Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Talking with author Cassandra Carr today

Please give a warm welcome to author Cassandra Carr who stops by today to chat about her latest release and answer some questions I just had to have answered by her. Take it away Cassandra.....


To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out?

I’ve just released Public Affairs, a spicy MF contemporary romance. Things start out pretty rocky when a cancer researcher disappears with millions of dollars and a PR “ringer” is brought in to help mitigate the bad press. The ringer is a gorgeous man and our intrepid hero, the heroine is the director of PR for the hospital, who feels threatened by him.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

Are Sabres games considered guilty pleasures? I don’t watch much TV, so I have nothing there. I do like a nice Cosmopolitan at night…

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you.

I once got out of a speeding ticket – for going 52mph in a 35mph zone, no less – by telling the officer I’d just gotten my car and was having trouble downshifting. Yep, he let me go. I couldn’t believe it.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I’ve thought about this a couple of times, like when I visited Hawaii and St. Thomas and loved both. While both have gorgeous weather, they also have their problems, like an iffy school system in Hawaii and lack of services in St. Thomas. Then there’s the problem of being so far away from family and friends.

If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

That really depends on what they like to read. I write different heat levels, different pairings, and different themes. My mainstream series, the Storm series, revolves around a hockey team. I have an erotic series featuring bull riders. I’ve done ménage, male-male…

Do you have a book that was easiest to write or one that was the hardest?

Master Class poured out of me. I wrote most of it in ten days. I adore that book and it’s such a shame it doesn’t sell better. As far as the hardest, probably one I haven’t released yet titled Awakening. It. Would. Not. End.

What is coming up from you in 2014? Anything you want to tease us with?

I’ve got tons of things going on in 2014. I just released an erotic bundle with nine other authors, plus a short story collection with eleven authors. In February I’ll release my second male/male book, Hiding In Plain Sight, and later in the month, re-release a story I got the rights back to- Caught. I’ve got other things coming out in 2014 but nothing is close enough to talk about yet.

If you had a reporter follow you around for the day, what would the readers get to see in your daily schedule? 

I would be the most boring person ever for something like that. I get up, get my five-year-old daughter off to school and then sit on the couch working til I pick her up at 2:30. Then I try to work a little more, hang out with my daughter, and then it’s time to make dinner. After dinner we hang out for a few hours as a family and then I work again after she goes to bed. In between I might go get one of my massages (I have back and neck problems – don’t be envious of me – these massages aren’t fun), or stop for groceries. Truly riveting stuff; the glamorous life of a writer…

Is it hard coming up with titles or characters names?

Character names are challenging. I have a Word document with all the major characters’ names so I don’t repeat them. I know many authors use those “name your baby” sites to find new names.

If you were to replenish your cabinets with one junk food, what would it be?

Fritos. I must need the salt because I’ve been craving them really badly. Strangely, I don’t eat a lot of junk food, candy, etc. I lost about 25 pounds in the past year or so and try to keep it off now.

What do you feel is the most important thing that a first-time author should know? 

That there’s so much to learn and part of that learning process takes place as you write your first couple of books. Rarely are first books publishable. So take classes, read blogs, buy craft books, and most of all, write, write, write.

When and where do you like to write? Are there any favourite places you like to go?

Most of my writing is done right in my family room on the couch. I have a desk – a really lovely desk – in the corner, with a nice, big monitor…and I don’t use it much. I like lounging on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table and a thick blanket over me. Otherwise, I like going to Panera Bread or Wegmans, a local grocery store chain with really nice café areas. My mom and I used to go to Wegmans every Friday. Now since my daughter is in school we write at my house one day a week.

How do you like to relax after a day writing?

I hang out with my husband and daughter, mostly. I also love to read, or go out. I’m a pretty simple soul, really. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy.

How much of your own personality bleeds into your characters?

Some more than others. People who know me say they can hear my sense of humor in the characters. I don’t consciously put myself in the characters, but I don’t stop it if it happens. How can it not?

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

Before I started writing I was in marketing and PR, so I’d probably be doing that. At times I loved it, like my last job at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, which is the inspiration for Cancer Care Center in Public Affairs. Oh, and the heroine is in public relations. Huh. How ‘bout that?

What is one fun fact about you that readers don't know?

When I was younger I was a competitive horse rider, and quite good. I should’ve stayed with it, because people I was beating went on to do the Olympics. I’m not saying I would’ve been an Olympian, but it was a dumb move to quit riding. One of my few regrets.

What is the best trick to overcome writer's block?

Keep writing. Even if it’s crap, keep writing. You can always re-write or delete those sections, but you can’t re-write or clean up a blank page. Ask Nora Roberts, one of the more famous writers to point this out.

What is the next book you'll write?


That should probably be “books” to be more accurate. As far as new writing, I’ve got book 3 in my Storm series, Man Behind the Mask, and also another project I’m not talking much about, plus some other things, like a story for a charity anthology to benefit Hockey Fights Cancer.


Public Affairs byb Cassandra Carr

Nate O'Halloran is a PR superstar, an expert in crisis management for his image-conscious celebrity clients. When his college roommate, now a hospital director in Buffalo, calls to beg for his help-- a cancer researcher on staff has disappeared with millions of dollars' worth of government research funds-- Nate agrees to help right away, though this situation is pretty small potatoes for him.

Val Chase, the hospital's PR director, is none too thrilled when Nate shows up; does it mean her boss doesn't trust her to handle this mess herself? Against her better judgment, Val decides she and Nate have to work together to save the hospital's reputation, though the explosive attraction they feel is making any actual "work" difficult...

Buy Links:


Coming Soon to Amazon and Kobo

About the Author

Cassandra Carr lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out on the computer.
Cassandra has won numerous awards for her writing, such as:
  • Caught: Best BDSM Book 2011 - LoveRomancesCafe
  • Impact: BDSM Book of the Month May 2012 - BDSM Book Reviews
  • Best Western Romance 2012 - Sizzling Scoop Magazine
  • Cold As Ice: Best Menage Book 2012 - The Romance Reviews
  • Master Class: Best Erotic Romance 2012 - Sizzling Scoop Magazine
  • Best Author of 2012 - Sizzling Scoop Magazine
Cassandra also had one of her books cited as a Top Pick/Recommended Read by over a dozen review sites.

For more information about Cassandra, check out her website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com, "like" her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr.

Click the links at the top of the page to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, or become a fan of my writing on Facebook! I also have a newsletter if you'd like to join that, or you can become a fan/friend on Goodreads. Additionally, I've been interviewed by The Romance Radio Network and Blog Talk Radio. Check them out:



1 comment:

Cassandra Carr said...

Thanks for having me today!

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