North Dakotan Writing, Love-making, and Guns
Today, our guest of honor is Cari Quinn. It’s so nice to have you here! Hope you’re ready to party!
First Questions:
Wine or beer? (If you say club soda, we’ll have to send you to the corner…)
Wine. Not a fan of beer at all. *wrinkles nose*
Cake or chips? Are you a sugar or salt kind of person?
I like both, so I’ll go with chips for today. Preferably rippled. 
*squints eyes * Are you old enough to drink?
Uh, yep. Twice over. Eeep!
Wait! You can’t come in yet! What did you bring us?
Blurb:
Network analyst by day, erotic romance writer by night, Vincent Buonfiglio is dealing with a work-in-progress that has gone colder than winter in his hometown of Ridgley, North Dakota. So what does a man who needs to write hot do to get cranking?
Search out a woman for a night of no-strings sex, of course.
But his choice of partner, Katherine “Kiki” Wyatt, manager of the Quikky Snak Gas & Lube, isn’t biting. Flirting over his nightly chili dog is one thing. But a date? Sex? Not happening. Dangerously sexy geeks are off-limits no matter what they might have to offer outside the bedroom.
When an armed gunman changes everything, will deadlines, exes, and mind-blowing sex prove opposites don’t always attract or allow two unlikely lovers to pen a happy ending?
What makes your characters so special?
That they refused to go down without a fight, even when I had to rewrite the story several times to get it right? Does that count? LOL Vincent and Kiki were two of my earliest characters, so their story will always be special to me for that reason.
Alright, I guess you can come in. Now off to the roast!
So, what do you write? And why?
I write erotic romance and sexy contemporary romance. Why do I write? To understand, both myself and others. I process emotions through my writing and learn new things about myself as my characters learn.
Do you have a favorite of your own books and why?
I started writing my first real romance novel in earnest the summer after my freshman year of high school. I was all of fifteen and thought I was an expert on love…yeah, not so much. But that story turned into INSATIABLE, one of my bestselling books to date. Shawn and Rachel were my first hero and heroine and I’ll always love them a wee bit more than the rest of my characters for that reason.
Tell us about one of your favorite characters from your books.
Right now my favorite character is from a book that hasn’t been published yet! Sawyer Blake is the hero of my novel TEST SHOT, book 1 in the Hot Shots series coming this summer from Loose Id. He’s honest, romantic, a little kinky and sexy as hell…and if he were real, he’d be mine. Back off, ladies!
Do you like more Alpha or Beta heroes?
While I love both, I’m more of an Alpha girl. If I had my way, I’d write sexy, obnoxious Alphas all day and all night, but I have to try to remember that not everyone else sees my heroes with the same affection I do. That said, I enjoy writing Betas now and then, too, as well as Gammas-the mix of both! I think more people are a mix than one or the other anyway.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Pantser all the way. I try to be a Plotter, really I do. Unfortunately my characters insist on having their way with me…uhh, I mean the story. Sure. That’s what I meant. But in all seriousness, I’m happy when the characters take over. That way I know I’m telling their story, not mine.
Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers?
Number one, not to quit. As wonderful as this business is, it’s also one that requires a strong stomach, an iron will, and a lot of perseverance. All it takes is one yes from one person who loves your story, and if you give up too soon, you won’t get to hear it!
What else are you working on right now?
Right now I’m gearing up for the launch of three of my upcoming releases…and surprise, they’re all books in a series! (Whoa, I write a lot of them!) First up is TWICE BURNED, the first novella in my Firefighters of Battle Creek series with Entangled Publishing. Then NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, the next book in my Love Required series, following up after my USA Today bestselling novella NO DRESS REQUIRED. Finally, TEST SHOT, the first book in my Hot Shot erotic contemporary series will be releasing from Loose Id. It’s set in Brooklyn, NY with the backdrop of an erotic talent agency.
Along with those stories, I’m also looking forward to releasing NEED ME, the next book in my Unveiled series at Ellora’s Cave (yep, I like series!) and LOVE BITES, my first paranormal erotic novel at Decadent Publishing. It’s going to be a busy summer and fall for me, book-wise!
Last question: Where can our partygoers find you and your work?
Website: www.cariquinn.com
Facebook: Cari Quinn
Blog: http://cariquinn.blogspot.com
I’m offering a $5.00 gift certificate to Amazon/Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice) and one of my backlist ebooks to a random commenter who can answer this question: do you like books in a series, or do you prefer standalones? Which is your favorite and why?
Thank you so much for coming!
Tweet
June 18th, 2012 at 9:20 am
I’m a series gal all the way, I always want to know more about what’s going on in the world the author has created, I want to get to know the secondary characters and see them get a HEA too, plus I want to know that the first characters are still in their HEA and what’s going on with them. I’m almost obsessive about reading series- stand alone books are good but I just prefer series where you get to know the characters so much better.
June 18th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I like series books. I love connected characters.
When I enjoy a book I hate to see it end, with a series I can look forward to the next book
June 18th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
i read both but i prefer series cause i like to see what is going on after the HEA
reginamayross@gmail.com
June 18th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I read both but I like series books a little more. I like getting to know the characters through several books, to see what happens in their lives. It’s like they become friends that I care about.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
June 18th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
I like both actually. My favorite series right now is the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James because I love that we get to know the full family and can see main characters of each book at different times. But I also like stand alones so that I can read it and walk away – not needing to have read previous books to know the full story. However, the benefit I see of series is that some things that are left hanging in previous books can be dealt with in later installments.
Thanks for featuring Cari!
bas1chsemail at gmail dot com
June 18th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
And you thought you’d never be a series girl. For shame. LOL!! (I’m her CP, I get to say stuff like that. heh.)
I love Kiki and Vincent. I’m so glad you found a good home for them. I’m just here for the moral support, you don’t need to add me to the drawing. I get all her stuff before anyone else.
Great interview darlin’!
June 18th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
I like standalones, Series are OK if you can find all of them in that series.
June 18th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Depends on my mood… I enjoy standalones… meeting the characters and seeing them wrap things up at the end with their HEA… but I enjoy series too… seeing characters you have met before have their turn at an adventure, romance, & HEA… the only I do not care for with series… when I do not have all of the books, especially if some issue or mystery does not get solved till the last book… Thanks for sharing today!
June 18th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Nice interview. I like books in a series, but prefer that they be standalones. I like the Lords of the Underworld series.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
June 18th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
I love series books. When I find an author that I love, ant their world, characters that I really like, I want to read more. I love when great secondary characters end up getting their on HEA or HFN. Series also allow you to revisit old friends after their story ends.
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Hi everyone! Here I am, months later! I’ve been in my editing/writing cave and only just now am peeking out, LOL.
Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by and to RAH for hosting me. Regina, you were the contest winner and I’ve contacted you. Thanks again to all who stopped by!