Monday, October 29, 2012

Welcome Cassandra Carr


Do readers mind when authors who write in different sub-genres?
by Cassandra Carr

Recently, I turned my first m/m story into Loose Id. I haven't heard whether or not it's been accepted, but if it is, it'll put my work into another sub-genre. I already write erotic m/f, menage, and BDSM. So I have wondered, will readers mind if I branch off into another sub-genre like m/m? I don't plan to abandon my other sub-genres, so I hope not, but these are questions that we, as authors, agonize over.

Will my m/f books lag if I start writing m/m? If you like my BDSM books will you find my m/m too tame? The questions swirl around in your mind until you're pretty sure you're off your rocker. We do everything we possibly can to make our readers happy and to never "break the contract" with the reader.

What does "breaking the contract" mean? Simply put, do I deliver on my promise when you get to the end of one of my books? Are the hero and heroine (or hero and hero, or hero and hero and heroine, etc as the case may be), together and happy at the end? Did I keep my readers' trust or did I do something in my plot that makes them want to throw the book across the room?

As I venture out into more sub-genres these questions only multiply. Can I write a believable BDSM book? Will my m/m book sound like a woman writing a male point-of-view?

It's pretty easy to see why some authors never stray out of their comfort zone - that one sub-genre that sold for them, so they just keep reinventing themselves within that area. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think I could do that. I'd get bored.

So what do you think? Do readers get annoyed when we as authors write in several sub-genres of erotic romance?

BLURB FOR DOUBLE VISION:
Everything Red knew about relationships is called into question when he stumbles upon his roommate Fredrik and his girlfriend Liz going at it hot and heavy and Liz invites him to join them. Struggling with recovering from a knee injury, the young defenseman doesn't know what to make of his attraction to Liz--after all, she's his teammate's woman, right?

As an older player, Fredrik's been around the rink a time or ten, and he knows he has an awesome thing going with Liz. He envisions a future with her, but isn't sure how their interludes with Red fit into the long-term picture. 

Liz thinks Fredrik's her forever-guy, but her sudden attraction to Red is causing doubts. The more they play together in the bedroom, the more their outside lives--and emotions-- become entangled. When the unthinkable happens, all three must take a hard look at what they want and make some surprising decisions in the process.  

EXCERPT:
Every cell in Rick “Red” Armstrong’s body wept with relief. He’d just finished his most grueling PT session yet and couldn’t wait to plop on the couch and watch movies for the rest of the day. The older defenseman Fredrik, whom he lived with, had a huge-ass TV. Red liked to say the people were life-sized in the movies they both loved to watch. The season was starting soon, and he needed to take as much time as he could to rest before the rigors of training camp and the marathon season began.
Reaching into the fridge, he grabbed a bottle of water and downed half of it in one long gulp, wiping his mouth with his hand as he exited the room through the swinging door. His thoughts about what movies he would pick of the hundreds Fredrik kept on hand flew out of his head as he stopped dead.
Fredrik and his girlfriend Liz were going at it hot and heavy on the couch. Liz’s long brown hair was tangled in Fredrik’s hand as he pulled her head back. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy, but Red knew they were a rich brown. Sure, Liz was his roommate’s girlfriend, but Red wasn’t dead. Of course he’d noticed how hot Liz was, and yes, even though he’d felt guilty for it, she had starred in more than a few of his fantasies late at night. Between her beautiful face and curves that seriously would not quit, how could he not imagine what it would be like to fuck her? And watching her in the throes of passion right now? Holy shit. He stumbled backward, trying to give his roommate some privacy, but his ass hit the door frame and both Fredrik and Liz looked up. Red felt a flush begin in his neck and work its way up to his face. 
Damn stupid pale skin.
“I’ll…” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat, trying again. “I’ll just leave you alone.” Red’s hands were up in front of him like someone was holding a gun to his head, the bottle of water wobbling in his less-than-steady hand.
Liz smiled. “You don’t have to.”
“Huh?”
Real smooth.
“Come on over here. Join us.”
Red’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. It wasn’t like he was a virgin, but this was some crazy shit. He knew some of his teammates had gotten into ménage relationships. Hell, he’d watched in fascination as his two goaltenders had passed their woman back and forth as they’d kissed her a couple of weeks ago when a bunch of the players were hanging out one night. But he’d never done anything like this, hadn’t even really considered it. From the way his cock twitched in his sweat shorts, though, it was clear at least one part of him was definitely considering it. Actually, more than one part was considering it. A whole lot of his parts were “all systems go.”
Liz crooked her finger, while Fredrik continued to pump in and out of her with measured thrusts as he watched Red. From his viewpoint, Red couldn’t tell which hole his roommate was utilizing, and then he mentally slapped himself. It wasn’t any business of his what his roommate was doing, but damn, did he want to know. He’d always been attracted to Liz, but he knew the bro code. You didn’t fuck with your friend’s woman. But now it seemed like they wanted him to fuck with her. Or fuck her.
He had to fight to keep the drool from running down his chin as he watched her tits sway back and forth as Fredrik kept right on going.
Mustering every ounce of self-control he possessed, Red said, “I shouldn’t. You guys need your privacy.”
Liz laughed. “If we wanted privacy, Fredrik has a perfectly good bed.” She looked down at his obvious erection pointedly. “Let me help you with that.”
Before he could censor his actions, his feet went on the move, propelling him toward Liz’s outstretched hand. “You don’t”—he cursed his inability to speak—“don’t have to do anything. I can just—”
“Go in your room and jerk off?”
“Geez,” he muttered. Then she cupped his erection through his shorts and his breath caught.
“Let her suck your cock,” Fredrik said, and Red’s gaze shot up to meet that of his teammate. “She loves to suck cock, and she’s always wanted to have a threesome. I’d let her do me, but, well…” He motioned to what he was doing. “I’m kinda busy at the moment.”
Red’s mind was reeling. Could he actually do this? “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Red looked down at Liz again. The woman was stroking his dick like it was a dog, and damn, if it didn’t sit up and beg. Sometimes being twenty-three was awesome, but when he couldn’t control his freaking hormones, it was no walk in the park.
He gasped as Liz pulled his shorts and boxers down before engulfing him in her warm, wet mouth. “Oh, fuck.”
Liz removed him from her mouth long enough to say, “No, honey, that’s what Fredrik’s doing.” With a smirk, she licked his cockhead, and he barely managed to hold in a groan of pure pleasure. It had been months since he’d been with a woman, between sustaining his knee injury during last season and then his subsequent concentration on physical therapy, and he had to admit his roommate’s girlfriend was very good at giving head. So good, in fact, Red wasn’t at all sure he was gonna last. How freaking embarrassing.
When she swallowed him again his free hand shot out, gripping her by the hair and pulling her away from his throbbing dick. “Gonna come if you keep doing that.”
“You like things a little rough? I’m okay with that.”
“No, God, no.”
“Why not? It’s fun.” Liz ran the tip of her tongue over his slit, and he sucked in a harsh breath. He felt about fifteen, his control shredded. Why did this feel so good? Was it the illicitness of the whole thing? Was Liz really that good at cocksucking, or had he used his hand for so long he’d forgotten how good a woman’s mouth could feel?
He didn’t want to analyze those questions at the moment, so instead he concentrated on thinking about everything he needed to do before the season started. It worked to a point to keep his orgasm at bay, but when Liz began to bob up and down on his dick like she was being judged in a blow job contest, he knew he was losing the battle. Red tried to pull her mouth off him, but she tightened her lips around him.
“Shit! Gonna. Come.”
Liz moaned, and that was all it took. His eyes slammed shut as a wave of sensation swept through him and he came. When he was finally able to fire a synapse in his brain, he took a giant step back and his cock dislodged from her mouth with an obscene popping noise.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I should’ve—”
“Hey, hey,” Liz interrupted. “I wanted it.”
“Okay.” He glanced at Fredrik, who had just returned from the bathroom. When had he finished? Red hadn’t noticed anything outside of the incredible pleasure he’d been feeling. “Okay.”
Fredrik grinned at him. “Don’t sweat it, kid. This has been a fantasy of hers, and I was happy to be able to give it to her.”
Red jerked a thumb behind him. “I’m gonna go.” Both Fredrik and Liz acted like this was no big deal, like this was something they’d been planning, but Red’s world had tilted on its axis, and he needed time to process what the hell had just happened. He pulled up his shorts and boxers and was out of the room before either of them could utter another word.
Once safely within the confines of his own bedroom, he pulled off his clothes and then jumped in the shower. Washing thoroughly, he began to worry maybe Liz wasn’t clean, but then rejected that idea, since there was no way Fredrik would get with a girl who wasn’t. They all got lectured about safe sex a couple of times a year by the trainer, and as far as he knew, none of the guys ever took risks. With the kind of careers they had, they couldn’t afford to.
Plopping on his bed after drying off, he pulled out his earbuds and blasted some tunes while he tried to straighten his head out. Why had he done it? Why had she? Why was Fredrik fine with it, even encouraging Red? And why did his cock already ache to do it again?
With a frustrated groan, he rolled onto his side. It was at times like this he wished he had a fuck buddy in Buffalo. Red snorted. Or a fuck buddy anywhere, for that matter. As far as he knew, he was a pretty decent-looking guy, yet girls didn’t flock to him like they did some of his teammates. He smiled, thinking about how many women were heartbroken that the team’s most eligible bachelors, Luc, Jake, and Carter, were all off the market. Then he wondered if it was common knowledge they were happily sharing one woman. This ménage shit was just weird.
Shaking his head, he forced himself to relax. He usually took a nap after PT, and given recent events, as long as he could get his brain to shut down, he shouldn’t have any trouble catching some shut-eye. He finally drifted off with visions of lush lips and flushed cheeks whirling in his head.

Copyright 2012, Cassandra Carr

LINKS:

BUY LINKS:
http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com (links to all third-party distributors)

4 comments:

Cara Bristol said...

I don't think of it so much as a breaking a contract with readers, but as developing a readership base. I fear that when one branches out, one will have to develop a new readership. That takes time.

On the other hand...there's something to be said for not putting all ones eggs into one basket. And who knows how long the current subgenre trends will last?

Good luck on your M/M submission. Loose Id is probably the best possible home for that subgenre.

Cassandra Carr said...

Thanks Cara! I love your work, so you better not change! KIDDING I love your work, so you write it and I'll read it. ;-)

Cassandra Carr said...

Good morning everybody! I'm really curious about what y'all say in answer to this blog. It's a burning question I've had in my mind for a while. ;-)

Cynthia said...

I think readers are fine with similar subgenres of the same genre. If you went off and started to write space cowboy or something, that's another matter. But it keeps your writing and plotting fresh if you explore a little.

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