Excitement Abounds...

Happy Tuesday All,

Excitement abounds in the Averie Household...if it's not every day things (new toilet seat for the master bath, pregnancy, being a parent, writing, editing, you name it) it's other excitement:

I got some of the notes back from my proofreader, so I've started in

on those notes. It's going well so far, so I'm glad about that. Proofreader is almost done with Immortal Love, and has

pronounced it "a rip-roaring and imaginative story." Which made

me smile. It's definitely got a bunch of action in it. I did my best to throw everything I possibly could into this novel, especially since 

it's the final book in the Trilogy.

Another exciting happening is that Immortal Dreams Book One: Divine Love got a wonderful review from Coffee Time Romance. You can read the 5/5 cup review here.

So, what's it like coming to the end of writing a trilogy? A myriad of emotions. Sometimes it was sad. Other times I experienced relief--I managed to complete the task. And in other moments, it's been a sense of accomplishment. I've never written a story using Greek mythology, so this was definitely an adventure. Some of the research was a lot of fun--cars, and the mythology--I know quite a bit on the outset of mythology, but I still learned a lot and I'm sure I'll learn more.


In the meantime, I'm going to finish polishing this novel up, turn it in, and get it out (hopefully in March!) I have other projects I've also been working on, so like I said...a lot of excitement!

What exciting thing is going on in your life?

Have A Tremendously Terrific Tuesday!

It's My Birthday, So I'm Doing A Giveaway...

Happy Wednesday Everybody,

Also, happy my birthday to you all! It's a beautiful, sunshiny day outside. Weather report says it's 75 degrees out (I wish that was 65 degrees or lower--but not bitter cold; and no snow or ice. LOL) but the weather doesn't listen to me. (How rude, LOL!)


PLEASE NOTE AS OF 10/17/2014 10:00 PM Central Standard Time this contest is now CLOSED. I am NOT accepting any more entries. Thank you!

I know it's customary for the birthday person to receive gifts on his/her birthday, however, since it's MY day I'm going to shake things up a bit. I'm going to GIVE something away to you, my darling readers, instead!

Please read the details below VERY CAREFULLY! I repeat

VERY CAREFULLY. I'm emphasizing "very carefully" because if you're anything like me, you embarrassingly misread something in a giveaway rules section and ended up feeling stupid that you didn't read them carefully, so I'm trying to spare you all that embarrassment by emphasizing the READ VERY CAREFULLY.

***THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST***

Here are the details:

The giveaway is open to USA Citizens ONLY. The times on the giveaway are CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, so even if it's 3pm on Thursday in one place, if it's not 3pm Thursday Central Standard Time, then it's not 3pm Thursday for the giveaway. Make sense?

So here's how to enter:

1.  LEAVE A COMMENT in the comment section. NOTE: ALL COMMENTS COME TO ME BEFORE THEY APPEAR ON THE BLOG. I have to approve them. This is because there have been problems with commenting in the past and this has made those problems less of an issue. If you don't see your comment right away, it's because I haven't gotten to it. If you don't see it an hour before the contest ends, email me.

COMMENTS FOR ENTRY:  Your comment MUST contain the following:  Your FIRST name,  your email address and the answer to the giveaway question (which will be posted at the end of this post). If you miss ANY of these, I can't count your entry. ***No profanity or sexually explicit comments, please. I don't have a warning page on this blog. If you include any of those (even as a joke) I will delete your post and disqualify you from the contest.***

2.  ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN BEFORE 10:00 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME FRIDAY, October 17, 2014 (after 10 PM on Oct. 17th I will close the contest and will NOT accept any more entries). There will be ONE winner. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 20th.

THE PRIZE:  An E-book (Kindle*) copy of IMMORTAL DREAMS BOOK ONE: DIVINE LOVE. 

BLURB:  Laney Alberts should be enjoying her senior year of high school. Instead, she’s mourning the death of her beloved father—her hero. Even after a year without him, she still feels directionless. 

Things take a complete one-eighty when she literally walks into Jason Magnus, the hot, new guy at school. He’s different from anyone she has ever met, and intrigues her in ways she never guessed possible. 

But, there’s more to Jason than Laney realizes. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s thrown into the world of Immortals. To prevent a goddess bent on world domination from destroying both the human and Immortal worlds, Laney and Jason must embrace the Fates’ destiny for them. 

Human and Immortal collide in this, the first of the Immortal Dreams Trilogy.

*If you don't have a Kindle, please email me, and we'll see if we can work something out. (Again, this giveaway is open to USA Citizens ONLY).

****HERE'S THE GIVEAWAY QUESTION (the question you MUST answer in the comments in order to enter):

Which myth (whether Greek, Roman, African, whatever mythology you go for) is your favorite and WHY? It can be an American Legend, but it has to NOT be TRUE (that means it has to be FICTION).  (Note: If the reality or non-reality of the story has yet to be dis-proven that's different--however, NO CONSPIRACY THEORIES!) NOTE:  Please give a brief overview what the myth is about. Thanks!****

So that's it:  Your first name, your email address, and the answer to the above question in the comment section of THIS post is all you need to do to enter.

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!

Celebrating New Release: IMMORTAL DREAMS BOOK ONE: DIVINE LOVE!

Happy Thursday Everybody,

Wow! It feels like ages since I updated my blog. I have been swamped, darling readers! For 2 weeks I was dealing with health issues--mine and family's, and edits, and real life. But me and the family are now well, and the edits got in, and while real life is still busy, I have some space to finally post a new blog post...and what a perfect reason!

Today I am overjoyed to announce my New Adult (NA) Paranormal Romance (first in a trilogy),  Immortal Dreams Book One: Divine Love is now available for your reading pleasure on Amazon Kindle!!

To say I'm happy is an understatement. *Insert huge smile and giddy feelings here*

Below you can read the blurb:

Laney Alberts should be enjoying her senior year of high school. Instead, she’s mourning the death of her beloved father—her hero. Even after a year without him, she still feels directionless. 

Things take a complete one-eighty when she literally walks into Jason Magnus, the hot, new guy at school. He’s different from anyone she has ever met, and intrigues her in ways she never guessed possible. 

But, there’s more to Jason than Laney realizes. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s thrown into the world of Immortals. To prevent a goddess bent on world domination from destroying both the human and Immortal worlds, Laney and Jason must embrace the Fates’ destiny for them. 

Human and Immortal collide in this, the first of the Immortal Dreams Trilogy. 

I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Click here to find it on Amazon Kindle.  To add it to your To Be Read pile on Goodreads click here.

Hope everyone has a Thrillingly Terrific Thursday!

Cover Reveal--IMMORTAL DREAMS BOOK ONE: DIVINE LOVE

Happy Tuesday/Wednesday Everybody,

I'm posting this on Tuesday night, so whenever you read it--whether Tuesday night or Wednesday during the day, happy that day to you!

Today I'm pleased to do a cover reveal...for the first book in the Immortal Dreams Trilogy!

So without further ado, I give you the cover art for Immortal Dreams Book One: Divine Love:

I love it! I think it turned out lovely. The incredibly talented Fiona Jayde is the artist behind this cover. She also did the cover art for my novel that was published last year, All's Fair In Love & Lion. I really love her work.

Anyway, enjoy!

*PLEASE NOTE:  A notice regarding an issue with commenting shows up at the top of the comment box whenever you leave a comment--and some of my regular readers know this, but for those who don't, the message states that ALL comments come to me before being posted. The reason this happens is because there was a lot of trouble with people trying to post and posts not coming up and there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I fixed the settings. If your post doesn't show up by the beginning of next week (5/26 or 5/27 2014) send me an email.

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!

Classics Week: Last Day--"Stepping Through The Wardrobe"

Happy Friday All,

Wow! It’s been such a fun week with learning more about different Classic novels, and other authors’ work. If you haven’t checked out yesterday’s post with TinaBausinger, please do. I think it’s fascinating.

To close out Classics Week, you get yours truly (me) for today.

There are many authors I could have chosen to talk about today, however, CS Lewis is an author I've particularly enjoyed. So I’m going to go ahead and focus on him and his Chronicles Of Narnia.

You could say in some sense, Aslan from the series influenced All’s Fair In Love & Lion a bit—given Monroe , like Aslan, (when Monroe was in his lion form) could speak

My Monroe Christmas ornament, given to me
by one of my sisters

and be understood, was majestic. In the stories, Aslan sacrifices himself, and sacrifice comes into play in my story, as well.

However, the thing about Narnia that appealed to me was how each adventure was full of imagination, wonder, and magic. As a lover of fairy-tales and fantasy, what better devices to ignite my passions?

How can anyone forget meeting Mr. Tumnus at the lamppost? Or hitting the high seas on the Dawn Treader? Or the curiosity and tying everything together in The Last Battle?

An intellectual or English teacher would find all the various points of allegory, allusion, and metaphor to point out. For me, it was just plain fun.

The other thing we have with CS Lewis is the re-imaging of mythology and a different way of telling a story (at least different for his time).

I believe there’s room among writers and readers for all kinds of stories, which is one of the best things about Narnia. There was room for all believers and those who really wanted what Narnia had to offer. And years after Lewis’s death, there’s still room for new readers to partake of each story’s charm and adventure.

For a writer such as myself, it warms my heart to see people willing

to invite new fairy-tales and stories, but to still love the old ones, too. I hope this will always be the case.

I remember a song we had on a cassette tape that went: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other’s gold.” I feel this way about books. I make new friends with new novels and stories, but I keep the old ones in my heart. My wish for readers, is to have that experience, so they can enjoy all kinds of glorious tales.

As you know, my Romance Novel, All’s Fair In Love & Lion is

available on Amazon Kindle (hopefully to be in paperback, soon).  I don’t have the cover art (nor is it out, yet) for my New Adult Paranormal Romance, Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love, yet, but that’s coming soon (and definitely fits the idea of re-imagining stories!)

Also, you can check out more about me and my writing on my official website.

In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed Classics Week. I know I did!

Have A Fabulously Fantastical Friday!

A Little Q & A...

Happy Wednesday All,

Lately I've been talking a lot about my New Adult Paranormal Romance Trilogy that is going to start releasing this June. I've gotten several questions about this and the NA genre and about the new story, so I'm going to answer some of those questions:

What is New Adult (NA)?


Based on what I've seen and heard, the genre is exactly as the name suggests:  The characters are new adults. They are typically in the age range of 18 to 25, facing new adult situations.

Why did you write an NA novel?

Well, that's kind of a funny story. My critique partner was the first person to suggest it to me. Originally she suggested YA, but I found my writing ended up being a New Adult.

I also challenged myself to write third person, past tense (the way most novels are written) as opposed to first person, present tense (which is how I wrote All's Fair In Love & Lion). One thing led to another and the Immortal Dreams Trilogy came into being.

Will you write more Romance novels?

I hope to. It's definitely on my list of things to write. I mean I've been talking about wanting to finish Loralyn's story, right? (Loralyn Xavier is a character in All's Fair In Love & Lion). I'm also thinking of another story to take place in the Third Realm. And yes, the plan is for Sasha and Monroe to make cameo appearances--although the stories won't be primarily about them.

What is the Immortal Dreams Trilogy about?

It's about Laney Alberts and Erich Magnus.  Laney is a show tune lover (but don't underestimate her!) and Erich is all about rock n' roll (but he's also full of surprises). Yes, it's set it modern times, although that's not really a big aspect in the novel. 

I loved writing these characters. Their personalities were a lot of fun. I'm really excited about Book 1 coming out this Summer. My publisher said to me "I think it will appeal to a wide range of readers." Which I really do hope is true. I poured my heart into this story and had a lot of fun with it. I got to pull from my love of Greek/Roman Mythology and do some re-imagining, too. I haven't written a novel where I was able to do these things, and so I was excited to be able to.

Was it hard to write in the NA genre?

Writing in the New Adult genre freshened me up as an author. I had to get away from the Third Realm for a bit--my brain needed a break. I also discovered I really enjoy writing this way. I went back to a novel I've been working on for about 5 years and made it over into an New Adult. I can't wait to finish that novel.


As with any story, there have been good days and bad days. It doesn't matter what genre you write. There are going to be times the story works well and times you think it's not working at all. It just depends on the story and the day.

The thing with writing is, you have to take the good and bad together. You can't just think it's all going to be hearts and flowers all the time. There's tough critiques, rejection letters, and tough reviews. But then there are the times the story just seems to pour from you, people who tell you how much they enjoy your work, and times you get awesome feedback that

makes you want to get up and do a happy dance.

Whatever genre I'm writing in, there are days I'm happy with it and days it can be a struggle. However, I'm passionate about writing and reading, so I keep going, which is good. If you're going to be a professional writer you have to have a passion for it. It can't be a hobby. 

Do you have any questions for me? Put them in the comments below and I'll respond in the comment section.

Have A Wonderfully Winsome Wednesday!

The Writing Career...

Happy Wednesday All,

I hope everyone is doing well this March and enjoyed/enjoying their

Spring Break. We've had some sun and some rain, some cold and some warm weather. Basically, I think our weather has some kind of indecision problem. Either that, or it got into someone's liquor cabinet and is completely drunk. I'll let you decide which scenario best fits.

There's a couple of blog-related things coming up that should be fun, I've got 2 official blog book reviews in the works. One I'm planning to post next week, and one I'm going to post as soon as I can (I'm currently reading the novel).

On the writing front, I got the critiques back on one of my WIPs and I'll be working on that. I'm awaiting first round edits for book 1 in my Immortal Dreams Trilogy. I'm also waiting on cover art (I've already turned in the forms for all 3 books--each book will be released separately, though).

By the way, Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love has a release date!  My publisher and me are looking at June 18th of this year for Book 1 to be released. As with All's Fair In Love & Lion, the novel will first be released to Amazon Kindle, then somewhere around 6-9 months later will go into print form.

As soon as I have a date for the print version of All's Fair In Love & Lion I'll announce that. At the moment, the only thing I know is that my publisher thought it would be sometime in April.  (Several people have asked me about the print version, and I'm looking forward to it being available to those who want--plus it'll be fun to have a "hard copy" of the novel!)

Funny thing I've encountered as a writer is how many people say to me "I could NEVER do what you do."  The thing is, anyone who can string together a coherent sentence can write. The question is, do you have the passion, drive, and determination to do this? Can you face endless hours of editing? What about rejection? Rejection hurts--even when it's a "good" rejection, even when you learn from it, it's hard to hear "This isn't right for us." 

It is a tough job. But it's one of the most fascinating things I've done in my life. There's something so freeing about letting my imagination run where it will. Whether I'm contemplating the next book, or the next scene, or how to fix something, it gives my imagination a chance to do exactly what it likes to do--create and image.


I guess I don't consider it especially difficult (there are difficult days, but the writing career itself is what I mean) because it's something I do every day (even if I'm not physically writing, I'm thinking about it). It's something I've pretty much done most of my life. 

In the end, it's a matter of perspective. What others view as "impossible" I think "Why not?" and the things I think "I don't have the patience for that." other people are like "Oh, it's no big deal." Everything depends on what your talents are and what you're passionate about.

If writing is something you're into, keep the passion brightly lit. Stay determined. And as so many other authors say:  "Don't give up." The minute you give up, is the minute you quit being a writer/author.

Happy reading and writing everybody. :-)

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Day!

Burning Questions -- The Answers...

Happy Monday All,

Here's hoping everyone had a great weekend! Mine was busy. Saturday we had offspring soccer game. Sunday we went to church and then we had family time. In the evening, offspring and Daddy went off to have time together (ran errands and hung out) while I watched the Season 3 Premier of Once Upon A Time (which was really good, by the way! Totally not the Peter Pan we're used to from the animated movie). I think it'll be a good season.

Last week I asked everyone to post or email their "burning questions" about my writing. A couple of you left me some really good questions, so today I'm taking the time to answer them:

Susan M. asked:  I notice that you write in first person, present tense Is there a reason you chose this? Is it difficult and will your future books be written in this tense?

My answer:  My Third Realm Romances (what All’s Fair In Love & Lion is, and the subsequent companion novels that are in the same world) are all first person /present tense. I’m not sure why that happened. I just know when I wrote AFIL&L, I tried to write it the more “conventional” way (3^rd person, past tense), and it just didn't have the right “feel”.  So I had it as 1^st person present tense and it just flowed for me.  My future books—the Immortal Dream Series—will be in the more “conventional” way (3^rd person, past tense). I did that with Immortal Dreams as a challenge to myself, and it actually worked well for that series, but it doesn't work for the Third Realm Romances. I’m not positive to why this is, I guess it’s mostly because every story has its own quirks.  Just about everyone I've talked to about writing present

tense 1^st person has asked me if it’s difficult. I guess it just depends on the day and my mood. Most of the time, when I’m writing a novel whatever makes that novel flow works for me. This isn't to say I never run into roadblocks—far from—but, I guess if I’m immersed in a story the style comes to me reasonably easily. The hardest part is switching from Immortal Dreams to the Third Realm and switching styles. However, when I’m immersed the style and the writing is flowing, it’s not real hard.

Tonette asked:  Are you going to stay with novels or are you branching back out?(I know you are a poet and songwriter, as well).

My answer:  My primary focus will remain being a novelist. However, I haven't ruled out writing more poetry and lyrics (in fact, I've written some poems and at least one set of lyrics in the last 6-7 months). I'm pretty open to wherever I'm inspired. But yes, I plan to focus mostly on my novels.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, folks! I've got a special treat--an official blog book review. 

Have A Marvelously Merry Monday!

It's A Writer's Life...

Happy Friday All,

I know it's been a long time since I've written a post. I do apologize. There is A LOT going on.

I'm working on edits based on critique given to me by my critique partner, Tess St. John.  This is for my New Adult Romance--book 1 in a series. I've got around 20 pages left to finish today, then I have to go back over it to check on what I've done (and there's a few things I put into my head to have a closer look on). I'm hoping within the next 2 weeks to get it back out to Tess and to my new critique partner. 

I do plan to do a giveaway. Not today, but soon. Kathy with Beadmore Designs has made another All's Fair In Love & Lion Monroe Necklace and has agreed to send it to one lucky winner. I'm working on the details for that giveaway, so I'll let you know when the time comes.

Meanwhile, I'll give a little rundown on my New Adult Paranormal Romance.  Immortal Dreams Book 1:  Dream Weaver centers around two 18 year-olds:

Laney Alberts is a typical high school senior. She has a weakness for powdered doughnuts and loves musicals. What she doesn't bargain on is Erich.

Erich Magnus is a descendant of the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. Erich is a dream weaver whose job is to make the dreams of young women come true. However, when he gets assigned to Laney he has NO idea exactly HOW different this assignment is going to be.

New Adult usually refers to the age group that is around 18 to 25. I kind of look at it as the genre right between Young Adult and Romance. I discovered I really enjoy writing this genre and have planned a total of 3 books in the Immortal Dreams series, as well as a spin-off series that will take place 3 years after Immortal Dreams, and will center around Cupid (Eros) and Psyche's son (who has a twin brother). 

While you're out and about on the internet today, check out the very special fund raiser my author pal, T. Lynn Odom is having. Hurry, though. This fund raiser ends TOMORROW (September 7th).  T. Lynn has agreed to donate $1 to Lone Star Boxer Rescue for every copy of Never Pick On A Jaguar Princess she sells. At the moment, the book is only available on Amazon Kindle. But, hurry, like I said, the fund raiser ends tomorrow!

What are you all up to these days?

Have A Fabulously Fun Friday!

What? Huh? Yeah, I'm here...Sort Of.

Happy Wednesday (late afternoon),

Hi everyone! No, I haven't forgotten the blog or any of you. I've been pretty preoccupied lately.

The best way to keep up with me is to find me either one of two ways (or both ways):

On Twitter:  @WriteByBethany

Or on Facebook:  do a search for Bethany Averie

I update those frequently.

There's been some blog updates that I did today. I updated books I finished reading. (Yes, it was good).

I also updated about my writing. The status on Immortal Dreams Book 1:  Dream Weaver is that I got my critiques back so now it's in the revision process (and then that will go out to CP and beta reader/s and then more revisions until it's ready). I've got the companion novel for Surreal in the process of being written (that's been a bit slow) and Immortal Dreams Book 2 (Dream Weaver sequel) started. So I've been fairly busy on that front.

Updates have also been added to what movies I want to see. Of course that was off the top of my head and I'm going to have to go BACK over the movies that have recently come out and the ones that are now released on DVD to double-check which ones I want to see to further update the list.

I've been doing some brain storming with one of my beta readers for the YA series (Immortal Dreams) and that was a lot of fun.

I expect I'll be busy reading before too long and of course edits. So, if you don't hear from me, don't despair. There's always Twitter and Facebook and I will return.

Meanwhile, get yourself over to my Critique Partner, Tess St. John's Launch Party and Giveaway. It ends Thursday (tomorrow) at 9pm Central Time, so you do not want to miss this. While you're at it, pick up a copy of Chance For Freedom, her newest Historical release (and one I had the honor of critiquing). Great novel written by a fabulous author.

Have A Whimsical Wednesday!