Welcome Author Catherine Chernow!

I met Catherine Chernow online through my Yahoo loop about a year ago. I quickly noticed how “real people” Catherine is and immediately, I knew—Catherine would be headed for author superstardom. To know her is to admire her and her writing speaks for itself. Catherine Chernow has that little “something-something” and if you’re just meeting her for the first time, I know you’ll agree.

I asked Catherine Chernow to join me as I kick off the guest blog spots here at It’s Only A Matter of My Opinion because it’s fitting really to have her join us as my first guest. Since day one, I’ve loved bumping into Catherine online and after reading Lady in White, I have a very strong opinion about my friend and fellow author Catherine Chernow.
She’s going places and most who know her would likely agree—she’s headed for the top!




‘Amorous Aphrodisiacs’



DIARY OF A MAD ESCORT by Catherine Chernow
What happens when fantasy sex becomes…murder?

Last year, I read an article about the D.C. Madame who ran a high-class escort service, and an interview with one of those escorts…

Never in a million years would I have guessed that this woman was a high-paid escort! She had a good job as a marketing executive, wore an elegant, pinstripe designer suit, carried an expensive designer leather handbag…

But tucked away in that bag were the tricks of her trade – her fur-lined handcuffs and little whips.

I was instantly fascinated. That fascination led me to write DIARY OF A MAD ESCORT (available for sale from Total-e-Bound).

In DIARY OF A MAD ESCORT, Grace Barry leads a double life. By day, she’s a smart, savvy financial consultant. By night… a sultry, seductive, paid escort providing fantasy sex to New York City’s wealthiest financiers. Grace, a.k.a., Ginger, arrives at her clients’ hotel rooms in her office clothes, looking like one of their own, but tucked away in her handbag are her sheepskin lined handcuffs and little whips. One evening’s sojourn to wealthy stockbroker Mark Chase’s hotel room changes Grace’s life forever. She slips her card key into the door…and discovers Mark’s dead body sprawled on the floor. Fear makes her run…straight into the arms of FBI agent Alex Winter, a man with a deadly secret…a man whose heart is as cold as ice. Now, Ginger must raise money for her defense. In a bold move, she offers her private diary for sale to any news channel willing to pay…

Alex Winters’ frozen heart matches his ice-blue eyes...and his name. His fellow agents call him ‘Iceman,’ and he has no patience for beautiful, scheming murderers like Ginger Berry. She’s the #1 suspect in the death of wealthy financier Mark Chase, but Alex’s fascination…and attraction to the scheming call girl gets in the way of his investigation. As Alex unlocks the secrets surrounding Mark Chase’s death, he unwittingly places Ginger in danger. When her life is threatened, it will be up to Alex to protect her, and keep her from publishing her diary of…a mad escort.

For a long time, Grace has ‘facilitated’ men. She’s their sexual fantasy come true – she’ll be anything and do anything they want, as long as they pay. Alex turns the tables on Grace, the day he tosses out a challenge to her: Alex swears he’ll make Grace so hot or him, that she’ll beg him to make love to her.

Hah! Impossible! Grace is the mistress of fantasy and carnal desire…

No man can turn her on.

Until, Alex.

Using the power of aphrodisiacs, he gives her what she gave her clients – freedom from herself. Alex takes over, and makes love to Grace through sexual fantasy – doing things that Grace has only dreamed of. Using the sensual allure of aphrodisiacs, Alex lulls Grace into a world of erotic pleasures.

Is it possible that aphrodisiacs do have sensual power? Can they truly turn you ‘on?’

In Elizabethan England it was believed that plants with any phallic features like asparagus, parsnips and carrots were certain to be aphrodisiac in their effects. So back then, it was believed that not only ingesting these phallic-like substances would make you virile, but looking at them, handling them, would, too. Why? Good love-making starts in the mind…and in the five senses.

Alex Winters knows that. He plays a ‘cat and mouse’ game of sexual tension with Grace. He taunts and teases her five senses – with certain aphrodisiacs – like a pheromone cream he rubs on her skin – and certain scents and tastes. Grace thinks he’ll be just like any other man she’s slept with, but soon learns the power of Alex’s sensuality. In his care, Grace imbibes utterly delicious food, revels in his nurturing of her body, as well as her mind.

Oysters resemble the female sex organ and have been highly touted as an aphrodisiac. They’re rich in zinc, and zinc purportedly controls progesterone levels, which have a positive effect on the libido. Zinc deficiency can cause impotence in men, so any food rich in zinc can be considered an aphrodisiac in that respect. Oysters are loaded with zinc! So, maybe the myth is true…

Or not.

You could ingest 100 different kinds of supposed aphrodisiacs, but if your mind-set isn’t right, the love-making won’t be, either. Alex knows this, surprising Grace with a side of him she didn’t dream existed. He lulls her into a state of absolute relaxation, leaving her vulnerable to his sensual power.

Vulerable? Yes, vulnerable. Sex is power. They go hand-in-hand. It’s all a mind game.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon said,Fetch me that flower, the herb I show'd thee once;The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laidWill make man or woman madly doteUpon the next live creature that it sees.
Relaxation and opening your mind up to your five senses leads to great sex.


What you feel – the power of touch – plays a big role, too. For example, the feel of silk against your skin, or a lover’s touch, can waken a sleeping libido.

Taste – eating certain foods can be sensually stimulating. Make mine chocolate, please! The smooth, creamy sweet taste of chocolate is believed to be a powerful sexual stimulant.

Your mind has to be aroused first. The brain sends the signals to your body parts, so if your mind isn’t aroused, your won’t be, either.

Did you know: The musky scent of truffles is a big turn on? That vanilla inspires lust?

Hippocrates (c.460-377 B.C.E.) the father of medicine, is reported to have recommended lentils to keep a man virile well into old age

But no matter what the ancients believed, or what people in modern times purport as aphrodisiacs, it’s your state of mind that’s most important. You have to learn how to relax, to relinquish control (let someone else take over for a change!), play a little – get into a little role-playing and fantasy.

So, I ask you: What do you do to relax your mind? Your body? Got a fantasy you’d like to bring to life? (Ah, come on, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours!). Hmmm…I have this scene in my head, where I’m captured by a handsome desert sheik, he takes me to his tent and…

Well, I’ll tell you the rest, if you share something with me: What do you believe is the most sensual aphrodisiac? Is it a certain food? A scent? Something you’ve read or seen? (like a scene in a romantic movie or book).

Then I’ll tell you what that sheik and I are doing in his tent!