Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Friday, December 2, 2016

An Interview with Author Erin Bevan!

Today is Friday and that means it's time for an interview with another interesting and talented author! My guest today is Erin Bevan and she's here to talk about her new holiday release, among other things. Please welcome Erin Bevan!


Where did you get the idea for your new novel, WRAPPED UP IN YOU?

I’m not really sure.  I remember reading a Christmas story and it got me in the spirit of writing my own Christmas story. I then basically combined The Santa Claus with The Selection and came up with a new and different twist to the North Pole!

Why did you choose this genre?

This Christmas story falls more in the line of sweet romance. Honestly, I wanted to give them a little something extra in the end, but my editor cut the scene. So, my somewhat spicy turned to more on the sweeter side. I’m okay with that. Maybe now, Hallmark will come knocking on my door! I could only wish.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book you’d like to share?

Maybe not unusual, but I did recruit the help of my daughter when I envisioned the North Pole. She told me the North Pole would have trees with jewels on it. So, I added trees with jewels.

That's very sweet, Erin! What was the most difficult thing about writing this book? 

My pilot has amnesia. That was very difficult. I would forget he couldn’t remember things. There were many rewrites of him rejoicing over recalling memories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I procrastinate. Oh, but I don’t think that is very unusual for a writer.

What do you want readers to come away with after they read WRAPPED UP IN YOU?

I just want them to come away with a light, feel-good kind of feeling.

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write?

Something in the paranormal realm. Paranormal would expand my mind and my muse for sure.

If you could change something about one of your books that’s already released, what would it be?

I would change Cupid’s Angels. I would make Ellie’s reason for dating Robert much stronger. I know what the reason would be, but I won’t tell you. When I get the book back in a few years, I will make the changes, however, I don’t want to give it away!

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes. Not always because I want to, but because I have to. I finish one book, send it off, then start on another one. In the middle of book two, my editor will send me revisions for book one, and so on. I’ve had up to three projects going at once. I don’t do well with that. I like one thing at a time, but that never happens.

Do you have any words of advice to beginning writers?

Absolutely do not stop. No one wins by quitting. Ever.

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing? 
I live in the Houston area. I’ve been writing for five years now, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. If I can help it at least.

If writing is your first passion, what is your second?

I’m not really sure. Probably shopping!

Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it? Does it help you with your writing?

I’m a mother. I have three small children, and they keep my extremely busy. Most people think working is hard. Stay home with children. Hardest job ever! But, my kids do give me inspiration for my stories. And they help keep things real.

I remember those days, Erin. A very tough job! How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?

I don’t. I wing this each and every day and pray I don’t look like a total phony.

If you could get rid of something in your life that would give you more writing time, what would it be? 

Sleep.

What are your hobbies away from the computer? 

Working out, shopping, eating. I do love eating. Driving through the Starbucks drive thru, or any drive thru for that matter.

Name two authors we might find you reading when taking a break from your own writing.

Lori Wilde, Mary Kay Andrews


How can readers reach you or find you online?

www.erinbevan.com
www.facebook.com/erinbevanwrites/

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

I’m working on something very different from sweet Christmas romance! I’m working on a biker club sequel. Hard men, big Harley’s, need I say more?

What’s your tagline? Why did you choose it?

Erin Bevan
Author of Women’s Romance
I chose it because it’s pretty vague. I write for women. Sometimes I write sweet, and sometimes I write not so sweet.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why? 

Wedding Day. It’s probably the best written so far, and it walks the line of sweet and steamy. Some of my books are very sweet. In the future some will be steamy. I want readers aware of that.

Tell us a little more about your current release. 

WRAPPED UP IN YOU released on November 30. It’s a sweet Christmas romance about the North Pole. Santa’s daughter, and an amnesiac pilot.

Is there anything we haven’t covered here that you’d like to tell readers?

I love to laugh, I love to have a good time, and I love when people engage with me on my Facebook author page. So, go, please like me!

Author Bio:


Erin Bevan was born and raised in Southwest Arkansas. She spent her teenage years working for her aunt at the local gas station, flipping burgers and making milkshakes, dreaming of the day when something better would come her way.

Fast forward ten years later, she found herself stuck inside an apartment in South Korea, while her daughter went to preschool and her husband went to work. Alone and unable to speak the local language, she turned to books for friendship. After reading several in such a short time, she decided to try her hand at writing one.

That first one sucked, but by the fifth and sixth book, Erin started to get the hang of this writing thing. Getting the first contract in her inbox was a dream come true. Now, with three babies at home, she squeezes in stories one word at a time, one sentence at a time, one day at a time.  She’s a full time mom, a full time wife, with a little writer sprinkled in whenever she can get the chance.

www.erinbevan.com
https://www.facebook.com/erinbevanwrites/
Twitter: @ErinBevan

Blurb for WRAPPED UP IN YOU:

Princess Jenny Claus has thirty suitors to choose from to take on the role of Santa and her husband, and only three weeks to do it. When an outsider crashes into and destroys the toy factory, her Gala and the prospect of Christmas for children everywhere are ruined.

Logan Moss awakens from his plane crash, suffering from partial amnesia. Surrounded by a world he always considered make believe, he has a hard time accepting his new surroundings. Except for one snow princess who he’s deeply fascinated with. And when Logan realizes she only has three weeks to pick a husband, he begins to feel compelled to be that man. Problem is, he can’t remember if he has a wife.

With Christmas getting closer, Jenny has to make the hardest decision of her life...duty or love.

Excerpt:

She gazed over the rest of his physique. Broad shoulders strained the stitches of his suit jacket, and from the looks of his chest, she would be willing to bet he hit North Pole Fitness on a daily basis. His grin showed snow-white, straight teeth, and a blush crept up her cheeks at his sparkling, undivided attention.

An answered prayer. At least God hadn’t taken a vacation day.

Her eye twitched again. Benigan must have  thought she winked at him because his smile widened, and he twitched his eye back at her as he strolled away. She’d probably just filled the man with false hope. Then again, his chances seemed pretty great compared to the others, so maybe she hadn’t. Was this small flutter in her stomach love? Was this what all the hype was about?

She’d expected a bolt of lightning to shoot from the sky, something earth shattering that would flip her whole world on its head to point her in the right direction. So far, all she got was a flutter…

A loud BOOM suddenly shook throughout the cottage walls as the lights flickered overhead.
Okay, that was definitely earth shattering.

She sucked in a breath and spun around to glance  at her parents. The orchestra stopped playing while the party guests ceased their mingling and began speaking in startled cries and hushed tones.
Her father stood from his white and gold throne to place his hand on the small of her back.

“Dad, what do you think that was?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.”

Sirens wailed in the distance as Peace and Joy, her father’s assistants, ran for the stage, each pressing a finger to their ear pieces.

“Ladies, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” her father asked.

“It’s the toy factory, sir,” Peace replied, nearly breathless.

“The toy factory? What about the toy factory?” Jenny grabbed her father’s arm and squeezed.

“A plane has crashed into it,” Joy answered.  “It’s on fire.”


Buy Links:

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Wrapped-Up-You-Erin-Bevan-ebook/dp/B01M0D4DI0

The Wild Rose Press:
http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/4701-wrapped-up-in-you.html

Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wrapped-up-in-you-erin-bevan/1124780061?ean=2940157103941

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Chocolate Thief

Merry Christmas to all! We've been celebrating the holidays the last few days with plenty of food (the diet starts next week!) and just being together. It's been wonderful to have both of my daughters home this year.

Last night we decided to go out to see "Les Miserables" which opened yesterday in movie theatres. Great show! Loved the acting and the singing. I remembered the songs from seeing the theatre production many years ago. "Les Miserables" remains one of my top favorite musicals of all time.

Returning home after three hours (yes, the show is that long), we were greeted by a scene of devastation in our living room. Ripped wrapping paper and torn boxes once containing chocolates were strewn over the floor. The culprit - our dog Lou, a notorious chocoholic. In our rush to get to the movie, we'd neglected to put the opened chocolate up high where she couldn't get at it, and left it instead on the coffee table. She cleaned out two chocolate boxes that were almost empty, one box we'd just opened, and an unopened 'chocolate orange' (a solid ball of orange flavored milk chocolate the size of an orange). All that was left were the empty boxes and a dog with a guilty expression.

We really should have known better. The same thing occurred a few Christmases back when the dog ate an entire box of expensive Belgian chocolates given to us by a friend. Back then I'd phoned our veterinary clinic and was advised that chocolate could be toxic to dogs. I was told to give Lou a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide to make her throw up.

So guess what I was doing last night? Cleaning up after the dog. Merry Christmas to me.

On the bright side, this morning I found the chocolate orange that we thought she'd eaten yesterday. She'd taken it out of the box and then carried it into my office where she'd hidden it behind a box, presumably to finish later. Aside from a couple of teeth marks on the foil wrapper, it was totally intact.


Lou, the notorious chocolate thief
Note to self: next Christmas hide all the chocolate. Otherwise, make sure to have plenty of hydrogen peroxide on hand.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Here's a comic version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Listen carefully. I hope you enjoy it!




The release of "Flawless" is getting closer; just eight days away. I'm so excited! Please go to my website at http://www.janarichards.net/ to read a blurb and excerpt and to see a list of guest appearances to launch my newest romantic suspense. I hope to see you there!