My guest today is friend and super-author, Cassandra Carr who is introducing her new release Talk to Me now available from Loose Id. Authors talk about having a “voice” when it comes to writing. Cassandra gives whole new meaning to the power of voice in the steamy excerpt you’ll read below. But first, Cassandra did some talking to me:
How long have you been writing fiction and how many books have you published?
I’ve been writing my whole life, but only decided to become “a writer” in 2008. I’ve published one full-length novel, a short story, and a personal memoir in a Chicken Soup book.
Who was and is your biggest inspiration?
My mom. She’s a writer of women’s fiction and I remember us being kids and coming home to find her typing away on a typewriter, and later on our Commodore 64.
Tell us about the genres in which you write.
I write contemporary erotic and non-erotic romance.
Are there genres you haven’t tried that you want to write?
I would love to write some Regency-set historicals, or definitely something set in the time of either Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. I think those were all fascinating times in England’s history. It would be kind of cool to write a historical set in Manhattan, too, back around 1830-1840.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? What is your writing discipline?
I’m NOT a plotter! I shudder when I see all the things other writers do to prepare to write. I usually have about a one-page outline when I start, and I just kind of go from there and see where the story takes me. So far I haven’t struggled for word count, so I guess my method is working.
I don’t really have discipline, per se. However, since in addition to writing I stay at home with my two-year-old, I guess you could say my writing discipline is that I have to write when she’s in bed or I’ll never get anything done!
Who is your favorite heroine you’ve created so far? Is there one you’re still dying to write that you haven’t put in a story yet?
I would say Leah, the heroine from Collision, book one of my bull rider trilogy – a story that’s out on submittal with publishers at the moment. She’s an Olympic figure skater who comes off as a stuck-up bitch at first, but once she lets her guard down she’s really very funny and warm.
As far a heroine I’m dying to write – I have no idea! Because I’m a pantser, I don’t come up with my characters until I’m actually ready to write.
Who is your favorite hero? What kind of heroes do you like?
Without a doubt it’s Sebastian, a young hockey player who is the hero of the very first book I wrote, Should’ve Known Better. That book is also out on submittal to publishers. Sebastian is the perfect man – strong, sensitive, loving, protective. And he has a French-Canadian accent – DROOL.
What is your biggest fiction writing challenge?
Time. It’s my constant enemy. Because I can really only write late at night sometimes it gets to the end of the day and I’m so darn tired! The last thing I want to do is then sit down for three or four hours and write, but if I don’t, like I said above, nothing would get done.
Tell us about the book you’re launching.
Talk to Me is so exciting! It’s my debut full-length release and I just adore the concept: being seduced by a man’s voice. I mean, who hasn’t listened to a man talk and said to themselves, “HELLO. This guy has a sexy voice!” It can make an ordinary man seem extraordinary, and Drew – the hero – is anything but ordinary. He’s an ex-hockey player who went into radio upon his retirement. He’s big, brash – larger than life at times – but so exciting to be around.
The heroine, Jamie, becomes Drew’s new producer. She’s basically forced into listening to his voice for twenty-plus hours a week during his shows. Add to that his natural charisma and smokin’ hot bod, and what’s a girl to do?
What are your next projects?
Heh. How much time have you got? No, seriously… well, let me take a deep breath. As I mentioned, the first of my trilogy of books with bull rider heroes is out on submittal. I have a couple of short stories and Should’ve Known Better out as well. I am writing a holiday-themed story for Loose Id, the publisher who released Talk to Me. I am also writing a category romance.
I have a five-book series with geek heroes ready to start – all five have been outlined already because when you do a series like that, you need to know who you’re inserting into the story when and that kind of thing. All these guys work together, so all five will appear in every book. But because they all work together I’ll have to start developing every one of them from the beginning. I also need to be aware of when the heroine for each book has to come into the overall story. For instance, the heroine of book two will be introduced in book one.
Where can readers find you?
Here are the links to purchase Talk to Me and Uniform Behaviour – the book with my short story, Circling.
Talk to Me, out now from Loose Id!
Uniform Behaviour, out now from Andrews UK!
Uniform Behaviour, out now from Andrews UK!
Writer website: http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cassandra_carr
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CassandraCarr
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Carr
Here’s Talk to Me, an erotic contemporary novel about a radio producer and an ex-hockey player turned host. Sexy as hell, he also happens to be her boss:
By the time the show ended and Jamie thought about how long it would take her to shut everything down for the night, then hustle herself off to the subway station and take the three different trains to get to her apartment all the way out in Brooklyn, she was truly afraid she would self-combust.
Drew ran out of the place like a bomb scare had been called in, so at least she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. Nonetheless, Jamie waited a good ten minutes past when she was finished with her nightly duties, then made her way back to the small production room where she and Drew had recorded his promo earlier. She knew a copy of it would still be stored on the computer in the room, and after scooting in and shutting the door, she booted it up. She told herself she needed to check it one more time before giving it to the station manager tomorrow, but who was she kidding? She needed to hear him but in a safe environment. Where she couldn’t do anything stupid. She needed his voice to weave inside her, through her, like a drug.
The rough yet strangely melodic sounds of Drew’s voice drifted over Jamie as she leaned back in her chair. Closing her eyes, she pictured his face in her mind — his to-die-for lips traveling down the length of her body, just as her hand was doing at the moment; his navy blue eyes, focused only on her as he brought her to orgasm… She reached the button of her jeans and eased them open, propping her feet up on the desk.
She couldn’t believe she was doing this at work, but no one was around, and if she didn’t do something to assuage this ache, she was likely to jump him the next time she saw him. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. Fantasizing about the man was one thing; straddling his powerful, muscular thighs in the studio chair and offering herself to him was another. That thought brought another rush of heat to her pussy, and she moaned. She needed serious help.
At first she just teased herself a little, rubbing outside her panties, but it soon became too much. She needed relief too badly to continue to torment herself. As Drew’s voice continued to assail her from all directions in the small, windowless room, she pushed her hand down inside the waistband of her panties and through her curls until she found the damp center of her sex. The sweet smell of her musk wafted up to tickle her nose, arousing her even more.
Twirling her fingers as much as the constricting position allowed her to, she imagined they were Drew’s tongue instead. She let out a plaintive moan as the picture caused her juices to flow even more, soaking her fingers. Plunging two of them into her pussy, she pressed her thumb on her clit, craving the direct stimulation. Jamie gasped as shock waves of pleasure shot from her pussy through her clit and up her spine, her back arching. And through it all, Drew’s voice urged her to new heights.
You’ll find Talk to Me at : http://www.loose-id.com/Talk-to-Me.aspx
Cassandra Carr lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out on Twitter. Her debut novel, Talk to Me, was released by Loose Id on March 22, 2011.
Cassandra does some pretty hunky athletes in her stories. Who are your favorites? Give her some pointers for sports heroes in her future books.