Writer with Sizzle: Cari Quinn

Please welcome Cari Quinn!

A little about Cari:

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 http://www.cariquinn.blogspot.com/

Lia: Hi Cari! What physical aspect does your heroine love most about your hero? Details, please!

Cari: Holly's fond of just about all of Alex's attributes. I understand why. I happen to agree he's pretty hot. ;) But the thing she loves most, physically, about him? Probably his size (take that any way you would like, ladies) and his strength. Holly's not a small woman - she's tall and full-figured - but Alex is even taller than she is and he has no trouble picking her up and making her feel womanly. She's also very appreciative of his stamina. (As you will see if you read Full Disclosure, he's certainly...enthusiastic. LOL)

Lia: Be still my heart! What does your heroine love most about your hero? Least?

Cari: Tough question. She'd be tempted to say his body first - hey, the guy's hot and young and used to spend lots of hours surfing, so he's pretty ripped - but the truth is she loves his sense of adventure. Alex isn't afraid of putting his heart on the line and he lives life to the fullest. He's wild and impulsive and loves to do whatever pops into his mind.

What she loves least? Probably the same thing, LOL. Holly's a bit more pragmatic about life and is used to living by set rules - and those rules don't include dating a work colleague that's twelve years younger than she is. Alex doesn't see the problem. That whole "wants what he wants when he wants it" thing rearing its ugly head yet again. ;)

Lia: These two sound like a great match. Love it! Have your characters used sex toys? How did that go?

Cari: Oh yeah, they have! Actually one sex toy in particular plays a pretty big role in the book. Since I'm not nearly as much a woman of the world as Holly is, I'd never heard of a tongue vibrator until I was stumbling around online one night. But the story possibilities were too much for me to resist.

Here's a snippet from one of the scenes where Alex whips out his Tongue Zinger, though here he just uses it like a regular vibrator. He's an inventive guy. ;)

Excerpt:

“Playing hard to get, are you?”

“Maybe.” Holly's smile glimmered. “Gonna…come and get me?”

“After you come first.” He palmed his toy and pressed a button, setting off a low buzz as he clamped his fingers over her swollen nipple.

“Alex.” She jolted as he upped the vibration. “Oh, God, Alex.”

“I like it when you moan my name.” He hit the button again and the amps increased. She quaked beneath him. “Do it again.”

“What the hell is that? Some kind of stun gun?” She rolled her head to the side, searching for the source of the sensation.

“Yeah, a miniature one.” Alex kept his fingers curved around the toy, blocking her view. “Stop analyzing. Just enjoy.”

He bumped the vibrator up to the highest setting and directed his attention to her other breast. This time, he took a circuitous path over its fullness before reaching the tip. She whimpered, practically writhing from his ministrations.

Sweet hell, she would feel amazing around him. Under him. And he didn’t know how much longer he could wait.

Lia: Um, I think I really like Alex!! Hot excerpt, Cari! Where can readers find and read the rest of this story?

Cari: Full Disclosure is out now at The Wild Rose Press's Wilder Roses… Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=737

Lia: I have my copy. Get on over there and buy it, folks! Thanks for being a Writer with Sizzle, Cari!

The Winner Is...

Antonia! Congrats! Missy entered all the names in a hat and drew a winner for Table for Three. Drop her an email and she'll get her book right out to you.


missymartine@comcast.net

Thanks, Missy, and thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterday!

Writer with Sizzle: Missy Martine

Please welcome Missy Martine! Missy is giving away a free eBook copy of Table for Three (currently a Siren/Bookstrand bestseller! Congrats, Missy!) to one lucky commenter, so be sure to give her some love. Come back tomorrow (Wednesday) to see if you’ve won and pretty please leave your email address in the comments, if possible, so Missy can send it to you directly. Thanks!!

Lia: Hi, Missy! Have you ever cried, or laughed out loud while writing a scene?

Missy: Absolutely! In Table for Three it was laughter. Cass was so far out of her depth with her twin gods that she frequently had me snickering.

Here’s an example:

Very gently, he touched his lips to hers, swiping his tongue over the seam of her lips just once. “What about me?” David called out, dragging her attention away from Matt.

Turning her head to look at him, Cass had to laugh out loud. David had put on a fake pouty face, like a spoiled child who didn’t get what he wanted for Christmas. “We certainly can’t forget you,” Cass said as she started to lean down to touch her lips to his.

Suddenly, Demon and Angel came bounding into the room and jumped up on the foot of the bed, barking once to announce their arrival. “Eeeeeeek!” Cass saw the large animals out of the corner of her eye and screamed. Her only thought was to escape. She blindly pushed off with her legs and arms, making a dash to the side of the bed nearest the door. Unfortunately, she had to go over David to reach it. As she scrambled away, her feet came in contact with Matt’s legs, and she used him to propel herself forward, nearly knocking him off the bed in the process. Her arms wildly pushed down to give herself leverage, pummeling David in the head and shoulders.

Lia: Funny scene! How do your characters enjoy their playtime? Rough? Playful? Tender?

Missy: In this book they are always tender. Cass came from an abusive marriage and the men take a lot of extra care to make sure she feels treasured and loved.

Here’s a short example:

Cass whirled her head back around when she felt a delicious sensation at her breast. Matt had taken her nipple into his mouth and was sucking gently. He pulled back and ran his tongue around her dusky areola and then licked the hardened tip. He sat back up and together, he and David gently lowered Cass down until she lay on the pillows. Both men stretched out beside her.

Both men latched onto a nipple, and sucked hard. The feeling grew so intense, Cass arched her body up off the floor trying to push more of her breasts into their hot, moist mouths. Matt pulled away, and David leaned in and thrust his tongue into her mouth, easily coaxing hers to come out and play. While his tongue played with hers, his hands moved to fondle her breasts, pinching and rolling the nipples back and forth between his thumb and forefinger. Gently, he tugged on them, causing Cass to bite her lip to keep from screaming out in pleasure.

So caught up in David’s erotic kiss and the attention he paid to her breasts, she didn’t feel Matt as he slowly slid her sweat pants down her thighs and off the bottom of her feet. Now she lay displayed in just her blue thong.

Lia: Love it! It’s sweet and sexy at the same time. What is your favorite think about being a romance writer?

Missy: I think the fact that I can let my imagination run wild. It’s fiction, so the characters can do just about anything they want, and it’s still okay. Growing up we all had to live with rules and certain codes of conduct. We might have wanted to break them, but most of us never had the courage. With my books, my characters can do all the things I never got to do. It’s been a great way to jump-start my romantic life as well. I’m, well let’s just say I’m over 50, and writing these books have put new fantasies in my life. They’ve enabled me to see that romance and passion doesn’t have to stop when we reach a certain age. If we work at it, it can be ageless. I didn’t start writing until I was 47 years old. I’d been a nurse, and owned a medical billing service before that. I had a series of small strokes that make it impossible for me to continue working outside the home, so I took up the writing as a hobby. It opened up a whole new area of imagination that I didn’t even know I had.

Lia: Very inspirational, Missy! Where can we find your sizzling books?

Missy: You can find my books at Siren/Bookstrand - http://www.sirenpublishing.com/missymartine/

I have the beginning book of a Trilogy coming out in January called “Discovering Her Wolfen Heritage” – erotic paranormal romance, shapeshifter

Lia: Ooh, sounds good! Thanks for being a Writer with Sizzle, Missy!!

Writer with Sizzle: Helen Hardt

Please welcome a good friend of mine and an exceptionally talented, multi-published writer of some seriously sizzling romance, Helen Hardt!

Lia: Hi, Helen! What's your secret to writing a steamy scene?

Helen: Emotion, emotion, emotion! I never head hop, so I choose which character's POV I'm gong to use, and then I become him or her. I dig deep, get inside her head. What is she feeling beneath her fingertips? Smelling? Hearing? Seeing? Tasting? Feeling inside? How is her body reacting physically to the stimuli? To his words? I try to use all five senses plus inner feeling to create vivid word pictures of the scene. I've been known to devote five pages to a first kiss. Lots of sensory detail, lots of emotion, lots of sexy dialogue -- it adds up to one hot scene!

Lia: Sounds good to me! Do you have any advice for the budding romance writer?

Helen: Self-educate! Don't ever stop learning. Learn from every critique, every contest judge, every rejection. There is a wealth of valuable information available from successful authors. Use it. I went from dismal contest results, to winning contests, to getting published all within a year. I attribute that success to self-education. Also, for erotic romance writers, never shy away from anything. I once said I'd never write a ménage. Then I challenged myself to find a ménage situation that worked for me. Now I've written three. One is published and one is under contract. Something I once felt I could never do led to my first contract with Ellora's Cave, Slow and Wet, which released two days ago. So I'm glad I challenged myself.

Lia: Great advice, Helen.

Excerpt from Slow and Wet:

“Trav, this is my girl, Jillian Reynolds.”

A rush of warmth coursed through Jill at the words “my girl”.

“Mighty pleased to make your acquaintance, ma’am.” Travis squeezed her hand, and a flare of heat skittered over her skin. “Seems Dale has all the luck. Beautiful women have always flocked to him.”

Jill leaned farther into Dale’s chest, but Travis continued to hold her hand, rubbing his thumb into her palm. His touch felt nice. Which wasn’t good. She whisked her hand away.

“Remember the good old days?” He spoke to Dale, but he stared at Jill, dropping his gaze to her breasts which were still crushed against cowboy number one. “When we did everything together?”

Dale cleared his throat. “I remember.”

“We were team ropers,” Travis said to Jill. “Champions. Started when we were kids. Couple years ago, though, I went solo in ropin’, and Dale here switched to bustin’ broncs. I’ve been away since then, tourin’ the circuit.”

“And you, Dale?” Jill raised her gaze to his brown eyes.

“You know where I’ve been, darlin’. Here, helpin’ my grandma run this place. Doin’ the local rodeos.”

“But didn’t you ever want to tour?”

“Heck, no. I’m a homebody. I’m happy here, runnin’ the ranch,” he smiled, “hangin’ out with you.” He turned to Travis. “Jill’s from Denver.”

“I took you for a big-city gal,” Travis said. “What are you doin’ in a little cow-town like Sweetwater Junction, Wyoming?”

“I’m in computer sales. A few months ago, an opportunity came up to relocate here, and I jumped at it. I wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle.”

Travis chuckled and shook his head. “If only I’d come home sooner, I might have seen you first.” He winked. “’Course that didn’t always matter.”

“Trav…”

Jill’s heart raced beneath her chest. Why? From being held in Dale’s strong arms, no doubt. Or was something else going on?

Naked.

Shit, she was still naked. “Uh, Dale? I need to—”

“Yeah, you sure do, darlin’.” He grabbed her rump and lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “We’ll be back in a minute, Trav. Fully clothed.”

“Damn,” Travis said. “Can’t say I’ve seen enough of the beauty of my hometown just yet.”

“Yeah, you have,” Dale said, walking back to the bedroom. He looked over his shoulder. “You’ve seen all of Jill you’re gonna see, pal.”

“Don’t be so sure about that, buddy.”

Had Jill imagined the words? Or had they actually come from the gorgeous blond cowboy?

She tightened her thighs around Dale’s sexy waist. Didn’t matter anyway. She needed to get dressed and then douse herself with about a gallon of Dale’s honey-lemonade.

Then maybe go jump into Sweetwater Lake.

And she wasn’t even sure that would cool her off today.
-----

Lia: Whew! I’ve had the pleasure of reading this sizzling story pre-published so I can assure everyone that the rest of this is just as hot. So go out and get your copy, folks! http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7760-slow-and-wet.aspx

Helen, thanks for being a Writer with Sizzle!

You can find more about Helen and her writing at http://www.helenhardt.com/

And the winner is...

The winner of one of Cerise's eBooks is Andrea. Congrats!!! Andrea, can you email me at lia@liaslater.com and I'll get you in touch with Cerise. Thanks!