Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Guest Blogger Cari Quinn - Turning Up the Heat With Test Shot

Huge thanks to the NNN for having me here today! I’d love to share a little bit about the first book in my new Hot Shots series, TEST SHOT, releasing August 28th at Loose Id.

First, check out the cover! Mad love to the designer, Valerie Tibbs, who is an absolute genius and captured the book perfectly. The story is m/f/m and set in New York City, one of my absolute favorite places in the world.

Here’s the tentative blurb:

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 in 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?


This series has been a true labor of love for me. Last summer I came up with the idea for an erotic talent agency and pitched it to a publisher who gave me ideas on how to strengthen the concept. I decided to shelve it for a while, but the characters and the setup wouldn’t leave me alone. Back then, Drew and Kirby, the hero and heroine of book two, MONEY SHOT, were the characters in book one but I wasn’t ready to write about them yet. So I decided to make their story the second book, which left me needing new characters for book one.

Layla, Sawyer and Aidan’s story didn’t exactly evolve into the book I’d expected to write and I think I enjoyed the process even more because Sawyer, in particular, refused to do anything I’d had in mind for him. He’s one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written because he’s unflinching in his honesty—and his willingness to put himself on the line. All three characters risk a lot in this story and their world looks very different at the end of the book than it did in the beginning, that’s for sure!

In honor of my new series, I would like to give away an ebook from my backlist to a random commenter who answers this question: when reading a series, do you prefer all the couples’ pairings to be the same? (All m/f, all m/m, all m/m/f, etc.) Why or why not?

Add TEST SHOT to your Goodreads shelf here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15721128-test-shot

Visit Cari Quinn at www.cariquinn.com or http://blogspot.cariquinn.com

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.





10 comments:

Phuong said...

Hi Cari - You already know I love you and your books! I am a total fan girl on twitter LOL. I cannot wait to read Test Shots but I guess I have to for another week *sigh*. I enjoy reading different pairings and don't stop at one kind, I find it so sexy and exciting :)

bookfan0747@aol.com

Juniper Bell said...

This sounds great, Cari! A new series, how exciting. I agree with Phuong, all pairings are A-OK with me, especially in the hands of a fabulous writer like you. ;-)

Maria D. said...

I like a variety - some m/f, some m/f/m and occasionally - if it's really well written - m/m/f. Congratulations on the new series!

Lisa said...

I like all kinds of pairings. It is all so hot. Can't wait to read Test Shot. One week & counting

Wolphcall(at)bellsouth(dot)net

kelly said...

Welcome to the Naughty Nine Cari! This sounds great! You had me at "fighting demons" and "Passion explodes" LOL!! I love 'sploding passion. I also love ALL kinds of pairings, as I'm sure everyone knows!

Erin Nicholas said...

Cari Quinn is on our blog!!!!

Hey, Cari love! Congrats on the new series (yay!!) and totally agree with the other comments-- from you, I'll take any pairing, and plot, any book! *g*

Erin

Nona Raines said...

Hi Cari!

I tend to go with the consensus and enjoy the different pairings. It's fun to change things up from time to time. As long as I know what I'm getting when I open a book, I'm good. Congratulations on Test Shot--it sounds like a great read!

nona at nonaraines dot com

Drmgrl99 - Dawn said...

How have I not seen this?? It is now on my must have list!! xoxox

Christina said...

I saw this book on facebook today and then i saw this post. I am so looking forward to reading this book...and the series!

Cari Quinn said...

Hi everyone! So sorry for not getting here sooner - who knew having 2 releases in a week would be so time-consuming? ;D So glad to hear so many of you are open to reading all sorts of pairings...me too!

And now for the winner: Christina, you've won your choice of my ebooks. Just contact me at cariquinnauthor (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll get that right out to you!

Thanks again to the fantabulous NNN *waves to Erin, Juniper and Kelly* and to everyone who stopped by! :)