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A Chat with Beth D Carter!

4/19/2018

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Happy Thursday, folks! Hopefully you're all out enjoying the glorious sunshine currently gracing the UK. And if you're not in the UK, hopefully it's beautiful wherever you are. And if it's not, don't worry! Beth D Carter is here to talk about her latest release, IN A CHORD! Music and romance - is there a better combination?
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Thank you so much for hosting me today! In A Chord is a re-release, previously published through another publishing house.  I was unsatisfied with the story because a writer’s craft constantly grows and gets better with every manuscript written.  Plus, I really hated the cover. In this business, you really are judged by the cover so with those two things in mind, I decided to take back the rights, rework the plot a little and lucky for me, Evernight said yes.
 
What inspired you to begin writing In A Chord?  What trivial events could you explain behind writing your story?
Music is a big inspiration to me and I wanted to write something set in that genre. In my younger days, I used to go dancing a lot, and the best clubs were always pounding out the base. I discovered the better the beat, the sexier the feeling. Swaying hips, rushing excitement.  It is definitely a very seductive atmosphere. When I dreamt up these characters, I wanted to bring that rush into the story.

Tell us about the characters.

The title is actually a play on words…a chord is three notes (or more) in harmony. I started out with the two men, Ash and Keaton, two men into heavy metal. Head bangers in their teenage years, starting a band up in the parent’s garage. I needed a female who understood both, because each has their own personality. This is where the band, Skillet, comes into the picture. One song, Awake and Alive, has a female voice and a fiddle, and that just made Momo come to life.

Was there as specific part of the story that you absolutely loved writing as well as not enjoyed writing?
To make the characters more human, I wrote a scene where one of the men is coming out of the bathroom, warning Momo not to go in for a bit.  I found it really funny.

There wasn’t much in this book I didn’t enjoy writing.  I’m a very liner type of writer, meaning I don’t really jump around scenes too much.  I start at point A and finish at point Z.  So, sometimes just writing the in between stuff, the ordinary day to day, can be tedious because your job is to still make that monotony interesting.  

What other projects are you working on at the moment? 
Currently, I am working on a book where a woman finds out that her marriage certificate was never filed, making her not really married. This happened to friends of mine and I always wondered what would’ve happened if they’d not found out. 

I have the follow up to my book Take Aim & Reload (Forgotten Rebels MC #4) in the works.

One of my publishers went out of business and I have the rights back to some of my books, so I’ll be working on those as well, making them better and resubmitting them to Evernight.  (Fingers crossed).

Whatever I write, it’ll have erotica romance themes through it. 

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Keaton Gates and Ashland Lance are lovers and musicians in a band called Endymion.  Keaton believes there is something missing, not only from the sound of their music, but also in their lives.  When he hears Momo Willows singing Endymion’s signature song, he knows she’s the muse he’s been waiting for.
 
At first, Ash Lance is jealous of the new girl in Keaton’s life until he meets her.  Momo is unlike anyone he’s ever met and they soon discover that they connect on many levels.  But he’s reluctant to take her away from Keaton just as Momo refuses to come between them.
 
Keaton is quick to assure them he wants all three of them to learn to be in a ménage relationship, but as they learn how to live and love together, another threat is moving between them, threatening to take Momo away….forever.
​

Excerpt
 
“Keaton, Momo and I…we, um, kissed.”

He saw Keaton shoot a look at Momo, then down at her hand on his knee, then back to Ash. “What?”

“Keaton,” Momo murmured, shame shining on her face. “It just happened and I’m so sorry. There’s something tangible between he and I, just like I felt toward you, and that’s why I don’t think I can be with you—”

“She knows about us,” Ash interrupted her, picking up her hand. He saw Keaton’s gaze follow the gesture. “She doesn’t want to get between us.”

“What?” Keaton said again, his tone going a bit deeper.

“She figured it out but it felt right to tell her.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. Momo took her hand back and placed it in her lap. “Keaton, man, I don’t know what to say.”

He sat silent for a moment, obviously thinking things over. “Is that why you tried to bail earlier?”

She nodded.

“Is that all you did? Just kiss?”

“Yeah. That’s it, I swear. I mean, I wanted to do more, but I know she’s your girl—”

“Ash, it’s okay.”

Ash waited because he knew something more had to be coming. If Keaton were to tell him to stand and take a punch, he would be jumping up and bracing himself.

“No, Ash, it’s really okay,” Keaton assured him.

Ash saw the surprise he felt mirrored on Momo’s face. Keaton just smiled at them.

“For a while I knew that something was missing in our lives,” Keaton continued. “Not between you and me because I love you, you know, but I knew there was something out of place. I just didn’t know what, and then, when I heard Momo sing, when I talked to her and heard her passion for our music, it all kind of clicked.”

“What clicked?”
​

“That missing element in our music, in our lives, was her.”
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About Beth
 
I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate high-rollers.  I try to write characters who aren't cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box.  I love writing characters who are real, complex and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love.
​


https://twitter.com/BethDCarter
https://www.facebook.com/bethdcarterauthor
http://bethdcarter.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page

http://www.amazon.com/BethD.Carter/e/B00EOTD1T0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1385417145&sr=8-1
 
Buy Links

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/in-a-chord-by-beth-d-carter/
 
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Wednesday Snippet - And the pain was exquisite.

4/11/2018

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Well, it's been a while, but since I'm loving writing this story so much, I thought I'd share a teaser! I started this after months of the idea swimming around in my brain, and now it's just flooding out. That does mean I'm neglecting another project, but I decided it's silly to ignore an idea if it's really flowing, so here we are! This is a sneak peek at A Dark Gift,​ a reverse harem vampire romance. Enjoy!

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Friday Night Delight!

4/6/2018

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Happy Friday, folks! I'm about to start a three-day weekend and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my latest WIP, and my loved ones, I guess. But right now, we're going to talk about Katherine Wyvern. Specifically, we're going to talk about her amazing book, WOMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. You're always looking for new books, right? Well, look no further than this one!
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Dear Amber

Thank you so much for having me on your blog today to talk about my latest release, Woman as a Foreign Language. WaaFL came out last September, and has had some really wonderful reviews since then.

This is the story of Nina, a girl who, after years of bullying and psychological abuse has a very hard time expressing her femininity, until she meets Julia, a flamboyantly sexy woman who is in fact … a man (or is it the other way ‘round?).

Julian is very, very good at being feminine and within the safe space of their meltingly tender friendship (seriously, it made me go “aww” to write about these two) Nina finally finds the courage to explore her own gender. It helps that Julia/n’s carefully constructed femininity is something that s/he can break down to its grammar, and teach to Nina, like nobody else could or would. I was very intrigued by this element of the story, the way for both these characters “woman” is not something that came naturally, but something they had to learn and practice diligently, hoping to get it right someday, and not to make too much of a fool of themselves.

Nina is a very autobiographical character, so she was really written from first-hand experience. I hope you want to meet her and watch her growing into the beautiful person she always was, even if, for a long time, she didn’t know.

It took quite a bit of research to put this story together, and also I was so attached to these characters, that once I was done with the book I realized I still had a lot to say on the topic. All this spill-over turned into Spice and Vanilla, WaaFL darker, naughtier, whip-and-leather sister, which will be published in May. It’s not WaaFL’s sequel, but it treats similar themes, and Julia/n and Nina both make a brief appearance. Stay tuned!

Woman as a Foreign Language was Runner-Up for Best Contemporary story in the Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards, and is available on the Evernight site at a 25% discount with the coupon code WINNER2017

- Katherine


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What do you do when the woman you want to be … is a man?

Nina’s abusive childhood left her feeling so vulnerable when wearing anything flimsier than combat boots that she has spent her whole adult life dressed like a gang boy. But when she meets the tall, glamourous, charismatic Julia (actually her cross-dressing neighbor, Julian, going out en femme), Nina is seized by an overwhelming and terrifying urge to finally express her own femininity.

Julia/n has not only a slightly split personality but also a thoroughly broken heart. What s/he wants most is a partner who will love both Julia and Julian. While Nina learns from Julia how to be a woman, Julian discovers that they might well be made for each other, but it will take a struggle against prejudice and a whole conservative mind-set before they can follow their hearts, and express their true, unique, and beautiful selves.

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Woman as a Foreign Language at Evernight (with excerpt):

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/woman-as-a-foreign-language-by-katherin-wyvern/


Woman as a Foreign Language on Amazon.com (download free sample):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075RR8K1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505902876&sr=8-1&keywords=woman+as+a+foreign+language


See what Katherine is up to on:
 Katherine’s Blog: https://katherinewyvern.blogspot.fr/
Katherine’s Website: http://meetingivory.wixsite.com/katherinewyvern
Katherine’s Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Katherine-Wyvern-Author-122569301260917/
Or follow her on Instagram @katherinewyvern


You can also find an exclusive excerpt on my website, here:
http://meetingivory.wixsite.com/katherinewyvern/copy-of-woman-as-a-foreign-language


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Retro Reading - Freeze Tag

4/4/2018

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All the neighbourhood kids hate Lannie. But she has a gift that makes her dangerous and powerful - she can freeze people with a mere touch of her hand. So when she extracts a promise from a young and frightened West, he knows everyone he loves is at risk unless he agrees. As the kids grow up, they forget how dangerous Lannie really is...Until she comes to collect.

Freeze Tag is one of the Point Horror books I remember most vividly. I read a fair few Caroline B Cooneys, and I love her dreamy, almost surreal style, and I think this is the book where that style is at its most elegant and memorable. It helps that the storyline is compelling too. We all knew a Lannie, I think. That weird kid that nobody really wants to be friends with, but everyone kind of feels guilty about ignoring, because clearly her home life is shit.

And her home life is shit. Throughout the book, over and over, we are told that nobody loves Lannie. Nobody ever has. Her parents don't want her. The neighbourhood kids are flat out scared of her. She has nobody to hug her, play with her, include her, or care for her. But on the flip side, she can literally freeze people with a touch, and has definitely murdered at least two people and one dog this way. So is Lannie unloveable because she's a monster, or is she a monster because she's unloveable?

It's a question the heroine of Freeze Tag, Meghan, battles to answer. Meghan's boyfriend, West, is the object of Lannie's sociopathic affections, and she blackmails him into dating her by threatening Meghan, and West's younger siblings. Meghan is the antithesis of Lannie. She's loved by her parents, has a handsome, considerate boyfriend, close friends, and is doing well in life. As she struggles to win West back from Lannie, she grows to understand how much she's taken all that for granted, and her hatred for Lannie is tempered by empathy for her. It's a pretty nuanced portrayal, and makes Meghan a wonderful heroine. As Lannie sinks her claws into West and casts her shadow over Meghan's happy life, Meghan fights to stay compassionate and kind, to find a solution where nobody gets hurt.

Between Meghan's warmth and Lannie's coldness, we have West. He starts out doing his best to protect Meghan and his siblings by giving into Lannie. But as the book progresses, we see Lannie's icy cruelness rub off on him. Is he still acting, or is Lannie changing him for real? Does evil spread, and can someone be pulled back from the edge? By the end of the book, West is not the same thoughtful, generous person he was at the start, and his dispassionate cruelty seems to be infecting his younger brother and sister too as they fight to get rid of Lannie.

Ultimately, this story isn't about defeating Lannie. It's about Meghan deciding what kind of person she wants to be. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing," as they say. Meghan has a choice - she can passively allow her boyfriend to "end" Lannie. She doesn't have to be involved - she just has to do nothing. Or she can save Lannie, even though Lannie would never save her. What's the right call?

If I have one frustration with this book, it's that we never learn if Meghan makes the right choice. We see her act, but we don't get a resolution. At the end of the book, Meghan has decided that she can't be passive, she can't be hateful, and she can't let West's own growing malice infect her. But is her compassion and bravery going to change Lannie? We don't know. I don't have a problem with ambiguous endings under the right circumstances, but the facts remain that Lannie has killed and blackmailed her way through life. Will one kind act change that?

We don't know, and I guess maybe that isn't the point, because this isn't Lannie's story and her redemption isn't the point. The point is that Meghan rises above the hatred and poison of the people around her, that she fights to be a good person and succeeds. That's pretty cool.*

*Puns always intended.
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    Welcome to the virtual home of Amber Morgan - writer of contemporary romance, MC romance, and paranormal romance. Cat-keeper, snake-charmer. Chaotic good.
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