Welcome Back - Cari Quinn

Thank you for having me here today!

Music is a huge part of my life and it has been since I was a child. A lot of people don’t know that my original dream was to be a singer. My happiest moments were on stage, losing myself in a song. Now I lose myself in books—often others’s stories, sometimes my own. And one thing that helps facilitate that for me is putting together just the right accompaniment of songs for my story.

TEST SHOT was one of the most difficult books I’ve ever written, as well as one of the easiest. Sawyer came to me with no trouble. I “got” him and he was easy to write about. Layla, I could understand as well. Aidan was harder for me, because his closed-off nature on the page extended to when I was trying to peel back his layers and figure out what had shaped him into the man he’s become.

There were a lot of separate threads running through the book: Layla’s desire to grow as a person and face her fears, Sawyer’s need to remain honest despite the consequences, and Aidan’s fight to maintain the status quo, And then there were the relationship conflicts and connections…and man, you can see where I needed music to assist me with my persnickety characters!

There are two songs in particular that I associate with TEST SHOT. The first, A THOUSAND YEARS by Chrisina Perri, I had on repeat continuously during a big scene between Layla and Sawyer near the climax of the book and it literally brought me to tears because it so perfectly echoed their emotions. Even now, months after I wrote that scene, that song makes me teary. I know, I know, author sap in the house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00

The second song is WANTED by Hunter Hayes. In TEST SHOT, Sawyer is on a one-man mission to show Layla all the amazing things he sees in her. This song is pretty much Sawyer’s theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruyaKdPfTN4

If it seems like I’m leaving out Aidan, not to worry, he’ll be getting his own book. He needs a full novel to explore what’s going on with him—and for the really hot sex he’ll be having, lucky guy. Which TEST SHOT also has plenty of, in case I neglected to mention that!

Here’s the blurb and link at Loose Id:

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 for 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?

Loose Id buy link: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/cari-quinn/hot-shots-test-shot.html#product_tabs_Excert

Now it’s your turn. How much does music influence you? Do you have a favorite artist?

Cari Quinn Bio:

USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn saves the world one Photoshop file at a time in her job as a graphic designer. At night, she writes sexy romance, drinks a lot of coffee, and plays her music way too loud. When she’s not scribbling furiously, she’s watching men’s college basketball, reading excellent books, and causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.

Visit Cari Quinn at www.cariquinn.com

Cari Quinn

Blurb:

Author:Cari Quinn

Length:Long Novel

ISBN:978-1-61118-942-1

Genre:Contemporary

Series:Hot Shots

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 for 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?

Note:This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse; menage (m/f/m, no m/m interaction); voyeurism.

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.”

The giveaway is tour wide, so please mention that in your post.  Cari is giving away $10 GC to either B&N or Amazon and ebook copy of Test Shot.  So there will be two overall winners. 

Rafflecopter code:

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Here’s the tour schedule.  Please include the tour schedule at the end of your post. 

Date	Blog Address/Name
9/17	Queen of the Night Reviews http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com
9/18	Guilty Pleasures www.guiltypleasures.com
9/19	Queen of the Night Reviews http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com
9/20	Amber Skyze http://amberskyze.blogspot.com
9/20	Taryn Elliot http://tarynelliott.com
9/21	Welcome to My World http://lynnmyshejoseph.blogspot.com Confessions from Romaholics http://confessionsfromromaholics.com
9/22	Day Dreaming http://daygrmzzz.blogspot.com The Smutty Kitty www.thesmuttykitty.com
9/23	Harlie’s Books http://harliebooks.blogspot.com
9/24	Romance Book Craze http://romancebookcraze.blogspot.com

Interview with Cari Quinn

Thanks so much to Amber for having me today! I’m a huge fan of hers and am so happy to be here. J

How did you start your writing career?

Oddly enough, just as my old bio states, I got my start writing bible stories. In second grade at my Catholic school, I decided to write my version of parables—and once my teacher started putting them on the door with gold stars, I kept at it. In 4^th grade, my “book” came in second place in my grade and I decided to try to write a book with a friend. We got as far as the title, which I still remember: Life is Like An Empty Bowl Of Cherries. Insightful, huh? Alas it took me until the ripe ol’ age of 31 to actually complete a book. In five years, I’ve written (or will have written by the end of year) 20+ short stories, novellas, and novels. Thank God I eventually figured out how to get to The End.

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.

I used to have the standard answer of Spencer from Provoke Me, who I still adore, but right now I think I’d say Cory from my upcoming Brazen from Entangled Publishing, No Romance Required. He’s so adorably clueless although he’s admirably smart and focused. When it comes to matters of the heart, he’s not nearly as skilled. One thing he is quite adept at? Tying knots. I’ll let your imaginations spin with that one.

Tell us about your current release.

No Flowers Required, book 2 in the Love Required series, is a story about a woman trying to get the store she inherited from her mentor, Divine Flowers, back in the red. Enter Dillon James, the man she thinks is her building’s handyman…except he’s so much more, as she soon realizes. He also happens to have some notable attributes, including an ability with his hands, a romantic soul, and a snake tattoo. ;)

What do you think makes a good story?

I think my answer is different than it would’ve been even a few months ago. Right now, I’d say a good story has the ability to take you out of your own world and transplant you into another. No more, no less. Each person evaluates their “good” differently, which is one of the things that is awesome about reading—and life!

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

Oh yeah, music is the soundtrack to my life. I think in music. My dreams often have soundtracks and I’ll wake up with songs in my head. When it comes to writing, I need to have it on 24/7—and if I can find the perfect song to put on repeat to help inspire a scene, even better! My tastes range from country to musical scores to hip hop.

Morning Person? Or Night Person?

Night person all the way! I’m not the least bit sociable before noon and a couple of coffees. For me, everything’s better at night!

Visit Cari Quinn at www.cariquinn.com

Welcome Cari Quinn

Thank you for having me here today! No Flowers Required is a book that came about completely unexpectedly. I didn’t intend on writing Alexa’s story until I wrote No Dress Required (I remember hurriedly typing a few words at Tim Horton’s before work!) and then “Type A” Alexa started making her presence known. Still I had no idea what her story would be until a trip to a local hardware store gave me an idea. I love hardware stores—they have their own smell, and they’re often bustling with activity and promise of all those possible projects—and suddenly I’d created my own hardware store: Value Hardware, for when you need a tool that rules. (Isn’t that just the kind of dorky slogan stores come up with nowadays? )

The next thing I knew I had Dillon and Cory, brothers who’d been fighting from their own sides of the fence for so long that there was more tension between them than love. And then Dillon meets Alexa and sparks fly…amidst plumbing projects, of course!

Dillon and Alexa were so fun to write about and one of the reasons was because they’re such opposites in so many ways. They also enjoy getting up to naughty activities in places they shouldn’t—from rooftops in the rain to outdoors in the the sunshine!

Check out the blurb and excerpt below, then be sure to enter the NO FLOWERS REQUIRED themed giveaway! You can win all sorts of fun stuff inspired by the book! Also, I’d love to hear your answer to this question: you get a night with a sexy stranger. Which would you pick—the physical guy who is very good with his hands or the businessman in a suit, whose eyes suggest he might be as skilled in bedroom as in the boardroom? (Yep, those descriptions fit Dillon and Cory!)

No Flowers Required blurb:

He’ll give her everything she desires…except his identity.

Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.

And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.

Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy…or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.

No Flowers Required buy link and link to excerpt: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-flowers-required/

Guest Cari Quinn and a Contest

Information:

Title: No Flowers Required (Love Required, #2)
Author: Cari Quinn
Genre: Category – Contemporary
Length: 281 pages
ISBN: 978-1-62266-967-7
Release Date: August 2012
Imprint: Brazen

Blurb:

Love Required - Book Two - by Cari Quinn
He’ll give her everything she desires…except his identity.
Flower shop owner Alexa Conroy had it all before the recession hit and her customers fled to cheaper shopping grounds. Desperate to make ends meet, she sells her dream home and moves into the rundown apartments above her shop. When she spots six feet of sexy distraction—complete with muscles, piercings, and tattoos—ripping up flooring, Alexa knows the karmic windfall she’s due just landed on her doorstep.
And the attraction’s definitely not one-sided.
Dillon James, reluctant heir to the corporation about to foreclose on Alexa’s shop, is not about to jeopardize their scorching chemistry by admitting he’s not the building’s handyman. But with only weeks until her business goes under and his identity is revealed, Dillon must find a way to convince Alexa cooperation isn’t a dirty word, help her save the shop from his brother’s greed, and persuade her that he’s not the enemy…or risk losing the only woman who’s seen the real him.

Excerpt:

Alexa moved whip-fast, slamming her hands on Dillon’s chest and him against the door before his brain caught up. The watering can clattered onto the ground. She spared it a brief, puzzled glance, then fisted her hands in his T-shirt and arched up, her mouth coming closer—

Fuck it.

He fused his mouth to hers, and dammit, it was even better than he’d expected. She didn’t yield to him but struggled a bit, as if she was shocked he’d taken over. That made it even hotter. He slanted his lips over hers when her startled squeak granted him access to the warm sweetness inside. Perfect. He took full advantage of her surprise to explore her with long, slow licks of his tongue.

Maybe his head couldn’t compute what was happening, but his body sure could. He cupped her ass and rocked his hips against hers, all too aware of his violent reaction to her nearness. His dick still hadn’t recovered from their bump-and-grind in her bathroom and apparently had no trouble asserting its readiness to play. Recovered now, she didn’t shy away, and instead rubbed against him, her curves sliding against him in a way that had him groaning and pulling back so hard he thunked his head on the closed door.

He couldn’t do this. Oh, God, he had to. She was going wild against him, and he didn’t have any defenses against his hunger for her. Not when he wanted nothing more than this. Just this.

“What are we doing?” he managed as she dragged her lips down his Adam’s apple. Stars danced in his vision and hell if he knew if they were from the head jolt or from their kiss.

She didn’t answer him, just skated her hands down his torso and under his shirt. And what hands they were. She seemed to be touching him everywhere. He clung to her ass as if she was his only port in the storm, and sure enough, a bolt of lightning sizzled overhead followed by a crack of thunder. But Alexa never paused. He’d become her canvas and her fingers were her paintbrush. She sketched every ridge of muscle, every line of bone. And then the column of his cock, wedged tight into his jeans. She touched him with confidence and skill, the kind that would soon have him driving his hands into her hair and pushing her to her knees if she didn’t stop.

But a woman like her wasn’t meant for a quick fuck against a door, even if that was what she acted like she wanted. Even if he longed for her so much that he didn’t care about anything but stealing this moment and making it theirs. He must be misreading her signals, though he was pretty adept at picking up sexual cues. Or else he’d sent some crazy ones of his own.

“Alexa.” Though it took all his faculties just to get out that one word, she ignored him. Completely.

She cupped him and nipped his jaw, her teeth offering a sharp counterpoint to her palm’s soft touch. His shaft lurched in her hold and she let out a delighted purr.

“Lex,” he tried again, her name ending in a moan.

“You don’t know who I am.” He expected her to stiffen, to look up at him with those huge bluebell eyes he’d gone a little nuts for the first time he’d looked at her. She didn’t.

 “Alexa, listen to me.” He wrapped her braid around his hand and tugged up her head, something sharp dislodging inside him the instant their gazes clashed. In the waning light, he could just make out the lust on her finely boned face. It transformed her somehow, changed her from someone he should protect—from him—into a woman he needed at all costs. “You don’t understand.”

She didn’t. Hell, at the moment, he didn’t either. Because he didn’t feel like he was lying or hiding anything. He wanted to strip away the barriers between them, and this was the best way he knew how. Words were unnecessary, the language of miscommunication. Kisses and long looks and sultry touches—that was the truth, and she was the only one he could share it with.

Right now who he really was didn’t matter. She knew the important stuff. He was a guy. She was a woman. Certain areas were meant to fit together.Who even cared who his family was? Maybe she really didn’t even hate the hardware store. Maybe she had a secret girl-crush on it and went in there every day to fondle all the trusty hammers and saws…

Yep, he needed help. The kind he’d find alone by himself, far, far from distractions with anklets and eyes as big as moons.

“You don’t understand,” she whispered, gripping the back of his neck. She was tall for a woman, and even in flats she could reach all the important parts with only a modicum of stretching. “I don’t want to know who you are. I don’t care. All I want is for you to make me come.”

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.com/No-Flowers-Required-Love-ebook/dp/B0091IIKY0

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-flowers-required-cari-quinn/1112647579

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/no-flowers-required/

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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!