Thursday, August 23, 2007

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beth Kery grew up in a huge house built in the nineteenth century where she cultivated her love of mystery and the paranormal. When she wasn't hunting for secret passageways and ghosts with her friends, she was gobbling up fantasy novels and any other books she could get her hands on. As an adult she learned about the vast mysteries of romance and sex and started to investigate that phenomenon thoroughly, as well. Her writing today reflects her passion for all of the above.

You may read more about Beth Kery, her books, and upcoming projects at www.bethkery.com. She would also love to hear from you at
bethk1@hotmail.com.


INTERVIEW:

Why did you become a writer? Was it a dream of yours since you were younger or did the desire to write happen later in your life?
Well, I did write two books when I was eight years old for my mother’s grad school class. I think the one about the mice was much more riveting than the one about the puppy. But I wouldn’t say that it was a dream to write. I started writing as an adult for a pastime, and one thing led to another…

What do you love about being an author? Is there anything you dislike?
The thing that I love the best is finishing a story. It’s like being done with all the excruciatingly painful childbirth and sitting back on the pillows and holding your arms out for that beautiful baby.

I don’t know if I would say I dislike the editing process, but it is difficult for me sometimes. I have terrific editors and I trust their judgment completely. It just feels a bit…er…exposing, shall we say to have an erotic romance gone over with a fine-tooth comb. I’m getting better about it, though.

How do you balance your personal and writing time?
Pretty naturally, I think. My creativity only bubbles and demands an outlet when things are relatively stress-free for me. So, for instance, family issues and my “day job” have been very hectic for the past several weeks and as a result I haven’t written much. But when things start to slow down and hit a more relaxing pace, the creativity will froth again.

One bad thing about that, though, is that I don’t work well on deadlines.

How do you write? Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story?
The plot comes first usually. The plot—in addition to some kind of divine intervention—seems to flesh out the characters. I was teasing someone on my chat group recently that sometimes I wonder if fictional characters aren’t real on some alternate reality and are using writer’s imaginations to manifest in this world. Sometimes they really take on a life of their own and start to drive the plot, which is fine with me as long as they don’t try to control my story completely!

And sometimes they do try, especially those stubborn alpha males. *g*

What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you write?
Paranormal, Contemporary, and Historical erotic romances. I’ve also written a contemporary regular romance. I suppose I write the contemporaries because I enjoy reading them like to mix-up my genres for variety. I’m a history buff, especially for Victorian England so that explains my historical preference. I also think the contrast of such a staid, hyper-moralistic society makes sex, especially naughty sex, so much more titillating.

I love the paranormal genre—reading it, writing it, fiction and non-fiction. What can I say? I grew up in a huge, nineteenth century house with several secret passageways searching for ghosts with my friends. The paranormal genre is a natural for me.

What is the biggest misconception about being an author?
That writing comes effortlessly. Everything is relative, of course. Sometimes it is easier than others. Some books are a light summer breeze while others are a grueling blizzard. But there is always anxiety and fretting involved in the process, in addition to some seriously hard work.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?
Hmmm, I would say mostly imagination. I’ve got a pretty vivid one. There are some simple physical similarities. I rarely have a hero that is shorter than 6’4” because that is my husband’s height…and I just think tall men are sexy.

I do feature blue eyes and a sleek goatee in several books, so maybe now that I think about it DH does worm his way in there a bit.

Out of all the characters that you've written, who is your favorite and why?
I adore all the Subtle Lovers heroes, Duse, Che, Bale, and Jax (with more to come) but I think my favorite has to be Jax. He’s so yummy and tortured by the fact that he can’t have Skylar. A series can be looked at from many interpretive angles, but one way that I look at the first four books in the Subtle Lovers series is that ALL of them together are Jax and Skylar’s love story, with the culmination in Subtle Destiny.

By the way, I think a new favorite for me might be the Subtle Lover Saya. He screws up on something big time in the hot Exotica quickie that was recently contracted at Ellora’s Cave called Subtle Voyage. His redemption should be interesting.

I would have to also add as a genuine favorite Christian Lasher in my novel Gateway to Heaven, which comes out in 2008 with Whiskey Creek Press. Why? He’s god-awful sexy and endearingly real even though he is a rock star. To me, he’s very human and believable and I love him for it.

If you were writing a script for the big screen, who would you want to act in your movie?
Good question. It would depend on the genre of the screenplay, of course, but I love the dark, brooding type with soulful eyes: Joseph Fiennes, Vigo Mortenson and Danielle Day Lewis. I’d probably just suggest dying Natalie Portman’s hair a variety of colors and turning her loose to play all of my heroines. *g* I think she’s an amazing actress and can do any genre. She seems to glow from within.

What would you want readers to take away from your books?
I would be happy if the story and characters lingered in their mind for a couple days. I would be ecstatic if they recommended one of my books to someone who had never read an erotic romance before. That would be an enormous compliment that I don’t expect to happen at this point. Maybe someday.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers in regards to writing a book?
I would say to read a lot in the category you want to write. Also, expect for there to be some really tough writing days, where nothing comes and you’re plucking out four letter words on your keyboard with one finger. The muse likes a sacrifice, if you know what I mean, and sometimes demands some sweat and blood on your part. That sacrifice may take the form of writing some worthless crap only to be redirected down a different path if you are willing to take the journey.

It’ll come eventually if you both love it and are willing to work hard.

Who are your favorite authors?
In the genre that I write there are so many, but I’ll mention Lora Leigh, NJ Walters, Robin Rothman, Lacey Savage, Lorie O’Claire and Michelle Pillow. Straight romance, I’ve read every single Sandra Brown novel there is.

You don’t even want to ask me outside romance. I read too much.

What are you reading right now?
Sin and the Second City, by Karen Abbott.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

BLURB:

Bale Ammadon's life mate Helen had been cruelly murdered by the twisted Watcher outlaw Asmoday. The knowledge that he'd been unable to protect Helen, though as King of the Watchers he was one of the most powerful beings on the planet, was a constant pain that Bale endured for a century.

Reborn in the way Watcher mates are after their human deaths, Helen has returned to Dunleavy. But she's not Bale's kind, wise mate of old. She's become contemptuous and rebellious and vexes Bale at every turn, leaving him to wonder if the circumstances of her death have polluted her new life and if her killer still has a hold on her spirit.

Now, despite her fear of him, Helen finds herself hungering for her mate's touch. Her dreams have told her that the key to being whole again lies in Dunleavy Castle. Unfortunately, in order to get what she needs Helen will have to face the man whose starkly handsome face has haunted her dreams and her deepest, darkest fears.


EXCERPT:
(Warning: Excerpt contains adult language)

“Bloody hell!” Helen hissed, impressed despite herself. Inside of the box four beautiful daggers of various shapes and designs nestled in rich brown velvet, each unique and beautiful in its own way. Two had meticulously wrought gold inlays on the hilt and three of them were decorated with rubies and emeralds as well. The only thing that they had in common was a lethal-looking blade.

“Choose one,” Bale ordered quietly.

Helen swallowed, unsure of what to make of his strange behavior. Nevertheless she couldn’t resist reaching out and grasping the hilt of the second dagger from the right, the one with no jewels and pure, elegant lines. It fit in her palm perfectly.

She didn’t notice Bale’s small smile. The dagger she had chosen had been her preferred weapon for three of her past lifetimes. He had personally trained her in how to use it both with stealth and in an open fight.

“Take it.”

The weight of the weapon felt good as she lifted it out of the box. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he stood again, turning his back to her, and replaced the box in the bookshelf.

“I have thought many things of you but never that you were a fool,” she whispered when he faced her again.

“You will soon learn what I am and what I am not, Helen,” he said as he returned to the chair next to her. His eyes caught on the dagger she gripped in her hand. The blade shimmered with life, fueled by her depthless, profound fires.

“I taught you how to use that blade, just as I taught you another skill that you use in the present just as deftly as any weapon.”

“What?” she asked, curious about his direction despite herself.

“How to suck cock.”

Helen felt as if she couldn’t draw breath in the silence that followed.

“More specifically how to suck my cock. As most of the young bucks and half of the not-so-young ones in Dunleavy already have learned, you were an extremely adept pupil. You like doing it so much presently because it makes you feel powerful, isn’t that right, Helen? It’s nice to know that even though you’re the one on your knees you call all the shots?”

Helen laughed shortly. “I can’t help it if all men are the same.”

“Ruled by the pecker, is that it?”

“You said it, I didn’t,” Helen replied flippantly as she studied the silver and gold dagger in her hand with affected fascination.

“And it certainly doesn’t hurt to know that while men are blinded with desire for the bliss that your lovely mouth can confer, chances are that the rest of you will go untouched both literally and figuratively.”

Her gaze shot up to his. He sensed that her fingers flexed hard around the hilt. Her eyes glittered with a tight focus as she watched him.

She never batted an eyelash when he stood and deliberately began to unbuckle his belt.
Helen could not only feel her heartbeat in her ears, she could actually hear the blood gushing and flowing in her veins in the moments that followed. Once Bale’s belt was loosed his long fingers deftly unfastened the button and zipper. She swallowed convulsively, unable to say honestly to herself if the instinctual response originated in fear or hunger.

He stretched the waistband of a pair of white briefs forward and lowered them, along with his pants, to his knees. Helen stared. She wasn’t used to seeing men when they weren’t aroused. By the time they opened their flies the skin of their penises were usually stretched tight with their desire for her. That’s how she liked them, hard and ready to get down to business.

Even in his unaroused state he hung long and full below his round, obviously potent testicles. Despite his dark coloring his cock looked pale at that moment in comparison to his thighs and the black thatch of hair at his groin.

Desire washed through her. The sheer magnitude of the feeling left her stunned and weakened. Memories tickled Helen’s awareness—misty, sultry recollections of stroking and licking him until he swelled past two times the size of his already considerable length and girth, darkening as hot blood filled and stiffened his turgid member.

And every one of those vague, unformed memories was sweet.

Before she realized her intent she rose from the chair.

Bale saw the battle in her wide eyes. When she stepped closer he felt his cock stir with desire. He sat down on the chair, his eyes never leaving her face.

“You hold the knife, Helen. I’m in your hands.”

Her gaze flickered up from the mesmerizing sight of his growing cock. “You’re mad,” she whispered.

He slowly shook his head as he held her gaze. “Not mad. Just at your mercy, lovely. I would be whether my pants were around my ankles and you held a knife in your hand or not. You sense that a man is completely in your power when you take him in your mouth. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s true. Come, Helen. Glory in your power.”


REVIEWS:

See what reviewers are saying about the exciting, unique world of the Subtle Lovers Series…

...out of this world, hot, imaginative and arousing.
-- Reader Views

Beth Kery is a gifted story teller that builds a wonderful world (in Subtle Touch.) The storyline was strong and different. I couldn't get enough of Che Ammadon and Sophia. Beth Kery has won me over.
-- My Book Cravings

I can’t wait to see where Beth Kery takes the Watchers and their mates.
-- Two Lips Reviews

..I found the ideas (in Subtle Magic) to be refreshingly unique, without the same tired and well-used concepts. The notion of reincarnation and almost ghostly matter can be heavy concepts but Beth Kery has woven a story that is so deftly designed that the plot threads blend expertly. The plot is eerie with the machinations of Asmoday’s evil plans. Jax, Duse’s brother, and his reasoning behind his difficult choices make the concepts of future books even spicier as the potential for additional mates heats up.
-- Just Erotic Romance Reviews



Subtle Release by Beth Kery
Book 3 in the Subtle Lovers series
ISBN: 9781419912108
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: August 15, 2007
$5.95 from Ellora's Cave


Purchase Subtle Release by Beth Kery HERE!!!