Interview with Cari Quinn

1)Tell us about your favorite character from your books.
Hmm, that’s a toughie. I’d have to say Kelly from Provoke Me. Her voice just flows from me and after all the days I struggle to write, I’m doubly grateful for the easy characters! We have some similarities—I’d like to think we’re both honest and generous, but she definitely wears her heart on her sleeve more than I do.

2)Tell us about your current release.
Gladly! Provoke Me just released in June. More than anything else, it’s a love story, though it take a while for the hero and heroine to acknowledge that! It's a journey of two people who ultimately realize they've found the piece that was missing inside them, even if the hole's a little jagged and the fit hurts. I absolutely love these characters - don't tell my other ones, but Kelly and Spencer are my favorites - and really hope readers enjoy their story too.
Provoke Me is book 2 in the Unveiled series, with four more books to go. Next up are Marcia and Tony...and maybe someone else, too!

Here’s the blurb:

Attracted

Kelly's focus is the bookstore she manages. Sex is relegated to a list of candidates on her PDA. Only one man pushes all her buttons―her boss.

Fascinated.

Spencer is determined to fight his desire for Kelly. For years they’ve bumped heads over the store they both love. But there's more than one reason their getting together is complicated.


Provoked.

When Kelly and Spencer unexpectedly meet up at a sex club, all the rules go out the window. Suddenly there’s only way this match of wills can end―naked, preferably all night long. In this battle for sexual supremacy, there are two winners—and two losers when their stubbornness leads to the very thing each dreads most.


Here’s the buy link at Ellora’s Cave:
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9417-provoke-me.aspx


3) Tell us about your next release.

Next up is Bad Kitty from The Wild Rose Press, coming this fall. It’s a Halloween story (my favorite holiday) and features Nikki and Patrick, who’s a twin. I might write about his twin, Easton, next Halloween if there’s interest! And nope, there’s no twin action of *that* sort!

4) Who is your favorite author?
Nora Roberts. Without Nora, I’m not entirely sure I’d have turned to writing. To me, she’s the gold standard and hugely inspiring. Her talent is just monumental.

5) When was your first sale?
August, 2009. Eight contracts and many WIPs later, I’m about to hit my 2-year anniversary. Seems like yesterday!


6) Plotter or Pantser? Why?
Completely a pantser. I’ve tried to plot. I’ve done synops beforehand for proposals and thought I was ahead of the game…then ended up trashing the front and the end of the book. I always seem to have to redo beginnings and ends, no matter what. For some reason my sagging middles usually aren’t that saggy, thank goodness.

7) Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?
Yes, I do. Cari is a shortened form of my real name (and a name people have called me since junior high) and Quinn is actually a short version of a childhood nickname. I needed names that meant something to me…and I knew I’d actually respond to Cari if someone called that name! Now in some ways Cari feels more “real” to me than my own name.

8) Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?
Yes, yes, yes! I love all kinds of music from hip hop to country to classical. Best of all, I like playing it loud. Something about music helps me think my way more clearly through a scene.

9) What book are you reading now?
Right now I’m about to start Karen Marie Moning’s Darkfever…I know, I’m way behind the 8-ball on this one! But yum, that Barrons…

10) Morning Person? Or Night Person?
Oh my gosh, I’m such a night person. I’d stay up all night and sleep all day if I could. Alas, I have a day job but I still stay up way later than I should. I think my pale skin has given me a touch of vampirism!

Visit me and check out my latest books at www.cariquinn.com.
And thanks so much to Amber for allowing me to guest blog with her today!