Sunday, April 3, 2011

My Road to Publication

Please welcome special guest author, Cassandra Carr!

One question I get asked a lot is, “How did you come to be published?”. Everyone has a different road, and I was extraordinarily lucky that mine wasn’t as long as some others’ have been. I started writing seriously in 2008. I wrote a contemporary romance titled Should’ve Known Better and started shopping it to agents and editors. I attended a conference in Connecticut (the CT Fiction Fest—highly recommended) and met some more agents and editors, some of whom expressed interest in my novel.

After a while, though, as a writer you need to move on. So while I continued to shop Should’ve Known Better, I began another book. This one was started in July 2009 and was an erotic romance. I titled it Talk to Me, and that’s the book that’s being released by Loose Id as my debut novel. I actually wrote much of the first draft over a three-day writing retreat in early August 2009. I went back to CT Fiction Fest in April 2010, but still wasn’t ready to submit Talk to Me, so I pitched Should’ve Known Better then too. I got some more interest, and I continued to work on Talk to Me.

A writer friend of mine, Miranda Baker (hi Miranda!) read Talk to Me and suggested some fairly major changes. I pored over the changes in my mind for a little while and made those I felt comfortable with. In late September 2010 I submitted Talk to Me to a couple of publishers. I also continued to query agents.

In October 2010 Loose Id contacted me, asking for my full manuscript. I sent it, and in early November Loose Id contacted me again, offering me a contract. I jumped up and down and hyperventilated, and then told Loose Id I had to let the other publishers know about my contract. This is accepted and even expected in the publishing world, and they were fine with it. In the end, I stayed with Loose Id, and now Talk to Me will be released on March 22, 2011.

I never did statistics about how many agents and editors I sent the manuscript to—there are only a few that are important to know , most notably Loose Id, who bought the book.

What questions do you have about the process of getting published? Ask them below and I’ll do the best I can to answer them!

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 Twitter. Her debut novel, Talk to Me, was released by Loose Id on March 22, 2011. For more information about Cassandra, check out her website, "like" her Facebook fan page or follow her on Twitter.


An Excerpt from Talk to Me, © Cassandra Carr

The elevator doors opened, and Drew hurried to unlock his apartment and punch his code into the security pad before continuing straight to his bedroom. He spun and picked Jamie up as she neared the door, and she let out a squeak of protest.

"Drew!"

"What? I'm trying to be romantic. Efficient too." He grinned at her when she struggled to get out of his grip. The way she fought against him both amused and aroused him. "Not so fast," he warned her. "I'm not planning to let you get away until I'm good and finished with you."

Jamie cocked an eyebrow. "Good and finished? Be still my heart! Such dreamy talk from a man like you! I had no idea."

Drew laughed and dropped Jamie on the king-size bed with enough force to make her bounce, then climbed on top of her. Before she could protest again, he'd pressed his erection into her belly and taken her lips in another deep kiss. Jamie melted beneath him, snaking her hands around his neck while his found her hips, pulling her closer. "You need to get naked," he declared, rolling off her.

"Just me? That's hardly fair. If I'm getting naked, then this time, so are you." Her beautiful, full lips pouted at him.

He stood up, and in seconds, his pants and boxer briefs landed in a heap on the floor. He pulled his shirt over his head and added it to the pile. "Your turn."

Jamie rose up on her elbows and stared at him in disbelief. "How did you do that so fast? And may I add, very nice." She smiled and waggled her eyebrows, giving him a quick once-over.

"When I want something, I don't waste time. And I want you naked. Now."

He reached over and started yanking her top over her head, but she batted his hands away.

"Hey—stop that. You're going to dislocate my shoulder with your beastlike strength."

Drew laughed but allowed Jamie to gently pull her blouse over her head. He took it and tossed it on the chair near the window. Next she tugged her jeans off, leaving her in only her bra and panties, which Drew made short work of.

He groaned when she was fully nude. "God, you're fucking gorgeous, you know that? And I'm gonna put my hands and my tongue and my mouth and my cock everywhere on and in your beautiful body, so you better be ready."

Jamie shivered, and he covered her body with his, kissing her briefly before moving down her jawline, sucking and licking. This is gonna be good.

3 comments:

Hot Ash Romance Novels said...

I love this line. "You're going to dislocate my shoulder with your beastlike strength."

LOL. Great hot scene. Congrats on your publication!

Wynter said...

Nice! Congrats on your first release. Good point that the only query that matters is the one that gets you through the door!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Cassandra!
I'm sooo late with my comment, but just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your post...loved the excerpt!! Congratulations on your new release!!