Beth Kery

I feel lucky as an author to be able to express myself in different ways. Writing for Harlequin’s Silhouette Special Edition is excellent practice for honing and refining the art of conveying intense emotion and conflict. It requires some discipline, and I feel as if I’ve been flexing my mental author muscles. :) I’m looking forward to finishing the second book, as much as I’ve loved writing it, because I’m getting hungry for the creative freedom I can get while writing for Samhain. Next up on my writing goal list the second book in the Princes of the Underground series. If you haven’t read the first, here’s an excerpt.

Velvet Cataclysm
by Beth Kery

In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.

Christina Astor’s telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What’s driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that’s somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.

For centuries, Saint’s kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her.

When an attack reveals the true power of Christina’s gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won’t rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul…

EXCERPT

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, you know that?” She slammed the door shut and swept across the room like a wildfire on the rampage. “It’s you who put this fixed idea in Aidan’s head that we shouldn’t move away from Whitby. Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?”

“You’re wrong. No intervention was required on my part. Aidan is very upset about the idea of leaving Whitby. It’s his home.”

“Wrong. Whitby Manor is your home,” she corrected, pointing accusingly.

She stepped back when he stood abruptly, quick as a snake at the strike.

“It’s my home because you’re there,” he growled.

Christina was set off-balance by his unexpected revelation accompanied by a focused explosion of feeling. The vivid memory of the gazebo made her recover. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you brought your girlfriends to what should have been our first date.”

She’d never seen Saint show an emotion as mundane as incredulity until now.

“First date? You saw what I am! Saw it with your own eyes, and yet the only thing you consider is that I was unfaithful to your infantile fantasies?”

She snarled and picked up a heavy marble paperweight from her desk, fully prepared to hurl it at Saint’s stunned expression of disbelief. A frustrated cry left her lips when he was suddenly beside her, restraining her wrists. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her back into his chest.

“Calm down.”

For a few seconds, she was dazed by his resonant, deep voice and the sensation of his body pressed against her. She twisted furiously in his hold, but her body slowly sagged. When she realized she was following Saint’s order without conscious thought, her fury erupted.

“_God_, I hate you! How could you have done that to me?”

“I am what I am. If I could change my nature, I would in a second. You gave me no choice but to reveal to you the truth about why your dreams are merely that—the fantasies of a child.”

Fury bloomed in her chest, feeling as if it would explode through the skin at any moment. “I told you the other night. I knew you weren’t like everybody else. I didn’t guess you’re…whatever you are…a vampire?”

“Humans have called me that. The truth is a bit more complicated.”

“Vampire or not, you’re an asshole. Some things remain consistent across the species. Even the paranormal variety.”

She braced her legs and twisted viciously to push herself out of his hold. She might as well have been trying to throw a mountain off her. His strength was effortless, as though she were being restrained by steel instead of flesh.

“Let go of me.”

“When you calm down.”

She tried to ignore the shiver of excitement that raced down her neck when she felt his voice rumbling from his chest to her back and his warm breath brushing her ear. She inhaled his familiar scent. As usual, it started an unstoppable chemical cascade of arousal in her body. Her lack of control over her reaction infuriated her further.

“I’m about ready to scream myself hoarse. Do you want to upset Aidan?”

“No. Do you?”

She twisted her neck around and glared up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you think you’re really doing the best thing by taking him away from Whitby?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Who’s making that decision? The loving mother? Or your battered ego?”

She went completely still. For a few seconds she thought she’d go stark raving mad if she didn’t get to punch Saint Sevliss’s gorgeous, smug face just once. He stared down at her with those amazing blue eyes while she panted and her breath burned in her lungs.

Using every ounce of her willpower, she forced herself to calm. She inhaled slowly several times, trying her best not to notice the sensation of Saint’s arms enclosing her expanding and contracting ribcage.

“Let go of me, please,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

When she felt him slowly release her, she gave full rein to her fury. She turned, stepped back, cocked her fist and swung. Two weeks of pent-up anger and frustration went into a well-landed right hook to Saint’s angular jaw. His chin swung at the impact of the blow.

He slowly turned to face her. What she saw in his eyes made her take a step back in alarm. He halted her retreat by grabbing her upper arms and hauling her next to his body. Anxiety and anguish mixed with Christina’s fury when she stared up at his face.

How can he feel so much and show so little? It was as if her punch had popped the lid off a tightly sealed container of frothing, scorching-hot emotion. A tear skipped down her cheek when he shook her.

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Christina. I hate myself for having done it. But you gave me no choice, the way you were pursuing me.”

His heat seemed to pour into her body. She experienced his inner turmoil clearly, felt his desperation, his need and his pain in equal degrees to her own. It was unbearable, the friction it caused inside of her. Without thinking about her actions, she struggled to get her right arm free from his hold. Much to her surprise, he released her. She grabbed a handful of soft hair at his nape and jerked fiercely.

“I would think you’d be glad we were leaving. Wasn’t that little show you staged the other night precisely for that purpose?”

She sobbed as tears spurted down her cheek. Despite her unbridled fury, she couldn’t stop staring at Saint’s mouth for some god-awful reason, couldn’t stop from pressing her body against his long, hard length, or rubbing her aching nipples against his ribs.

“I was trying to stop you from getting me into bed. I’m trying to keep you safe from me. Can’t you see that? That doesn’t mean I want you and Aidan to leave Whitby for good.”

“Well, I guess your little plan didn’t work too well, did it?” She jerked on his hair one last time for emphasis before she went up on tiptoe and pulled him down closer to her face. She didn’t stop until she felt his warm breath brushing against her lips. “Why in the hell do I need to be kept safe? You must know by now I can read people’s minds, Saint. I have never been afraid of you.”

His upper lip curled; his eyes blazed. She cried out in surprise when he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her roughly until they were groin to groin, heartbeat to heartbeat.

“You should be afraid.” He swooped down and took her mouth in a ravaging kiss.

A torrent of emotion and sensation surged through her. Christina dazedly realized Saint was right. A woman should be afraid she might drown in the deep, frothing well of carnal delight that suddenly submersed her entire being.

Nevertheless, she craned up for him hungrily, all vestiges of rational thought burned into a mist by her lust and need.

Five Lips from Two Lips Reviews: I was enthralled. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

I’m a relative newbie to the publishing business, and I admittedly don’t know much, but I thought it might be helpful to address some common misconceptions I’ve ran into about writing and the publishing business.

The first topic relates to an average author payout—a pretty crucial topic to consider if you want to be a writer. Recently, I had an author write me who had just gotten a contract with Samhain, and she was ecstatic. (No reason she shouldn’t be, Samhain is a great gig). However, when she asked me if it was conceivable to quit her full time job, I was a little stunned. At least she was asking, though, which is a good thing.

The general consensus is that authors make oodles of money, which is definitely a misconception. There are SOME authors who make oodles of money, but they are definitely at the upper tail of the bell curve. The bulk of authors consists of people who either make a respectable, if not huge living, and authors who make a nice supplemental income to other work. There are many, many more who might make enough to go to conferences and maybe pay the utility bill every month and that’s about it. They love it, though, and that’s what drives them. Brenda Hiatt has consistently kept up a survey of publisher payouts to authors, and while she can’t claim it’s entirely accurate of course, it would give an author hopeful some insight, at least. Check out Brenda’s site here.

Another thing to consider is that writing income is sporadic. The big, NY authors typically send royalty checks every six months. (A fact that makes both print and ebook authors gravitate toward royalty only paying publishers like Samhain—because they can expect to get a check every month). The larger publishers usually offer an advance, which is based on a guestimate by the publisher of how much your book will sell. If your book bombs, the publisher could potentially lose out. However, they have themselves padded pretty well. You won’t get royalties on your book until you go sell through your advance. A basic example with easy breakdown—let’s say you got an offer for 10K for a book. You might get 5K up front, 2.5K for your editor’s acceptance of the final manuscript and 2.5K upon publication. If you sell past 10K, you’ll start to get royalties every six months. That was sort of an easy example, with round numbers. Actually, book deals come in two-book, three-book, four-book format. So the payout is different for each publisher and in differing percentages, and may include pay ticks for acceptance of proposals for books as well as acceptance of manuscripts.

For royalty based publishers, such as Samhain or Ellora’s Cave, the format is different. Pay is based entirely on how many books an author sells in a given month. Sell 100 books, get paid X% of sales. It’s pretty straight forward. It gets a tad bit more complicated when you factor in sales at places like Amazon or Fictionwise, because then a cut goes to the online bookstore. The author typically ends up winning, however, because while their pay per book goes down, they sell many more books, so overall pay increases.

As many of you know, many authors have started self-publishing on sites like Amazon. In order to do this, they get a straight percentage, say 35%, of every book sold.

Well, that’s my quick and dirty about pay. I know I didn’t include everything, but hopefully I conveyed the general ideas.

Why write this little article? I thought it might be helpful to aspiring or new authors, but I also thought readers might also find it interesting.

Just a reminder that I’m giving away two Beth Kery books to two random new members to the Beth Kery yahoo chat group. You can join here or click under Beth’s Stuff, Beth Kery Yahoo Group.

Have a good weekend,

Beth

Hi all! You know how Paradise Rules went on sale at Amazon last week for 6 bucks? Well now Release is on sale for 6 bucks also! What a bargain.
Paradise Rules for Six Dollars
Release for Six Dollars

In other news, many of you may belong to the Total Exposure Yahoo Group where I hang out with other authors Fiona Jayde, Juliana Stone and Lacey Savage. You are still welcome to join me there, but I’m also starting my own yahoo group to incorporate not only by erotic romances, but my new Silhouette Special Edition romances, which are emotional, steamy contemporaries. I’d like to send out an official invite to anyone interested to join either group. For the Beth Kery group, I plan on doing some fun contests, etc. to promote it, so you might want to join now. Here’s the link to join the Beth Kery Yahoo group.
or
the Total Exposure Yahoo Group with Beth and other authors.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I can feel it in the air…fall is coming. I don’t know what it is, because it can still be hot and muggy, but it seems as if I feel that subtle change. My favorite time of year–apples, pumpkins, fireplaces, brilliant cool days and candles is on the horizon. Yay!

It’s been a whirlwind, but productive summer. “Conference season” kept me busy, starting with RT, then Lori Foster’s event, then RWA. I had six writing deadlines from spring to fall, and I’ve hit five of them, so I’m feeling pretty good about that.

The news on the emarket front and an increase in my ebook sales has really got me happy. How many of you got ereaders this summer? I saw this interesting article in USA Today yesterday, where Jeff Bezos says sales of Kindle books at Amazon will outsell paperbacks in a predicted 9-12 months. (Kindle sales already has outstripped hard back books). If you’d like to see the Bezos interview, it’s here.

I’m starting to get excited about promotion for EXPLOSIVE, my new release from Berkley Heat out December 7. I’m trying to come up with some fun promo stuff for readers. Do you follow me on Twitter or belong to my yahoo chat group, Total Exposure? If not, find the links below under Beth’s Stuff to join. I’m thinking of doing some fun contests, etc. through those channels starting this fall.

I did have one guilty read that I just loved recently: the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I’m a real sucker for YA, and this one was just so, so much fun. Rick Riordan is a high school English teacher, I believe, and he made the ancient Greek world come to life in the modern day for his books. He really gets teenagers. Very funny and very fun.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and happy reading!

A sale is always a good thing. Paradise Rules is currently on sale at Amazon for only 6 dollars, 60% off the retail price! Check it out here.

PARADISE RULES
by Beth Kery
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Length: Novel

She didn’t believe in paradise…

To most people Hawaii’s crystal blue shores are an inviting opportunity to escape reality. But for Lana Rodriguez who grew up there, the picture-perfect vacation getaway disguises the bitter truths she escaped years ago, and not without some emotional scars. Now a successful blues singer, Lana’s returning to Waikiki with a different outlook on the past, and a bold defiance when it comes to men, romance, and sex. This time, it’s on her terms.

Until she found it in him.

Local celebrity, businessman and island god, Jason Koa, may be every woman’s dream. For Lana, it’s not exactly love at first sight. Though their start is rocky, they can’t deny the passions they arouse in each other. Jason refuses to become Lana’s pawn. It’s time to show her who makes the rules on this island—and in the bedroom. But will Jason’s attempt at breaking Lana’s shell reveal secrets that neither are prepared to face, or will they allow themselves to get swept away by a tidal wave of desire?

What people are saying about Paradise Rules

–Love scenes that are so hot they set the pages on fire…a must add to your forever bookshelf! ParanormalRomanceReviews

5 Hearts from the Romance Studio–A flawless romance that is sure to stand the test of time.

–Recommended Read from Jane at Dear Author–Romance with both eroticism and emotional conflict.

4.75 stars and a Top Pick from Night Owl Romance–I found it impossible to set this book down.

4 stars from Romantic Times–Kery creates tension by weaving together a mystery and a happily-ever-after love story.

–Paradise Rules is the kind of hot/sweet romantic combination that I’ve come to expect from Beth Kery–Book Binge.

5 Angels and a Recommended Read–Fallen Angel Reviews

–I definitely recommend Paradise Rules–All About Romance Reviews

–5 Stars from Genre Go Round Reviews–hot enough to melt the polar cap

–A “Desert Island Keeper” from Lea Closetwriter–these two are volcanic together

Happy Friday! Thanks to everyone who participated in the RWA tote bag/books/USB contest! I didn’t get to respond to everyone, but I so appreciate you all stopping by. Hopefully I’ll be meeting all of you at RWA or some other conference some time in the near future.

I have some news this morning. I’ll be writing a series for Berkley called One Night of Passion, involving lovers from a connection of friends and family. The common thread is that each book starts out with an impulsive, steamy one night stand. Of course a lifetime of love follows, but each couple has some struggles to go from one night to true love forever. I got my back cover copy for ADDICTED TO YOU, the first in the series, so I’m including it here along with an awesome Julie James quote (she was so great, the amount of thought she put into it) and Lea’s COVER COMING SOON guy. I’ll be sure and showing you the new cover when I get it. Part of the news is that I’ll be writing this series under another pen name, Bethany Kane! I hope you like it, it’s similar to Beth Kery, but different. I’ll continue to publish under Beth Kery, as well.

Addicted to You
Genre: Erotic/Contemporary
Bethany Kane
A One Night of Passion Novel

“A fabulous, sizzling hot friends-to-lovers story–you’ll be addicted from page one!” Julie James, National Best Selling author of Something About You

All it takes is a moment for your life to change—
one night of desire to make you feel alive…

Irish film director Rill Pierce fled to the tiny, backwoods town of Vulture ’s Canyon, seeking sanctuary and solitude after a devastating tragedy. Once, his raw sex appeal and sultry Irish accent made women across the globe swoon. Now, he’s barely recognizable…

But Katie Hughes, his best friend’s sister, is not the type of woman to give up on a man like Rill. She blazes into Vulture’s Canyon determined to save him from himself. Instead, she finds herself unleashing years of pent-up passion. In a storm of hunger and need, Katie and Rill forget themselves and the world. But will Rill’s insatiable attraction to Katie heal his pain—or will it just feed the darkness within him?

Look for Addicted to You to be on the shelves next June!

AND THE WINNER of this week’s RWA contest:
KAMMIE. Kammie, write me at bethkery@aol.com with your address. :)

Here I am, back from RWA in Orlando, where I had a terrific time and saw/met some wonderful writers, editors, booksellers, librarians and readers. This was my first RWA, and it was quite an experience…different than RT because it was very writer skill and career based, and also because the publishers themselves were so heavily involved. Does that mean this isn’t a good conference for readers? It absolutely is reader friendly with a capital “F”. Why? Well, for instance, each prublisher…around 15 of them, I believe, sponsors their own author book signing…and the books being signed by your favorite authors are all FREE. That’s right, ladies. FREE. So you march in with your suitcases, talk to your faves face to face and load up on books. And this is in addition to all the other books you get in your bag or at events. Of course, you have to be a conference attendee to get into these signings, but just saying…very worth it.

Today, I’m going to be giving away the official RWA conference bag along with a couple of books–Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts and Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran , some pens and also the AVON USB drive that contains some conference worksheets and a couple of PDF books! Nice. It’s a very cute little drive with RWA 30th printed on it. Just leave a relevant comment, and you’ll be entered to win. I’ll draw a name on Friday, so be sure to come back and check.

I also have a few pics for you of the con. Enjoy!

Howdy all! Just a quick check-in. Thanks to everyone who participated in the Top 10 Movie Contest. It was a huge success in many ways, one of which–I got to remember some great movies thanks to you and expand my list of ‘must sees.’ People were coming up with such awesome lists. I had a great time.

I’ve been enjoying this hot, hot summer, doing a lot of writing and almost done with my first Harbor Town book. :) I saw both Despicable Me and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice last week. I loved Despicable Me (I’d give it 3.25 stars) and thought Sorcerer was good for a summer movie, although I’d probably recommend seeing it on video. I just have a thing for Nick Cage. I also saw Sherlock Holmes last night. I really liked it. Jude Law in a bowler was a lot hotter than I thought I’d be. Robert Downey is a great actor, and I do like him a lot, but he didn’t really work as Sherlock for me. He worked as a great leading character, but I never really bought him as being super intelligent. However, I give this one 3.25 for style alone. Great movie.

Let’s see, what else…oh, RWA in Orlando is coming up. I’m very excited. I need to get my schedule straight once and for all, though. Lots of parties to go to here. Can’t wait for some of the educational presentations.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer to its fullest!

I loaded up the random generator, 1-83, and it came up with number 2.
Mary G!
Mary, write to me at bethkery@aol.com, and I will send off your Amazon GC!

I have been telling everyone I so appreciate this contest, because I have a list of never before seen movies and ones I recalled I loved, like Matilda and Goonies! I hope you guys enjoyed, and please check Lea, Stacy and Julie’s blog for the announcements there!

Beth

It’s the height of the summer, time not only for taking refuge in a cool movie theatre with popcorn and a blockbuster at hand, but also…er…time to break a Beth Kery lackluster blogging streak.

The answer to the problem? an awesome four-way contest where all you have to do is comment about your favorite movies of all time!

I’m so excited to be doing this feature at my blog, along with author Julie James and bloggers Lea and Stacy! Each of us have prizes on our blogs, which will be given away this Friday, 7/17. My prize will be a $25 dollar Amazon gift certificate. All you have to do to enter the drawing is name a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 of your favorite movies, and you are in the prize drawing. Each of these ladies also is giving away prizes, so you could win big by going to each blog and commenting on your movie favorites! Here are the links for other prizewinning opportunities!