SHADES OF GRAY
Go to the shelves of your local library and you will find books clearly separated into two main categories—Fiction and Non-Fiction. Biography? Non-Fiction. Romance novel? Fiction. Easy, right? The delineation is clear, like black and white… Or is it? I would argue that the clear line gets a little fuzzy in many cases, making what should be black and white more like shades of gray.
Do we all remember when Oprah whole-heartedly endorsed the ‘factual” memoir by James Frey, A Million Little Pieces, which embarrassingly for both the talk show maven and the book’s publisher Random House turned out to be as much fiction as fact? Shades of gray.
My point is this…fiction can contain fact, just as fact can contain fiction, and that is exactly what I try to do in my own romance novels. Of course there is research and accuracy in the facts, which is a part of every writer’s life to a certain extent, no matter what the genre. But I am also talking about the human element. It is this realism, the shades of gray, that I strive for in my fiction, whether it be the reality of war through a soldier’s eyes which I infuse into my military romances, or the adrenaline rush a cowboy gets each time he puts his life on the line to make a living in the rodeo, like in my new ménage release Rough Stock. So yes, my romance novels are fiction, but in A Prince Among Men when Sgt Ryan Pettit is pondering a field of poppies in Afghanistan, knowing the Taleban will harvest all that beauty and turn it into heroin to sell to buy arms with which to kill American soldiers, that is the gray reality in a world that will never be simply black and white. (Note to Random House—I am available. Call me!)
Cat Johnson
Author Site:
www.catjohnson.net
www.myspace.com/authorcatjohnson
Rough Stock Blurb
Bronc riders Mason and Clay have shared both good times and bad, but they never expected to share their boss’ daughter, April. Can two friends love one woman, body and soul, without it destroying them?The heart wants what it wants. For April that means not choosing between the two cowboys she loves, no matter how wrong it may seem inviting them both into her bed. But can the relationship survive when life sends the three lovers in opposite directions?
Filled with hot sex, passion, and realistic characters, and set amid the world of rodeo where life is lived eight seconds at a time, Rough Stock sends author Cat Johnson galloping full speed into the tantalizing realm of ménage romance
Book Link
http://www.lindenbayromance.com/product-roughstock-7245-146.html
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Hey everyone! Please leave a comment for Cat, she's going to be stopping by here and there throughout the day. And you're going to want to hear more about her sexy military boys, let me tell you!
Also, I'm being featured today at Ecataromance.com so come visit.
13 comments:
I have to agree about the gray. It makes for interesting times though.
I like the sound of your new release. I have a real thing for cowboys and rodeos at the moment, and I have NO idea why. :)
Thanks for stopping by, Shelley. And I wholeheartedly agree, I love cowboys too, so much so I bought myself one! Well...I sponsor his bullriding career, at least. Hehe.
Cat
I really enjoyed Rough Stock. I am looking forward to picking up some more of your work!
Natasha A.
Hi Cat! Um, I don't have to tell you how much I love your military guys, right? You know this already?
Although I haven't had a chance to get Rough Stock yet, I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, and it was so cool to "meet" your bullrider, or at least I chatted with him for a few minutes when I was on Romance Radio.
Can you tell us what you'll be working on in the new year?
First, Thanks Tasha. So glad you enjoyed Rough Stock. It was really fun to write.
Next-- A big thank you to you, JK, for hosting me today. And you are right, sometimes my bullriding cowboy will pop into the Chat room when I'm on the What's Hot in Romance Blog Talk Radio show on Monday nights (where I interviewed JK a few months ago). I have a show tonight, actually. I was just researching the guest authors when I decided to pop over here.
So, what am I working on now? Another cowboy threesome to follow up Rough Stock. When I finished Rough Stock, my editor and I both had a feeling it would be a big seller. You really can't go wrong with either the cowboy or the multi-partner genre, so I decided to jump right into another book even before Rough Stock was released. Good thing too. Rough Stock has been the #1 Best Seller at Linden Bay Romance for about 2 weeks now, and is currently #8 on the All Romance eBooks Top Ten, so I am glad I contracted not one, but TWO more cowboy books for 2009.
But I have not abandoned my hot military guys. Those books have a place in my heart and apparently in the hearts of my readers too. My first military book, Trilogy No. 103: Red Hot & Blue still outsells some of my newer releases, and Model Soldier is up for a CAPA award. So as soon as I get these cowboys written I'm hoping to write another military romance. By then my soldier muse may be deployed again and I'll have some exciting new military details (not that I'm hoping for him to deploy. I prefer him home safe!) But I'll keep you all informed. Never fear!
Oh, and I've tried my hand at paranormal recently and I have a HOT Greek God story, Erato, just out with Tease Publishing (available at All Romance eBooks). That was a lot of fun. So different to write than the military or cowboy contemporaries. I kind of feel like I can take more chances when writing about ancient gods. They can get really naughty!
Cat
Hi Cat, I am fasinated with your Rough Stock. It sounds great.
I am so glad you have jumped into the Samhain cafe so quickly, and so very nicely. I am really looking forward to reading your books.
Sandie
Thanks, Sandie.
The wonderful readers, authors and mods at the Samhain Cafe have made me and my other Linden Bay authors feel incredibly welcome. I can't wait to release my NEXT cowboy book under the new Linden Bay/Samhain banner in 2009.
Cat
Hi Sandie!
It's so great that you stopped by!
I too am really excited about having my next books coming out with the strength and support of Samhain behind them!
I completely agree with you, Cat. We need the grey areas in fiction. Sure, we reasearch our hearts out to make the story as accurate as possible, but in the ned, a romance novel should take the reader away from reality and forget if only for a few moments about the world around us.
And bravo to you for stepping into a menage. You have more guts than I do. :)
Hmmm, let me clarify Shiela's statement... I have stepped into writing menage romance novels...
As tempting as the soldier and the cowboy both are, I haven't gone THAT far with researching my books...yet.
Hehehe.
Thanks for stopping by, Shiela!
(FYI- the cowboy popped in and was lurking to see what I was writing about him so I better watch what I say. LOL)
Cat
LOL, I was wondering if you would say something about my comment, Cat. I just couldn't resist. LOL
hehehe Shiela. When have I ever resisted a snappy comeback.
AND while I am here, did everyone see the news last night? I wrote this blog about fake memoirs last week and sent it to JK to post on the 29th, and the day it posted the news hit about another faked Oprah-endorsed memoir. How is that for coincidence?
Freaky!
Cat
LOL, Cat I did see that one. The one about the holocaust survivor's love story.
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