Freebie Day #17 - Guest Author Beth Kery!

Scroll down for today's Giveaway!


Today I'm thrilled to have Berkley author Beth Kery with us!

Beth writes HOT erotic romances. Her latest release is SWEET RESTRAINT, which just came out July 7th. Author of more than 17 published novels, Beth has found her niche mixing dominant alpha males, rich characters, and unexpected twists into hot, erotic reads with an emotionally compelling relationship between the hero and heroine.

SWEET RESTRAINT
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback

This time, he’ll never let her go…

Chicago Special Agent Shane Dominic was in love with Laura Vasquez until the day she left him and married another man. Thirteen years may have passed, but Laura’s never disappeared from his fantasies, or destroyed his desire to learn the truth about why she left him. When her husband, the criminal mastermind behind an international ring of thieves, is murdered, Shane knows this is his one last, desperate chance to learn Laura’s secrets. And he’s not above using their scorching hot passion for one another and a little domination to do it.

One look at Shane, and Laura’s own memories come back to haunt her. Her feelings run deep, but she’d never divulge her secrets—a desperate vow that’s compromised when Shane stuns her by taking her as his captive to a secluded cabin. Here, she will finally belong to him, be subjected to his every torturously erotic whim, and be forced to trust him with a shocking truth she’s hidden for so long—one that will expose them to a danger closing in on the both of them.

Purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Restraint-Beth-Kery/dp/0425227693/
Excerpt: http://www.bethkery.com/sweet-restraint

Welcome, Beth!!

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1) What kind of books do you love to read and how do those stories impact your own writing?
I read a lot of genres: sci-fi, fantasy, young adult, literary fiction, romance. All books impact my writing, I think. I strive to have a really natural sounding voice, and so I’m always studying authors like Neil Gaiman or J.K. Rowling; not just reading, but examining sentence construction and flow. They make it seem so effortless.

2) What are you working on presently? What about upcoming releases?
I just finished writing my first vampire novel, which I submitted to Samhain publishing, called VELVET CATACLYSM. It was a lot of fun for me, despite the fact that I was wary about attempting a genre that has been done so well and so often. I’m hoping I got my own personal spin on the category, but we’ll see.

SWEET RESTRAINT released on July 7, AND will be followed by PARADISE RULES on October 6. Both are from Berkley Heat, but SWEET RESTRAINT is a contemporary with suspense elements, while PARADISE RULES is a straight up contemporary set in Hawaii.

3) What’s the best compliment you ever got on your writing or book(s)?
I don’t mean to sound like a sadist, but it does mean a lot to me when people tell me they were so touched by one of my books that they cried. I don’t want to make people sad, but I do want to touch something deep within them. I want the book to linger emotionally, even when the story is done. Even though I write erotics, romance and the emotional intensity are extremely important to me.

4) What’s your writing schedule like?
If I’m on a deadline, I keep a notebook about my progress, and HAVE to write a minimum of 1300K words per day. I can write more, but I can’t write less. If I’m not on a deadline, I might be doing research and making notes for future books or writing at a less intense rate.

5) If you could be one character from any book you’re read or written who would it be and why?
This is one of those questions I have such a hard time answering, because it’s similar to choosing a favorite book or character. Since SWEET RESTRAINT just came out, I’ll say I’d like to be my heroine Laura Vasquez, because she gets to be taken captive by the man she’s loved since she was six years old and couldn’t have. Her lover, Shane, is dead sexy, brilliant and determined as the devil to get her to reveal a truth she’s held for years, to give over the burden of the responsibility of her secret into his hands. I don’t think I’m the only woman who harbors a tiny captive fantasy, and I have to admit, if Shane Dominic really existed, I’d want to be hauled off to an isolated cabin with him.

Just a side note: one of the reasons I really liked my cover for SWEET RESTRAINT is that the rope on her leather cuffs is loose. Laura can get out of her captivity if she really wanted to.

But she doesn’t really want to, and I doubt I would either. ;)

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Beth has gratiously donated a copy of either WICKED BURN or DARING TIME to one lucky commenter. To be entered into the drawing, simply answer this question:

What book covers stand out in your mind? Which ones recently caught your attention?