Thursday, March 3, 2011

Skin Game

by Cara McKenna

I gots news! A couple of weeks ago I sold a new erotic novel to Ellora's Cave…a long one. Long like, if it were a paperback it'd be pushing 500 pages. Anyhow, it's called Skin Game, and although I don't yet have an official blurb written up or a cover to share, here's the gist:

Twelve strangers travel to the wilds of interior Alaska to go head-to-head in a series of physical and psychological challenges. As they compete, they'll be monitored and taped and analyzed by a team of unseen "doctors", and at the end of the battle royale-style competition, the last man or woman standing will walk away with half a million dollars. Naturally, all that adrenaline and animosity also results in a bunch of gritty m/f sexx0ring in the woods.

I love this story. I don't know if all of my readers will…it's very different from my other erotica titles, which have all been all fairly quiet and intimate. This one is complex and chock full o' plot, stars seven and a half point-of-view characters, and features a mix of romance and intrigue and occasional hate f*cking between consenting adults. It's being released under EC's Exotika line, but I must say, I think it's got a properly happy ending…which isn't something I can always guarantee. Then again, depending on which characters readers are rooting for to win, they may disagree. I'll take my chances. It took me ages to write, largely because intricate plotting and I do not mix…not without a lot of screaming and hair-pulling and heavy drinking, anyhow.

But to celebrate the sale, I'm going to play my favorite author game—Fantasy Casting Couch! Here are the folks I had in mind as I wrote my magnum opus, those playing the roles of the seven lead characters in the movie inside my noggin:


1. Jason Statham as Daisey, the unapologetic meathead.
2. Rachel Bilson as Mac, the good-natured go-getter.
3. Jessica Szohr as Leah, the easy-target fish out of water.
4. Martin Freeman as Rory, the seemingly mild-mannered Kiwi.
5. Ken Leung as Pike, the broody, snarky army medic.
6. Kate Winslet as Chloe, the cutthroat man-eater.
7. Jakob Dylan as Ian, Glasgow's handsomest sociopath.

Looking forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks. Thanks for visiting!

9 comments:

Shoshanna Evers said...

Congrats on your new contract! Sounds like an exciting book!

Cara McKenna said...

Thanks, Shoshanna!

Wynter said...

Congratulations on the new sale - sounds like it will b e awesome!

Michelle Polaris said...

I am so incredibly excited for this book. I love intricate plot. Sorry it's so torturous for you.I'm sure you're hair survived. Yay!

Penny Watson said...

This sounds great, and I love your starring cast. Lots of guys have beards in Alaska. Just sayin'.

:^)

Cara McKenna said...

Michelle makes writing epic erotic masterpieces with intricate plots look so easy. The bitch.

Cara McKenna said...

Sorry to break it to you, Penny, but none of the characters are actually Alaskan. Though the men do all need a good shave by the end of the week-long competition.

Hot Ash Romance Novels said...

Congrats on the sale, Cara!

Sounds like the kind of books I'm trying to write now. Single titles are haaaaard!

Dalton Diaz said...

So, since Jason Stratham is already mentally cast as a meathead, any chance there's a shirtless pic available for viewing?

The story sounds fascinating, and I can understand all of the hair pulling, etc. 12 characters, holy cow!