Beth Kery is visiting today

Beth, Thank you so much for agreeing to be a guest on my blog.

Thanks for having me, Greta. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?

Well, I’m a die-hard city-girl who loves a lot of the things that show up in my books: art, old houses, mysteries, history and romance. I have another career in the medical field, which I believe helps enrich my books.

How long have you been writing?

For a little less than four years. I was first published in e-book format at Ellora’s Cave in January of 2007.

What is your writing process like?

It depends. If I’m doing a proposal, I have to ‘snowflake’ a book, which is a writing technique to methodically build on ideas until a detailed plot emerges. If I don’t have to do a proposal, I start with an idea and have an ending in mind…and I start to write. The characters begin to inform the plot and map out their own story.

Can you tell us about your newest release Daring Time?

Daring Time is a real labor of love that emerged from my fascination with Chicago, history and romance. After touring the historic Prairie Avenue District in downtown Chicago, I was inspired. It’s a place where you can almost touch history it seems so close. I came up with an idea about a modern day man who unexpectedly inherits one of the surviving Prairie Avenue mansions and begins to see a woman in the house who totally compels him. Others think she’s a ghost, but my hero is convinced she’s alive and well—just in another time period. The two lovers desire for one another is so strong, it allows them to cross the barrier of time. Of course there are eerie parallels between both time periods which put the heroine in grave danger. The hero is constantly wondering if his actions are helping to save his lover…or if she’s doomed to die in the present day just like she did in the past.

Do you have any other books coming out this year?

I do. I just had an ebook from Ellora’s Cave release called Through Her Eyes—a contemporary paranormal. On July 7, Sweet Restraint from Berkley Heat releases, followed by Paradise Rules on October 6, also from Berkley Heat.

What are you currently working on?

I’m finishing up a novella called Holiday Bound.

I know you primarily write contemporary erotic romances, do you write in any other sub-genre’? If not would you like to and what would it be?

I also write in paranormal, although it does seem like many of my recent releases have been contemporaries with crime/suspense elements. I’d love to write a young adult paranormal someday.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

Everywhere. The news, history, conversations…the weather. Lol.

As an author, you must be an avid reader. What books do you enjoy reading? Who are your auto-buy authors?

I enjoy tons of authors, but just quickly–Erin McCarthy, Larissa Ione, Emma Holly and Shiloh Walker. I’m a die-hard Sandra Brown fan, and I really enjoy Elizabeth Lowell, too.

What books are on your keeper shelf?

I have a huge library, so that’s a tough question for my fingers. Lol. All of Neil Gaiman’s books, all of Sandra Brown, all of Harry Potter, every Jane Austen book, every Mary Stewart book.

What was the first romance book you read or the romance book that has stood the test of time?

Once again—Sandra Brown, specifically her old Loveswept and Harlequin books. Loved them. From erotic romance, Michelle Pillow’s The Maiden and the Monster stands out.

If one of your books’ was made into a movie, which book would you like it to be and which actors would like to see as the lead characters?

Hmmm, well, I tend to like my hero’s very handsome and sexy, but in a rough-hewn kind of way—no perfect, aquiline faces, etc. One actor that comes to mind as far as that style of looks is Clive Owen. I loosely based Vic from Wicked Burn off of a young Sam Shepherd, like how he looked in The Right Stuff. My heroine’s are harder to compare in this way, because I make them an amalgam of different people and different ‘looks.’ One actress I would be thrilled to play any of my heroines is Jennifer Connelly. There aren’t very many women that I think have a ‘face that could launch a thousand ships’ but I think Connelly comes close, and she’s a wonderful actress as well. I always want my heroes to be as wild for my heroines as Paris was for Helen, so I think Connelly would be perfect.

If you could switch lives with one of your characters who would if be & why?

Once again, very hard, because I think of all of my characters like children. I’ll choose Genevieve from my upcoming book called Release, which comes out from Berkley in February of 2010. Why? Well, she fought hard to overcome poverty and made a name for herself in the fashion industry using the brain God gave her, determination and a willingness to work her butt off. Besides, I have a crush on her lover—Sean Kennedy—so that would be enough to make me switch lives with Genevieve. Release is the last book I wrote, so my choice will probably switch next month to whatever I’m writing then. 🙂

If you were not writing, what would you be doing?

Oh, probably spending more time on my gardening. Certainly I’d be reading more. Reading is the one thing that got cut back in my life when my writing career grew.

When you are not writing or reading, what do you enjoying doing in your spare time?

I love going to museums—I have annual passes to almost every museum in the city. I like shopping and hanging out with my husband and trying new restaurants.

If you could ask readers anyone question, what would it be?

I would want to know if it’s true what they say—that contemporaries are dying a slow death. I know I love them. I’m hoping the naysayers are wrong about that prediction. 🙂

Thanks again, Greta!

Learn More About Beth: http://www.bethkery.com/

Read a Daring Time Excerpt: http://www.bethkery.com/daring-time/

Order Daring Time at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Time-Beth-Kery/dp/0425227960/

Order Daring Time at Borders: http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0425227960

***Beth has graciously offered up a copy of Daring Time for U.S. Residents or a download copy of Ghost of A Chance or Excorcising Sean’s Ghost for International residents. Just leave a comment answering Beth’s question. Good Luck***