Interview with Beth Kery – & giveaway!

Beth Kery might be one of the most prolific authors I’ve interviewed. Readers might know her for her sensual contemporary romance, her erotic romance or her paranormal and time travel romance. She’s even written a couple of historicals.

No matter the genre, though, one thing all readers will find in Beth Kery’s books is steam—plenty of sizzlin’ hot sensuality that could warm up any chilly November night.

I’m so glad to have Beth here today. She’s giving away a copy of her latest erotic romance, Exposed to You! (You can also read the first chapter at Dear Author. *fans face*)

Welcome, Beth!

Hi Kat! Thank you for having me!

1. You’ve written over 40 books in several sub-genres of romance. Can you tell us about your first one? Did you know when you started that you had all of these different kinds of stories in you, or did you think you would mostly publish one type of book?

Since I started out in the epub market, I had a lot more freedom in the beginning than I do now to pick and choose what I wanted to write. It was a lot of fun to have that wide of a range of creativity. I took advantage of it, exploring different genres. As my career grew, I started getting contracts, and these specify what your next two books will be, or your next three books. It’s wonderful to know you have a ‘sure thing’ for work, but I do miss the days where I could choose a paranormal because a spooky autumn day inspired me to do so. These days, I usually write contemporary romances or erotic contemporary romances, although I still like to dabble in the paranormal now and then.

2. The heroine in Exposed to You is an art teacher who’s roped in to helping her uncle, a special effects artist. The heroine, Joy, gets very up-close-and-personal with a Hollywood star. What kind of research did you get to do around special effects for film? Did you get very hands-on (*ahem* with any actors *cough*)?

Laughing No, no research like that. However, I did consult with a Hollywood special effects artist, which was very interesting. I am not a huge watcher of television, but I got hooked on FaceOff a while back, and it was a big inspiration for Joy’s role in Exposed to You. I’m such an artist-want-to-be, and I’d admire greatly the talent the people exhibit on that show. I admire artists in general, and the topics of art and artists often crop up in my books. I like to live vicariously, since even my stick figure drawings would confuse.

3. Throughout the summer you published an 8-part serial of your erotic romance Because You Are Mine. Did readers react a lot differently to a weekly release (heh) than they do to full novels? Are there plans to publish it as one book?

Because You Are Mine will be published in one book, which is due out in March of 2013. I got a mixed reaction on the serialization. It was a big change for readers, one that some loved and embraced, and some didn’t. It was a commercial success, however, making the New York Times six weeks in a row, which was very exciting. Enough readers liked the idea of installments, looking forward to it like they might a weekly television show.

For me, it was an incredibly invigorating, different writing experience in comparison to the single title writing process. I look at the serial as just another reader option, one that I’m sure isn’t for everybody. Apparently, there is a market for them, however. Many people wrote and told me how the serialization really had them ‘sitting’ with the book, thinking about characters…letting the story really soak in, stew and grow richer as opposed to swallowing it in one bite.

(Hmmm, must be lunchtime if I’m starting with the food analogies.)

4. You have a doctorate in behavioral science. I imagine that comes in really handy when you’re developing your characters! Are there certain traits that you enjoy exploring more than others?

I’m always fascinated by people’s ability to overcome their fears in order to live fuller, richer lives. When I say fears, I don’t mean of the nightmare or scary movie variety. I’m talking about more mundane things: fear to trust, fear of vulnerability, fear of intimacy, fear of losing control. I often explore the things that keep people’s lives comfortable, but small, in my books. Love and romance and sex are powerful influences that have the ability to push us out of our safe little world. That’s the power of love, as Huey Lewis would say. 🙂

Giveaway!

Beth Kery is giving away a copy of Exposed to You to one person who comments here. I’ll randomly draw a winner on Tuesday November 12th. Good luck!

Exposed to You

Losing control is just the beginning…

“What would you do if the sexiest man in the world was bent on bringing you unbearable pleasure again and again? Joy Hightower wasn’t sure she could survive the experience…or live without it.”

It’s not often you’re hired to paint a body tattoo—and what a body—on a total stranger at a Hollywood film set. A reserved and careful art teacher, Joy would never forget it. In a rare fit of raw desire she gave herself completely, knowing she’d never see him again, or ever repeat such a shameless, naked impulse.

Little did she know, the man with whom she shared that lightning bolt of lust was star Everett Hughes. For Everett, women and sex came as easily as fame. But how could he hope to convince the guarded Joy that beneath the hard body and sexy façade of celebrity was a real man who wanted only one, real woman?

In the heat of an intoxicating affair, Everett endeavors to break down her barriers, gain her trust, and expose himself as the real deal. But can Joy do the same, and reveal to him the vulnerable woman who longs to be loved, wanted, and desired forever?

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