Guest Blogger: Cari Quinn

Hello and welcome to First Sale Friday! Given my luck with this blog thing lately, it's probably not wise to do this on Friday the 13th. Triskadecophobia is a bitch but we'll soldier on.

Blogging today is Cari Quinn, friend of the Smut and debut 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. Cari's genres of choice include contemporary, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, urban fantasy and paranormal. Recently she discovered erotic romance. Oh, how far she's come…

Visit her at www.cariquinn.blogspot.com

Her novella, Full Disclosure came out last week from The Wilder Rose Press. Check out this cover!

SEXXXY RIGHT!

Anyhoo, let's welcome Cari!

HS: How long have you been writing?

CQ: Hmm, since I could read? All my life, really, but I got “serious” probably about four years ago.

HS: What attracted you to your romance?

CQ: That I seemed to be good at it, LOL. I always liked spicier books, but not erotic romance per se. My CPs, Helen Hardt (I’m pretty sure you know her) and Tara Leigh Coons were actually the ones who helped build my confidence toward writing more boundary pushing stuff. Now I’m not sure I could write a “tame” love scene. I’ve come a long way from the bible parables I wrote in second grade…

HS: It's funny how good we get at writing about sex. Maybe it has to do with our naughty personalities. Or maybe that's just me... How many manuscripts had you completed before you sold?

CQ: Technically three, though 2 of them revolved around the same characters. I keep trying until I get it right. That same book, now titled Baring It All, is at the shop for yet another paint and lube job. Let’s hope the third time is the charm.

HS: 80% of writing is revising. Tell us about the day (the minute, the second) you got ‘The Call’ (or The Email). What was your initial reaction?

CQ: I got “the email” on August 18, 2009. I couldn’t believe it had finally happened. I’d been writing for a while and had gotten used to identifying myself as a unpublished writer. To hear that someone actually liked my work was a bit disconcerting (in a very good way!)

HS: I know what you mean. I felt like Sally Field at the Oscars. "You like me, you really like me!" LOL! What did you do to celebrate afterward?

CQ: Well, I was on vacation from the day job, so I did what a lot of women do to celebrate – I went shopping!

HS: Isn't that always the case! Anyone whom you wanted to rub your news in his/her nose?

CQ: There’s a couple coworkers who’d doubted me that I wanted to crow to, but I resisted. I knew I’d reached a goal (strange thing about goals…reach one and a dozen more crop up in its place!) and that was enough for me.

HS: Another person with more restraint than I. Tell us about your current release. (Please include an excerpt!)

CQ: Here’s the blurb: Thirty-eight-year-old divorcee Holly Burrows has had enough of battery-operated love. Prompted by an ad left at her law office, she investigates Hunk Du Jour, a website designed to foster ‘adult connections’. After weeks of sexy emails and phone calls with surf hunk Kent, she's ready to test their chemistry in person. But first she has to get through lunch with her colleague Alex, a man with a brain as agile as his body. When their consultation ends with a bang, she barely remembers the man she'd lined up for dessert. Now she thinks she's juggling two hot young guys. How can she choose between her two gorgeous cubs – and why do they remind her of each other?

And an excerpt…spicy enough for the readers of Harmless Smut! ;)

She obliged him, cupping his balls in her palm as she coaxed him deep into her throat. Her wet slurping noises echoed in her ears, but she could only concentrate on the feel of him in her mouth. He was so sleek and hard. So impossibly thick. Even another centimeter would be too much.

His salty liquid beaded on her tongue with every suck. She loved the way he tasted and the earthy way he smelled. Sex, soap and sweat. Totally male. Totally delicious.

The pulse between her thighs increased tenfold while she licked every inch of his erection. She didn’t stop until his cock gleamed, jutting straight up from its bed of crisp brown hair.

A beautiful sight. One she fully intended to enjoy.

She pursed her lips and blew again. As the cool air rippled over his hot, engorged flesh, he fisted his hands in her hair, yanking her down on him.Damn, demanding much? He clearly didn’t like slow and leisurely when he could have fast and furious, but she wouldn’t be rushed.

“Like my punishment yet?” she purred, trailing her nails over his sac. She waited until his dazed gaze finally met hers. Then she dove back down, her lips and mouth engulfing him.

HS: WHEW!!! I need some water! Can't wait to read it! When can we get our greedy hands on it?

CQ: Right now, as a matter of fact. ;) My debut release released on Friday, November 6th at The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses.

HS: YAY!!! Where can we buy your book?

CQ: You can buy Full Disclosure here: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=737

HS: What are you working on now?

CQ: I just finished Pleasure Principle, the followup to Full Disclosure. This story’s about Jenny, the webmistress of Hunk Du Jour, the online dating site that plays a big role in Full Disclosure. That story and my first Harlequin Blaze, Virgin Territory, are being polished before they go on submission. I have 5 other WIPs in various stages, including my NaNoWriMo Blaze, Heat Lightning. So I’m a little busy. ;)

HS: Just a little... What advice do you have for ‘Soon To Be Published’ writers (as I like to call them)?

CQ: Keep writing and don’t give up. You’ll never know what you can accomplish if you don’t throw in the pencil at the first hint of rejection. Every writer gets rejected either from editors or agents or their peers…it’s just part of the business. But who knows what’s waiting for you on the other side of that rejection if you don’t quit?

HS: That's great advice. You fail 100% of the time if you never try. So now for the good stuff. What’s the funniest or most interesting line in a book you’ve ever written or read?

CQ: I probably shouldn’t use one of my own funny lines, but I can’t help myself. ;)

This is from my WIP, Heat Lightning (and it’s more than one line, oops!)

“Yeah, well, it’s a free country and I can go where I please. And this bitch is a thief.” His mouth twisted into a sour smirk, and Nat had a startlingly clear memory of the last time that mouth had been between her legs.

God, she needed Summer’s Eve, quick.

HS: LMAO!!! That's awesome! So, facial hair or no? What about chest hair? No hair on any part of the body? (For your partner, not you)

CQ: Funny you should ask. Like Holly in Full Disclosure, I have distinct issues with waxed chests. I can admire a nice one, sure, but I’d rather see a bit of hair. It’s a fine line however, because too much hair is as bad as too little, IMO. Furriness has its place, but not in the bedroom! Facial hair’s fine, though I like a goatee/mustache/yummy scruff better than a full beard.

Well there you go! The very funny Cari Quinn. From Catholic school girl to erotic romance author. (Not that far of a trip, actually!)

Now GO BUY!!!!