Lots O' News...

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I've been trying to update this blog at least once a month--sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I don't have a consistent schedule set up, so I guess at the end of every month, come check-in and see if I've put up a new post.

So, now for my news updates:

• The Author Encounter website has been up and running for a while now. Authors, readers, agents, editors, vendors, etc. can join. If you're interested, but want more information than what's on the website, you can contact the company via email.

• We're on the LAST day of the Kindle giveaway. You can join by going to The Author Encounter giveaway page and entering. No purchase necessary.

• The audiobook narrator of Divine Love, Chris J. Hudson, and I will be running an online workshop on September 4th for members (so there's an incentive to join right there!)

• Because of Covid-19, all our events will be online until further notice. We've got the Books & Beauty event on hold, for now. We're going to look into whether or not we can hold it next year when the new year comes around. Updates will be posted for sure on The Author Encounter website and I'll probably post something here, as well. Check the events page for more information on online events.

• I've decided to stick to writing Young Adult (YA) novels and not do adult, so for now, I'm retiring the Jeannie Averie penname.

• My publisher has decided not to renew the contract on Divine Love, so the Kindle and paperback versions are not available at this time. I'm not sure, but I think the only one of my books that's still available in paperback is Perfect Love, and I'm not sure if that will stay true in the future.

• I'm working on self-publishing Divine Love so that it can go back up on Kindle, paperback, and other platforms to be available to my readers. I'm very passionate about the series being out to you all because it's a story that's meant to be read and enjoyed not put on a shelf somewhere. I've got several people helping me out with that. I appreciate all my readers' support over the years and I hope you'll keep supporting me in my new and future endeavors. Please consider reviewing my novels on Amazon and Goodreads and/or your blogs. Also, tell others! Word-of-mouth is so important to authors.

My prayers and thoughts are with those suffering because of Covid-19. Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that co-worker of theirs passed because of the virus. I know people who have had it (and/or do have it) so my prayers are with you all. Hopefully, we'll get through this pandemic soon and be able to socialize more and have a more "normal" type of life experience again.

I wish each of you the very best and I hope you all have a Whimsically Wonderful Wednesday! Take care, God bless. :-)

Best wishes,

Bethany Averie

Long Overdue...

Happy Thursday Folks!

I know it's been a while. My head has been in a whirl over everything going on these days. I never in all my years thought I'd see a pandemic like this, and it's even eerier than the HIV/AIDS scare years and years ago (yeah, I lived through that tense times, too--although that was a different situation--it wasn't as widespread). But, I'm certain you didn't come to my blog wanting to talk about that (or did you?)

Anyway, I'm no health expert, so I won't even try to say what's what about COVID-19. But I will say, I keep praying and looking for those glimmers of hope.

Book 5 of Immortal Dreams is in the writing stages...as it has been for a while. It's a tough book to write and once it's released you'll know why. I have to keep my characters' balancing the act between grief and emo-ness (we do not want to go down very far on the emo-ness path, that could get too depressing for what I write). Jason, Laney, Arion, and Hailey all make cameos, of course, but the story revolves around Nic and Sirena. No, it's not going back to when they were in high school and fleshing out all the details of what Sirena mentions in Perfect Love, but it will give the story of all that happened--what now? I haven't decided if it's the last book or not. We'll have to see. Probably. They're all grown up for the most part, so it kinda makes sense to end a YA (Young Adult) with this book.

I'm working on several other projects, as well. One is a YA fantasy, and the other is a contemporary YA inspired by some stuff (which I won't reveal just yet...I have to see if it pans out).

Big news:  In addition to the awesome group I work with already, I've added a new critique partner, Michelle Sinclair. I've already worked with her on my Jeannie Averie query letter and synopsis for the story I'm querying. She's really good and seems to get my vision from the get-go, so that's awesome. She also has some fun ideas for her own work and I hope her work gets published soon! (I had the honor of helping with her query letter, and she's definitely imaginative. :-) ).

What have I read lately? For that, I have to plug my new author friend, Fiona Woodifield. She's an author from "across the pond" who has a fun Contemporary romance entitled The Jane Austen Dating Agency, which I enjoyed. It was published earlier this year. It's not real hot on the steamy scale, but it is geared toward 20 year-olds and up, I'd say (I could be wrong, but it feels like it's geared toward that age group).

So, what are you all doing during this quarantine, my darling readers? Let me know in the comment section. :-)

Have A Totally Terrific Thursday!