Secret Maggie
The next book in the Maggie series is now available!
Coming home from Rhode Island and resuming classes and resuming their old friendly relationships prove a little awkward for Max and Maggie and Cole. Maggie is unsure yet excited, Max is enjoying the sword point of erotic jealousy, and Cole is worried about feelings he might have about his best friend's fiancée. None of them know what to do about their emotions and predictably a path obscured in shade can hide chuckholes...
I always pick the right time to check...
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the triangle developing here...its quite a bit different than what we've seen in other stories. I agree that I like Cole here, more than the other men in the other stories (he's no Tyler or Rocco...though I realize this isn't an LHW story I can't help but compare).
Clearly, he sees Max as his friend, but will that be enough as they go deeper into this? This is an added layer of complication; he doesn't want to hurt Max, but clearly he's developing feelings for Maggie. Already, he's encouraging her to push things further, to keep secrets from Max. Really interested to see how that progresses.
Either Cole is going to wedge himself between Max and Maggie; maybe he gains a girlfriend but he loses one of his best friends. Or, he loses both of them when Maggie ultimately rejects his attempts to break her and Max up. Or maybe they're all able to keep it light and fun. But given the nature of these stories, things don't stay light and fun forever.
Great chapter, can't wait to read what was supposed to be the second part to this. Let's see if Maggie brings another complication into this. Bad, bad Maggie! (but fun to read!)
Thanks, JL23! Things are going to get complicated...
DeleteMORTAL KOMBAT!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with and co-sign all the things JL said above. I am totally drained as is usual with KT's work.
You play?
DeletePlayed, back when playing this game involved joysticks, buttons and required standing.
DeleteThat statement is probably my first ever, 'back in my day ...' statement, oh god, what's happening ...
Not sure I agree with the comments about Cole, maybe he's just a younger, more "innocent" version. A best man who obviously wants to take Max's fiancee from him, boy that is real character.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, he hasn't turned totally to the dark side... yet. Maggie is well on her way to being a full out shut, a few more sessions with Cole, Jay and whoever she meets on the long holiday weekend and she may turn the corner. For now she still seems to have affection for Max, but not sure I would call it love.
Once again, KT does an excellent job of developing these characters, giving little insights throughout, both in the hot, steamy scenes, and the other more docile ones as well. Great job once again.
DEBATE! I don't think Cole "obviously wants to take Max's fiancee from him." At the same time, you can maybe begrudge a person for being so naive as to believe his perspective that he is just trying to teach his best friend life lessons and facilitate her own joy, as if it had no repercussions because he knows that Max is enjoying it (at least in some small way, afterall, he did convince Cole to stay in Rhode Island, lest we forget). This is my perspective on Cole at the moment. I certainly don't think either JL and certainly not I would call Cole a saint, but RFRKT (bringing it back for another blog post!) - no one is in the KT world.
DeleteIsn't intent part of the law in this country? As you mention he hasn't totally turned to the dark side, but what is the dark side in this? Deception is certainly one, but he knows his friends are into that in someway, so is that evil? It might be (it is), but he doesn't know it yet. Maybe he'll see what he's doing is wrong and turn a new leaf, maybe it'll be too late for him and he'll keep convincing himself it's ok, or even not care. In the end he's culpable for facilitating them down a path, but no one will be totally innocent in this. We deal in shades of gray in this world (not the pop-erotica kind), and I think it's fair to think of Cole as being on the lighter side of the spectrum!
Can't wait to find out how wrong I am in the future!
I agree with TBTH...I don't think Cole has gone into this with the intent to take Maggie away from Max. He saw it as fun, and probably mostly still does at this point. But he also has feelings for Maggie (pretty clearly he always did), and now that this Pandora's Box is opened, the question is can he contain it?
DeleteHe's different to me because he is Max's friend, and does have loyalty to him. None of the other guys really gave a crap about the Pete's or Geoff's of the world (maybe Dino somewhat by the end of LHW 2). So that complication adds a layer of intrigue to this story that interests me.
Clearly, there are warning signs in both Cole and Maggie's behavior in this chapter. Cole is pushing things, and convincing Maggie to keep secrets from Max. Maggie is starting to question her relationship with Max, even if she doesn't completely realize it (her questioning Cole about Max's size was a first point towards that to me).
But I also kind of liked the way Maggie plays this with Max, by basically admitting something happened without telling him, and trying to wrap it up as part of the game. Maybe in this way she can "have her cake and eat it too"; she can have the excitement of having a secret relationship with Cole, but also convince herself that she's not really betraying Max by hinting to him something's going on.
Do I think this can work in the long run? Well no, but its an interesting effort, and we'll see if she continues to try this as things move along.
A bunch of accumulating little lies can start to cause monumental problems, IMO...
DeleteThe accumulating lies are what excite me as a reader (and make Mr afraid for them as an empathetic person). Max has his secrets, Maggie has hers, and now Cole has his. And if Max discovers what happened in Cole's room, the potential wave of betrayal could cost him not only his fiancee but also his best friend--leaving him quite alone in the world. Plus, the secret of Maggie's brother still awaits.... And I hope we haven't heard the last of Jay...
DeleteI've enjoyed the two Losing His Wife series, but the Maggie books are deeply erotic and compelling.
Thank you so much. The building lies are what threatens them as a couple. I think they have a good relationship but that there are unaddressed individual character flaws that are putting holes in their boat despite the exciting forbidden fun they're having. The things they... Ha ha, just wrote a long diatribe and had to delete it because I realized I was giving too much away! But, yes, the lies are bad...
DeleteHappy I could help outline the next book! Can't wait to read it. I feel that Maggie and Max are essentially good people and a loving couple. But, yes, there are those character traits that are being teased and let out for air--traits they don't understand yet. Maggie has a pent-up desire to be wild after being kept in Tiger Mom's cage, and Cole seems to know how to unleash her--while also harboring more desire for her than he wants to show Max. And Max has those classic cuckold self-doubts and a weak spine in the face of confrontation. Such a rich playground for your story.
DeleteWow! Just devoured the 3 Maggie stories. Spectacular work. The teasing at the end of Secret Maggie was excruciating and joyful. I was grinning the whole time. Has me very inspired to share my own lovely wife (also Asian) and let her get some education. (She's not ready yet, so she says.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing such good characters. Most erotica is written by bad writers for bored readers, but you really amp up the emotion. It keeps me coming back for more. About to start the Losing His Wife series-- thanks for sharing your gift!
Thanks so much—really glad you like them! I put a lot into these stories and the characters become a big part of me...I really do want to create impactful stories, even if they are of this nature...
Deletewell...I am conflicted (as usual when it comes to reading KT stories) but I'm an addict. On one hand, I see the joys of sharing such an incredible experience. The love Max has for her shows in his ability to encourage these experiences, 1-experiences shes never had & 2-for his own enjoyment. But on the other hand, what happens when it stops being fun? Where does that leave Max? Where does that leave Maggie? Where does Cole fit into this?
ReplyDeleteSecrets??? There should never be any secrets, for that to have entered the picture is just...just...ugh I don't know. I am mad at Cole for suggesting it but I am also mad at Maggie for enforcing that when she whispered it was a secret to Max and one she intended on keeping to herself. I feel like Cole has his own agenda in this movie and that's not part of the plan. He needs to remember what was asked of him, to help his best friend experience things shes never done. He is not suppose to be pursuing more of a relationship with her.
I fell like this book was way too short...I am saddened that KT is suffering through mother nature storms, I do hope your safe!
I am, once again, desperately waiting for the next chapter...
Who else feels like this is going to be the longest 10 months of their lives??
This girl does!
Thanks KT
What would you do if you were Cole in this situation? I think it's an important exercise to think about what Cole is experiencing. A girl that has meant a lot to him for so long decides to take the plunge and now he's been forced to sexualize their relationship (force isn't the right word, but you know what I mean :) ). To me he may not want to feel what he is feeling, but due in part by the pressure (also probably not the right word) of people he trusts, he is down the path he's on. Cole isn't a novice either, when goes all in, it really seems to have an effect.
DeleteI agree! There should never be any secrets! There is more to the Secret Maggie that will come...should have been in this book, but, man, scheduling's been a beast...
DeleteMeta-critiquing moment -
ReplyDeleteWhen I enter the world of a book I like to go into it with a blank slate of values. I want the author to make it clear to us what the lay of the land is, both in the environment and the heads of the people within it. At the end of the day, I realize I feel more comfortable in a world that already shares a lot of what I come to understand as "real," but if I'm convinced enough, I realize an author can tell me to think in ways I wouldn't usually. It's fun to suspend disbelief if I have a rationale for believing it.
Pretend Cheating - this is going to be fun! In a less (debatably) morbid way, it's as thrilling as watching a potential car accident unfold before your eyes. Only in this instance you get to experience the play-by-play as you understand why one driver is texting and driving on their way home, and why the other driver decided to get behind the wheel after they had one too many.
In this analogy Cole may just be the person on the other line of the phone call, and also the person throwing the party that the drunk driver is leaving. Innocent acts in and of themselves, but handled carelessly and maybe he should know what could happen next.
Initial questions begin!
Who would Maggie possibly meet with back at home? Lee sounds super lame, so I don't think it's him. Does Jay have a meet in Rhode Island over break? Whoa buddy. Is there anyone else here who google mapped the distance between Old Saybrook, CT and Jamestown, RI? Nobody? K, thanks.
Does Maggie think she's cheating or not? She waffles and I love it! At first it wasn't cheating with Cole, then it became obvious even to herself it was, and yet she seemed so confident and guiltless (and Maggie is no sociopath) as she let Max know she didn't cheat on him, I don't know where she stands. I think she ultimately believes she is, but has convinced herself that cheating isn't the worst thing in the world because in the end she still has love for Max.
What motivates Maggie? Herein lies the hottest question of the story. We know that up until this point, she's put Max on a pedestal. Max was her everything, and she saw the world of sex through the scope of what he had to show her. She is learning now there is more (even better) out there, and that "more out there" is even helping up Max's game. The problem that is arising is that she (reluctantly to be fair) seems to be falling in line with what Cole wants to do in this. Why? I think she wants to cheat with Cole because she likes him, point blank and simple enough, and might be convincing herself it's just for fun. That said, if she's involving other men in this game too, then this becomes more about "what" she's she's doing, rather than "who." If I may, "who" makes it hotter. Understanding what makes Maggie tick will be a hell of a competition for Max, Cole, (surprise challenger Jay?), may the Best Man win. ;)
It becomes such an entertaining question to me—is it cheating? Without strict rules in place the rules of law get gray...
DeleteCheating. No question. Anything you "have to keep secret" is dishonest. Ask any woman, an omission is also a lie. But! This cheat has been converted into something greater! Something amazing that I can't wait to continue soon! Loving every new scenario in this series and I can't imagine what comes next. Although I'm feeling that Cole has become a dishonest person, and that his feelings are becoming more than friendly with Maggie, I still like his interference and the ending that his dishonesty brought to the story.
ReplyDeleteNow adding Jay to the mix could absolutely add to the turmoil and the fun! And it would be crazy if the sphere of influence would widen! When the flash from the picture showed someone in the background, I was kind of hoping it could have been Maggie's mother! Especially after Jay mentions that he thought that she was hot! That would be an amazing twist! She sees what an amazing cocksman Cole is and what her little girl has become after going away for college. Maybe Maggie's mom (Carol) would get "Tempted" and then eventually "Shared" herself! Not sure how Maggie's brother will play into this later...
But I am loving this series so far! I can't wait for the next chapter! Write on!
Cheers,
Newtype
But what if you convince yourself that your partner would be excited by your cheating? Do you take the risk? That has got to be hard on Maggie's psyche...or is she worried that she is fooling herself into believing that so she can permit herself to cheat because that is what *she* wants...
DeleteMore to come!
That's the $64,000 question...I think its the latter myself. When Cole asks her to do it, that's her concern, that's she going to hurt Max. But clearly she wants to experience it, so I think she comes up with this "middle ground" of kinda, sorta telling him. But I do feel she is motivated more by her own desires than by pleasing Max (though I do believe she wants to do that as well).
DeleteI think Max wants to be involved (or at least be aware) of what Maggie is doing. I don't think he wants her having a secret relationship with anyone, even someone like Cole that he may trust (though obviously he shouldn't and will probably quickly realize this as well). And I think Maggie knows this too; she says as much multiple times.
We know what can happen when you start rationalizing things, of continuously moving the line a little farther....eventually you completely step across it without even realizing it. I'm afraid that is what Maggie is going to do here. And Max will share responsibility in that, once you let the wolves in its really hard to get them to leave.
It's got to be my favorite question that KT covers (in varying styles and approaches).
DeleteAnd JL is on point again.
The "economics" (Really, this is what I'm doing right now with my time? Yup) of love in Maggie and possibly KT's worlds writ large
ReplyDeleteNothing makes a woman swoon more than to have someone quantify an abstract concept like love, and guess what ladies (and gentlemen), this guy is going all in! I've never spent as much time as I have in anything I've done, like I have in KT's books, without formulating some semblance of a theme or finding some overarching philosophy to bind it all together in my head. Another human creating patterns to feel comfortable and make sense of the world, I guess.
The question I have been thinking about with the last two series in particular with KT, is love infinite in the KT Universe? Maybe she toys with the concept of "unlimited" love or "limited" love depending on the series, based on her characters' needs, but I think what seems clear with Nia, in particular, and now possibly Maggie, is that she has characters with, what seems to be at least, the potential of loving more than one person in very meaningful fulfilling ways.
Love as a concept is too general of a thing to talk about because there are different forms of it, but for the interest of discussion I'll just define love as a state of feeling (my favorite thing to segment, for some reason) emotional, mental, and physical love for another person (and yes I just used the word in my own definition, but I don't want to spend forever on this). It might be too important to ignore that there are different forms of love, but I don't think it's possible for anyone to experience the other forms exclusively with someone without bringing the others with them. I could see someone having a stronger emotional connection to someone than a stronger physical connection for instance, but, I suppose based on someone's values, they might place more importance of emotional connection than physical, which I think brings with it a physical desire, and the two could feed each other. Eventually though, I could see a situation where if you only like one particular piece of someone, the other parts start wanting attention, and that desire could effect even what WAS working. I hope that makes sense.
Nothing proves I ramble more than split-up posts! Anyways, can someone have infinite love?
DeleteNia tried! She had three loves at one time (at varying levels) in Eternal. Sure, maybe she didn't really love Dino anymore enough to say it at that point in the story, but there can be no denying it was there in some capacity. I think it became obvious to her that she loved the idea of Rocco (because of what he symbolized) and not the man, but that feeling can't be denied either. So I guess what I'm wondering is, could Nia have comfortably loved all three of those men or was that not sustainable? Taken to the present story, is it possible that Maggie could love all three of Max, Cole, and Jay in meaningful ways, or does that fall apart and she ends up falling for the person she loves the most, because she just doesn't have enough space in her heart to love someone else to the same degree.
A couple mitigating factors to even unlimited love includes one that is absolutely finite - time. You can have all the love in the world to give to others, but if you spread your time out proportionally to how much love you feel for them, then you are probably spending more time with one person than another. That can tip scales. If Maggie finds she has more of a physical connection with Cole or Jay, and wants to explore that, then it obviously puts a damper on the time she spends with Max, who she might have a lot of love for. Her love for either of those two other men can start to grow, while Max and Maggie's relationship cannot. Of course, that assumes that Max wouldn't be "with" her, either in mind or body, when she is with others.
This brings up another mitigating factor - the objects of her desires! A cute way of saying Max, Jay, and Cole. These guys have a say in what Maggie and them should be doing together, and if either of them love her, but that love is conditional on time spent, to say nothing about jealousy or lying, then it doesn't matter if Maggie felt love for any of those men, it wouldn't feel reciprocal. Max doesn't want lies (although he kind of does too), and he certainly doesn't want her to spend all her time with Cole and/or Jay, so that could become a big conflict. Particularly with Jay, who to this point could probably not like the concept of spending time with Maggie AND Max. Cole and Max are obviously okay with each other (at this point), so that love triangle could theoretically work if the three can get over the concept of monogamous love.
I guess I wonder if polyamory can be a thing. I think we've spent too much cultural energy on monogamy to make any other lifestyle sustainable. I could go on, but what do we think of Maggie's ability to love Max at the same time as developing feelings for others? I tend to think that eventually it becomes too difficult to love two people, love is a lot of work! Eventually it leads to forcing our hands to make a choice, but it would seem possible to think it's worth trying and possibly even succeed!
Apparently I don't know what the definition of mitigate is, so let's pretend I said 'militating' (which is actually what I meant) or 'influencing.'
DeleteJust finished and the plot thickend right up! So now Cole has Maggie commit to cheating on Max. Maggie essentially tells max and everyone is cool with it. Somewhere I think there will be dilution. Of her love for Max or Cole. Too much of anything isn't a good thing. If Maggie starts getting sexed up all the time by her lovers. That'll turn into an addicktion (Hehe).
DeleteGreat writing KT! Got us hooked but good!
In 10 months I wonder how many lovers Maggie can accumulate.
I do think its possible to love more than one person at the same time, or to love people in different ways. Love, to me, is a bit of an abstract concept anyway; how does one exactly define it? So yes, I can see Maggie being in love with Max and potentially Cole (or Jay) at the same time, just as I believed that Nia felt love for Rocco or Dino in the moments she expressed that.
DeleteBut I agree, I just think it would be too hard to make a polyamorous type relationship work, for all the reasons you mentioned. My head hurts just trying to think about making that work, I have a hard enough time with one relationship (lol)...
So is it society and the pressures to be with one person only, or have we humans with our advanced brains (and our pesky emotions) figured out monogamy is the only rational long-term choice?
There are so many facets to it that they are hard to count. I mean it's easy to stand above it and say it's right or wrong but when you get in the weeds.
DeleteMaggie is emotiobally connected to all her lovers.
Jay makes her feel physically and sexually great. Cole makes her feel sexually and emotionally great. Max makes her feel emotionally and spiritually great(that why he's her soul mate). The down side is Jay doesn't do anything for her emotionally. Cole doesn't give her the warm fuzzy that Max does, and we all know where max is weak at. Looked at another way she felt some guilt sexing up with Cole but not with Max. No guilt sexing with Max.
Will that change?
KT knows 😉.
There are some who can make this work in rl but that pairing has to be pretty perfect. I'd never be able to do it. I Agree JL One spouse is a handful. Two would put me in a straight jacket no matter how good the sex was.😨
JL - you bring up a great question at the end. I think you could make a solid case for both, and it is probably based on the person. I think Maggie is (as women tend to be) more sophisticated than us guys, particularly when it comes to love, so it could be very possible for her to have the ability to love more than Max, just to repeat, in a meaningful way. The issue for her is when her family finds out. And this goes I think to what JL is saying about her "culture" (read in this instance, her upbringing). No more tuition? Good thing she graduates soon. She'll need some kind of breakthrough to start making money as an artist, so she might have to fall back on Max and whoever else if she gets disowned, until she makes it. I just find it hard to imagine would stand by her once the entire family learned about this. They seem like they can be assholes.
DeleteOn the advanced mind and monogamy, you could make the case that it is precisely because mankind did NOT live monogamous lifestyles for much of our existence that humanity was able to advance to it's current impressive sophistication. Sex at Dawn (KT recommended) has changed my understanding of the origins of humanity's preferred form of relationship. I think it's culture that holds us back from doing anything than get married (however many times as needed).
Just so it's clear, I'm the same way, I'm not above what is "right" in our culture.
Why is no one talking about the racist comment made by Maggie about Katana's "stupid Japanese arms."
ReplyDeleteThat is not behavior befitting that of a future presid ...
... oh wait.
Yes, to be clear, she should have said, Stupid arms that are Japanese. She had a problem with the arms, not their country of origin. :)
DeleteHaha!
DeleteJust finished Secret Maggie. Sizzling. That second to last chapter though... OMG. I really feel the first books of this series completely set last chapter up and entirely captured the struggle with this fetish that all of us KT fan's have, that she is able to capture so completely; a husband with this fantasy of seeing his wife/GF with another (alpha/bull) man... he wants to see it so bad, but he doesn't, but ultimately his desire overpowers and he DOES. A wife/GF who is being encouraged bus is also conflicted; she is curious, she is tempted, she has approval, but she has struggles with guilt, with the emotions she then develops with the men she is with, and with her own desires. But then once she has tasted the sexual power of someone bigger, better, or more sexually fulfilling, she can't stop herself and finds herself risking everything to continue. And then the fallout starts hitting. KT time and time again captures this better than any other author.
ReplyDeleteAnd if any of you have ever been through an experience like KT characters (like I have), you know EXACTLY why her books are tops within this genre. I can't wait for the next installment to see where KT takes us. Bravo KT!!!
Thank you so much! I love the conflict, the dirty, dirty conflict.
DeleteThis genre is so exciting...there is so much to consider. I love writing these books.
Question of the Night for me... how and when does Max find that video? Does Detective Max find Cole's phone in the locker room after seeing one too many quick, suspicious glances that Cole and Maggie make to their phones when Max is hanging out with either of them? Does Cole send it as a final plea to keep their friendship, "see, we weren't serious!"
ReplyDeleteNo comment... :)
DeleteDammit, KT! Now I have to ponder why you had to comment on not commenting.
DeleteI see most have returned to their regularly scheduled programming, I'm still stuck on this story ... Todays preoccupation is on a line from KT's blog about Cole, saying he is "worried" about the feelings he's developing for Maggie. Did any of you get that impression reading the story? It mostly seemed like he was comfortable going all in with Maggie and not caring about the possible consequences vis-a-vis getting attached. Maybe that line from the blog is demonstrated in the awkward silence and dialogue after Maggie ponied up after the lost bet? Cole seems unconcerned right now about what Maggie's new adventure could do to him.
ReplyDeleteDid I give something away? :)
DeleteI think even super-studs like Cole have hearts and brains, and while they may operate on well-greased tracks, having slayed many a young co-ed between the sheets, when it comes to real feelings they become tripped up. Do they act like they used to or do they approach a relationship honestly? ...And how do they do it honestly? Do they know how?
I do regret not giving Cole (and Jay, probably) a voice in this book. Could have been interesting...
Nicely done! :)
DeleteSuper-stud Cole is not like other dude-bros, he is actually a decent guy, and doesn't just care about Maggie in a 'notch in the bedpost' way. He has a familiarity with her passion enough to know her art work when he sees it, a level of decency enough to feel the need to remove himself from a situation when lines he feels shouldn't be crossed are (even though HE didn't take the first big step himself), he actually cares about Maggie's pleasure (douchebags don't) and, I think, genuinely wants to teach her new tricks because this is a fun new game with his friend. Yes the tricks involve what is typically a big no-no with a friend, but Max asked him to come back and told him why she wants to do what she's doing, the rest of the steps needed to justify things fall into place when you don't think about it too hard. :)
See, I pieced all that together without his dialogue (though it's possibly off-base). Frankly, I don't want his input in the story, same reason you said you left Tyler out I think.
He's not at all perfect, but most decent people aren't. RFRKT - I love bumps in the road in this path. There are so many writers who spend time writing stories about couples who know what they're doing in this lifestyle, and as a result are capable of compartmentalizing their feelings throughout their dalliances. Boring! If everyone in this story knew what they were doing, I'd hate it.
Thanks for all the updates, KT (status bar not withstanding :) ), left a lot for us to think about!
Congrats on getting the paperback software up and running! I didn't get into GLTF but LHW1 and 2 are certainly book shelf material! (the secret shelf that is ;) ).
ReplyDeleteWow, some pretty interesting discussion threads, as always... I can't stop wondering how KT will weave the plot from here on out. With the past two LHW series (yeah, this might be a LHF series), KT never went "nuclear" with the primary relationship. She did come really close with Pete and Jess, less so (IMHO) with Geoff and Nia. There were kids there, plus an early on close relationship in both cases, so the angst really tore me (and a few other readers) up and stayed with us a long time. Obviously, the sign of a really good writer.
ReplyDeleteThis story is much different. I am not sure that either Max or Maggie are ready for a long-term relationship, certainly not with each other. Certainly seems that Cole would like to be closer with Maggie, and at least on a physical level, Maggie seems to want that too. Cole has already begun working on Maggie telling her that cheating on Max will excite him, will he "trains"her ass...wow.
My question for all of you loyal KT readers... Who ends up together when the smoke clears at the end of the series? Could it be Jay (sort of a combination of Max and Cole)? The best friend and physical Cole? Or maybe Max, with a continued commitment to the minefield that a hotwife path for Maggie will mean for both of them even after they are married (at least in a KT authored universe)?
Right now, my top guess is Cole, just because Maggie is already so close to him, but I would only give him a 60/40 chance on winning the prize, (Maggie, although I am not sure she is currently a" "prize" I my book). And no, it's not my Boy Scout handbook I am referring too!
I know there will likely a lot of different opinions, and would really delight in hearing them. This story defies my own "experiential" logic in life, so I have a really hard time figuring out a human behavioral model for what is happening.
Maggie, not a prize?
DeleteBeautiful, sweet, sexy, talented, from a very wealthy family? ...
To me, she is very valuable. However, I am also editing Pete and Jess in LHW1 for the paperback and wondering how I ever defended her in a blog post. She's terrible!
It's funny how your perspective can change when you're removed...
Well, funny you mentioned Jess from LHW1, I was actually thinking of Maggie in the context of Jess in the early parts of of that story before Pete (in one of the great acts of stupidity in all time) urged her to go into a hotwife relationship with Tyler.
DeleteMaggie is now sweet, as you say, but quite possibly a sweet smelling flower that is hiding a pool of quicksand, certainly pretty on the outside, but I fear undergoing a tragic metamorphosis on the inside to something more like Jess just before the end of her metamorphosis. As far as from a "rich" Family, we all know how temporal wealth is, and certainly in her family's case, carries a lot of baggage (as both Max and Cole realize). And talented, no doubt on that score. Talent without "purpose" in life can be self-destructive in my experience in working with very talented people over the years.
By the way, I always felt pity for Jess as she began her descent into debauchery or whatever Tyler lead her to. Not sure if he had been a "true alpha-type" (yes, we've been through that before), but even a Daniel Craig-type Bond character would have led to a much different outcome I think.
When is the next LHF book due out?
Great insight again. There is truth to what you're saying...
DeleteI'm not sure when the next book will be out but I am working away on it!
I think you're right about Tyler. If he'd been a more capable man he would have permanently stolen Jess.
Potentially nothing - Cole and Max were comforted by the security cameras not being in the house, or not paying attention to them unless it's needed, but Cole carried Maggie to the house. Maggie better hope there's no beach cam.
ReplyDeleteAlso possible, Ken could use that footage as a threat if he feels like Maggie has gone too far. I don't think Ken is malicious, just a caring brother who is just as green to the world as his sister is and wants her to be safe.
Hmm. Interesting. I'm taking notes. Go on...
Delete:)
Haha. If only I knew your agenda with this inquiry …
DeleteTo me, it isn’t the T-1000’s interest in his home’s security which prompts him to review the cameras. I’m sure he had no alarm bells going off to check the camera the night his daughter, future son-in-law and friend were all there. It would take an overbearing father to feel the need to review the tapes of them. Out of what, paranoia about his daughter? I could buy that, after all why make them all sleep in separate rooms like their children? He might be wondering what this Cole guy is all about, a man so brazen as to feed his daughter caviar right in front of the family of the bride and whisper private things in her ear. Maybe Martin is like that, but I think he’s too busy to let that thought force him to engage in stalking. I think we would have known by now too, because if he’s the type to stalk, I would think it would be an ‘asap’ kind of thing.
Instead I think if tapes exist of that night, it would take a tip from a trusted source for him to take a look. I doubt Ken will have any desire to tell his father about what he saw, but what if he calls his sister one night; wants to catch up. He asks a few probing questions, and Maggie is a little torn up from the web she’s woven and is dying to hear the voice of a family member that could restore her innocence. He knows her like a caring brother would, and he knows what she’s doing. He says something that hits the nail on the head, and the tears start pouring. Oh god, Max has her doing shit that is destroying her! Now what does he do? He couldn’t possibly get his parents involved right? He knows they are crazy strict, and would die if they saw those tapes. He can try to console her all he wants, but she’s on the other side of the country. Maybe it’s Ken that holds the killswitch?
Alternative theory - this one I just thought of - Maggie is going dress shopping, she can’t wait to try on all the gorgeous dresses and get all the pampering that her wealthy family will provide her that weekend. She’s talking to Max, but I guarantee she’ll be talking to Cole. Jay too probably, but at this point, I’m not sure where he fits in the story’s future. Maggie’s bored, Cole's bored.
“Hey Margaret, want to do something dangerous?” (I had to throw in the Margaret thing)
“What?”
“Your dad has a killer bourbon in his office, you should totally steal it!”
“Are you insane?”
“Do it!”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Are you kidding, for that bourbon I will do anything, you name it when you get here” (I have no idea what she’d make him do, probably force him to do her laundry for a month or something tame).
“You owe me big time, mister!”
So she steals it. Maybe she is so clumsy as to take the whole decanter home. Maybe she clumsily thinks she can fill up a water bottle with the contents, and thinks no one is the wiser.
Martin knows immediately. “Did Maggie steal my whisky? … She did! What else has she been doing that I don’t know about! *rewinds the tape* … These little shits are running around my home at night and … wait … what’s going on here…”
That was fun.
Question of the night. Halloween is coming up, what does Maggie wear? My vote is a Katana costume, just to push Cole’s buttons :) .
My Defense of Maggie Becker - Distinguishing Doing Evil and Being Evil.
ReplyDeleteI admit to being in a weird place when analyzing this story’s cast. There was a time when even just reading about infidelity would only ever draw ire, but I think I’ve lost track of that absolutism with every page of a KT novel. That’s probably a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I think I am better equipped to judge a character on their situation rather than their personality traits (avoid Fundamental Attribution Error!). But I can’t deny the thought that 1) I could just be seeking a justification that allows me to safely conclude there is good in a person, and, 2) paradoxically, that the act of betrayal, lying, emotional detachment, etc. is warranted and even desirable!
It’s been discussed that Maggie is a novice to relationships, and it’s probably not unfair to say that her inexperience extends to understanding the world in general! She isn’t dumb, nor does she lack a moral compass, but when it comes to her present circumstance, I sincerely doubt that she has any knowledge that could prepare her modus operandi. Before anyone gets me wrong, I think what she could be building to, and what she’s already done, are acts of evil, mostly because I think they could be avoided. But I think there are antecedents to this moment with the present Maggie, that are capable of shielding her from accusations of being evil.
She has been raised by parents of high influence on the society they live. With the intelligence and skills that accompanies those achievements, and the resources that can maximize her potential, if only they would let her take some scrapes that could allow her to meet that true potential! It’s another case of stunted growth by restricting parents. Sure they might mean well, yada yada, but this is the kind of shit that leads to the death of fraternity pledges. Cage even the most tame of animals for too long, and even THEY might become the beast. Frat killers are a bad example to compare to Maggie, but I hope you’ve caught my drift.
Building My Case ...
DeleteMaggie, for much of her life, had only known one path, the one given to her by her parents. And once she decided to stray from that, I think she lost their willingness to provide her the intellectual and (if they ever gave her any) emotional support to do what she wants to do with her life. Oh she gets tuition paid for, they’ll help her with money, that’s clear, but what to do with her life path, or how to achieve her goals, she’s on her own. So she starts down her own path, alone, and with nothing either from her past or in the present circumstances to help make sense of how it’ll work.
Enter Max Milton, Michigander, the best kind of people ;). He’s always been the sidekick, the guy that gets great pleasure from matching the excitement of people he cares about. Not that he doesn’t have his own agenda, but in comparison to others, he puts that aside to help people get what they want out of life and gets a thrill out of it himself. He’s Cole’s partner in crime, enjoying his exploits vicariously, his workout partner because he gets a thrill out of being challenged by what Cole’s good at. Super supportive of Maggie’s life goals, and though he might not know art, he knows that art is what makes Maggie, Maggie.
(S)he likes me for me …
Maggie loves Max for being as supportive as he is, and that’s great because she needs that as she tries to become the Maggie Becker she always wanted to be, but couldn’t until now. She also had the support of newly mutual friend, Cole. He was always there too, always there to make her laugh, to complete the college experience for her when she would venture out in the world with Max. Maggie’s new reality gave light to her new path, THIS is what I can be! That worked for a while, a long time even, but then an unfortunate reality dawns on everyone. There are still other things out there. She needed models to complete her degree, and an occupational hazard showed itself in the 11th hour of Max and Maggie’s marriage plans, Jay. What Jay revealed to Maggie is that she might not be done exploring who she is, and though Max is unfortunately torn up by paying witness to her discovery, his instinctual desire to experience his loved one’s joy reached a peculiar level. One might even say, stupid.
Rather than be open about what is behind his new excitement, something he doesn’t understand enough to make proper decisions on, he acts with his gut, and turns his girlfriend (who is already reevaluating her life, again) on to something she might never have thought about. But Max has been so helpful and supportive to her as she went through these growing pains, maybe he’s right about doing this too, afterall, this DOES seem like fun! So she seeks to explore what she has never done before.
Of course, that’s the innocent way of putting it. It’s precisely what she explores that is maybe not so innocent.
I’ll return to this later. Thanks!
The Progression of Being Naughty (Continuation of “Maggie Becker’s Defense”)-
ReplyDeleteI don’t think any women ever grow up thinking, the right thing to do is to let him in the backdoor every once in a while, *pauses for laughter*, but yet, I think it’s safe to say a majority of women have let their significant others do that at least once. Why? People mature and reevaluate what is or is not healthy behavior in a relationship based on what they learn from other people, what they hear from their partner in particular (mostly that, to be honest, lol), and what they feel is right. Everyone holds a concept of what a relationship means to them until they are in one, and they realize they might not know everything there is to know about how they should be, and update their concept of what they should do in one and what they like as they learn more.
Max taught Maggie what sex was, or at least what he knew about it, and it helped formulate Maggie’s concept of sex in a relationship. Maybe she knew that other things were out there in theory, but never cared to explore it and enjoyed Max and her relationship for what it was. After Jay came into Maggie’s life, a curiosity brewed under the surface. It teased and poked at her until she started rationalizing ways of exploring her curiosity without betraying her boyfriend. More accurately stated though, she thinks she is not betraying her boyfriend. There lies a naked man in her bed and she can’t stop staring at him, but she’s supposed to be staring at him for her degree. Now he has an erection and she can’t stop thinking about it, she capitulates to letting him relieve himself and pays witness. Does so because she needs that sketch and she can’t have him moving positions! He makes a mess of more than just a shirt in this moment. She can’t believe what she’s done, she knows this is wrong, but on the other hand, she wanted it to happen and go even further. That cognitive dissonance ended up with a face in the toilet to relieve her nausea, but it planted a seed in her maturing mind. The thought stews and, much like anything we want to make happen in our lives, becomes agreeable. What is wrong starts to feel right, but only under certain considerations, “I didn’t touch him” “he only comes over because he is helping me with my degree” “I don’t really know what it’s like to be with anyone else, especially someone like him.” Whatever thoughts she had up to inviting him back for another drawing, it cannot be denied what we should describe her actions when she saw him again. They were a seduction.
In my best Juliet voice - “What’s in a T-shirt?”
DeleteShe wore that t-shirt, however wittingly she was to the decision, to be able to experience what made her curious, again. This part of the story is important, in my opinion, because this moment is all about Maggie. In wearing it she is putting out so many signs to Max, to Jay, and herself. To Jay, it shows him she not only doesn’t feel bad about what happened, she might like him, only girlfriends wear a guy’s shirt and nothing else (lingerie too, at least the first time she wore it ;) ). To wear that shirt after what dirtied it in the first place, has to mean that maybe she not only likes him, but is DTF … probably right now. She could have just washed it and handed it back to him with a pair of salad tongs and a surgical mask the next time she saw him, “Here’s your shirt, Jay” and be justified in that act. Instead, when she was complimented on how good it looks on her, she simply said, “I washed it for you.” Not a “Thank you, it just looked really comfortable,” or a “oh shit, this is your shirt isn’t it? I just grabbed what was in the laundry”, but a deliberate act that demonstrated she knew what she was doing the whole time she put it on.
To Maggie, wearing what she is wearing proves to herself that she is willing to explore a new feeling. She is not only literally wearing something new, but how it came to her possession is a reminder of an unforgettable new experience. To wear it in front of Jay (and Max, on accident) shows herself she is boldly jumping into this curious space without fear, or at least not enough fear to change her mind. She didn’t let her disgusted side win out, instead the side that was curious won out and she literally wrapped herself up in her curiosity; with that shirt. We don’t (yet) know if she would have eventually done anything more without Max’s prodding, but we do know that Maggie was posturing to get exactly what she eventually got from Jay, whether she wanted to admit it.
To Max, I think it shows he doesn’t know his Maggie, at least not fully. With that act he realizes that she wants to see what else is out there, and it turns him on a little (or a lot) to feel jealous. This is all something that I don’t think I need to get into, but I think it’s very important to mention how he reveals to Maggie what he is feeling and what meaning Maggie could be drawing from it. The steps towards meeting Jay again were highly charged moments indeed. For instance, asking her to think about Jay when they were together. She was reluctant to do that, because she knows it’s wrong, knows she was doing something behind his back and he caught her indulgences. He persisted though, and Maggie’s curiosity aided by Max’s support helped beat back the guilt from what she considers to be inappropriate relationship behavior. In that moment, Max isn’t just turning Maggie on to the idea of sleeping with another man because of how hot she looked at the time, but turning her on to doing things that she might think are inappropriate to the relationship more generally. Skipping ahead in their mutual exploration, when she reveals to him more of what she wants to do or has done, there is not enough value placed on “Don’t do that,” and that is Max’s fault. When he says no it has been followed by an emphatic reaction that, at least up to that moment in their relationship, can only be described as a man enjoying himself.
Conclusion (for now)
DeleteMaggie’s interpretation of Max’s enjoyment is her most important consideration to date as she continues to grapple with her thoughts, “my fiancee is into this.” Sure she knows that he isn’t wholly into everything she is doing, but there is enough doubt about the limits and about the flexibility of those limits to test them. This is Maggie’s new normal. Let’s say she means it when she says this'll be over with when they are married. For the time being at least, what she is doing is now feels like appropriate behavior in her relationship with Max. I don’t think there is any doubt we are going to see what the limits are for Max, and in that moment we will see if Maggie’s curiosity is driven more internally or one borne of Max and her explorations.
This is astounding! All I can say right now, ha ha. I'd love to discuss but the story isn't over yet... !
DeleteIf you're worried that you've lost people's attention while you finish up, you haven't, lol.
ReplyDeleteI hope not! For whatever the reason this book is taking a long time. I'm almost done, but it keeps wandering away from me and I have to add more and more. Weird thing is while the book seems huge (maybe the hugest I've done) the word count doesn't show it. I keep thinking my software is messed up, but it's not. ha ha. It's not as long as Tempting or Sharing (for now!) but it feels so much bigger because I tread a lot of difficult ground maybe...
DeleteHang in there, I will finish very soon! My goal is to hit publish in the month of June (but please don't hold me to it!)
It'll take a lot to beat out the intensity of Temporal in LHW2, that was pretty huge.
DeleteHey KT, I know you have more than enough on the go, but I hope that idea you mentioned a while back "Reluctant wife, cheating, falling in love, husband not into it, alpha bull who rubs it in" is still lit up for you. You're a quality author for all the reasons that I've mentioned before and I don't know who else could truly do justice to these themes. Hope everything's going well.
ReplyDeleteObviously not KT, but I'm just running through the themes you outline and I just wonder, how do you know she isn't giving us this right now? 😉
DeleteJust saying, that case could be made.
Kind of, however the relationships in Maggie are far more complicated to nail down one interaction as the driving emotion.
DeleteIt is there, but its not so intentional, but I think the intention can be brought to the surface the more successful the behavior is...ie, the more rewarding it is, the more bold it will become. Or maybe not. And yes, that was ridiculously cryptic.
I did begin a fun and painful book that is precisely bullying. Bully the husband, seducing the innocent, unsuspecting housewife. Husband acquiesces. Not a series, definitely just meant to be a 100-pager. It is still a go.
My schedule is so wonky, and you can all recognize that by now, ha ha—I was just thinking that this bully story was reminiscent of Size Curious Brat in some ways, then remembered I wrote half of a second part to that story and it's still sitting (forgotten) on my drive...
Glad to hear that bully story's still on the radar! I may be in for a bit of a wait, but I am extremely excited to read any further writing from you in the vein of Size Curious Brat.
DeleteSo I was listening to a song the other day and maybe had KT fresh on the mind when, once again, I connected a song to the storyline of a KT story.
ReplyDeleteStevie Wonder's 'Maybe your Baby' has been altered now lol. It's not like the theme of infidelity hasn't been tackled by countless artists, and the story that SW writes about is pretty basic, but listening to it at the gym I got a mini chuckle to myself that another of my favorite songs is being viewed differently because of a writer.
Does anyone else have songs that remind them of KT's stories and what are the lyrics?
Here's some of Maybe Your Baby
(from AZ lyrics)
I'm feelin' down and some kind of lonely,
'Cause' my baby done left me here,
Heart is blazing like a five alarm fire
And I don't even give a care
I feel like the world is turnin' on me,
My dreams turn to ashes right in front of my face,
And I'm gettin' kind of worried,
And I feel so out of place,
Maybe your baby done made some other plans
Maybe your baby done made some other plans
I feel like cryin', yeh, yeh
Maybe baby, baby, baby
In the mornin' when I've got heartache,
I can't call up the doctor for help,
'Cause the only person that could ever do me any good,
Is steppin' out with my best friend
I feel like I'm slippin' deeper,
Slippin' deeper into myself,
And I, I can't take it,
This stuff is scarin' me to death
Is there an ending in sight for NM, at this point?
ReplyDeleteSubmitted this morning.
DeleteSchedule has been really bad for me—real life hardships getting in the way. This was supposed to be a 50k word book but I keep extending it, and the ending was confounding me. It looked like I might need another two weeks so I published 30k words, which is the size of the LHW2 books.
Speaking of LHW2: the craziest, weirdest fucking coincidence—I ended up in Haliburton for Canada Day. Not at Rocco's cottage unfortunately, I was there for not-fun reasons. I haven't been to Haliburton in fucking years and had no plans to be there, then day-of, I end up in Haliburton on the exact day from the LHW2 book Montreal where Geoff, Nia, and Odie go to celebrate Canada Day on the 150. Fucking Universe at work, man...
First of all, woohoo!(?)
DeleteI'm sorry that life has been getting in the way of writing. I really hope that you can get back to a normalcy you are looking for soon, and not just for writing! I know I'm not the only that really appreciates that you care enough to struggle with the ending, you keep us hooked because the story matters to you. It'll be an awesome day when we find out that it clicked for you.
Is/was Next Maggie intended to be the end-end or are you still expecting more? I think you said there is more in another post, but I can't remember if that was pre-SM or not.
Happy belated Canada Day! What a funny coincidence, but sorry that it wasn't as fun of a reason to be where you imagined your characters at one time. See any places that looked like they could have a wine cellar in the basement? :)
I love this series. hopefully there is more to come! I am hoping that either Cole or Jay make an appearance on the honeymoon!!
ReplyDelete