Win a Book! Come Play with Cassandra Carr
Welcome an awesome lady, author Cassandra Carr. She’s not only playing with us today, but she’s giving away a copy of her book.
What are your biggest pet peeves as a reader?
As a writer, I have a lot of pet peeves – most writers do. I think that may be due to writers being observant – little details do not escape our notice. The mile-high pile of dishes, on the other hand, conveniently will. Our laundry walks itself into the washer – it’s the only hope it has of getting done. But I digress…
Some of my pet peeves:
- Weird character names – if I have to keep stopping to think about how the character’s name is pronounced it takes me out of the story. That may be one reason I’m not a huge fan of fantasy/sci-fi.
- Breaks in continuity – we’ve all done it and I’m as guilty as the next writer, but if they keep on happening in an MS I really wonder how the author’s attention to detail. It makes me look at who published the book and possibly who the editor was.
- “Throw the book across the room” moments – I came across one very recently. The heroine was planning to leave her two children at a ball field where they were practicing without saying goodbye or telling them where she was going, so she could have coffee with the hero, WHO SHE’D JUST MET. File that under “author does not have children” and “heroine too stupid to live”.
- Too much description – I find that especially sci-fi and historical romance authors can be the biggest offenders here. While I am aware that a sci-fi author may be trying to build a world, or a historical romance author wants the reader to be transported back in time, enough is enough. I do not need four straight pages of description with no breaks for dialogue.
Well, I’m sure I could come up with others, but I’ll let you do that! Tell me what your pet peeves are. One random commenter will win a copy of my book. (Winner will be drawn on Wednesday, the 20th). Get talkin’!
Talk To Me Out Now
BUY LINK: http://www.loose-id.com/Talk-to-Me.aspx
Excerpt:
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.
BUY LINK: http://www.loose-id.com/Talk-to-Me.aspx
BIO:
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 at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com, “like” her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr.
Spread the Word
Posted on April 17, 2011, in Contests, Excerpts, Guest Blogger, Guests and tagged Author Pet Peeves, Cassandra Carr, Giveaways, Guest Blogger, Talk To Me. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Amber Kallyn 
My biggesr pet peeve is that most of the time the heroine isn’t human enough. In YA when a boyfriend ckeats the girl gets mad and gets even or if a couple can’t be together they just go on their happy way and live with it. Why can’t a character cry when she loses the love of her life. Agents want strong characters. I just think you can cry and still have a strong character. Every High school bathroom has seen more than its share of bawling teen girls who have lost a first love…
Anna – thank you so much for your perspective! I couldn’t agree more – sometimes the people with the strongest character are the ones who aren’t afraid to cry. My heroines all cry at one time or another – who wouldn’t if they’ve been hurt? I appreciate you stopping by and commenting!
— Cassandra
I completely agree with your great list Cassandra.
I would add THE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING plot device.
I have no patience for characters who don’t talk to each other, and chapters go by with the big stupid thing hanging over their heads. Great dialogue can add so much to a story, so please give me smart characters who actually communicate, lol.
Plus poor editing totally takes me out of the story and is really annoying.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
Cathy- I couldn’t agree more with the big misunderstanding and poor editing. The big misunderstanding annoys me too – it reminds me of “Three’s Company” – which my sister nicknamed “Misunderstanding”. Ugh. Such a cop-out plot device.
Thanks for telling me your pet peeves!
— Cassandra
One of my biggest pet peeves is during sex dialog. They get all eloquent and meaningful, who does that? Usually, it’s gasping exclamations of delight or direction. Who gives flowery speeches during sex? If my husband feels chatty, I tell him to shut up. I don’t wanna TALK!
Loved the scene! Can’t wait to read it! Aside from the peeves you mentioned, I also hate scenes with annoying and unnecessary dialogue. And corny descriptions of sex. You can definitely tell when an author is uncomfortable writing a sex scene or doesn’t know how to do it properly.
Dellanioakes: YES, this. Nobody is giving a dissertation during sex. They’re having sex – that’s it.
Stephanie: The corny descriptions of sex crack me up! My mom (who’s also a writer) sent me a couple of lines of dialogue from a book she was reading that described the heroine’s nipples as little cherries and how the hero wanted to eat them. Turned me off to cherries, I gotta tell you…
Thanks for stopping over, ladies!
— Cassandra
I usually pretty easy going when it comes to my reading. I would be the worst critic. The one thing that throws me out of the book, is when the names are mixed up. I’ve seen this a couple times in the series I read. I actually have to look back in the previous book to make sure I’m not the one that missed something.
JoAnna – I know exactly what you mean! I saw that in an excerpt today! I mean, how hard is it to make sure that a couple-paragraph excerpt is correct?
Thanks for commenting!
— Cassandra
Besides the pet peeves you’ve mentioned above I hate it when there’s a “gap” in the plotting. You know, like one minute they were walking down a street and the next they’re sitting in a car without the getting in the car being mentioned. Drives me crazy! 🙂 I love the excerpt! Makes me want to read more!
ClaudiGC — I call that teleportation. Like they just closed their eyes and were in another place, and yes, that can be jarring. Thanks for the complement on the excerpt and for commenting!
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