Beth Kery interview + giveaway of Release *updated* *CLOSED*

I would like to welcome Beth Kery, the author of Release! Thank you so much for stopping by.

I am also giving away a copy of Release

1.If your email is not included in your profile then leave it here, or you can email me it.

2. If you already have the book or do not want to be included please say so.

3. Open worldwide.
4. Ends March 10th

Ok my first author interview ;)

Uh oh, the pressure is on. I hope I do a good first for you.

Tell me something about yourself, so we get a better understanding about the woman behind the author:

Well, I live and work in downtown Chicago and consider myself a city girl. When I’m not writing, I like to venture out to museums and historical neighborhoods. I also enjoy traveling. I love to soak in experiences and am always looking for story ideas. I come from a family of scientists, and so I’m acting a bit of the rebel by writing romance novels. J I have a brilliant husband who likes to tell me I’m a walking paradox. I think he means it as a compliment…I hope anyway…


What kinds of books do you read, any fave authors?

In the romance arena, I enjoy Julie James, Sandra Brown and Sarah McCarty, among many, many others. I don’t get to read as often as I did when I wasn’t writing. I dream about vacations where I can sit lake or Oceanside and just read.


I have read that many authors like to listen to music while they write. Do you do this, and if so then what kinds of music?

I don’t listen to music while I write. However, music has often inspired me for books…usually while I’m in the car driving and stuck in traffic. I’m a huge Soundgarden and Audio Slave fan, but I like a variety of music. My parents love music, and I’m the youngest of five, so I was exposed to a lot of different genres and bands growing up. 

Your newest book is called Release; can you tell me what it is about?

Release is a really intense love story between a man and a woman who fall in love at the wrong time and place. When the husband of the woman offers to share her in bed one night with the hero, the two are too tempted after months of longing to say ‘no’. What follows is a scorching night of passion, but regret comes at the end because of the circumstances. When the husband of the heroine is murdered five days after the ménage a troi, both the hero and heroine are terrified that the other killed him. They are torn apart, even as they both try to protect the other from the police and prosecution. The book begins three years later, when the h/h are thrown together during the blizzard of the century, and their passion erupts again, stronger than ever. But an old, lethal threat—and the truth—is surfacing as well…


What else have you written?

I started writing erotic romance at Ellora’s Cave in 2007. Since then, I’ve also published with Samhain. My first Berkley book, Wicked Burn, came out in December of 2008, followed by Daring Time, Sweet Restraint, Paradise Rules (all in 2009) and Release in 2010. I have a novel called Velvet Cataclysm coming out in May from Samhain Publishing and a book titled Explosive due out in December from Berkley Heat.

 
Did you always want to write?

I do remember when I was really young, my mother, who is an educator, had a peer who had me write a little story and do my own crayon drawing illustrations. It was part of a graduate student education project for her. Afterwards, this lovely woman bound it by hand. I was stunned that she’d made it into a little book! That really amazed me, as I was an avid reader. Maybe that incident stuck with me, even though I really didn’t start writing until 2006 or so.


I can see that you have written in many genres, from suspense, historical to paranormal. Is there any genre or subgenre that your heart belongs in?

Well…I’m a bit of a tramp with my heart when it comes to genres. J I love doing contemporaries, and it’s probably been my most regular genre. However, paranormals are also a favorite—both to read and write. I have a paranormal vampire novel coming out from Samhain in May called Velvet Cataclysm, the first in the Princes of the Underground series, which I’m very excited about. I also love anything to do with gothic mansions, ghosts, ESP, etc. I find it extremely romantic. I’ve also enjoyed writing the few historicals I’ve done—especially Fire Angel, because I got to do a woman with psychic powers in late Victorian London, which is a favorite topic and time period of mine.


Any advice for wannabe writers?

I give this advice pretty often, but I believe in it completely: if you want to be a published author, you’ve got to write. Don’t wait for the muse to strike you; give her an offering of your words and she’ll bless you. I get the impression from a lot of writers who want to publish that they second guess themselves a lot, which is normal. You have to push past the doubts, though, and the best way to do that is to just sit down at the keyboard and write a prescribed number of words daily, without fail. No amount of books you read on writing, no amount of talking to other writers, no amount of studying others’ work is going to get you what you need, which is product. I recommend shooting for a certain word count every day and writing down your daily progress in a notebook. If you need someone to keep you on the up and up, report your progress to a writer-friend, and have her or him do the same to you in return.

I had someone say to me once when it comes to writing and finishing a project…you gotta eat your vegetables.

Writing is a discipline. It’s art too, but trust me. The muse likes to see some results…and sweat.

Sigh.


I recently read about an author who gets up really early and start writing, before going to her day job. When and where do you like to write?

It depends. I have a varied schedule throughout the week. When I’m on a deadline, I have to get in word count, though, no matter how hectic my schedule is.


Who is your favorite hero or heroine from your books? What makes them so special?

Difficult to say…I’d probably say Niall and Vic from Wicked Burn. I acquired an agent with WB, and I first got published with it in the New York market. I think Niall’s and Vic’s story is incredibly romantic and passionate, but I also think the same of most of my heroes’ and heroines’ stories. J Because Wicked Burn exposed me to a wider reader market and because of its ‘first’ status, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for it.


Which book of those you have written is your favorite, and what makes it so?

Oh, you are evil to put an author on the spot. (Just kidding).

You know, I think I change my answer for this question depending on how I feel, but today, I’ll say Daring Time. (I just watched the movie Déjà vu again, and it reminded me of why I loved writing DT so much). Daring Time is a time travel that takes place in the historic Prairie Avenue district of Chicago—a place of elegance, grandeur and industry unparalleled in history. I researched the area on foot; I toured the mansions. I find the topic to be over-the-top romantic.

Daring Time is the story of a modern day Chicago cop who unexpectedly inherits one of the grand Prairie Avenue mansions. He begins to see a beautiful, alluring woman in the house. While his friend tries to convince him she’s a ghost, Ryan absolutely refuses to believe this woman is dead. He does discover from the historical archives that Hope Stillwater had lived in the house and was murdered in a heinous fashion in 1906. Like many of my heroes, Ryan is stubborn. Once he falls in love, he refuses—against all logic—to allow Hope to come to harm. He crosses the boundary of time through the means of raw desire, growing love, and a touch of magic in order to save her.

Daring Time best represents me out of all my books, I think. Maybe “why” relates to your earlier genre question and my disinclination to say I write only in one genre. Daring Time is a contemporary, it’s a crime drama, it’s a shamelessly scorching erotic, it’s a historical, and it’s a paranormal. It’s all those things. Plus…it’s the book I had the most fun writing.


I love covers; they are the best thing about the book. I wonder, do you have any say in them at all?

The best thing about the book? Really? That’s so interesting. Are you an artist, or do you just enjoy the visual?

I have very little input or ‘say’ on my Berkley covers. I find I have more input at publishers like Samhain. One thing I didn’t realize before I became an author is that most covers are designed from photo images in a library…stock photos. They aren’t created ‘just’ for my book.

The publisher’s art department knows what sells, and they try to match up character description (although often in rough format) to images that already exist. They add color, fonts and various points of interest.

I think I’ve been blessed with some truly beautiful covers, so I’m not complaining. But no, at this point in my career, I have relatively little input on my covers.


Are you working on something new and exciting right now?

I am, thank you for asking. I was invited by Berkley to participate in a Heat anthology with talented authors Megan Hart, Emma Holly and Lauren Dane which will come out in 2011. I just received a contract with Silhouette Special Edition to write a very emotional series of romances about three very different families that are bound together by one night of tragedy, their ensuing conflicts, and eventual healing through love. At the moment, I’m writing a Berkley Heat book slated to come out in 2011, tentatively called Taking Advantage.

Thank you for this. I hope my first ever interview went well, no idea what kinds of questions to ask or if they are too few or too many. But it is good to break out of the always having others over for guestblogs thing.


It was a terrific first interview, Linda, and I thank you for taking the time and effort. I wish you the best!

Please have a look at my review if you want to know a bit more about the book.

Or Visit Beth Kery at her webpage 

I just got a peak at her next cover so here it is :D
 The book will be out December 2010