Thanks so much for having me here today!
1) When and why did you decide you wanted to be a published author?
Hmm, well, probably when I realized I
wouldn’t become the next Barbara Streisand! That was my dream up until eighth
grade, when I switched my preoccupation to writing. I always loved the freedom
creating stories gave me. When I write, I can be and do anything.
2) What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an
editor/agent?
I don’t have an agent and have never
queried any, but the best thing I’ve learned from an editor is probably from
Heather Howland, my Entangled Publishing editor. She said, paraphrased, that
number one, readers are looking for an escape. While I knew this, hearing it
out loud helped me think about what feelings I wanted to leave a reader with
when they finish one of my books.
3) Favourite author/s?
So many! But my first favorite author was
la Nora, and she will always be one of my favorites. Her books are truly
comfort reads for me.
4) What is your typical day?
If I’m being good, I’ll get up around eight
a.m., take care of some errands, then shuffle to the computer by ten,
bleary-eyed with my cup of coffee in hand. On a really good day I get right to
work. On a not-as-good day? I waste several hours on the internet before diving
into that day’s writing. I do that on and off until dinner, then hopefully
unwind for a couple of hours before I’m back at it again. This schedule
definitely gets compressed at deadline time though! (like right now!)
6) Who would you cast to play your hero & heroine in a movie?
Aidan would be Josh Duhamel, thanks to the
perfect image of him from TEST SHOT’s cover. Sawyer kind of looks like country
singer Hunter Hayes, which is coincidental since Hunter’s song “Wanted” was one
of the two songs that influenced me most when I was writing the book. And Layla
would be Isla Fisher, who has the right mix of innocence and playfulness.
7) Did you plan this book? Or write it as it came?
I did plan this book, but it still changed
on me. Some of the things I planned on happening just wouldn’t work. Originally
TEST SHOT was originally meant to be m/m/f but Sawyer flat out didn’t want to
touch other boys, LOL. So I went with it. The characters are often smarter than
their writer.
8) What surprised you the most when you became a published?
That the work is just beginning! Your
release day is just the starting line for promotion…and then of course, you
need to immediately start writing the next book if you’re on deadline.
9) Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?
I have a desk in the corner of my living
room with my big screen monitor and my tunes cranked at all hours of day.
Someday I hope to have a dedicated office with lots of shelves and drawers, but
that’s a ways off.
10)
What’s next for you?
My next erotic book will be out later this
winter. LOVE BITES is my first paranormal romance and will release soon with
Decadent Publishing. Next up after that is DIRTY DISTRACTIONS, a fun cougar
story that’s releasing from Samhain Publishing in June. And then, hopefully
this summer, NO ROMANCE REQUIRED, the third book in my Love Required series,
will release from Entangled Publishing.
Test Shot
(Hot Shots #1)
by Cari Quinn
Published
by Loose ID
Erotic Contemporary Romance (M/F/M)
Heat
Level: Sizzling
Word
Count: 80,000
Available at:
All Romance eBooks - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-testshot-924210-149.html
Blurb:
Layla Palmer is
starting over in New York City with a new job at Hot Shots, an agency that
specializes in hiring talent for jobs with an erotic bent. Happily engaged, she
writes off the changes in her relationship with her fiancé, Aidan, as growing
pains. But that all comes into question when her beloved fiancé comes up with a
startling suggestion: he wants to watch her have sex with another man.
Aidan's a man on the
edge, fighting demons he won't name in fear of losing the woman he loves
forever. But the game he's playing can only continue for so long, especially
when the man they decide to invite into their bed turns out to be Layla’s
newest prospective model, Sawyer Blake.
Passion explodes between
them, threatening to spill over and burn them all. Soon Aidan and Layla's
already incendiary relationship hits the boiling point. Now she's fighting her
own battles, including the conflicted feelings of lust and love she harbors for
both men. But how can she figure out who to trust when everything she ever knew
is changing, including herself?
Adult Excerpt :
“Like what you see?” Sawyer couldn’t help flexing a little for her. She was so pretty, and he wanted to impress her even if he knew this was a one-time thing. It didn’t matter. Right now, she belonged to him.
“You know I do. I love your body.” Layla fanned her hands over his chest, grazing his nipples with her pinkies. He stiffened at her purr of pleasure. “Sensitive here?”
She lowered her head to lap at one of them, then repeated the move on the other while she hooked one leg around his hip and massaged her heel into his back. Her wet pussy met his skin, leaving some of her arousal behind. First on his thigh. His belly. Finally on his cock. She eased back again, stirring up just enough air for him to feel every trail of her desire across his skin.
“Jesus Christ, Layla.”
“I need you. Hurry.”
Sawyer did a backward crab walk to the basket of supplies and grabbed a couple of condoms. Bright pink and blue. Man. But they’d get the job done.
He tossed a quick glance at the sofa and noted Aidan sat almost as placidly as before, if not for the tight lines of strain carving his face. Without shame, Aidan drew his gaze down Sawyer’s body. His eyes didn’t fire with anything but mild interest, but the look alone caused Sawyer to turn away.
This was new territory for him, being observed while he was with a woman. That watching-being-hot thing apparently only applied while everyone was dressed, because if he thought too much about Aidan studying them—and likely getting aroused himself—Sawyer had a feeling he’d go as limp as overcooked broccoli.
He tore open the condom and unrolled it over his length, hoping Layla would give him time for a repeat performance. If he didn’t get inside her fast, his thoughts would win. And he wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Pink’s your color,” she teased when he threw the other condom on the coffee table.
“It’s yours too.” He drew the swollen lips of her pussy apart, visually drinking his fill of the arousal coating dusky rose flesh. Her clit stood proudly, begging for the press of a finger or the flat tip of his tongue. He’d do both before the night was over. “Look at that, all for me.”
“Yes.” She jerked her head, and he knew she’d glanced at Aidan. “All for you.”
He stroked her with two fingers. Up and down he rode her seam, finally pushing them into her sheath. Fuck. So tight. Inferno hot, even more so than before. Her muscles squeezed him as he started to move, testing them both with his deep glides.
Good goddamn, she turned him on. Enough to forget where he was. Even why he was. There was just the two of them, giving and taking pleasure.
Twisting his hand around, he gave her three fingers and used his thumb to toy with the button of distended nerves, each flick pushing her nearer to the point where she’d rain over him. He caught her gasps with his mouth and pushed into her harder. Knowing she could take it. That she yearned for him to shove her to the limit of her control. He could see all that, and more, in the glazed depths of her eyes.
Her orgasm approached with hurricane force. He could feel it gathering inside her, a vortex gaining speed. Drawing energy. He wanted her to break around him, a moment only they would share.
He pulled free, and she cried out. “Shh.” He quieted her with a kiss. “I’ll give you what you need.” He tweaked her nipples with his wet fingers, then licked off the juice he’d displaced.
She gripped his head in both hands, holding him while he tucked his nose into the curve underneath her breast and absorbed her scent as if it were air. Lovemaking had never before been this sweet—or this bitter.
“Sawyer, please.” She encircled his width and scorched him right through the condom. “Come into me.”
“TEST SHOT will lead you down a road
of passion and heart break almost at the same time it takes you from the
ultimate highs to the lowest of lows. You'll enjoy the roller coaster of human
emotions and probably miss these characters when you reach the last page.”--5 Stars, Sizzling Hot Books
“This book is outstanding. It played with my emotions, tore strips
off my heart and left me reeling. I didn’t expect this book to hook me the way
that it did and didn’t predict the way the plot turns would leave me ignoring
life in general to keep reading right up until the end.”--5 Stars, Scorching Book Reviews
“Man oh man, oh man! I love
when I “discover” a new author who immediately engages me and makes me want to neglect everything in my
house so I can finish her book from cover to cover. Cari Quinn has done that
with her first book in the Hot Shots series, Test Shot. Besides an amazing cast
of characters she has managed to write a brilliant story with a plot line quite
unlike anything I’ve read before.”--A
True Gem, 4.5 Stars, Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author
Cari Quinn wrote her first story—a bible parable—in 2nd grade, much to the
delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception
that first tale garnered, she was hooked. She attempted her first romance in
junior high, long before she'd ever read one. Writing what she knew always took
a backseat to what she wanted to know, and that still holds true today.
Though she also fires up her computer as a graphic designer, proofreader
and editor, she can’t resist the lure of disappearing into a world of her own
creation. Now she gets to pen sexy romances for a living and routinely counts
her lucky stars. The only thing she loves more than writing is hearing from
readers! Visit Cari at www.cariquinn.com
Visit Cari Online at:
Website - www.cariquinn.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/CariQuinnAuthor
Twitter - https://twitter.com/cariquinn
Giveaway Info:
Prize is 10 eBook copies of
"Test Shot" (1 each to 10 winners). Contest is tour-wide, open
internationally and ends Jan 28. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Link to Schedule:
Comments??
Loved the excerpt for Test Shot! It's already on my TBRs & I cannot wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteJessieL62 at comcast dot net