Interview with Author Beth Kery and Giveaway

Meet Beth Kery, author of The Affair.

Beth Kery lives in Chicago where she juggles the demands of her career, her love of the city and the arts, and a busy family life. Her writing today reflects her passion for all of the above. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Because You Are Mine.

Places to find Beth:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | 

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Sure. I’ve been writing erotic and contemporary romance for about seven years now. Before that, I had a completely different and unrelated career in the medical field. I’m an avid reader of all genres, but for some reason, I thought I could write romance. I adore my family and friends, the theatre, traveling, art, the bustle of the city and the peace of a mountain retreat. If asked whether I’d prefer to go to a dinner party or stay home and read, it’d be a toss up as to the day and hour. I’m both very social at times, and at others, a recluse who craves privacy.

Did you always want to be a writer?
No. As I said, I had a complete other career before attemtpting to write.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
I typically answer that by saying I ride the line in between the two modes of writing. I do have a general synopsis in mind, the details of which might alter as the story progresses and the characters become more developed, acquiring their own motivations. I also have some primary key scenes in mind that are sort of goalposts that I aim for in my writing. I’m a very visual person, so these more detailed ‘rivet’ scenes are hallmarks for which I shoot. What’s in between those scenes is more panster-ish.

Where do your ideas come from?
Everywhere. Due to my background, I’m a pretty keen observer of character, so just the world gives me ideas. Other places include the newspaper, historical events, themes from fairy tales, myths and classic stories, and of course, my imagination and dreams. Sometimes I get very clear images of scenes that stand as pillars for a story. The rest of the plot is sort of built around them.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
The Affair is an intense, angsty, supersexy love story between a jaded billionaire and a hospice nurse told in the real time of the first 8 weeks of their romance.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I tend to like intense emotion and well drawn characters most of all. Light, breezy stories might be nice once in a while, but it’s not my usual preference for reading or writing. When it comes to romance, I want some darkness, angst and challenge, and consequently, a real feeling of reward and poignancy when a beautiful moment of connection unfolds.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
Of all time? Probably Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy—The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. I know that’s cheating, because I said three, but I consider them to be one continuing story. In romance, a quintessential favorite is Jane Eyre.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Traditonally, light, humoruous dialogue and verbal sparring with sexual tension has been a challenge for me, although I feel like I’m enjoying it more and more and doing it more frequently in my books. Jane Austen, for instance, is a favorite author, and I adore her sparkling, witty diaglogue scenes--between Darcy and Elizabeth, for example. I admire contemporary romance author Julie James’ smart, snappy and sexy dialogue for a similar reason.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Oh, that’s so hard! I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many of my most admired romance authors at conventions, etc., so I suppose I’d go for a more classic theme. There are so many standouts in various categories that are important to me, and romance in general. One common theme is that I’d want to know what it was like to be a revolutionary, meaning writng something that was considered out of the norm (or even scandalous), or in the case of classic authors, writing as a profession period. I’d have to say either Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte to represent classic romance. I’d love to know what it was like for them to be writing these amazing stories during a time period when women didn’t have professions at all. What inspired them? How did they keep going in the face of adversity? I’d also love to chat with one of the first groundbreaking “bodice-ripper” romance authors. At RWA this year, Bertrice Small was given the lifetime achievement award, and I was so fascinated with her story and how brave and fearless she was to be writing strong heroines and supersexy romance during the and 60’s and 70’s. In many ways, Small and Woodwiss and several other authors in the genre were the first erotic romance authors, and represent a unique voice in the ownership of female sexuality and a bold new way of writing romance. Lastly, I’d have to invite Sandra Brown. Sandra was how I truly first understood the concept of sexual tension. To this day, I think she’s a master of it. She can convey erotic tension in so few words. I’d love to meet her and get insight into how she does it. =)

What are you working on right now?
I am working on a follow up to my contemporary erotic romance Glimmer, which will debut in May of 2015. The second book is called Glow, and that’s what I’m beginning work on presently. This is a very big story with a deep background and satisfying emotional and psychological details. Glimmer and Glow have some new adult elements and some suspense elements. At times, it may feel a little like a ghost story. It was just too large of an arc for me to tell completely in one book, although I hope that readers will find a satisfactory ‘pause’ point at the end of Glimmer between my hero and heroine.

If you had to pick a favorite romance author to go out to dinner with, who would you pick? What might you ask her?

THE AFFAIR: WEEK 8
Never Let Go

New York Times bestselling author Beth Kery’s The Affair comes to its startling conclusion as Emma and Montand face an unexpected threat that could shatter every expectation they might have had for the future…

The Affair - Week Eight

Upon her return to the Breakers, Emma makes a bracing decision—her affair with Montand will end, but only to make way for a deeper relationship with the man she loves. But Montand’s aunt Vera has plans, too. Vindictive, obsessive, and unsettlingly territorial, Vera insists that Emma leave the Breakers and never look back. And she has the weapon to make it happen: a final secret about Montand that even he doesn’t know, one with such devastating implications that it would surely destroy him and ruin any chance of happiness he might have hoped for with Emma.

Loathe to plunge Montand into despair, Emma decides to heed Vera’s warning. But as Emma first learned when she arrived at the Breakers eight weeks ago, Montand’s family promised many surprises. And there is one more to come that could change everything.

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Check out The Affair serial:

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 print Book of Choice from Beth's backlist

To Enter: 

• If you had to pick a favorite romance author to go out to dinner with, who would you pick? What might you ask her?
• US shipping ONLY.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to the Penguin for sponsoring this giveaway!

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