall and spring (and at her picture window in the winter) and writes. She loves the color purple and coffee. Selene plays well with others, but with words even better. She is so grateful to do what she loves. National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson calls Selene “a writer worth watching.” Visit www.SeleneCastrovilla.com.
Links:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCastrovilla/
On Twitter: @SCastrovilla
On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32963894-luna-rising
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