text:
\section{Introduction} \label{S:intro}

If ${\mathcal{A}}$ is a unital operator algebra and $\alpha$ is a completely contractive
endomorphism, the semicrossed product is an operator algebra ${\mathcal{A}} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}_+$
which encodes the covariant representations of $({\mathcal{A}},\alpha)$: namely completely contractive
unital representations $\rho:{\mathcal{A}}\to{\mathcal{B}}(\H)$ and contractions $T$ satisfying
\[ \rho(a) T = T \rho(\alpha(a)) \quad\text{for all}\  a \in {\mathcal{A}} .\]
Such algebras were defined by Peters \cite{Pet} when ${\mathcal{A}}$ is a C*-algebra.

One can readily extend Peter's definition \cite{Pet} of the
semicrossed product of a C*-algebra by a $*$-endomorphism to unital operator
algebras and unital completely contractive endomorphisms.
One forms the \textit{polynomial algebra} $\P({\mathcal{A}},{\mathfrak{t}})$ of formal polynomials
of the form $p=\sum_{i=0}^n {\mathfrak{t}}^i a_i$, where $a_i\in{\mathcal{A}}$, with multiplication
determined by the covariance relation $a{\mathfrak{t}} = {\mathfrak{t}} \alpha(a)$ and the norm
\[ \| p \| = \sup_{(\rho,T) \text{ covariant}} \big\| \sum_{i=0}^n T^i \rho(a_i) \big\| .\]
This supremum is clearly dominated by $\sum_{i=0}^n \|a_i\|$; so this norm
is well defined.
The completion is the semicrossed product ${\mathcal{A}} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}_+$.
Since this is the supremum of operator algebra norms, it is also
an operator algebra norm.
By construction, for each covariant representation $(\rho,T)$,
there is a unique completely contractive representation
$\rho \times T$ of ${\mathcal{A}} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}_+$ into ${\mathcal{B}}(\H)$ given by
\[ \rho \times T(p) = \sum_{i=0}^nT^i \rho(a_i) .\]
This is the defining property of the semicrossed product.

In this note, we examine semicrossed products of the disk algebra by
an endomorphism which extends to a $*$-endomorphism of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$.
In the case where the endomorphism is injective, these have the
form $\alpha(f) = f\circ b$ where $b$ is a non-constant Blaschke product.
We show that every covariant representation of $(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}),\alpha)$ dilates to a covariant
representation of $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$.
This is readily dilated to a covariant representation $(\sigma,V)$,
where $\sigma$ is a $*$-representation of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$ (so $\sigma(z)$ is unitary)
and $V$ is an isometry.
To go further, we use the recent work of Kakariadis and Katsoulis \cite{KK}
to show that ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times _\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+$ imbeds completely isometrically into
a C*-crossed product ${\mathrm{C}}(\S_b) \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}$.
In fact, $\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times _\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+)= {\mathrm{C}}(\S_b) \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}$ and as a consequence, we obtain that $(\rho,T)$ dilates to a covariant representation
$(\tau,W)$, where $\tau$ is a $*$-representation of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$ (so $\sigma(z)$ is unitary)
and $W$ is a unitary.

In contrast, if $\alpha$ is induced by a constant Blashcke product,
we can no longer identify $\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times _\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+)$ up to isomorphism.
In that case, $\alpha$ is evaluation at a boundary point. Even though every covariant representation of $(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}),\alpha)$ dilates to a covariant
representation of $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$, the theory of \cite{KK} is not directly applicable
since $\alpha$ is not injective. Instead, we use the process of
``adding tails to C*-correspondences" \cite{MT}, as modified in
\cite{DR, KK2} and we identify $\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times _\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+)$
up to strong Morita equivalence as a crossed product.
In Theorem~\ref{constantcase} we show that
$\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times _\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+)$ is strongly Morita equivalent to a
C*-algebra of the form $ {\mathrm{C}}(\S_{e})\times_{s} {\mathds{Z}}$,
where  $e \colon {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} \longrightarrow {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}}$ is a
suitable map and $(\S_{e}, s)$ is the solenoid system for $({\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} , \, e)$.

Semi-crossed products of the the disc algebra were introduced and first studied
by Buske and Peters in \cite{BP}, following relevant work of
Hoover, Peters and Wogen \cite{HPW}.
The algebras $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})\times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$, where $\alpha$ is an arbitrary
endomorphism, where classified up to algebraic endomorphism in \cite{DKconj}.
Results associated with their C*-envelope can be found in
\cite[Proposition III.13]{BP} and \cite[Thoorem 2]{Pow}.
The results of the present paper subsume and extend these earlier results.

\section{The Disk Algebra} \label{S:covariance}

The C*-envelope of the disk algebra $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ is ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$, the space of continuous
functions on the unit circle.
Suppose that $\alpha$ is an endomorphism of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$ which leaves $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ invariant.
We refer to the restriction of $\alpha$ to $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ as $\alpha$ as well.
Then $b = \alpha(z) \in \mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$; and has spectrum
\[
 \sigma_{\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})}(b) \subset \sigma_{\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})}(z) = \overline{{\mathds{D}}}
 \quad\text{and}\quad \sigma_{{\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}}(b) \subset \sigma_{{\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}}(z) = {\mathds{T}}.
\]
Thus $\|b\|=1$ and $b({\mathds{T}}) \subset{\mathds{T}}$.
It follows that $b$ is a finite Blaschke product.
Therefore $\alpha(f) = f \circ b$ for all $f \in {\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$.
When $b$ is not constant, $\alpha$ is completely isometric.

A (completely) contractive representation $\rho$ of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ is determined
by $\rho(z) = A$, which must be a contraction.  The converse follows
from the matrix von Neumann inequality; and shows that $\rho(f) = f(A)$ is
a complete contraction.
A covariant representation of $(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}),\alpha)$ is thus
determined by a pair of contractions $(A,T)$ such that $AT=T b(A)$.
The representation of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$ is given by
\[  \rho\times T \big( \sum_{i=0}^n {\mathfrak{t}}^i f_i \big) = \sum_{i=0}^n T^i f_i(A) ,\]
which extends to a completely contractive representation of the semicrossed
product by the universal property.

A contractive representation $\sigma$ of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$ is a $*$-representation,
and is likewise determined by $U = \sigma(z)$, which must be unitary;
and all unitary operators yield such a representation by the functional calculus.
A covariant representation of $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$ is given by a pair $(U,T)$
where $U$ is unitary and $T$ is a contraction satisfying $UT=T b(U)$.
To see this,  multiply on the left by $U^*$ and on the right by $b(U)^*$
to obtain the identity
\[ U^*T = Tb(U)^* = T \bar{b}(U) = T \alpha(\bar{z})(U) .\]
The set of functions $\{f \in {\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} : f(U) T = T \alpha(f)(U) \}$ is easily seen to
be a norm closed algebra.  Since it contains $z$ and $\bar z$, it is all
of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$.  So the covariance relation holds.

\begin{thm} \label{basic}
Let $b$ be a finite Blaschke product, and let $\alpha(f) = f \circ b$.
Then $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$ is $($canonically completely isometrically isomorphic to$)$
a subalgebra of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+$.
\end{thm}

\begin{proof}
To establish that $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$ is completely isometric to a
subalgebra of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}^+$,  it suffices to show that each
$(A,T)$ with $AT=Tb(A)$ has a dilation to a pair $(U,S)$ with $U$ unitary
and $S$ a contraction such that $US=Sb(U)$
and $P_\H S^nU^m|_\H = T^nA^m$ for all $m,n \ge 0$.
This latter condition is equivalent to $\H$ being semi-invariant for the
algebra generated by $U$ and $S$.

The covariance relation can be restated as
\[
 \begin{bmatrix}A&0\\0&b(A)\end{bmatrix}
 \begin{bmatrix}0&T\\0&0\end{bmatrix} =
 \begin{bmatrix}0&T\\0&0\end{bmatrix}
 \begin{bmatrix}A&0\\0&b(A)\end{bmatrix}
\]
Dilate $A$ to a unitary $U$ which leaves $\H$ semi-invariant.
Then $\begin{sbmatrix}A&0\\0&b(A)\end{sbmatrix}$ dilates to
$\begin{sbmatrix}U&0\\0&b(U)\end{sbmatrix}$.
By the Sz.Nagy-Foia\c s\ Commutant Lifting Theorem, we may dilate
$\begin{sbmatrix}0&T\\0&0\end{sbmatrix}$ to a contraction of the form
$\begin{sbmatrix}*&S\\ *& *\end{sbmatrix}$ which commutes with
$\begin{sbmatrix}U&0\\0&\alpha(U)\end{sbmatrix}$ and has $\H\oplus\H$
as a common semi-invariant subspace.
Clearly, we may take the $*$ entries to all equal $0$ without changing things.
So $(U,S)$ satisfies the same covariance relations
$US = Sb(U)$.
Therefore we have obtained a dilation to the covariance relations for $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$.
\end{proof}

Once we have a covariance relation for  $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$,
we can try to dilate further.
Extending $S$ to an isometry $V$ follows a well-known path.
Observe that
\[ b(U)S^*S = S^*US = S^*S b(U) .\]
Thus $D = (I-S^*S)^{1/2}$ commutes with $b(U)$.
Write $b^{(n)}$ for the composition of $b$ with itself $n$ times,
Hence we can now use the standard Schaeffer dilation of $S$ to an isometry
$V$ and simultaneously dilate $U$ to $U_1$ as follows:
\[
 V =
 \begin{bmatrix} S & 0 & 0 & 0 & \dots\\
 D & 0 & 0 & 0 & \dots\\
 0 & I & 0 & 0 & \dots\\
 0 & 0 & I & 0 & \dots\\
 \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \ddots
 \end{bmatrix}
 \text{ and }
 U_1 =
 \begin{bmatrix} U & 0 & 0 & 0 & \dots\\
 0 & b(U_1)\! & 0 & 0 & \dots\\
 0 & 0 & \!\!b^{(2)}(U_1)\!\! & 0 & \dots\\
 0 & 0 & 0 &\!\! b^{(3)}(U_1)\!\! & \dots\\
 \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \ddots
 \end{bmatrix} .
\]
A simple calculation shows that $U_1 V = V b(U_1)$.
So as above, $(U,V)$ satisfies the covariance relations for $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$.
\bigbreak

We would like to make $V$ a unitary as well.  This is possible in the case where $b$ is non-constant,
but the explicit construction is not obvious. Instead, we use the theory of C*-envelopes and maximal dilations. First we need the following.

\begin{lem} \label{envelopeidentified}
Let $b$ be a finite Blaschke product, and let $\alpha(f) = f \circ b$. Then
\[
 \mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+) \simeq \mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+) .
\]
\end{lem}

\begin{proof} The previous Theorem identifies $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$
completely isometrically as a subalgebra of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$.
The C*-envelope ${\mathcal{C}}$ of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$ is a
Cuntz-Pimsner algebra containing a copy of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$
which is invariant under gauge actions.
Now ${\mathcal{C}}$ is a C*-cover of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$, so it is easy
to see that it is also a C*-cover of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$.
Since $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$ is invariant under the same gauge actions,
its Shilov ideal ${\mathcal{J}} \subseteq {\mathcal{C}}$ will be invariant by these actions as well.
If ${\mathcal{J}} \neq 0 $ then by gauge invariance ${\mathcal{J}} \bigcap {\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \neq 0$.
Since the quotient map
\[
\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \longrightarrow {\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \slash ({\mathcal{J}}\cap {\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})})
\]
is completely isometric, we obtain a contradiction. Hence ${\mathcal{J}} = 0$ and the conclusion follows.
\end{proof}

We now recall some of the theory of semicrossed products of C*-algebras.
When ${\mathfrak{A}}$ is a C*-algebra, the completely isometric endomorphisms are the
faithful $*$-endomorphisms. In this case,
Peters shows \cite[Prop.I.8]{Pet} that there is a unique C*-algebra ${\mathfrak{B}}$,
a $*$-automorphism $\beta$ of ${\mathfrak{B}}$ and an injection $j$ of ${\mathfrak{A}}$ into ${\mathfrak{B}}$
so that $\beta\circ j = j \alpha$ and ${\mathfrak{B}}$ is the closure
of $\bigcup_{n\ge0} \beta^{-n}(j({\mathfrak{A}}))$.
It follows \cite[Prop.II.4]{Pet} that ${\mathfrak{A}} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}_+$ is
completely isometrically isomorphic to the subalgebra of the crossed product algebra
${\mathfrak{B}} \times_\beta {\mathds{Z}}$ generated as a non-self-adjoint algebra by an isomorphic
copy $j({\mathfrak{A}})$ of ${\mathfrak{A}}$ and the unitary ${\mathfrak{u}}$ implementing $\beta$ in the crossed product.
Actually, Kakariadis and the second author \cite[Thm.2.5]{KK} show that ${\mathfrak{B}} \times_\beta {\mathds{Z}}$
is the C*-envelope of ${\mathfrak{A}} \times_\alpha {\mathds{Z}}_+$.

In the case where ${\mathfrak{A}}= {\mathrm{C}} (X)$ is commutative and $\alpha$ is induced by an injective self-map of $X$, the pair $({\mathfrak{B}}, \beta)$ has an alternative description.

\begin{defn}
Let $X$ be a Hausdorff space and $\phi$ a surjective self-map of $X$. We define the \textit{solenoid system of }$(X, \phi)$ to be the pair $(\S_{\phi}, s)$, where
\[
\S_{\phi} = \{ (x_n)_{n\ge1 } : x_n = \phi(x_{n+1}), x_n \in X, n \ge1 \}
\]
equipped with the relative topology inherited from the product topology on $\prod_{i=1}^{\infty} \, X_i$, $X_i=X$, $i=1,2, \dots$, and $s$ is the backward shift on $\S_{\phi}$.
\end{defn}

It is easy to see that in the case where ${\mathfrak{A}}= \mathrm{C}(X)$ and $\alpha$ is induced by an injective self-map $\phi$ of $X$, the pair $({\mathfrak{B}}, \beta)$ for $({\mathfrak{A}}, \alpha)$ described above, is conjugate to the solenoid system $(\S_{\phi}, s)$. Therefore, we obtain

\begin{cor}
Let $b$ be a non-constant finite Blaschke product, and let $\alpha(f) = f \circ b$ on ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$.  Then
\[
 \mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+) =\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}({\mathrm{C}}(\S_{b}) \times_{s} {\mathds{Z}}) .
\]
where $(\S_{b}, s)$ is the solenoid system of $({\mathds{T}} , b)$.
\end{cor}

It is worth restating this theorem as a dilation result.

\begin{cor} \label{equivdil}
Let $\alpha$ be an endomorphism of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ induced by a non-constant
finite Blaschke product
and let $A,T \in {\mathcal{B}}(\H)$ be contractions satisfying $AT=T\alpha(A)$.
Then there exist unitary operators $U$ and $W$ on a Hilbert space
${\mathcal{K}} \supset \H$ which simultaneously dilate $A$ and $T$, in the sense that
$P_\H W^m U^n |_\H = T^m A^n$ for all $m,n \ge 0$,
so that \mbox{$UW=W\alpha(U)$.}
\end{cor}

\begin{proof}
Every covariant representation $(A,T)$ of $(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}),\alpha)$ dilates to a
covariant representation $(U_1,V)$ of $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})},\alpha)$.  This in turn dilates to
a maximal dilation $\tau$ of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}\times_\alpha{\mathds{Z}}^+$, in the sense of
Dritschel and McCullough \cite{DM}.  The maximal dilations extend to
$*$-representations of the C*-envelope.  Then $A$ is dilated to
$\tau(j(z)) = U$ is unitary and $T$ dilates to the unitary $W$ which implements the
automorphism $\beta$ on ${\mathfrak{B}}$, and restricts to the action of $\alpha$ on ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$.
\end{proof}

The situation changes when we move to \textit{non-injective}
endomorphisms $\alpha$ of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$.
Indeed, let $\lambda \in {\mathds{T}}$ and consider the endomorphism $\alpha_{\lambda}$ of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$
induced by evaluation on $\lambda$, i.e., $\alpha_{\lambda}(f)(z)= f(\lambda)$, $\forall z \in {\mathds{D}}$.
(Thus $\alpha_{\lambda}$ is the endomorphism of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ corresponding to a constant Blaschke product.)
If two contractions $A,T$ satisfy $AT=T\alpha_{\lambda}(A) = \lambda T$, then the existence
of unitary operators $U, W$, dilating $A$ and $T$ respectively,
implies that $A=\lambda I$.
It is easy to construct a pair $A,T$ satisfying $AT= \lambda T$ and yet $A\neq \lambda I$.
This shows that the analogue Corollary \ref{equivdil} fails for $\alpha = \alpha_{\lambda}$
and therefore one does not expect $ \mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha_{\lambda}} {\mathds{Z}}^+) $ to be
isomorphic to the crossed product of a commutative C*-algebra,
at least under canonical identifications.
However as we have seen, a weakening of Corollary \ref{equivdil} is valid
for $\alpha = \alpha_{\lambda}$ if one allows $W$ to be an isometry instead of a unitary operator.
In addition, we can identify $ \mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+) $ as being
\textit{strongly Morita equivalent} to a crossed product C*-algebra.
Indeed, if
\[
 e \colon {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} \longrightarrow {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}}
\]
is defined as
\[
e(z, n)=
\left\{
\begin{array}{cl} (1, 1) & \mbox{if } n =1 \\
                 (z, n-1) & \mbox{otherwise,}
                 \end{array}
                 \right.
                 \]
                 then
\begin{thm} \label{constantcase}
Let $\alpha= \alpha_{\lambda}$ be an endomorphism of $\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D})$ induced by evaluation at a point $\lambda \in {\mathds{T}}$. Then
$\mathrm{C}^*_{\text{e}}(\mathrm{A}(\mathds{D}) \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+)$  is strongly Morita equivalent to ${\mathrm{C}}(\S_{e}) \times_{s} {\mathds{Z}}$,
where $e \colon {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} \longrightarrow {\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}}$ is defined above and $(\S_{e}, s)$ is the solenoid system of $({\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} , \, e)$.
\end{thm}

\begin{proof} In light of Lemma~\ref{envelopeidentified}, it suffices to identify the C*-envelope of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})} \times_{\alpha} {\mathds{Z}}^+$. As $\alpha$ is no longer an injective endomorphism of ${\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}$, we invoke the process of adding tails to C*-correspondences \cite{MT}, as modified in \cite{DR, KK2}.

Indeed, \cite[Example 4.3]{KK2} implies that the C*-envelope of the tensor algebra associated with the dynamical system $({\mathrm{C}(\mathds{T})}, \alpha)$ is strongly Morita equivalent to the Cuntz-Pimsner algebra associated with the injective dynamical system $({\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} , \, e)$ defined above. Therefore by invoking the solenoid system of $({\mathds{T}} \times {\mathds{N}} , \, e)$, the conclusion follows from the discussion following Lemma~\ref{envelopeidentified}.
\end{proof}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Tag Archives: Mature aged sex
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile	by ASandraAntonelli
A few weeks ago, while I sat in a cafe with my coffee, I picked up The Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper and read a story about a local author who's had success with writing YA. I was happy for her, fascinated by her journey as a writer. She spoke a bit about reading and writing as forms of escapism. She mentioned that stepping back into one's days of youth was cathartic and the ultimate form of escapism, much like using a time machine.
Of course, the idea of escaping into youth and it being the cathartic form of ultimate escapism immediately chapped my hide because it suggests, it buys into the absurdist notion that your younger self is the only self worth a damn, it plays right into the hands of the media, into advertisers hawking anti-aging products, into fear-mongering about growing older, into the bullshit idea that getting older means your best days are in your past because your future is nothing but wrinkles, adult diapers, and dementia. Or, if you're a woman over 40, a future of invisibility.
I'd like to believe that the smartypants who came up with the thought that the best days of one's life are the days of one's youth is related to the asshat who decided that a woman over 40 is too old to be an attractive romantic lead and has "seen better days," kind of like these shoes here. But women, as we know, aren't shoes.
I'm pretty sure there are a few of things happening with this 'younger days were better' thing, which equates to the 'younger IS better' concept that is so prevalent in society. First, the harkening back to the days of one's youth and romanticising that youth—in spite of acne, awkward social encounters, and the associated anxiety of being a teen—has been around since the year dot. Next, thanks to advertising, giant corporations who want your money, and the media who also want your money, the natural process of ageing has been medicalised and treated as a disease to fear. We seldom take into account that life expectancy has steadily increased from 'old age' being somewhere around 30 to now pushing over the line of 80. Oddly, very oddly, instead of drawing attention to this fact, that 80-something life expectancy is overlooked. The portrayal of a dismal future is where this idea that 'escaping' to your youth comes into play, regardless of the numerous studies that show older people are healthier, happier, more satisfied with life, and still have another potential 40 years of life still left to live.
I prefer to focus on that 80-something life expectancy, despite what advertising and books and films continue to push about life after 40, especially when it comes to a woman's life after forty. I write novels about older characters who live in the now, in their present age the same way younger people do, without looking back to or escaping to their days of youth. These characters have a lot of living to do, a lot of mistakes to make, a lot of shit to get done in whatever escapist 'fantasy' I happen to shove them in, like a middle-aged female butler fighting off the assassin sent to kill the spy she loves in my romantic suspense-cosy-spy-thriller-mystery In Service series (yes, it's a book plug, kids).
There have been some changes in a little bit of what we have seen on screen, some movement away from the ageist, sexist structures that have kept women over the age of 40 stuck in the same roles. However, advertising, the majority of media, films, and fiction persist in forecasting an ageist, gloomy image of life after 40, especially for women, after the bloom of youth ends at 40. Older women in particular continue to be cast in the stereotyped roles of grandmother, witch, cougar, while now and then appearing in 'acceptable' roles as amateur sleuths like Miss Marple, Mrs Pollifax, and Agatha Raisin, with occasional lauded 'literary' roles that still fit the grumpy old woman stereotype, such as Olive Kitteridge.
It may take 40 years to get past 'youth,' but how about putting a focus on how there's another potential 40 years of living, a focus on a life after 40 that remains full of exciting possibilities and experiences that can excite us the way new possibilities did as when we were in our youth? How about we see a future crammed with new things we've never explored, rather than believing one needs to escape into one's past to enjoy the present? Escapist stories have their place, I love a good popcorn movie or a book about spies and their beloved housekeepers (see what I did there?), but isn't presenting people, and by people I mean women who happen to be older than 40, in a variety of roles other than mother, grandmother, cougar, granny, harpy, lunatic, Feminazi, or badass-ass-kicking copies of male action heroes, the ultimate form of escapism?
As an aside, if you're interested and in Australia, tonight's Q&A on the ABC features Ageism activist thischairrocks' Ashton Applewhite, monaeltahawy, jessradio, NayukaGorrie, assafiri_hana and host frankelly08. Tonight at 9.35pm AEDT is about gender inequality, ageism, sexism, feminism, violence against women, and #MeToo.
You can bet I'll be watching. If you missed it, you can watch Q&A Broadside here.
40+ romance, ABC Q&A, age stereotypes, ageism, Ageism and advertising, ageism and gender, Ageism and sex, ageism and women, Ageism in Hollywood, Ageism in romance fiction, ageist sexism, Ashton Applewhite, At Your Service, In Service series, Mature aged sex, mature women, mature women in fiction	4 Comments
Misrepresentin': An Open Letter to (Romance) Publishers
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile, romance fiction, Uncategorized, writing	by ASandraAntonelli
Dear Fiction Publishers,
Did you really need a survey to discover that women over 40 feel misrepresented, underrepresented, that there are not enough books featuring older women, and it's past time to end the perception that women washed up the minute they hit 40?
Apparently you did because you haven't you been listening. You haven't been paying attention. I know this because I've been paying attention. I've been listening and watching and waiting and writing the books your survey says women over the age of 40 have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for.
A couple of you publishers are gonna say you've tried this already. Don't we remember Harlequin's NEXT, Berkley's Second Chance at Love, Ballantine's Love & Life, and Kensington's To Love Again. There are one or two of you sort of trying now, but seriously HarperCollins HQ, a SURVEY? This really proves you're not paying attention. This proves you haven't heard me shouting–or readers saying that they want to see female characters over the age of 40 as lead characters.
Forgive me. For those of you who are not publishers allow me to explain my beef with this survey.
The HarperCollins imprint HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins UK, was once MIRA and MIRA Ink, both romance imprints that rebranded to 'commercial fiction.' HQ joined up with Gransnet (Grans as in Grannies, an offshoot of Mumsnet–because yanno, all women are mums and grannies), a "social networking site for over 50s"), to conduct a survey of 1000 women aged 40+. This study "reveals" that women over 40 feel misrepresented, that there are not enough books featuring older women…oh, and pretty much everything we here already know, and all the stuff my damn doctoral dissertation noted–the stuff I post about often.
Now HQ is trying to fix this lack of representation with a contest open to women writing novels with female lead characters aged 40 and beyond. They are even running a competition.
"Together with HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, we are launching a fiction writing competition for women writers over the age of 40. We will specifically be looking for stories featuring a leading character aged over 40."
Two or three publishers saying they are looking for older women or older couples isn't enough. Despite HQ, Entangled's August imprint & Facebook groups like Seasoned Romance and Romance in Her Prime, in romance, the older couples are often secondary characters, or hero is older; the silver fox paired with younger woman, or the heroine is portrayed as a 'cougar.' More often older females are reduced to stereotypes like the survey explained, like I established in all my academic research.
One big issue no one bothers to mention in this survey is that many rom editors are still not open to older heroines, even the ones who say they are. Authors who write older heroines, like I do, are told to 'make heroine younger' because older 'might not sell,' or as one editor said to me, "no one wants to read granny sex." For example, when it originally launched, Entangled's August line HAD a a character age limit of 45.
Currently, their commercial fiction line Sideways has an age limit of 50.
Back in 2012, when I conducted interviews I with romance fiction editors, I was told older women have too much life experience & baggage for rom & were a better fit for Women's Fiction–and yet there's an age limit of 50 in Entangled's Sideways commercial fiction line, which includes Women's Fiction.
As I said, many romance authors have written older heroines only to be told to "make them younger." They' also been told, "older won't sell, or, like I was told, that "no one wants to read granny sex." Yes, I know I bring that chestnut up a lot because that was the response I got three years ago, when I asked Entangled's CEO why the August imprint had that 45 age limit. However, age limits may be a thing of the past. Maybe.
HQ executive publisher Lisa Milton said:
"We publish many books by women over 40. Many of our books have female characters over 40. Many who also defy stereotype. But not enough.What amounts to a handful of books, in a genre (written mostly by and for women) that is clinging to the Hollywood version of how to treat women over 40, i.e. stereotypes, punchlines, is not enough."
Like I said. Maybe. A competition, and what amounts to a half a handful of publishers and a handful of books, in a genre written mostly by and for women, in an industry that clings to the Hollywood version of how to treat women over the age of 40, that is as stereotypes, punchlines, or invisible is STILL not enough.
So back to my Open Letter to (Romance) Publishers
Here's a hint on how to fix what the HQ UK Gransnet survey discovered, and it's not really that hard to change:
Stop telling romance authors who submit stories with heroines over the age of 40 to "make their heroines younger," quit believing that books with older heroines "might not or won't sell, or that no "one wants to read granny sex." Have a damn look at the Seasoned Romance Facebook page, take a look at what the readers there say they are looking for. Check out the conversations on Twitter. Have a good look at the books on Goodreads reviews and pay attention to comments and reviews, like the ones for At Your Service, the first book of the In Service series about that middle aged female butler and the slightly younger spy who loves her:
"The plot is twisty and complex and the dry, witty banter flows thick and fast; it's an exciting, fast-paced story, and I really appreciated the protagonists being older than usual for romance novels – he's late forties, she's early fifties and they've both been around the block a few times."
Take a gander at Goodreads lists like:
Best older hero AND older heroine romance books (the main couple has to be over 40!)
Seasoned Romance
If you want or need help I'm here. And I am more than happy to help because conducting a survey and discovering it's not enough is not enough. Running a contest as a response to the not enough is not enough.
UK survey finds that older women feel misrepresented in fiction
Gransnet and HQ writing competition
https://www.gransnet.com/competitions/2019/gransnet-hq-writing-competition
"Mature" Content Stockpile, 40+ romance, age stereotypes, ageism, ageism and women, At Your Service, August, Gransnet, HarperCollins HQ, In Service, In Service series, Mature aged sex, mature women, mature women in fiction, older heroines, older protagonists, Older women and love, publishing, romance novels, Sideways, women and age, writing	Leave a comment
The (Ongoing) Image Problem of Granny Sex
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile, romance fiction	by ASandraAntonelli
Older women have an image problem, a negative one that has become normalized. What do I mean by normalized? Simple. We've been conditioned to not see our own worth.
Back in 1972, Susan Sontag wrote about the Double Standard of Aging, and nowhere is this more evident than in film and romance fiction. In movies and books, men get distinguished as they age, and they are allowed to age. Men at 45 are silver foxes, while women of the same age are merely 'old.' Representations of women of a certain age have become ingrained in society and have resulted in stereotypes—you know the ones I mean, the acceptable roles; grandma, crabby, crazy cat lady, old hag, peddler of adult diapers, retirement communities, denture creams. Women over 40 are seldom presented as attractive, intelligent, sensual, sexual, whole human beings the way men are. Women become mutton dressed as lamb, cougars, are shoved aside, or dropped into those acceptable stereotyped roles because, unlike men of the same age, women are now toothless hags who need denture cream. Of course, the upside of this is that an older woman can now wear white trousers and swim and box and be sporty without ever having to worry about periods or leakage.
Opps. I forgot about incontinence pads.
As I said, we've been conditioned to not see our own worth–except as consumers of products that tell us we have to fight the disease of ageing–or face a wrinkled, toothless future of pee pads and retirement living and funeral insurance.
What you do see is what you've always seen, and it is what you accept because that is all you have ever been shown. You may not be aware that you buy into the negative image. After all, for decades we've been bombarded with ageist and sexist imagery about adult diapers, creams that lift sagging skin, Cary Grant with Audrey Hepburn, and Daniel Craig's James Bond (who was in his late 40s at the time) romancing twentysomething Lea Seydoux rather winding up with than the disposable fiftysomething Monica Bellucci in the last Bond feature, Spectre.
**Yes, I'm still irritated by that moment when the Craig Bond was poised to go on being different but failed to deliver. After SEVEN minutes (if I remember, that's how long Dan and Monica had on screen) the story fell back onto the usual status quo that disposed of the older woman for the younger woman. By the way, if you're wondering, I had already written the first book of my butler & spy In Service series, At Your Service before that movie came out.**
Sorry to digress and rant, but I'm sure you understand that advertising, that the persistent older man-younger woman construct, reinforces the information you see about women 'getting old,' and men being hot silver foxes. Although you've had plenty of movies and romance novels where the older guy silver fox gets the girl, and gets it on with the girl, how often do you seen a couple who are the same age getting it on?
I bet you can count the times on one hand, maybe two. Who would blame you for believing the double standard of aging?
In the celluloid world, in the fictional world, especially in the world of romance fiction, the silver fox smokin' hot grandpa is easy to find, it's even a trope in the romance genre, but smokin' hot grandma? Age equivalent sex is viewed as problematic—and it's all because of the woman. Add a woman with sagging skin and she's automatically a grandma, and granny sex is gross because grandmas don't have sex—even with silver foxy grandpas. What's the point of a man having sex with a woman who's probably no longer fertile anyway since everyone knows that a woman is only attractive if she's fertile, like the Nile Delta, and able to bear children.
Go ahead and call bullshit on that. You know you want to.
I'll leave the rant about the predominance of men writing, producing, and perpetuating the silver fox hero and masculine wish fulfillment that has kept older women sidelined or invisible (thanks for the reminder, Vassiliki) to another day, but what turned me to become a hybrid author was when I had a female romance publishing CEO tell me no one wanted to read granny sex. Yes, I've ranted about that before. A lot. I saw what I was up against, what I'd always been up against. The comment corroborated the findings of my doctoral work. I knew that, despite an offer from my publisher, and on-the-fence interest from another who worried about 'where to place the book', I could do a better job marketing my butler & spy series in what is still considered to be a niche or yet-to-prove itself audience my research demonstrated was and IS there. The CEO's comment is revealing and points to the fact that, for some publishers, an older female protagonist is risky. A sexy, sex-filled romantic interlude in romance fiction, like onscreen, is still considered to be a venue open only to young, fresh-faced, fertile women.
For many publishers the status quo remains, it's silver foxy men, but no silver foxy women, and THIS is the root of the image problem. We get what we've always had because of the pervasive attitude that older women aren't attractive or sexual and it's a vicious circle. Keeping grandma out of the bedroom, that is, not allowing portrayals of older women as sexual or attractive serves to reinforce the attitude that no one wants to see grandma as sexual or attractive.
Here are a few questions to consider why some find portrayals of sexual women over 40 is so problematic.
Is it really about sagging breasts and lined faces?
Is it really that romance is a tale for younger women, or readers who want to remember what it was like when they were younger?
Or is it because we are so rarely shown positive images of mature female sexuality, or that mature sexuality is too often portrayed as a joke where older women fan themselves or blush or giggle and mention Fifty Shades of Grey while whispering about viagra and their older partners with erectile dysfunction?
The image problem boils down to a lack of representations showing us that women over 40 are attractive, intelligent, sensual, sexual, whole human beings. This means it's time to make a NEW status quo, to normalize how life really is, and how women over 40 really are. If a publisher thinks granny's saggy boobs are distasteful (not something a romance hero would care about), the solution is simple. Romance has various 'heat' levels. That is, an array of how intimate sexual activity is described–from a chaste kiss and closing the bedroom door, to graphic sex. There is a spectrum of readers, those who like the bedroom door closed and those who want explicit description.
There is a spectrum of readers who want 'Seasoned Romance', Later in life tales featuring women 40, 50, 60, and beyond, those who want granny to close the bedroom door, and those who want to see granny in all her glory.
Most importantly, there is a spectrum of people who want to see their lives reflected in the stories they see on screen and in the pages of a book. Love has no age limit. We've let advertisers, filmmakers and publishers tell us that love has an age limit. I want to point out again, that this is not a niche market. There is money to be made. Advertisers, filmmakers and publishers need to stop believing and peddling the old bullshit hype. They will, once there is a story that hits it big and makes them some coin because guess who has the cash to be instrumental in making this come to fruition this? Women over 40.
And we're worth a lot.
40+ romance, Ageism and sex, Later in life love, Mature aged sex, mature romance, mature sexuality in fiction, mature women in fiction, mature-aged sexuality on screen, movies, older heroines, older protagonists, Older romance heroines, Older women and love, older women in Hollywood, romance fiction, Sandra Antonelli, seasoned romance, Sex and ageing, sexism	7 Comments
Intersectionality: Ageism and the Older Romance Heroine
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile, romance fiction, writing	by ASandraAntonelli
Wielding my Shield of Smartass
Yes, I've been saying this and I keep saying this.
Age is often overlooked as an issue of diversity, especially within the publishing world. As a result of this disregard, romance fiction, so often at the forefront of social change for women, is losing its place as a feminist trailblazer, especially for older women, and it's missing out on an opportunity to make money.
I write romantic suspense and contemporary romance featuring lead characters over the age of 40 (that's heroes and heroines aged 40+) who fall in love and get it on, because unlike what you see—or don't see—men and women 40, 50, 60 and beyond still fall in love and have great sex. Some of you may be familiar with my novels, my academic investigations into portraying older women as heroines in romance fiction, my occasional ranty soapboxing about the roles that have typically been given to women 40+, about the stereotypes of age, and the importance of including older women as leads in romance fiction.
Yeah, well, I'm ranting. Again.
Hollywood and publishing have had a much-needed kick up the backside, one that has called out the overdue need for diversity and inclusion on screen and in fiction. There's been a call for more stories featuring POC as leads, more stories of people with disabilities, more stories showing a wider spectrum of cultures, of sexual orientation and gender identities, of people long overlooked as real, as whole. We've had the success of Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther, the #metoo movement, Hollywood and romance publishing standing up to sexism. Hooray! However, in spite of the discussion around diversity and inclusion, like I said, age diversity is often left out of the conversation and that exclusion is ageist. Ageism can have an effect on everyone, regardless of skin colour, cultural heritage, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. We all age, yet it remains acceptable to to degrade, ridicule, devalue and fear older people. Especially older women.
The intersectionality of ageism is seldom acknowledged, but the reality is that ageism, sexism, and racism are all linked, people of all colours and cultures experience ageism, it hits women much harder than men, and this intersectionality, especially in western society, results in a culture steeped in ageism. We (women in particular), unconsciously accept and participate in widespread and invisible ageist structures, stereotypes, and biases that show up in books TV, movies, advertising. This conditions us to see things one way, and the images you see are powerful. What you don't see is even more powerful, and you rarely see older women as romance heroines.
The age bias is evident in the romance fiction industry, where the standard has been for the heroines to be young, which means romance is conceptualised as a younger woman's tale. It's something of a vicious circle. What you don't see effects what you do see, and we have been conditioned to accept only young women as heroines. We lack older female role models. Hollywood and fiction embrace the silver fox hero, yet you seldom find a silver foxy heroine. The older man paired with a younger woman is ubiquitous in film and fiction, but the roles for women 40+ boil down to mother, wife, cougar, granny, crazy and/or evil old hag—roles many of us take on board without realising they're stereotypes. Women 40+ are rarely portrayed as complex, confident, sensual or sexual, and are more frequently sidelined to secondary characters, or written out the narrative entirely. This is sexist and ageist. Thankfully, things are beginning to change in Hollywood.
I write the complex, interesting, confident, sensual, sexual romantic older heroines I want to see. My latest releases, At Your Service and Forever In Your Service, and Your Sterling Service feature a 50-ish female butler paired with a slightly younger spy. In my academic investigations, I established that there is an audience for stories featuring older protagonists like mine, and it's one that can attract money. I'm repeating myself and I'll keep repeating myself because over the last 15 years, this waiting audience has grown, and they STILL want romance novels featuring older, or 'seasoned' lead characters. It is this audience who are pushing to refer to this 'later in life' romance subgenre as 'Seasoned Romance' (SR). If you want evidence, beyond mine, of this burgeoning, waiting audience, check out the Facebook Groups Seasoned Romance, and Romance in Her Prime, with over 3,000 reader and writer members and growing. Hollywood may have recognised the power of the 'silver or grey dollar,' and begun to cater to the audience craving older characters, but, like me, many older readers eager to buy SR find romance publishing lagging behind.
Publishers are trying. There have been attempts to market to readers who are looking for older characters. In 2006, Harlequin launched the NEXT imprint, the late 80s gave us Berkley's Second Chance at Love, and Ballantine's Love & Life. None of these imprints lasted long. Second Chance at Love and Love & Life were poorly marketed and had unappealing covers that turned off reader (trust me on this, I have some of them). NEXT was essentially Women's Fiction; romance was a sideline to the narrative rather than what drove the plot. The failure of these imprints was seen as proof that readers couldn't accept older characters as leads, rather than as a marketing misstep. Marketing is savvier now and see potential. Recently, Entangled launched August with a focus on older couples, and Sideways, a Women's Fiction imprint. Entangled recognises financial opportunity and the audience wanting SR. However, both imprints have, or have had, limits set on the age range for characters. Limiting character age demonstrates ageist (and, as you see with prevalence of silver fox heroes, sexist) structures and biases that continue to operate in publishing.
Although there has been some shift within the industry regarding an openness to age, I often come across SR authors recounting how romance editors have told them to 'make the heroine younger,' or stated that, 'no one wants to read a story with granny sex,' or that 'older characters have too much baggage for a romance.' Not only do these comments show some editors have lost sight that the love story is the core of romance, they also give credence of the pervasive ageism within the industry. Sadly, SR has to prove itself. There has yet to be that one best-selling big book.
Luckily, there are authors like myself, Karen Booth, Natasha Moore, Kerrie Patterson, Maggie Christensen, Kristen Ashley, Maggie Wells, Cecilia London, Josie Kerr, Jeannie Moon, Julie Hammerle and many others, who working hard to disrupt ageism with the stories we tell of complex, intelligent, interesting, confident, sensual, sexual, romance heroines who happen to be older. We are the new trailblazers.
You can be too.
40+ romance, ageism, ageism and women, At Your Service, Cecilia London, Forever In Your Service, In Service series, Intersectionality, Jeannie Moon, Josie Kerr, Julie Hammerle, Karen Booth, Kerrie Patterson, Kristen Ashley, Maggie Christensen, Maggie Wells, Mature aged sex, mature women in fiction, mature women in romance, Natasha Moore, Older romance heroines, Older women and love, older women in Hollywood, Romance in Her Prime, Sandra Antonelli, seasoned romance, women and age, writing	1 Comment
Seriously, A Trilogy?
Posted in Uncategorized	by ASandraAntonelli
Here I am, on the cusp of the release for the second book of the In Service series, I mean it's TWO days away until Forever in Your Service drops, and it only dawned on me, oh, about 5 minutes ago, when I shoved in a mouthful of this really delish cabbage salad, that I am writing the third book of a trilogy when I had no intention of writing a series when I started the first book.
Some cabbage may have fallen out of my mouth and onto my keyboard.
Honest. I had At Your Service and the short story prequel, Your Sterling Service, and I thought that was it. I didn't know I was going write a second book about the middle-aged butler and the spy who loves her. I swear, I started writing the second book without realising there was going to be a second book. Ms Ainslie Paton, an author friend of mine asked, "Is there another book?" and I sorta looked down and kinda noticed that, yep, I was 2 chapters deep in a series I never knew I was going to write.
And here I am, mouth still full of shredded apple & cabbage salad, writing the THIRD book about a middle-aged butler and the spy who loves her. My series is a Trilogy–The In Service trilogy.
Look, I'm a slow writer who often gets interrupted by my day job, family, headaches, holidays and ranting about ageism and women over the age of 40, but I aim to have the trilogy completed before the next James Bond movie comes out NEXT YEAR, as in 2020. The third book is titled True To Your Service. I already have a cover for it.
I can't tell you much about the third book because I don't plot, but I will say it battles the ageist structures that continue to keep older women from being portrayed as romance heroines, it positions a woman in her early 50s as the romantic lead, has tulips, banter, sexy times, is another genre-crossing romantic suspense cosy spy thriller mystery with older protagonists, and gives a middle-aged spy the happy ending James Bond never gets.
Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to clean up spilled cabbage salad.
ageism and women, At Your Service, Forever In Your Service, later in life romance, Mature aged sex, mature women in fiction, mature women in romance, older heroines, older protagonists, romance, romantic suspense cosy spy thriller mystery, Seasoned heroine, seasoned romance, women and age, Your Sterling Service	2 Comments
Smashin' Frivolous Myths
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile, Uncategorized	by ASandraAntonelli
Let this serve as a reminder of what I do. A writer I know posted this on Facebook — it's originally from The Best of Tumblr.
My thing is to smash the MYTH that's decreed romance heroines should only ever be in their 20s since women over 40, don't have sex anymore, and if they dare to knock boots it's, as I heard one publishing executive say, "granny sex and who wants to read granny sex?"
Nope, I'm NOT going to let that publisher's comment go. That there feeds right into the ageist and stereotyped bullshit I'm smashing. It also reminds me of something I read when I was doing my Master's thesis. Now, I tend to keep EVERYTHING research related, but do you think I can find the reference about younger women populating romance while older women (that is women 40 and over) are kicked into Women's Fiction? Do you think I can find the quote that says something like, 'after 40, women are no longer interested in the frivolity of love?'
AS IF love is truly frivolous! It's what everyone on the plant needs and wants and hopes for.
I've spent half the morning looking for the quote on my newest laptop. I have to assume it's at home, still buried with all the masters stuff on my ancient (as in I had it in 2008) heavy, white MacBook with the dead battery and wonky touch pad. When I find the reference, I'll post it because the premise that so often makes others look down their noses at Romance fiction is that the genre deals with love, which, for some reason, suddenly becomes frivolous if the protagonist is female and the writer is female. We all know when it's a tragic tale of love, it's literary, but if it's written by a woman, and has an optimistic, positive ending where love triumphs, it's not creative or literary, and if the protagonist is female, then the tale's focus on love is not creative or literary, but frivolous.
AS IF love is frivolous.
Yes, I know. The impact of this post would be so much better if I could find the bloody, frivolous quote.
In the meantime, I'll go back to writing True to Your Service, the third book in my In Service series about a middle-aged female butler and the spy who loves her. The first book, At Your Service and a companion short story, Your Sterling Service, are out now.
40+ romance, age discrimination, age stereotypes, ageism, Ageism in romance fiction, ageist sexism, Mature aged sex, mature sexuality in fiction, mature women in romance, older heroines, older protagonists, Older women and love, older women in fiction, stereotyped roles for women, stereotypes of age	2 Comments
Five Reasons Why My New Release 'At Your Service' Is Important
Posted in Mature Content Stockpile, Uncategorized, writing	by ASandraAntonelli
Here are 5 reasons why my latest release At Your Service is important for women:
1. At Your Service breaks down ageist and sexist barriers that have allowed men to age, be adventurous, foxy, and paired with women 15-20 years younger while dismissing women over 40.
2. Portrays a strong, middle-aged female lead who is not an ageist stereotype or is typecast as a mother, wife, grandma, harpy, or crazy woman who lives in a van.
3. Portrays a middle-aged woman as intelligent, capable, attractive, sensual, and sexual.
4. Ageism is often overlooked as an issue of diversity. Young women will one day be older women. Positive, realistic representations of intelligent, capable, attractive, sensual, and sexual women over 40 create positive role models for younger women.
5. Sexism has rendered older women nearly invisible in all forms of media. The women over 40 in At Your Service get noticed.
Okay, so At Your Service is a romantic suspense cosy spy mystery thriller and how realistic is it to have a female butler join up with a British spy… Ah. Yes. You get it. Fiction. Content here creates the culture, the positive role model of a female butler, which is unusual role for a woman, AND the fact she's middle-aged, intelligent, capable, attractive, sensual, and sexual IS the spin on the content and culture we're SO used to seeing. Breaking down the barriers of sexism, ageism, stereotypes, and the sidelining of older women we've come to accept as the norm is not reality and it's not fiction either.
The reality is, women over 40 are not invisible, but they have been miscast and have, for far too long, been left off screen and out of fiction. It's my mission, so to speak, to challenge this, to change this, to give the world a positive portrayal of women over 40 and a role model for younger women AND men, one book at a time.
ageism, ageism and gender, Ageism and sex, ageism and women, ageist sexism, At Your Service, contemporary romance fiction, Diversity, Later in life love, Mature aged sex, mature women in fiction, mature women in romance, older heroines, older protagonists, Older romance heroines, Older women, older women in Hollywood, romance, Romantic suspense, seasoned romance, sexism, women and age	2 Comments

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The 4-star and 5-star hotels in Salcette Goa give you the taste of luxury. They are equipped with a lot of amenities to make your stay a comfortable one. Some of the amenities you will find in these hotels are Restaurant, Room service, and Bar.


I remember years ago, Steve and I would think of all these grand holidays we'd like to take and look up each place on the list on google maps. Going back about five years, we were putting together a rough itinerary of a US road trip that we were going to do in the next year or two. Obviously, that never happened. On that list, was Montreal. I must say, I had little to no desire to make it to Montreal and so when Steve suggested it again at the beginning of the year, I was hesitant.
Luckily he managed to persuade me to go because I absolutely fell in love with Montreal. We left on May 4th (my Birthday) and spent five days exploring this wonderfully quaint city. We flew with Porter airlines who are a budget Canadian airline and had one stopover in Toronto. When you hear budget airline, usually you think cramped, no food etc. This was not the case! Porter seem to have their own airports in many Canadian cities and inside you will find a lounge that has free snacks and coffee. The airline does not charge exorbitant amounts for luggage and the check in staff (and on-board staff) were really friendly and helpful.
We chose to stay in an Air BNB in Mile End which I had heard was more of a 'hipster' neighbourhood with good cafes and restaurants. If I am going to stay anywhere, it is going to be where I can get a good coffee and some good food. Montreal has a few main areas to visit including: Mile End, Mont-Royal, Old Port and then the downtown areas. We managed to see all of these areas and then some.
I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but on the taxi drive in to most places, it seems that the area around is unsightly and I often catch myself thinking 'why did we come here'. On our first day in Montreal, it was also a grey and overcast day and since they get quite brutal Winters, everything was bare and drab looking. Adding together the drive from the airport and first impressions, we were worried our five days would in fact be too many. Well, Montreal put up a fight and won us over pretty quickly! As soon as the sun came out really.
One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Cirque Du Soleil to see the show Luzia (Montreal is the birthplace of Cirque Du Soleil, we had to!). After my experience in Las Vegas of being called on stage, I was worried it would happen again since we purchased seats near the front, but I needn't have worried. The show was incredible and I was sitting in awe the whole time. Literally, my mouth just hung open.
I would 100% recommend choosing a little Air BNB to stay in. We managed to find one on the top floor of an old three story terrace and it was gorgeous.
We had dinner on my Birthday at (insert here) and it was amazing. I can't say enough good things about this place! It was a late find (literally 15 minutes before we left the apartment) because I couldn't be bothered getting an uber to the other place we'd chosen and I'm glad we changed our minds. They serve only tasting courses in either meat or vegetarian and we chose one of each (as in, Steve had meat, I had Vegetarian). The tasting menu was only CAD$65 each which is a lot cheaper than a lot of restaurants I have had similar at in Sydney.
Arts Cafe in Mile end was also a favourite and we had breakfast and coffee here three mornings in a row.
We also went to a Polish restaurant called Stash cafe in Old Port that we loved. The food seemed very authentic to us.
If you can, Cirque Du Soleil should not be missed. Although you can see it in many cities around the world, there is something special about seeing it at its birthplace.
A hike up Mont Royal for both the exercise and view should also be added to the list. The walk isn't a long one, but it is steep so I'd recommend wearing runners rather than every day wear. There is a huge chalet on top and incredible views of Montreal on top. There are also some graveyards and parks around one side, but we didn't make it there.
A trip to Old Port is not as touristy as you would imagine. We enjoyed walking among the cobblestone streets, taking in the architecture and cute little stores. There are plenty of places to eat around this area too, if you're hungry and most seem to be reasonably priced (i.e. no tourist tax).
We really loved seeing Montreal and I'd love to head back some time. Something that did surprise us somewhat was the lack of language barrier. In Montreal, French is the most people's first language and as such, we were worried we'd have a bit of trouble getting around. We needn't have worried though because of course everyone spoke English!
Have you been to Montreal? What did you enjoy most?