Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 112
June 4, 2014
Ask Andrew - From Idea to Publication
Dear Andrew
How long does it take from idea to publication?
M.I.
Dear M. I.
Thank you for your questions. I chose to answer this one now and hopefully I can get to the others eventually. For me, the idea often comes when I'm working on another story. I let it stew and mull it over as I'm working on a different story. Sometimes, they come to me fully formed and other time the ideas take a while to settle into a story. I do have a notebook and record the ideas so I don't lose them. I will admit that some ideas don't take root while others hit me like a load of bricks.
Once an idea really catches on, I form the basics of the story idea and then it waits for its turn to be told. Depending on where I am in my writing, that can be one to two months. Once I start work on a story, the actual writing takes me about three weeks or so to complete the initial draft. Then I go on to another story and let that one clear from my mind. Beta readers get a chance to look at it, and then I make revisions and begin the process of preparing the story for submission. The post writing process takes about a month and then I submit.
Basically, the story I an writing right now is for March of 2015. I like to be working eight to nine months ahead of publication. I can tell you that this varies by author. Some need pressure and work closer to deadline. I like to avoid that if possible.
Hugs and love always
Andrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.
So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
How long does it take from idea to publication?
M.I.
Dear M. I.
Thank you for your questions. I chose to answer this one now and hopefully I can get to the others eventually. For me, the idea often comes when I'm working on another story. I let it stew and mull it over as I'm working on a different story. Sometimes, they come to me fully formed and other time the ideas take a while to settle into a story. I do have a notebook and record the ideas so I don't lose them. I will admit that some ideas don't take root while others hit me like a load of bricks.
Once an idea really catches on, I form the basics of the story idea and then it waits for its turn to be told. Depending on where I am in my writing, that can be one to two months. Once I start work on a story, the actual writing takes me about three weeks or so to complete the initial draft. Then I go on to another story and let that one clear from my mind. Beta readers get a chance to look at it, and then I make revisions and begin the process of preparing the story for submission. The post writing process takes about a month and then I submit.
Basically, the story I an writing right now is for March of 2015. I like to be working eight to nine months ahead of publication. I can tell you that this varies by author. Some need pressure and work closer to deadline. I like to avoid that if possible.
Hugs and love always
Andrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
June 1, 2014
New Release: All of Me by Cardeno C. & Contest!
My new shifter novella, All of Me, is now available at Dreamspinner and Amazon and All Romance.Blurb: Bonded by their parents before they were conceived, Abel Nasa and Zakai “Kai” Berura adored each other since they were children. As teens, the two future Alphas took the next step in their bonding process and vowed to remain true to one another until Kai came of age. But when tragedy struck, Abel felt
betrayed and ran from Kai instead of completing the mating bond.
Years pass with no contact between the two, but Abel never stops yearning for the man who was supposed to lead by his side. When Kai returns, broken and on death’s door, Abel must look past what he saw and trust his heart so they can fulfill their destiny and merge their packs.
And I'm having a contest! Come up w/ a new tagline for my website www.cardenoc.com & win my Mates series (including In Your Eyes before the July 14th release date). Use #CCTag on twitter or FB to enter.
Have a great week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com
New Release: All of Me by Cardeno C.
My new shifter novella, All of Me, is now available at Dreamspinner and Amazon and All Romance.Blurb: Bonded by their parents before they were conceived, Abel Nasa and Zakai “Kai” Berura adored each other since they were children. As teens, the two future Alphas took the next step in their bonding process and vowed to remain true to one another until Kai came of age. But when tragedy struck, Abel felt
betrayed and ran from Kai instead of completing the mating bond.
Years pass with no contact between the two, but Abel never stops yearning for the man who was supposed to lead by his side. When Kai returns, broken and on death’s door, Abel must look past what he saw and trust his heart so they can fulfill their destiny and merge their packs.
Have a great week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com
Out Today: Total Immersion
I'm super excited about this story light, humorous new adult story, part of the Daily Dose "Mended" anthology of hurt/care stories. Evan is hurting from an injury and a breakup, Bale is kind of on a search to find himself after breaking up with his high school sweetheart. They wind up rooming together on a trip through Turkey and Greece, and getting immersed in more than just the local culture. I hope you enjoy: About Total Immersion: Evan Stanton is in over his head. Injured from a fall on campus, he’s let his boyfriend talk him into a senior year total immersion trip—two weeks abroad—only his boyfriend ends up dumping him shortly before takeoff. Evan gets on the plane anyway, but he’s lost his hope and added to his pain. Chris Bale decided to spend his senior year of college clearing his head after breaking up with the girl he's dated since high school. He finds himself on a flight to Istanbul next to a surly kid with piercings and guyliner who couldn't be more his opposite. They strike up a friendship anyway, and as they make their way across a foreign land, Bale realizes he’s too immersed in Evan to let go. Find it: Amazon | Dreamspinner Press | Get the entire Mended anthology Excerpt:
“Evan, check it out!” Two of the girls from our group were looking through high-heeled shoes at a table. Next to them, Bale held up a small jar. You’d think it was a trophy. “Penis-enhancement cream!”
The two girls, Tamara and Susan, they giggled and looked at him like he belonged in a zoo. Bale sure didn’t seem to care. You’d think he won a competition. I’d say I couldn’t believe he shouted that shit from two tables away, but after asking the guy selling lacy thongs if they had any in his size and telling the dude at the baklava shop he’d like his pastry with extra nuts? I kind of can.
Turns out Captain Khaki has a bright, shiny freak flag.
I shook my head and made my way over. “Jesus, man. You’re gonna get us thrown in a Turkish prison or something.”
“I’m pretty sure they don’t really do that as often as rumor would have you believe.” He held up the jar. The label showed a grinning old man with a massively huge boner. “So. Whatcha think?”
“I think God only knows what’s in there, and it better never get anywhere near my dick.”
Bale tsked and shot me a scowl. “You know, for a guy who wears studded belts and eyeliner, I’d expect you to be more adventurous.” He reached up and flipped my hair out of my eyes. I hate when people do that, and I’d have said so if I wasn’t in the middle of an argument about penis cream.
~ ~ ~
Thank you for checking out Total Immersion. I hope you enjoy, and happy reading!
Find it: Amazon | Dreamspinner Press | Get the entire Mended anthology
May 28, 2014
Honor and Courage
Memorial Day has just passed, and I'd like to take a moment to appreciate and acknowledge our soldiers, of every branch of the military and of every rank.
Each of you is someone's child, or sibling, or spouse, or parent. Each of you is valued and cherished for your service and commitment to preserving our freedoms and protecting, with honor and courage, the way of life that you and those of use not in service enjoy.
So I really just want to say thank you to all the serving, discharged, retired and deceased warriors who put their lives on the line serving a greater calling than some of us have ever known.
Your perseverance humbles me. Your determination motivates me. Your dedication inspires me.
There is no better example of these traits than Travis Mills, in my opinion. Here's a little bit about him, from Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" fame: http://www.today.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-dirty-jobs-host-inspired-after-meeting-amputee-vet-2D79719761
And here's Travis Mills' website, with information about him and his foundation which assists wounded and injured veterans and their families: http://www.travismills.org/about/
To those reading this who have lost friends and loved ones to war, I'm so very, very sorry for your loss. I am also incredibly grateful for their service and sacrifice.
~Tis
Each of you is someone's child, or sibling, or spouse, or parent. Each of you is valued and cherished for your service and commitment to preserving our freedoms and protecting, with honor and courage, the way of life that you and those of use not in service enjoy.
So I really just want to say thank you to all the serving, discharged, retired and deceased warriors who put their lives on the line serving a greater calling than some of us have ever known.
Your perseverance humbles me. Your determination motivates me. Your dedication inspires me.
There is no better example of these traits than Travis Mills, in my opinion. Here's a little bit about him, from Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" fame: http://www.today.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-dirty-jobs-host-inspired-after-meeting-amputee-vet-2D79719761
And here's Travis Mills' website, with information about him and his foundation which assists wounded and injured veterans and their families: http://www.travismills.org/about/
To those reading this who have lost friends and loved ones to war, I'm so very, very sorry for your loss. I am also incredibly grateful for their service and sacrifice.
~Tis
Ask Andrew - Loving the Ladies of MM
Dear Andrew
I wanted to know what your feelings are on so many women writing Gay romance and do you feel they do a credible job in depicting the male/male relationship as you know it from a successful and happy relationship yourself, and what do you think of having so many women buying and reading your work, do you think we are just voyeurs peeking into your world? I have read a few comments on FB dealing with gay authors being upset about this "trend" and I value your opinion.
Sincerely,
Cheryl
Dear Cheryl,
This is a question I get asked quite a lot. First, I'd like to answer the part about women authors. I read a lot of Gay romance and most of what I read is by my favorite women authors. To be fair I also read work by male authors and I enjoy both very much. I have been reading Gay Romance for 7 years now and early on it was easy to tell if the author was a man or a woman simply by the way certain things relating to sex and gay men were written. (The whole chicks with dicks phenomenon) That has changed drastically and its often impossible for me to tell any longer and quite frankly I don't care. If the story is good, it doesn't matter the gender of the person who wrote it.
Now as for women reading my work, I say hallelujah and send a hug to each and every one of you. Women reading gay romance are what keep the genre viable. Without the women readers gay romance wouldn't exist and that's a fact. There were a number of early publishers of gay romance , decades ago. They marketed to gay men and folded fairly quickly. It wasn't until women discovered the genre and began reading and publishing that it really took off.
I would like to add one more thing. Gay romance and the women authors and readers have helped spread the message of tolerance, understanding, and acceptance for gay people everywhere. As a result DADT is gone, DOMA id dead, and marriage equality is quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. So I love my lady authors and my lady readers. Write on! Read on! And I'll get off my soapbox. :)
Hugs and Love
Andrew
Andrew's own marriage equality celebration. October 26, 2013. I love cake! And the woman in the picture is my mom. She looks startled, but I think she's hungry.... for cake!!!!
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.
So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
I wanted to know what your feelings are on so many women writing Gay romance and do you feel they do a credible job in depicting the male/male relationship as you know it from a successful and happy relationship yourself, and what do you think of having so many women buying and reading your work, do you think we are just voyeurs peeking into your world? I have read a few comments on FB dealing with gay authors being upset about this "trend" and I value your opinion.
Sincerely,
Cheryl
Dear Cheryl,
This is a question I get asked quite a lot. First, I'd like to answer the part about women authors. I read a lot of Gay romance and most of what I read is by my favorite women authors. To be fair I also read work by male authors and I enjoy both very much. I have been reading Gay Romance for 7 years now and early on it was easy to tell if the author was a man or a woman simply by the way certain things relating to sex and gay men were written. (The whole chicks with dicks phenomenon) That has changed drastically and its often impossible for me to tell any longer and quite frankly I don't care. If the story is good, it doesn't matter the gender of the person who wrote it.
Now as for women reading my work, I say hallelujah and send a hug to each and every one of you. Women reading gay romance are what keep the genre viable. Without the women readers gay romance wouldn't exist and that's a fact. There were a number of early publishers of gay romance , decades ago. They marketed to gay men and folded fairly quickly. It wasn't until women discovered the genre and began reading and publishing that it really took off.
I would like to add one more thing. Gay romance and the women authors and readers have helped spread the message of tolerance, understanding, and acceptance for gay people everywhere. As a result DADT is gone, DOMA id dead, and marriage equality is quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. So I love my lady authors and my lady readers. Write on! Read on! And I'll get off my soapbox. :)
Hugs and Love
Andrew
Andrew's own marriage equality celebration. October 26, 2013. I love cake! And the woman in the picture is my mom. She looks startled, but I think she's hungry.... for cake!!!!
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
May 26, 2014
May 21, 2014
Ask Andrew - Andrew and Dominic's HEA
Hey Andrew
Which of your books reflect you and Dominic? During your writings which of your HEAs most reflect you and Dominic?
Mary M.
Hey Mary
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The truthful answer to your questions is that almost all of HEA's reflect Dominic and I. The two of us were both lucky enough to have a great romance and that is reflected in some way in almost all the books I write. I love him more than anything. However I will let you in on a little secret. The book that Dominic and I had the most fun with is The Best Revenge. Research is a wonderful thing and I was new at writing sex scenes, so he and I would try then out... so to speak. There was one particular shower scene that Dominic and I had particular fun, getting clean, then dirty, and finally clean again. :) I think we both ended up dropping the soap at one point or other. Whoever said research was boring wasn't investigating the right subject.Anyway, I digressed a little. If there is one story that reflects Dominic and I the closest, I suggest the free story Copping a Sweetest Day Feel. This was written based in a true Sweetest Day incident. Here is a link for you.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2202
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
May 18, 2014
Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia by Cardeno C.
Time got away from me this year so I didn't write a post for the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia, but I want to point you to the great bloggers who participated. You can find their links here.Have a great week.
CC
www.cardenoc.com
May 14, 2014
Introducing - Ask Andrew
As a new contributor to Café Risqué, I wanted to come up with something interesting to do on an ongoing basis. I gave it some thought and decided to try a recurring feature. Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. These questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. Let's have some fun with this. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.
So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
