It's Romanticon Madness week with the Cabal of Hotness!

Mornin' all! I'm leaving for Ellora's Cave Romanticon early on Wednesday, as soon as I drop DD off at school. I've never come in this early for a convention - it doesn't officially start til 7pm on Thursday, but I think I'm going to like getting there and settled before the masses descend.

If you've never been to Romanticon, here's what it's all about: fun, and celebrating the genre we all love so much - romance! Sure, the Cavemen are there, and hey, they're hot, but Romanticon isn't about the Cavemen. It's about Ellora's Cave and their books, it's about the authors, and it's about the readers. It's a three-plus day celebration of all that us publishing/reading types hold dear. And that's why it's so awesome.

Last year was my first Romanticon, and I'll admit to some nerves. I didn't know what to expect. But now I do, and I intend to have a great, relaxing time. I know a lot more authors and I hope to meet lots more readers.

Kaener Langford, Shoshanna Evers, and me, last year on Friday night

I want to talk to the publisher, the awesome Raelene Gorlinsky, to find out some of the marketing endeavors Ellora's Cave has coming up. With my background I'm always interested in what the publishers are doing to push our books in this crowded marketplace. I recently did a promotion in conjunction with Ellora's Cave where the first book in my Buckin' Bull Riders series, Impact, was free for two weeks. It was downloaded thousands of times, and I'm hoping to snag some new readers after they read the book. I'm grateful Ellora's Cave gave me the opportunity to do that.

So let's see...what are the highlights of the conference? Don't go by these times, I could be wrong about some of them. I could probably look them up, but I'm running on five hours of sleep, it's 7:45am, and I'm not a morning person.

The Cavemen at the Sunday Night Bingo party. Yes, it's a pajama party.

Thursday, 7pm Meet and Greet - this is the first official event of Romanticon, where all the authors, readers, and Cavemen mingle. There's karaoke, but I'm self-aware enough to know I can't sing and nice enough not to subject people to listening to me.

Friday, 1-2pm Cover Model Shoot - pick two Cavemen, wrag your arms (and hey, legs) around them, and the awesome EC Art Director Syneca Featherstone will snap some pictures. This event is repeated on Saturday at the same time.

Friday, 3-3:50pm Ann Mayburn, me, Cristal Ryder and Piper Trace present Zero to Hero, How to Make Your Hero a Hero in Bed. We're hoping to get some good discussion going here. And Piper is bringing bananas. We can't tell you why.

Friday night New Bollywood party with costumes, dancing, and Cavemen.

Saturday night Old Hollywood party and awards ceremony with costumes, dancing, Cavemen, and lots of lovely awards being given out.

Did I mention that the Cavemen perform? Three times? Oh yeah......

I'm not big on costumes, but I love the ones I have for these parties. I can't wait to see what everyone looks like. And whose saris stay together. I didn't get a sari for New Bollywood night. Knowing me, I'd trip over it and we'd have a dominoes situation. It wouldn't be pretty. People are talking about a really wide variety of costumes for the Old Hollywood party, and they sound really cool.

Sunday, 12-4 Sexporium (aka the big book signing!) with all the authors. I think I'll have two different print books there this year, plus cover flats for three more. Plus, I just might have some special swag for readers who buy a book (or an ebook) that day!

Sunday night Bingo! Look for the lavender basket sponsored by me, Cara Carnes, and Rebecca Royce!

Whew! Then we all drive/fly home on Monday and collapse. Not likely to happen, unfortunately, since many of us have evil day jobs, kids, homes, pets, and husbands (or wives - hey, I'm equal opportunity). We'll sort through our pictures, keeping some for blackmail - did I say that out loud? - and posting some on our websites, blogs, and social media.

The totally awesome Cara Carnes and I at the book signing last year. Can you tell I have a raging migraine?

You can follow the Cabal of Hotness on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CabalofHotness, Ellora's Cave at http://www.twitter.com/EllorasCave, or me at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr. Then there's Facebook. My personal page (where I'll probably post pics since it's way easier from my phone) is https://www.facebook.com/BooksByCassandraCarr?hc_location=stream, Ellora's Cave is https://www.facebook.com/EllorasCavePublishing. Lastly, some authors, readers, and EC itself will be putting stuff up on Pinterest, Instagram...

Hope to see lots of you there! If not, attend virtually.

Ideas - the bane and lifeblood of every writer's existence

It's funny - I rarely remember exactly where I got the specific ideas for my books. They come from so many places. Some pop into my head as I'm writing the book and others are stewing in there for weeks or months. Additionally, if I was smart (and sometimes I am!) I might've written down the idea to get it out of my head.

Some writers are plagued with too many ideas and not enough time. I'm one of those. Others are plagued by the opposite problem - they finish a book and then say "Uhhhh, what next?" But no matter which camp you fall into, your ideas, or as they're known in writing circles, your "high concepts", can make or break your career.

When I decided to write about bull riders, I tried to come up with a unique angle. Other, more well-known authors were already writing about them and I didn't want people to pick up my book, roll their eyes and put it back down. I've mentioned this before but perhaps not here, so I'll go over the story behind my bull rider books again.

Collision, book 2 in the series, was originally book 1. I thought about the idea of two athletes together, but wanted to do something different than, say, a female barrel racer and a male bull rider. I wanted people from two different worlds. How about a figure skater and a bull rider? Bingo! And Collision was born. I wrote Impact, which became book 1 of the series, right after Collision, and honestly, my high concept wasn't as unique. But my readers seem to like the book, so I must've done something right. I have a feeling Conner, the hero, has a lot to do with that. Tall, dark, and smoldering. Yum.

The idea for my most recent release, On Display, didn't even come from me. Picture the scene: Ellora's Cave Romanticon conference, October, 2012. Just in case you don't know, Ellora's Cave hires hot guys to pose for their covers exclusively. They're called Cavemen, and let's just say they can be intimidating when you first meet them. Not because they're not friendly -- they are -- but because these guys are MELT YOU INTO A PUDDLE AT THEIR FEET GORGEOUS.

You can see where that might be frightening. But being the brave little soldier I am, I walked into the meet and greet Thursday night armed with an icebreaker question... "Tell me about something I can put in a book." Well, one particular Caveman, David, told me about two things, both of which are now in books. The first thing was a sexual position and ended up in Velocity, book 4 of my bull rider series, and the cover David is on. Yes, I knew that he'd be my cover model when I wrote the scene with the position he told me about. I ain't no dummy. It's called inspiration. ;-)

The other idea was a little more vague. He mentioned an encounter he'd had in the past against a semi-private fence. That idea festered, and I do mean festered, in my brain for months. Finally I knew I needed to get it out of there since it wouldn't leave me alone. These wonderful, irritating ideas are called plot bunnies. They're like an earworm, only an idea rather than a song. And they can drive a writer crazy. So I wrote On Display, which features a sex scene against a semi-private fence. I think I'm going to have to buy David a drink at this year's Romanticon. Hmmm, maybe he'll give me more ideas if I do...

Cajun Spice Is Nice

Sometimes. Okay, I'm hardly ever "nice". I much prefer being naughty. And why wouldn't I when there are beautiful men to ogle and pretend you're going to lick but then fake it out and ask them for an interview. I didn't do that, by the way. It was all a conference-induced hallucination. I would never lick a complete stranger. No mater how muscular and half-naked they are with their dimples and jeans barely clinging to their butts...


I'm sorry, I got a little sidetracked there. Uh...I didn't try to lick Taylor Cole. It was actually Nick Sota I didn't try to lick, but that isn't the point.

Right. Introducing me. Who is me? Me...I mean, I am a multi-published author with books available through Siren Publishing, Evernight Publishing and Ellora's Cave. It's funny how quickly I transformed from a budding, blushing romance author to raunchy erotic romance writer. Well, maybe not completely raunchy. That didn't happen until I came into contact with the other Cabal members. They sort of influenced my inner raunchy...person. But in six months, I went from blushing while writing sex scenes to writing spoofs of sex scenes. I think Crystal Meth has that kind of reaction time. I don't know for certain, but I'm almost positive the Cabal might be bad for my health.

Okay, fine! I'm a dirty woman! It isn't easy being this naughty, you know. But one day, when I'm a little old lady with a handsome, muscular orderly sitting on her lap, I'll be the one all the young girls envy and want to be like. Why? Because this much awesome doesn't go away over time. It only increases.

Not really.

The truth is, I'm a good bullshitter. I can tell the most absurd statements with a straight face. (Ask those who were present during the sex position readings at RomantiCon 2012.) I like to laugh and have a good time. Drama and I are not friends, unless I'm purposely mocking my teenage relatives. I've lived in south Louisiana all my life and couldn't imagine living anywhere else despite the oppressive heat, the mosquitoes, the hurricanes and the abundant wildlife that can eat you (that's why I don't venture into the swamps alone...I want a 50/50 chance of survival). I love to read, I love to write, I adore ogling mostly naked men. Did I say that already? Damn. Did I mention I've also managed to interview some hotties? Not the street team hotties, either, but this kind of hottie:

Yum.

*looks around* Is this post almost finished? Can I stop yet?

Other than the upcoming Fondled and Gobbled: Someone Had To Do It where I write about bad sex and massive vibrators which comes out February 6, I have an upcoming release with Ellora's Cave for their EC for Men line. The working title is Dean's List and it's h.o.t. Yowsa! Unfortunately I don't have an official cover or blurb or anything yet since it was just accepted last week, but as soon as those details are available, I'll share them with y'all. Because I expect some serious pimping.

*sings Big Pimpin'*

I have lots of other books as well if you want to check them out. Head over to my author's page for more deets. In the meantime, welcome to the Orgy of Insanity, folks!

Oh and before I forget, we're giving away a $100 Amazon gift card this month. Just comment on blog posts and subscribe and...well, there's some official stuff you can read for that.

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