Today I have a terrific guest. I met Cara Bristol through the SciFi Romance Group on Facebook--a great place to meet new authors and learn about their books.
Welcome, Cara.Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been
a newspaper reporter, a public relations manager, and an author. I absolutely
love being an author. It’s the best gig in the world. I’m married with two grown stepkids. When I’m not writing, my
husband and I enjoy traveling and have been all over the world. In November,
we’ll be going on a European river cruise. To unwind, I read, walk 4-5 five
miles every day, and watch reality TV shows (my guilty pleasure).
"Dancing With The Stars" is my guilty pleasure. When you're not off gallivanting around the world or watching reality TV, what is your work schedule like
when you're writing?
I get up about 5:30 a.m. and hit the computer. I spend an
hour on email, FB, checking my blog, etc., then I start writing. I write until
about 4 p.m. with breaks for breakfast, showering, and lunch. I try to write 2K
a day. My work time also includes promotional activities besides writing, but
writing always comes first.
How long does it take you to
write a book?
Most of my books are novellas, 30K to 50K words. The first draft
takes about month, then it takes another month to revise, edit, and polish. So
two months.
Are your stories driven by plot
or character?
Character. For me, character drives the plot. When you put the
“right” two characters together, the story practically writes itself. I’ve paired
a feminist with a Dom (Body Politics), an Alpha commander with a slave
(Breeder), a maid with billionaire (Irresistible Attractions) and an alien who
hates Terrans with an earthling (Terran). The story evolves out of the natural
conflict that ensues.
How do you balance a life outside
of writing with deadlines and writing muses?
I’m still working on this one! I
don’t have good balance. Work is consuming, partly because I love it so much,
and partly because there’s so much that needs to be done.
If I was a first time reader of
your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?
Good question! I’ve
written and published 22 titles. I would recommend readers start with Stranded with the Cyborg (SFR), Goddess’s Curse (SFR/fantasy), or Longing (paranormal). I’m known for my “spanking” romances, and the
books I’ve listed while being erotic, do not
contain spanking. If someone wants a “gritty” sci-fi romance, I recommend the Breeder series (Breeder, Terran, Warrior). And if they want to try a spanking romance, start with Stolen Moments. It’s a light romantic
comedy about a wife who’s jealous of the time her husband spends writing romance novels.
What do you hope readers take
with them after reading your work?
I hope they find the characters unforgettable.
That they like the heroine and fall in love with the hero. That they continue
to think about the book after they’ve finished it, and they recommend it to
their friends. And then they buy another book of mine! J
Ditto. Tell us about your latest book.
Stranded with the Cyborg is a science fiction erotic romance. Brock
used to be a secret service agent assigned to protect the president’s teenage
daughter, Penelope. She was a spoiled brat who pretty much made his life hell
and got him kicked off the force. After being severely injured in an attack,
Brock is transformed into a cyborg and joins the covert Cyber Operations force.
The story begins when the president’s daughter has grown up and become an
interplanetary ambassador. She has received a death threat, and Brock is called
in to protect her. Neither one of them is happy to see the other, and she
doesn’t know he’s cyborg.
Stranded with the Cyborg blurb
Penelope Aaron,
the former Terran president’s daughter, regrets how she got Agent Brock Mann
booted from the security force. But now that she’s an interplanetary ambassador
about to embark on her first diplomatic mission, she still doesn’t want him
tagging along. Especially since he seems to be stronger, faster, more muscled,
and sexier than she remembers. And pretending to be her husband? This mission
couldn’t get more impossible!
Ten years ago
Penelope Isabella Aaron had been a pain in Brock Mann’s you-know-what. Much has
changed in a decade: “PIA” as he code-named her, has grown up and is about to
attend her first Alliance
of Planets summit conference, and Brock has been transformed into a cyborg
after a near-fatal attack. Now a secret agent with Cyber Operations, a covert
paramilitary organization, Brock gets called in, not when the going gets tough,
but when the going gets impossible. So when he’s unexpectedly assigned to
escort Penelope to the summit meeting, he balks at babysitting a prissy
ambassador. But after a terrorist bombing, a crash landing on a hostile planet,
and a growing attraction to his protectee, Operation: PIA may become his most
impossible assignment yet.
Excerpt
“Ten years have
passed. Penelope is different now,” Carter said.
Brock doubted
that. “Does she know about me?”
“That you’re a
cyborg? Of course not. She hasn’t been told anything about the program or even
that you’re the one who’s been assigned to her.”
“Yeah, spring it
on her. That will go over well.” He could envision the tantrum, and, after she
calmed down, the scheme she would devise to circumvent the decision. The last
time he’d seen her, she’d been emerging from his quarters half-dressed, a
triumphant smile tilting her lips. Shortly thereafter, two fellow agents had
come to arrest him.
President Aaron
had exonerated him, the transcripts from the investigation had been sealed, and
he’d been offered reassignment. Instead, he’d taken a position with an
anti-terrorist investigative organization. His unit got attacked; his fellow
operatives had died. Carter, who’d been working with Cy-Ops all along, had
swooped in and saved his ass.
“I’m not saying
I’ll do it, but, hypothetically, if I had a computer meltdown and agreed, what
would be my cover story? I couldn’t tag along as her bodyguard because that would
unsettle the Xenians.”
Carter poured
another shot of Cerinian brandy and downed it. He met Brock’s gaze dead-on.
“You’d accompany Ambassador Aaron as her husband.”
“Oh, hell no!”
Stranded With The Cyborg is available at:
Love that excerpt, Cara! One last question.Where can readers find you?
On my
blog and Facebook. I also recommend readers sign up for my author newsletter.
That’s the best place to get info about new releases, contests, and freebies.
Thanks so much, Cara, for being here today and sharing Stranded With The Cyborg with us. Best wishes!
