Beth Kery's Blog, page 20

New Cover and Other News

I received the cover for my upcoming Harlequin book in the Home to Harbor Town series, One in a Billion. This is Deidre’s story, and one that I hope you’ll love.

Look for One in a Billion in stores the last week of July and in ebook August 1st!

In other news, I’ve been working on an as of yet still top secret, new project. Shhhh. I’m so excited about this innovative idea and have such high hopes that it will be a unique and very satisfying reading experience for you. Stay tuned for more news!

The release of my first Berkley eSpecial in the One Night of Passion series (under Bethany Kane) comes out June 5! Stay tuned for more about Bound to You and a contest (or some sort of fun) here at my blog.

If you haven’t yet grabbed Gateway to Heaven yet for free, now is the time to do it. It’s only still available free at Amazon, but that will change very soon. :)

Hope you are enjoying your spring and reading some good books!

~Beth

Bound to You Cover!

I have a new cover for my very sexy One Night of Passion novella coming out June 5, 2012! (Yes, just around the corner. This cover came late!)

John Corcoran loved the isolation of the Shawnee National Forest with the crisp spring air, the sounds of nature, and the bracing scent of pine. Isolation is what movie star Jennifer Turner craved as well, an escape that only a weekend hike, a long and blissful distance from Hollywood, could provide.

Yesterday, they were strangers—until a fateful accident, deep in the forest and far from civilization, throws them together and plunges them both into darkness. For Jennifer it is as unnerving as the night itself, trapped in such close quarters with a man as mysterious as John. He is alpha: bold, rough, and masculine, but with a scent of firewood and spice she finds intoxicating.

In the dark, Jennifer’s nightmares spring to life. The only way to vanquish them is by submitting to blind, naked need. Now, as intimately close as a man and a woman can be, they find themselves alone, battling fear and vulnerability. Only an unexpected passion will comfort them—a sensual, raw experience from which neither is certain they want to be rescued.

Read an Excerpt

Wicked Burn Re-releases!

I’m very excited that Wicked Burn re-releases today. If you haven’t read it yet, or if you take a re-read, I hope you will let me know your thoughts.

Now, here’s a first taste of Wicked Burn!

Excerpt

His dark brown hair fell over his brow as he bent to retrieve a bottle from a lower shelf. When he stood, her gaze brushed appreciatively across his ridged abdomen, the sweep of his wide shoulders, and the hard, delineated muscles of his upper arm. Most of the men that she knew would have put on a shirt in this situation. But Niall was glad that he hadn’t. He was such a beautiful, sinuous male animal that it seemed a shame to cover his body.

He never responded to her attempt at small talk, but Niall found that his silence didn’t make her feel awkward. When he handed her a glass through the window, she held it up in a brief salute and took a drink. Her sensual appreciation of the taste must have shown on her face, because he gave a small smile before he took a swallow of his own. Heat expanded in Niall’s lower belly at the sight of the muscular movement of his throat.

“You approve,” he stated rather than asked.

Niall blinked. Had he been reading her mind? A modicum of common sense returned to her, however, and she realized that he’d been referring to the liquor, not his beautiful body.

“I don’t drink much, but when I do, I’m a Scotch drinker. This happens to be my favorite brand,” Niall said. She realized that her voice had become unintentionally husky as she stared at his mouth. His upper front tooth slightly overlapped the one next to it. She thought of what it would feel like to run her tongue over that sexy little imperfection, and then wondered how many women he encountered every day who had the exact same fantasy.

She forced her eyes away from him and transferred her gaze to the windows. It unnerved her, this strong, unprecedented physical reaction to him. She felt awkward and foolish, like a gangly teenage girl.

She took a deep, uneven breath and tried to focus on what she saw. His apartment faced east, granting him a spectacular panoramic view of Chicago. The lights of the high-rises shimmered in the black, winding river. The Riverview Towers offered their residents every luxury and convenience: a concierge, a dry cleaner, grocery delivery, shopping, and a central location in downtown Chicago. Residents and the corporations for which they worked paid sky-high prices for the flexibility and conveniences of the apartments. But to Niall the temporary residences felt depressingly sterile. She longed for the stability of a home again.

“So what’s your excuse for staying in this god-awful place?” she asked him when he came around the corner into the living room. She glanced up when he leaned his hip against the counter next to where she sat on a stool.

“I’m working in the city for a while. I sleep here Tuesday through Thursday nights and drive home on Friday.”

“To the suburbs?” Niall asked as she took another sip of Scotch. With him standing and her sitting, her eye level was at his chest. His nipples were dark brown and even more

erect than she’d speculated when he was feet away from her instead of inches. She inhaled slowly, and the male scent that she recalled all too well from sharing the elevator with him filled her senses, more subtle, but nevertheless more potent, than the fumes of the Scotch.

The desire that he’d awakened in her reared its head, causing a shimmering sensation of heat to spread along her tailbone, only to surge and swell at her sex, liquefying her in a matter of seconds. His singular gray eyes flickered down to her lap when she stirred restlessly on her stool.

“I have a farm downstate. You?”

She blinked. “Oh . . . I’m waiting for my condominium to be ! finished. Hopefully, I’ll be out of here in a month or two, but they keep putting me off.” She shrugged and gave a shaky laugh. “It could be worse. I work downtown at the Chicago Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, so Riverview Towers are convenient. If it weren’t for the fact that I feel like I live in a beige and white nightmare, things would be great,” she added with a chuckle.

“What’s your name?”

She paused in her mirth. “Oh, sorry. I’m Niall. Niall Chandler.”

She started to put out her hand for a friendly handshake but paused in surprise when he began to laugh. “What’s so funny?” she asked in amazement.

He set his drink on the counter as he stilled his mirth.

“Your name. You’re the most feminine thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and you’ve got a boy’s name.”

Niall inhaled sharply. He was usually so terse and impassive that it unsettled her to hear him compliment her—for that was undoubtedly what it had been, given the warm, husky tone of his deep voice.

Her anxiety mounted when he took her glass from her stiff hand and set it next to his on the counter.

“I’m Vic.” His hand rose to cradle her chin, lifting her face until she met his gaze. Niall’s pulse throbbed madly at her throat when she saw the heat in his gray eyes as they fixed on her

mouth.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way . . .” His head dropped slowly. “Let’s get down to the good stuff, Niall.”

Wicked Burn, Available in mass market paperback, May 1.

The last two winners of Wicked Burn are

StacieD and Michelle Wilson! Yay!

Ladies, write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your address to claim your prizes!

Thanks to everyone who participated and happy reading!

Beth

The fourth copy of Wicked Burn goes to

Erin!

Congrats, Erin. Write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your address to claim your book!

The winner of the 3rd Wicked Burn is

Julie!

Write to me at bethkery@aol with your address to claim your book, Julie!

Friday’s Winner is

Kathleen Charles!

Kathleen, write to me at bethkery@aol.com to claim your signed copy of Wicked Burn!

Beth

The Winner of the First Book is

Sandy Thrower!

Sandy, write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your address and I’ll get off your book.

There are still 5 books left to give away, so please leave a comment on the original post to enter. (You don’t have to enter again, but be sure to check back to see if you won in the a.m.).

Beth

Reflections on Wicked Burn and a 6 Book Countdown Giveaway!

As I anticipate Wicked Burn re-releasing in mass market paperback next Tuesday, I got to reflecting about this book and what it means to me after three and a half years of its original publication. Wicked Burn will always hold a special place in my heart simply because it was the book that caught agent Laura Bradford’s attention and my first book to sell to a NY publisher (Berkley).

But it’s a special book to me for other reasons. I remember conceptualizing the plot and experiencing such a poignant feeling for this man and woman–Vic and Niall. I live in the city and am surrounded by high rises. There’s something so eerily awesome about the idea of all these people living so close–sometimes literally feet away from one another–and yet who live such separate, lonely existences. Sometimes I look out my window and notice two people through two windows. They are in separate residences. They’re both intent on their own lives, seemingly alone, when in reality, from my perspective, they’re literally within an arm’s span of one another. I wanted to write a story about two people who crash through those barriers one night sexually, altering their lives forever.

Sex is often looked upon as the most primitive of human needs–something to be cautious about…controlled. I think the reason we as human beings strive to control our sexual impulses so much is that at some level, we’re aware of how powerful those needs and drives can be, not just in an of themselves, but their power to change our lives. For Vic and Niall, their intense sexual interaction burns away all artifice and social facade. They’re two people, vulnerable…made naked by their need. In giving themselves totally to this explosion of sexual hunger, they’re transformed. This is a regular theme in my books. I know it’s common to think of erotic romance as ‘less than’ or smutty, but I’ve always felt sex is an ideal language to explore human vulnerabilities, emotion, conflict and the evolution of love.

If you missed Wicked Burn’s first release, I hope you’ll check it out in mass market, or get it for your reader at the mass market price on May 1!

“IF YOU’RE WANTING A TENSION-FILLED SIZZLER, YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!”

Fallen Angel Review

“ONE OF THE BEST EROTIC ROMANCES I’VE EVER READ.”

All About Romance

“NEARLY SINGED MY EYEBROWS.”

Dear Author

Kery brings her characters to life with her descriptive prose and realistic dialogue. I held my breath as they came together in some of the sexiest love scenes I have read this year.

5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies

Kery gives readers beautifully written prose with amazingly descriptive sex scenes. But be warned — this is a very sensual tale. The well-crafted characters are full of raw emotions that are right on the page for the reader to experience.

4 stars from Romantic Times

WICKED BURN is scorching hot! I was held spellbound and truly mesmerized by the feelings this book evoked in me. Even now, hours later, I can still see Vic and Niall in my head and feel the emotions they felt. If you only read one book in December, make it WICKED BURN. If this novel is any indication of Beth Kery’s writing ability, I can honestly say she is definitely an author to watch!

5 Book Marks: Wild on Books

This is a poignant contemporary romance starring two scarred lovers who have demons from past relationships. Beth Kery provides a deep angst-laden tale filled with real characters wanting much more out of life, though lessons learned have led to settling for much less.

5 Stars from Genre Go Round





I’ll be giving away 6 signed copies of Wicked Burn, one every day until April 30th, in order to countdown the re-release of Wicked Burn May 1. First winner announced tomorrow morning with a new winner every day. Just leave a comment on this post in order to qualify.

The winner of Addicted to You is

Claudia!

Claudia, write to me with your address at bethkery@aol.com to claim your book!