Mounting Desire: A Novel - Hardcover

Killham, Nina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582345015 ISBN 13: 9781582345017

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2005

Synopsis

The author of How to Cook a Tart turns her wickedly incisive eye to the only subject that Americans are more obsessed with than food: sex.

Jack Carter, born-again virgin and bestselling romance author, has a problem, and her name is Molly. Foisted upon him by his sister, Molly has just been fired from her high-paying management position for sexually harassing her male assistant. She's also been evicted from her apartment, and has landed-for just a few weeks, she promises-in Jack's Los Angeles town house. Worse yet, she decides to take advantage of her new environment and try her hand at writing romances herself, using the pseudonym Molly Desire. Molly's novel is racy and explicit, and blows the covers off Jack's tender and traditional plots and relationships. Just how far will their professional (and personal) competition go? Add to the mix a sister who thinks she's not getting enough, a niece who's about to get too much, and a mother who is in danger of being kicked out of her retirement home for inappropriate behavior, and you get Nina Killham's trademark wit and insight into the battle of the sexes.

About this title

About the Author:

Nina Killham was born in Washington, D.C., and lived overseas much of her childhood. After graduating from the College of William and Mary, she wrote about food for the Washington Post, and worked as an assistant at Columbia Pictures. She lives in London with her husband and their two young children. Her first novel, How to Cook a Tart, was also published by Bloomsbury.

From Publishers Weekly:

Killham's rollicking second novel (after How To Cook a Tart) cleverly sends up the romance genre while standing as a funny, romantic novel in its own right. Jack Carter, nom de plume Celeste d'Arcy, is a successful romance writer living in Venice Beach, almost as irresistible to women as one of his throbbing heroes. But after a failed marriage and too much casual sex, lonely Jack is now a "born again virgin" waiting for his true love. Enter Molly, a formerly successful businesswoman fired for sleeping with her hunky but incompetent assistant. As a favor to his sister, who's Molly's friend, Jack allows the suddenly broke and homeless Molly to move in with him. Soon, Molly is authoring her own romances, ones featuring more handcuffs than petticoats. While Jack suffers writer's block, promotes abstinence among his friends and dates controlling, chaste Heather, Molly publishes popular novels, gets knocked up and grows beautiful in Jack's eyes. Killham aims for a witty gender role reversal with these two characters—Jack is romantic, finicky and worried while Molly behaves more like a hormonally charged teenage boy than a liberated woman—but the author often sacrifices the characters' credibility for cleverness. Nonetheless, readers will still wish the best for these unlikely lovers in this fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable read. Agent, Isobel Dixon. (May)

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1582345015
• ISBN 13: 9781582345017
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272