Guest Blogger Cat Johnson - True and False

So I recently came to the Nine Naughty Novelists blog to do a bit of spying and see what kind of post I should write for my guest spot today. In the archives I found everything from how to create characters, to writing series, to 'womb orgasms'. I'm going to take the presence of this diverse subject matter to mean anything goes here, which actually makes it harder to choose than if someone said, write this, exactly this, and nothing else but this.

Anyway, after much thought—and procrastination—I've settled on a short True or False theme about me in particular, and most likely erotic romance writers in general. There is the public's perception of our lives, and then there's the truth. Here is goes…

TRUE: I write men I find sexy. If I'm not turned on by my heroes, it's likely my readers won't be either.

FALSE: No, I do not play out in real life all the sexual situations in my books. Some, but not all. J Sadly, the truth is if two strapping young cowboys showed up here at my house, I'd put them to work. I do need one cowboy on top and one on the bottom, but that's because there's holes in both the roof and the floor of my barn to be fixed.

TRUE: I rarely wear clothes. Seriously. Like once a week.

FALSE: No, it's not because I'm romping around nude having kinky sex all day. It's because if I take the time to dress in real clothes, I end up finding any number of ways to procrastinate for hours and not get to work. If I stay in PJs, or switch to my daytime PJs that at the ready and require no thought, I get right to work.

TRUE: I talk to men every day, scattered all over the world, and I make money from doing it.

FALSE: No, I'm not running a phone sex/webcam site. They're my military consultants and talking to them helps give me story ideas, and inspires new heroes for my books…and it's fun. J

TRUE: Working from home is great. No commuting time or expenses. No wardrobe expense aside for PJs (as mentioned above). I can have laundry in while I'm writing. Break for ten minutes to feed the animals then come back to work. However, it also means, for me anyway, there is no definite start or end to the workday aside from when I'm actually asleep, and that makes it very hard for me to shut down, give my friends and family time, and remember to have a life.

FALSE: No, I get no sympathy for working too many hours. In spite of my usual 18-hour day in front of a computer screen, it's very hard for friends, family, and the random postal worker to realize that even though I'm home, and in PJs, I'm still working. I swear!

TRUE: Being home doesn't mean we take advantage of that fact. I've eaten a handful of nuts for lunch, and leftover pizza or Chinese for breakfast, even though there's a fully stocked kitchen at my disposal.

FALSE: No, contrary to popular perception, we romance authors do not lie around and eat bonbons and drink champagne on a chaise lounge in silk lingerie ala Jackie Collins. I have, however, put a nice dent in a bag of Hershey's Kisses while wearing tattered flannel and sucking down lots of coffee.

TRUE: At the end of the day, I love my job as a full time romance author. Even with the insomnia, deadlines, ever changing market, sore wrists, and snickers from readers of "serious" literature, there's nothing I'd rather do for a living. And there's nothing false about that.

Want a taste of what I'm working on now? Check out the first book in my new Oklahoma Nights series with Kensington. Publishers Weekly called it "sex-centric…convincing and satisfying" so how could you NOT be curious! One Night with a Cowboy is out now and a national best seller. Two Times as Hot is on preorder for a summer release. And I'm halfway through writing Three Weeks with a Bull Rider for an early 2014 release.

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks to the naughty nine for having me!

Cat Johnson

www.CatJohnson.net