NEW RELEASES ALERT!!!

Happy Monday Everybody,

PLEASE NOTE:  In the margin of this blog I've supplied a post regarding the problems some people have been with trying to comment on this blog. I'm going to be implementing a new thing for posting comments on here to see if that cuts down on some of the problems. The post in the margin has information on what to do if, for some reason, Blogger won't let you comment.

Whew! There are new releases popping out all over the place...

Not too long ago, Rick Riordan put out book 2 in his Heroes Of Olympus series, Son Of Neptune (which I gotta pick up, soon!)

Apparently Vanish by Sophie Jordan (book 2 in her dragon series) has come out (yet another one I need to get my hands on--I loved Firelight). (It came out in September).

Tess St. John's second Romantic Suspense, Eyes Of Jade is now available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook for your reading pleasure! (Interesting trivia for y'all:  I critiqued the first 3 chapters of this one...and I fell in love with it! I've been begging to read more for awhile now and it's FINALLY out!) Be sure to visit her site, and see the cover for her upcoming release, Angel Eyes. Very cool!

*EDIT 10/10/2011 at 11:12 a.m. (Central Time):  I forgot to mention that Tess St. John is offering on Kindle and Nook for a LIMITED TIME ONLY her previously released Romantic Suspense, Don't Let It Show for 99 cents! So don't miss out on this sale...she said it's a limited time only and I don't know how long that means.

Tomorrow C.C. Hunter releases her second Shadow Falls book, Awake At Dawn.

Folks, these are books that will take you on an adventure...they're certainly not to be missed!

On a side note, I've purchased a paperback copy of Syrie James' Nocturne. I just loved that book so much. I even was asked by Syrie to write a blog review of the book, which I did a few days ago and you can read here.

What books are you reading right now?

Have A Monumental Monday!

Having Trouble Commenting On This Blog?

Blog Service Announcement from Write By Bethany:

I need to address this issue, because now it's affecting people who didn't have problems with posting comments before.

Here's the deal:  I don't know precisely why it's happening on THIS blog...however, there FINALLY is a Q&A forum where people with similar issues have posted and gotten some answers.

I'm doing my best to do what I can on my end to help you, but I don't know everything.

One suggestion was to go to this blog and read up on what they say about "cookies".

There's 2 other things you can do:

1.  Post anonymously and leave your first name in the body of the comment.

2.  Email me at this email address and I will post your comments for you.

I'm very sorry this happens/keeps happening. I'm going to continue to try and get to the bottom of the issue.

Thank you for your patience and for following my blog!

If anyone has ANY suggestions, please send me an email.

Thank you for your time :-)

Much Ado About Big Happenings

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

Bear with me, there is a lot to talk about:

Robin Badillo has a brand new paranormal series coming out, the first one was released on March 1, 2011 entitled Blood Hunter: The Beginning  Her paranormal romance, Journey Of The Damned Triology books are available on Kindle .  The first 2 in the Trilogy are available in Multiformat from Fictionwise (Fictionwise is a Barnes & Noble company, but you can't search their catalog on the Barnes & Noble website). Or you can go to her publisher, Devine Destinies. (Her books are only out as e-books). (I'm working out how to get it on my E-reader so I haven't read her work yet, but I have it on my list of books to read--but let me tell you, she's told me a little about her work and it sounds intriguing!)

I am starting Cheri Jetton's new Romantic Suspense, Crimson Snow. You can get it on Kindle or Nook. (I can't tell you much about it because I just started reading it!) The synopsis sounded good and I've read Jessie And The Ranger so I'm really interested to see what she'll do with a Romantic Suspense.

Just finished reading Alex Flinn's Cloaked. Wonderful fantasy YA novel--lots of fun.  You can get it at Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders / Kindle / Nook / Borders E-Reader/ Borders Compact Disc / From Barnes & Noble on Disc / From Barnes & Noble MP3 On CD

Did you pick up your copy of Scones & Bones by Laura Childs? If you like mystery and are a big fan of Theodosia and the Indigo Tea Shop (like me) you'll want this one--believe me, I know, I've read it and it's fabulous!

And what do I have to do to convince you to rush over and get on your Kindle or Nook, Melissa Ohnoutka's Faithful Deceptions?

March 29th will be the release of Kerrelyn Sparks' Vampire Mine and C.C. Hunter's YA Paranormal, Born At Midnight (the first in her Shadow Falls series).

Incredible things are in the works for this blog in March. I've got a review coming out later this month (an official one, like the one I did for Laura Childs' Scones & Bones; only this is a different author). Not to mention this other thing I've got up my sleeve--if all goes well in these planning stages (because I'm still working out some details) it will be one awesome deal!

I'm delighted that you, my dear readers, get to reap the benefits of everything going on here, because your comments, support, emails and returning here every day means the absolute world to me. Keep up the great comments!

And speaking comments...Got one you don't want to post on here or you have a question or suggestion? Feel free to drop me an email 
:-)

Have A Whimsical Wednesday!

Fabulously Fine Friday's Winner

Hello Everyone,

Fabulously Fine Friday's Winner, was Victor. Congratulations to Victor! Not only did I draw his name out of the box (no, I didn't look, all the papers were all folded the same way and pretty much all the same size, and I just reached in, without looking, and pulled out a name), but Victor also had a really funny and imaginative comment about what he would do as a dragon. I talked with MaryJanice Davidson's assistant and so she's gonna put everything together to send Victor the copy of the audio of MaryJanice Davidson's Me, Myself & Why.

I want to give a very special thank you to my wonderful and generous donors, who are also fabulous authors. Without them, this contest wouldn't have been possible. So thank you goes to:

Laura Childs

Ciara Gold

Will Simon

Christie Craig

MaryJanice Davidson

All of them were wonderful to interview and incredibly generous with their donations and time.

I want to thank all of you who entered each day, commented, supported me and supported this contest. This celebration wouldn't have been possible without you all, as well.

Congratulations to all the winners and I hope you enjoy your prizes! I had a blast with the whole thing!

Stay tuned...

This coming week I have an author interview scheduled (can't say who, yet, that's a surprise, but I'm excited about it!)

I've got other things I'm working on for this blog and I'm hoping to work with a couple of websites to bring y'all more fun and exciting things.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! See you Monday!

News & Happenings

Happy Monday All,

Okay first of all...anybody in or near the Houston area who's a writer I have a big scoop for y'all:  The NWHRWA is going to have Alicia Rasley, an author and editor, speak for an all-day workshop. Price is for NWHRWA members: $20 for non-members:  $25. Be sure to check the link for the Program Coordinator for questions. (Please double-check with the Program Coordinator about prices and everything including directions and location).

Now news doesn't end there...


CC Hunter will be debuting her YA series with her first one, Born At Midnight on March 29th.


Author PJ Mellor will have her new erotica, Island Nights come out on March 1st.


Mystery author, Laura Childs has a new Tea Shop Mystery entitled, Scones & Bones coming out in the beginning of March, as well.


Do you have any news you'd like to tell? Please share it in the comment section! I read every comment I see come in and respond to all of them. If I miss your comment for some reason, I'm sorry! You can always email me the comment. Please be sure to put in the subject line: Comment On Write By Bethany or Writing Question For Bethany so I know it's not spam :-)


Have A Marvelous Monday!

Spotlight On Author: Christie Craig

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

Sorry about the delay in getting Christie Craig's email interview up. Normally I can just copy and paste interviews from my email into my blog, but this time my blog would NOT let me paste the interview! So everything has to be done manually, which takes longer.

Anyway, let me introduce you to Christie Craig:

I met her through the NWHRWA, which we're both members of. She's a real sweetheart. Funny, fun, and makes you feel comfortable (you don't feel shy or uncomfortable because she has a very hospitable presence about her). She's also very helpful, offers great advice and encouragement (I know this from experience, she's been very encouraging to me).

Christie is a multi-published author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her works include things like Divorced, Desperate & Delicious and her up-coming non-fiction (with elements of fiction) work, Wild, Wicked And Wanton: 101 Ways To Love Like You're In A Romance Novel...due out this month). You can find more on Christie on her website here.

Without further ado, I give you the email interview with Christie Craig:

Christie is giving away a free autographed copy of her new book, Shut Up And Kiss Me to one lucky commenter of this post!

Me: Could you tell us a little bit about your new novel, Shut Up And Kiss Me?

Christie: Welcome to Precious, Texas. My hero's foster father, Redfoot, believes in Fate. And he believes the spirits come to him in dreams and tell him who is whose soul mate. He is determined Shala Winters, the new tourism specialist/photojournalist coming into town and his son, the Chief Of Police, Sky Gomez, are soul mates. Sky takes one look at Shala and decides he wouldn't mind the "mating" part, but the "soul" part, meaning the forever kind of love...well, Sky doesn't do that. He watched love destroy his parents that ended in murder/suicide. And Shala, who had her heart shattered once, is here to work, not play, and she's opted out of forever as well. Unfortunate for Sky, she's not into quick flings either.

Ahh, but this is Precious, where you don't get between Fate and what It wants, because Fate, even though It has everyone's best interest at heart, doesn't fight fair. It will use whatever It can: skunks, fire ants, and a whole pack of wacky town folk to help It, too. Nevertheless, it's not just Fate stirring up trouble in this tiny town. When it becomes clear to Sky that someone is willing to kill to get Shala's camera, it's Sky's job to find out why and who and more importantly to keep Shala safe. But can Sky do it when none of this is making sense? And can he safe Shala without his heart to the one woman who might be his soul mate?

Me: Was there anything in particular that inspired Shut Up And Kiss Me, or was it one of those ideas that was "simmering" in your mind?

Christie: I actually wrote a blog called Fate, Destiny & Soul Mates: Do You Believe? It talks about where the idea came from. For the long answer pop over to: http://www.tracymadison.com/blog/ . But the short answer is that the idea of soul mates intrigued me since I was twelve and my grandmother told me a story about having a premonition in a dream about her soul mate.

Me: You have a range of books published. Do you have a favorite, if so, which one and why?

Christie: That's like asking a mother which one of her children she loves the most. LOL. I will say that I think "Shut Up And Kiss Me" is my funniest and possibly the best book I've written. The characters just really came alive for me.

Me: What made you decide to write romance novels?

Christie: I usually give my first marriage credit. It was so bad I had to learn how to fantasize. LOL. But seriously, I think love is what keeps the world going. Romance and love feeds the soul.

Me: For fun: What's your favorite color?

Christie: Hmm, it's a toss up between pink and purple. What does that say about me?

Me: What piece of advice has been helpful to you that you'd pass on to aspiring (and newly published) authors?

Christie: Never, never give up. I started writing in '84. My first book until a short ten years later. If you think that's bad, my second one didn't hit stands until a short tweleve years after that. For about five of those years, I only wrote non-fiction--and was successful at a photojournalism career--but during those other two years, I worked part time in journalism, and wrote and completed eight novels and six proposals. And the rejections poured in--one right after another. Ahh, but when I sold my second book, I sold my third, fourth and fifth on the same day. And yes, they were books I had already written. My jump start back into novel publishing was only possible because I had continued to write book after book. And don't think I didn't have every reason in the book, including thousands of rejections, to throw in the towel, to stop believing in myself and in my talent. I just refused to give up, to be a quitter, and look what happened. "Shut Up And Kiss Me" is my seventh novel, "Wild, Wicked & Wanton" is my third non-fiction book, and I have contracts six more novels. Yup, not giving up was a good thing.

The condition is: Never stop growing as a writer. You can keep writing, but if you aren't honing your craft by reading how-to books, studying the work of other authors, or taking classes, then you could be making the same mistake book after book. And isn't that the definition of insanity--doing the same thing and expecting different results? Basically this is the entertainment business and it's one of the fastest changing businesses out there. Even if you are published, even if you finally figured it out, you can't stop learning, because what's popular is constantly changing. If you stop growing as a writer, you'll shrivel up and die and that ain't pretty.

Me: What's changed in your life since you became a published novelist? (FYI to those who don't know, she's a photojournalist and non-fiction author, too).

Christie: Well, I had more work to do. Because I was pretty serious about writing and writing every day, I already had a good work ethic, but the extra work was doing copy edits, doing PR, reading contracts, planning book signings, and writing guest blogs and such. There's a lot of work that comes with the business side of writing that can really cut into your writing time.

I think the biggest surprise that selling brought about wasn't what changed, but about what didn't change. A lot of people believe that once you sell, you suddenly feel accomplished, all those ol' doubts and insecurities will fade because duh, someone has paid you for your work. And maybe for some people that happens, but almost every day when I come into my study and sit down, I have this tiny little worry that someone will discover my secret. And my secret is that I'm just faking it. Thank God I'm pretty good at faking it.

Me: To plan to start another series to go along with your Divorced, Deceived & Delicious series?

Christie: While I hope to go back and write a Divorced series about three men starting a "Stay Single" club, and I would like to write more Precious books, my next series is: "Don't Mess With Texas". It's a story about three men, ex-cops and ex-cons, exonerated of a murder they didn't commit. They've opened their own PI business, determined to get justice for those that the system lets down. Mavericks to the max, these men bend all the rules and it's gonna take some special women to win them over. Look for the first book in the series in 2011 through Grand Central Publishing. Also, my young adult series released by St. Martin's Press, "Shadow Falls Camp", should be released early 2011 under the pen name C.C. Hunter.

Me: For fun: Do you have a favorite dessert?

Christie: Chocolate. Something crunchy and soft at the same time. Like a corner piece of brownie. And can I have some coffee with it, with cream? Darn, now you got me craving something sweet.

Me: Dorchester, to let everyone know, is your publisher for Gotcha!, Divorced, Deceived & Delicious series and for Shut Up And Kiss Me, how did you end up with them as a publisher?

Christie: I got lucky. I knew Dorchester bought a lot of newer writers, and they also took chances on books that were a little outside the box. My books mixed humor, suspense and romance. Other than Janet Evanovich, this wasn't being used a lot. So whenever I spotted a writing contest that had a final judge that was from Dorchester, I entered it in hopes of making it to their desk. And as I said, I got lucky. At one time I had three different manuscripts on three different editors' desks at Dorchester. Oh, I also had another manuscript there that my agent submitted. With the good contest news, my agent made a few calls and within a few days I had a three-book contract.

Me: Anything else you'd like to add?

Christie: In June, I also have a humorous non-fiction release, "Wild, Wicked & Wanton: 101 Ways To Love Like You're In A Romance Novel" is a funny self-help relationship book about what a woman can learn from a romance novel. Sure, romance novels offer fun, pure fantasy, but can they actually teach a woman anything about love? Faye Hughes and I believe they do.

Think about it, if a woman spends as much time plotting her romantic relationships as authors did in plotting their romance novels, there would be far less heartache. If real women took their cues from romance heroines, there may be many more real-life Happily Ever Afters. Romance heroines aren't perfect, they make mistakes. But by the end of the book, they've earned their walk into the sunset. How do they do it? Courage, wisdom, and some good ol' kick-ass gumption. Heroines don't wish they'd said something, they say it. They don't fret about their problems; they fix them. And couldn't we all use a little bit of their wisdom to deal with real life and real men?

In the book, our heroine, Jayne, like most romance heroines--and most real life women--has had her share of heartaches. In "Wild, Wicked & Wanton", Jayne's search teaches her: How to recognize a Keeper...and a Creeper, How to tame a Bad Boy, How to trust her instincts, How to find her own Mr. Right. And Much, Much more!

Thank you, Christie, for this great interview!

And thank you, my readers, for your patience while I dealt with silly computer issues and posting this up manually. I appreciate your understanding.

Now, it's your turn, readers, after you've read the interview, post a comment on this post. You never know, you could be the lucky one chosen to have a free autographed copy of Shut Up And Kiss Me.

Have A Terrific Tuesday!

It's Wednesday Night

Good evening everyone!

I wanted to wait until I had something fun to say. Today's been busy! My kid was not in the best of moods, so that made the day more eventful than it might have been. But it's okay. It got better, I promise.

Before I go any further, there's people out there that I owe huge debts of gratitude (and if I don't mention your name, don't be offended, it's not the last time I'll post shout-outs!):

My editor--she's a sweetheart and she's been a huge help to me and so understanding. Big hug and shout out to Debbie.

My new friend, Tess--fellow writer and a big help. Look forward to seeing you at the workshop in October. Thank you!

And I have a follower listed! She's a guest poster on Agent Nathan Bransford's blog and her name is Regina; check out her blog here.

Pushing ahead on the writing. The new novel is shaping up at over 70 pages so far. Sent it to my friend, Sarah, to check up on the French. I did French camp a few years when I was a kid, but I'm not fluent. Sarah graciously said she would double-check to make sure I'm constructing phrases right, spelling words correctly and making sense!

Tomorrow I'm going to my parents' house for a visit. My kid really enjoys seeing his grandparents, so that will be nice. They're good people!


Funny thing just occurred to me...


There's reality shows for almost everything now: drama, modeling, designing, dating, life, etcetera...what's next? Hmm... thoughts anyone?

I happen to like Dancing With The Stars quite a bit. Do you have a favorite? If so, what is it?

PLEASE NOTE: I've fixed up the comment section of this blog so anybody should be able to post whether you're a member or not. So go ahead, type away...

Happy, encouraging and supportive comments are not only encouraged, but the most welcome! Constructive criticism is also welcome.


Have a Winsome Wednesday :-)