Ringing in the New Year with Beth D. Carter!

beth@bethdcarter.com

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I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers.  I try to write characters who aren't cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box.  I love writing characters who are real, complex and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love.

I’ve been pretty fortunate in life to experience some amazing things.  I’ve lived in France, traveled throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  I am a mom to an amazing little boy.  I live in Los Angeles, surrounded by friends and family.  I hate washing dishes but I love cooking. I hate washing clothes but I love wearing them. Writing my bio is difficult because I never know what to say so I hope you like this one.  My favorite color is red but I look best in black (it’s slimming).  I hate people who don't pick up their dog's crap in public places, people who don’t use turn signals, and I really hate people who are rude and condescending. I especially hate discrimination in all and every form.  And although I love holding a book in my hand, I absolutely adore my ereader, whom I’ve named Ruby.  I love to hear from readers so I’ve made it really easy to find me on Twitter:

Lights, Camera, Love Story

Love Story Series

Bookstrand

Jake Coolidge is Hollywood’s hot new star.  Growing up in Los Angeles among the film sets his father worked on, Jake knows fame is fickle so he lives life to the fullest.  He never has to search far for a pretty face with an amazing body to fill his bed, and he never, ever, promises fidelity.

Norah Scaritt has lived her whole life in a fantasy world.  Knowing she would never be the girl to wear a bikini or short shorts, she’s come to accept that she has curves even though she secretly wishes she was one of the slim, beautiful models that decorates Jake’s arm.

She’s written a movie script that she knows Jake will be perfect for, but she’s ill prepared for the magnetic attraction she feels for him.  As she tries to form a professional bond with him, his hot and cold attitude breaks her heart one too many times.  Can Jake save a love that he denied before he’s lost the only person that ever really mattered?

Excerpt

“Hello?” she asked softly.

“Hello, Norah Scaritt?” a deep male voice asked.

“Yes?”

“This is Jake Coolidge. I work with your cousin Jill.”

Norah’s mind went blank. She pulled her phone away and looked at it, as if that was going to give her divine answers to thinking. Oh god! And that’s as far as her brain got.

“Hello? Miss Scaritt?”

“Uh…yes. I’m here.” She hoped Jake Coolidge could not hear the breathless quiver in her voice. She glanced behind her at the other customers and got out of line so she could have a private moment with Jake Coolidge!

She moved the phone away to clear her throat and then returned it. But it was impossible to steady her pounding heartbeat so she didn’t even try.

“Yes, Mr. Coolidge, I’m here. How may I help you?” She gave a fist pump her voice came out sounding normal.

“Last month Jill gave me your script to read and I was hoping we could meet for lunch and talk about it.”

Had she just died?

Because no frickin’ way had Jake Coolidge just asked her to lunch!

“Definitely,” she murmured calmly. “Is there a day that works well with you?”

“How about tomorrow?”

“I am free tomorrow.”

“Great. I live in Malibu. There’s a great little café on the PCH, just past Las Floras Canyon Road called The Applegate. Meet me there about noon?”

“That sounds nice. Thank you for your call.”

He gave a smooth chuckle. “My pleasure. See you tomorrow, Miss Scaritt.”

And he clicked off.

Norah stood there for a long moment, staring at her phone, wondering if she’d just dreamed the whole conversation with Jake Coolidge.

Jake frickin’ Coolidge!

She jumped up in the air with a whoop of joy and then danced in a circle. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was still in the post office and everyone in line was looking at her and smiling.

She held up the phone. “Good news.”

The woman closest to her smiled. “Congratulations. Is this your package?”

“Oh. Yeah. Holy heck, I’ve got to run. Thank you!”

She grabbed the box and hurried out the door, her fingers already speed-dialing Jill. Her cousin answered on the second ring.

“Guess who I have a lunch date with tomorrow?” she asked, not even bothering to give a greeting.

“Um, Brad Pitt?”

“Why would I have a lunch date with Brad Pitt?”

“How would I know?”

“Jake Coolidge called me!”

“Really? He must have read your screenplay!”

“Yep. That’s what he wants to talk about. What do you think that means?”

“I think it means he wants to talk about your screenplay.”

CODE WORD: Wanted

Blog Post

Another year is on our doorstep.  Out goes 2013 and in comes the promise of something new, something better.  New Year’s Eve builds our hope that the coming year will be different.  That we’ll be different.  Some will vow to finally lose weight.  Some will vow to quit smoking, work harder, be a better person or spend more time with the kids.  Resolutions are a tradition and yet breaking them is also a tradition.  Some of us even make bets on when they’ll be broken.

I make the same pledge every year…to live life to the fullest of each day.  And I don’t mean I have to go out and climb a mountain every day.  What I mean is living life to the needs and wants I have that morning when I wake up.  It may be just getting enough energy to take a shower after a night of insomnia.  It may be finishing the chapter that’s been giving me a headache.  Or, it may simply be taking my son to the park after school.  I never want to realize at the end of the day that I didn’t do something that made me feel good about myself.

           

But that doesn’t mean I don’t an extra resolution or two.  My family is taking a trip to Japan in 2017 to climb Mt. Fuji and I need to be in shape to hike up that mountain so I resolve to hit the gym at least three days a week.  I also resolve to be a bestselling writer (hey, positive thoughts never hurt anyone, right?). 

For whatever resolution you may have or make, I wish you nothing but the best.  Happy New Year, the birth of 2014.  I raise my glass and toast to the promise of a new beginning.  Happy writing.  Happy reading.

Behind the Scenes

Ø How did you come up with the title?

I have to give credit to my boyfriend, Brian, for coming up with the title. I told him the plot and he blurted it within seconds.  Brilliant!  Each book in the series (this is book #3) has the words Love Story in the title: Love Story for a Snow Princess, Once Upon a Love Story, & Lights, Camera, Love Story.

Ø What are your current projects?

I am working on a trilogy about a motorcycle club.  Two books are complete so I’m plucking away on the third.  After that, I may start on the fourth Love Story book.

Ø Do you see writing as a career?

Absolutely.  Right now, I’m a full time writer and full time mom.  Both keep me very busy.

Ø Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. I was constantly creating stories up in my head.  My son, who is seven, does the exact same thing.  He’s always making stories up which he then translates to drawing them out (story boarding) and then moves on to creating computer games.  Seriously.  He has this program that allows him to create games.  At seven!

Ø Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?

The hero of Lights, Camera, Love Story, Jake Coolidge, has a very skewered ideal of love.  His parents fought all the time and when he was eighteen, his famous director father got a fifteen year old girl pregnant.  So when he meets Norah, and begins to fall for her, he’s very scared of his emotions so he tries to deny them.  But he can’t seem to stay away from her.  He has a lot of soul searching to do and Norah has to learn to go after what she wants. 

Ø How much research do you do?

My boyfriend works in the film industry so I had a lot of first hand knowledge for Lights, Camera, Love Story.  But I do a lot of research when I need to because I want things to be as accurate as possible, especially when I write a historical.

Ø Have you written any other novels in collaboration with other writers?

I’ve never co-written with someone else, but I just finished a novella for a dream anthology coming out sometime in 2014 (check out my blog for updates).  I’m really excited about the love story, which revolves around the concept of past lives and soul mates.

Ø Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

Definitely!  As a reader the first thing that draws me to a book is the cover.  As an author, I’ve felt the sting of a bad cover.  My book, Dreamland, is a time travel book that didn’t sell at all and I strongly feel it’s because of a terrible cover.  I hate to say that but I’ve even had people tell me that.

Flash Round

What is your most cherished possession?

My son, although he’s not really a possession, is he?  Maybe his love, then.  Can that be a possession?  Or memories of my father and grandmother.  But if we’re talking strickly something material, then it would be my grandfather’s coffee mug.  It’s nothing special and can be found in any store, but because it was his it’s the most beautiful mug that’s ever been made.

How do you feel about being the center of attention?

When I was in my twenties I craved being the center of attention.  Now, I just want to be the center of attention in my boyfriend’s eyes.

What is your worst habit?

I’m a very introverted person and I tend to not show my emotions.  Sometimes I can tell this frustrates my boyfriend.  I’m wrapped up so much in my own head and in my character’s heads that I tend to ignore him.

Do you have any irrational fears or phobias?

I don’t like touching raw meat.  I have to wear gloves whenever I handle it to cook.  And if I do happen to touch raw meat then I have to scrub my hands.  I don’t know what they call raw meat-germaphobes but I’m one of those.

How do you think your exes would describe you?

I don’t have that many exes, and I’m friends with some of them.  So I would hope to say that I’m a nice person.  Except for Ben.  He’d probably say I’m a bitch.

What are you the most hopeless at?

Getting a good night’s sleep.  I suffer from an over active brain that won’t shut down no matter how tired I am…and I’m always tired!

What would you never do, no matter the price?

Sky dive, bungee jump, or let bugs crawl over me.  That scene in Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, where Willie has to pull the lever covered in bugs?...Indy would’ve died.  It would’ve been a short movie.

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