Beth Kery's Blog, page 3

Come Say Hello at RT in Dallas!

a shot of downtown dallas texas at night.

The Romantic Times Booklovers’ Convention is in Dallas this week! Here’s where you can find me. Come say hello!

Wednesday from 5-6: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Beta, Alpha and Alpha-hole Heroes, w/ Amanda Bonilla, Julie Ann Walker, Julie James and Kate Meader

Friday from 11:15 to 12:15: Celebrate Contemporary Romance: Booze, Books & More! w/ Melody Anne Kathleen Brooks Catherine Bybee Ruth Cardello Alice Clayton Laura Kaye J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) Megan Mulry Jennifer Probst Kristen Proby Rachel Van Dyken

Saturday from 11-2: Giant Book Fair!

Saturday from 3 to 4:15: Penguin Random House’s Passport to Romance Party

To learn more about RT: https://www.rtconvention.com/agenda

GLIMMER is out today!

I’m so excited for readers to dig in to this sexy, suspenseful and romantic read. It may sound like a story you’ve read before, but it’s not! It’ll throw you a few surprises.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Because You Are Mine, a scorching new novel about forbidden desire…

After graduating from her M.B.A. program, Alice Reed is surprised when she’s recruited for the management training experience at legendary Camp Durand, owned by Durand Inc.’s young, billionaire CEO, Dylan Fall. The company usually recruits from Ivy League schools, not insignificant colleges like Alice’s.

Alice enthusiastically accepts, but she still wonders why Dylan would choose a girl from the wrong side of the tracks for the prestigious program. But after a passionate encounter one night, she discovers exactly why—Dylan wants her, and Alice can hardly resist his fierce sexual appetites, though she is amazed that she could appeal to an experienced, sophisticated man like Dylan.

As Dylan introduces her to thrilling, erotic territory, Alice discovers a delicious new part of herself. Night after night, she steals away to find ecstasy and escape in Dylan’s arms. But behind her lover’s powerfully magnetic facade, Alice senses darkness, secrets from Dylan’s past lurking in his beautiful, lonely mansion—secrets that are starting to haunt Alice. And the ghosts of the truth might tear Dylan and Alice apart forever . . .

Glimmer is available now!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1HNQbvm

B & N: http://bit.ly/1JOmWHo

iBooks: http://apple.co/1DT7Qfh

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebo...

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Glimmer-Beth-...

What people are saying about Glimmer

“Glimmer is electrifying, highly erotic . . . riveting. This author never ceases to amaze.”

RT Book Reviews



“That moment you can’t put a book down – it’s glorious. You are so into a story that flipping the next page is exciting and you can’t wait to see what’s next. Welcome to THAT book!”

Fresh Fiction

“Glimmer is one of the best books I’ve read this year . . . beautiful prose, superbly dynamic characters, and a story that will captivate you from cover to cover.”

Heroes and Heartbreakers



“Glimmer is one of Beth Kery’s best, and once you start it, you won’t want to put it down”

USA Today Happy Ever After Blog

“Glimmer is a bam, in-your-face, sexy read. I was captivated, I was seduced and I couldn’t put it down. It was a delightful and happy surprise.”

Jacqueline’s Reads



“Scene’s so sensual and captivating that I am drawn in as deep as the characters are.”

Fiction Vixen

Glimmer Giveaway: The Entire Because You Are Mine Series

Yep, it’s the 1 week countdown until this

releases, so I’ve got giveaways galore going on this week. I’m giving away this

today right here. Pop over and put your name in to win!

Beth

Giveaway: 3 copies of GLIMMER this afternoon!

Want to throw your hat in the ring to win one of three signed copies of my upcoming novel, GLIMMER? You can do so over at my facebook page!

Available 5/5!

Giveaway Today!

As I gear up for the release of my upcoming novel GLIMMER, I’m giving away two ebooks from my backlist today at my facebook page. Stop by and comment to enter for a free book!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beth

GLIMMER Excerpt: Get to Know Dylan and Alice

Excerpt: GLIMMER, 5/5/15

She looked over at him. He was watching her steadily. A strange feeling overcame her, like a door was opening in her chest. She had a bizarre yet shockingly strong urge to sink deeper into his dark gleaming eyes . . . to feel his arms close around her.

What the hell was wrong with her?

“Alice? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she said through rubbery lips, forcing her gaze out the window again. Her heart began to roar so loud in her ears she wondered if he heard it.

“I was glad to hear you accepted the position at Camp Durand. I wasn’t entirely certain what to expect as far as an answer,” he said neutrally.

She grimaced slightly, grasping for steady mental footing. “Not too shocking, after that interview, I suppose.” He didn’t respond.

“I was just as surprised to get the offer,” she admitted after a moment, feeling strangled by the oppressive silence of the house that surrounded them. By the man.

It was all so strange.

“I did hear a gong sound,” she defended suddenly—stubbornly—as if to push back the haze encroaching on her, the strange, unnameable emotion that approached panic.

“Yes. I just realized what it was you must have heard. I think Marie was responsible. My cook is a bit of a tyrant. I mean that in the fondest sense of the word,” he assured dryly with a sideways glance at her. Alice gave him a shaky smile, relieved by the news. Maybe she wasn’t crazy after all? “Marie occasionally uses an antique gong she found here in the house to alert the catering staff she has something she wants done immediately. She has those poor people hopping around like nervous rabbits. I hadn’t realized you could hear it from here, but that must be the culprit.”

“Oh . . . it really did sound like it came from this room.”

“An old house like this can play tricks on the senses.”

“I’m sorry for—”

“There’s no harm done. I hope,” he added quietly. There it was again, that brief flash of a killer smile. “And I’m sorry. For snapping at you.”

She swallowed thickly. Through the window, she saw Kuvi cross the distance of the terrace and say something pointedly to Dave Epstein. Dave scanned the crowded terrace from his greater height and shook his head.

“I should get out there. I think my roommate is wondering where I went,” Alice said, starting to back away.

“Wait a moment.”

She blinked in surprise at his low, clipped command. Goose bumps rose on her arms. He looked a little embarrassed by his tense declaration. It was strange, to see him off balance—Dylan Fall.

He cleared his throat. “Have you spent a good summer thus far?” he asked.

“Spiffing.” She was confused as to why Dylan Fall was singling her out for garden-party talk before they even got to the garden. Perversely, she didn’t want to play along.

He gave her a dark glance. “Do you always have to be sarcastic?”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic,” she lied.

His gaze scored her. He wasn’t going to be sidetracked. She sighed and began ticking off her boring, very unsophisticated activities this summer. “I signed on with a temporary maid service to help pay the bills now that my student loans are coming due.

Maggie was on sabbatical in Mexico, so I babysat her Irish setter, Doby. He had a bad case of fleas and threw a huge fit when I dragged him to the vet. He nearly broke my wrist, he freaked out so bad in the waiting room.”

She gave him a “well, are you satisfied?” glance, but he was impervious.

“You and Maggie are close, then?”

“Yeah. I live in an apartment over her garage,” Alice replied stiffly, suddenly thinking of an issue that had been niggling at her. “I asked Maggie why she told you about me growing up in Little Paradise. She swore she never did.”

He had the decency to look vaguely embarrassed.

“Why did you say that? And how did you know where I’d grown up?” she demanded.

He frowned as he stared out at the Great Lake. He looked hard and intimidating, and for a second, she couldn’t believe her cockiness in berating him.

“We did a basic security screening on some of the more desirable candidates for Camp Durand,” he said after a pause. He glanced at her and saw her offended expression. “It helps us to narrow down the contestant pool. You can’t really blame us, can you? You’ll be working with children, after all.”

Her defiance flickered out. “I guess not,” she said. “Still, no one likes having someone pry into their private life without permission. Would you?”

“You gave permission in the original paperwork you signed when you applied for the position.” He scowled slightly. “And no. I didn’t like it when it happened to me, either. One of the consequences of the job, I suppose.”

A smile curved her mouth at a thought. “Did you have anything to hide?”

“Plenty.”

She glanced at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to say that. Movement and color caught her eye out on the terrace. One of the Durand managers’ peach-colored skirt billowed in a gust of wind.

“Aren’t you worried you should be out there?” she asked.

“Not particularly,” he said, his gravely voice causing the skin of her cheek and ear to tingle in awareness. “I just received an unpublished quarterly report for Durand. I got caught up in looking at it just now. That’s why I was running behind and wasn’t there to greet you all,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows expectantly when he paused.

“I was wondering if you would consider taking a look at it as well, along with our last quarterly and a few annuals. To see if you spot any significant trends. I admire that knack for numbers you have. There’s no hurry, though. I know you need to get settled in, and your kids are coming tomorrow. You aren’t obligated,” he added when she didn’t respond immediately.

“Sure. I’d be happy to,” she said once she’d gotten over her surprise at his request. The idea of losing herself in numbers—of escaping all this strangeness and surrounding herself with the familiar—sounded very reassuring at that moment. She perked up a little, as if she was finally rising out of the strange oppression that had come upon her since she first entered this house.

He nodded, seeming satisfied by her response. “Thanks. I guess we better go make a showing at the party,” he said, not seeming very excited about that fact. “Shall we?”

Much to her dismay and bewilderment, he fell into step beside her, as if he planned to escort her. Alice couldn’t think of anything to say to stop him. She couldn’t tell him what to do in his home and at his dinner party. They walked through the quiet house together, and down a flight of stairs. When they reached a large, high-tech family/ media room at the back of the house, she hesitated.

“This way,” he said, touching her bare upper arm again, obviously misunderstanding her uncertainty. He unlatched one of many French doors and guided her through the opening. His fingertips lightly touched her bare back, stealing her focus. Suddenly, the entire Durand party was right there in front of her, several of them turning at the sound of the

door opening, their attention snagged when they noticed Fall’s tall, singular form emerge from the house. Alice’s cheeks flamed in embarrassment as their host walked down the steps to greet them, his hand only falling away from her back when they reached the bottom step.

“Glimmer is electrifying, highly erotic . . . riveting. This author never ceases to amaze.”

RT Book Reviews

GLIMMER is available now for preorder in print or ebook at your favorite bookstore

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Kobo UK

GLOW Blog Cover Reveal

I’m so pleased to be able to reveal the cover for the upcoming sequel to my May release, GLIMMER. Glimmer itself stands on its own, but Dylan’s and Alice’s story is a complicated one with a deep history. GLOW amplifies the suspense and Alice’s journey of self-discovery. I think of this story as a sexy contemporary, but one with elements of suspense and mystery, and even a coming-into-one’s own theme. Look for these two novels, GLIMMER and its sequel GLOW, to come out in May and December of this year.

GLIMMER, May 2

GLOW, December

First Peek: Excerpt of GLIMMER

From the New York Times bestselling author of Because You Are Mine, a scorching new novel about forbidden desire…

After graduating from her M.B.A. program, Alice Reed is surprised when she’s recruited for the management training experience at legendary Camp Durand, owned by Durand Inc.’s young, billionaire CEO, Dylan Fall. The company usually recruits from Ivy League schools, not insignificant colleges like Alice’s.

Alice enthusiastically accepts, but she still wonders why Dylan would choose a girl from the wrong side of the tracks for the prestigious program. But after a passionate encounter one night, she discovers exactly why—Dylan wants her, and Alice can hardly resist his fierce sexual appetites, though she is amazed that she could appeal to an experienced, sophisticated man like Dylan.

As Dylan introduces her to thrilling, erotic territory, Alice discovers a delicious new part of herself. Night after night, she steals away to find ecstasy and escape in Dylan’s arms. But behind her lover’s powerfully magnetic facade, Alice senses darkness, secrets from Dylan’s past lurking in his beautiful, lonely mansion—secrets that are starting to haunt Alice. And the ghosts of the truth might tear Dylan and Alice apart forever . . .

Read an Excerpt

After nearly an hour of intense question and answering, he tipped his forearm and glanced at his watch.

“You’re a statistical trend spotter, aren’t you?” he asked casually, referring to her ability to absorb data and quickly break it down into meaningful trends, spot anomalies, and even predict outcomes.

“I suppose you could call me that,” Alice said.

“Are you a savant?”

“No,” she denied tensely. The word savant labeled her as a freak. All she wanted was to go unnoticed. Freaks didn’t blend in. “I just have a decent feel for numbers and what they mean.”

“You have a phenomenal feel. A rare gift,” he corrected, his deep voice making her spine prickle again in heightened awareness. “I think you’ve informed me of just about everything I need to know,” he suddenly said briskly, his gaze on the papers on the desk. Alice eased forward in her chair, recognizing the end of the interview. “I was wondering—were you interested specifically in

Durand Enterprises before you began the philanthropy study?”

She shook her head. “No. I mean . . . I knew about it, of course. I was familiar with both its corporate success and philanthropic emphasis.”

“Ah. I was under the impression from your advisor that you were the one who first suggested Durand for the study,” he said.

“I might have been. I’m a business major,” she said shrugging. “Durand Enterprises is one of the most successful businesses in the world.”

He took off his glasses, his gaze on her sharp.

“Are there any questions you have for me?” he asked after a pause in which Alice had to force herself not to squirm.

“How many people will be chosen as Camp Durand counselors?”

“Fifteen. We try to keep the camper-to-counselor ratio as low as possible, while offering scholarships to as many of the kids as we can. New-participant numbers remain fairly steady, but the returning campers have to keep a clean legal record and pass several random drug tests if they have a history, in addition to maintaining an acceptable grade point average. As you probably already know, the camp focuses on junior high and high school-aged kids. Each counselor usually has around ten kids on his or her team.”

“So only nine counselors make the cut to become a Durand manager,” she reflected. “Do you honestly think that this setup—a summer camp on the shores of Lake Michigan for three weeks—really gives Durand the information it needs to hire top notch executives?” she asked skeptically. “It seems a little”—silly, she said in the privacy of her brain—“odd to expect business graduate students to have the necessary experience. We’re not social workers or teachers. Or babysitters.”

He flashed her a glance when she mumbled the last under her breath.

“You’re not expected to be any of those. Well . . . maybe teacher, but not in the classic sense. There are regular, experienced staff at Camp Durand—cabin and grounds supervisors around the clock. It’s true, though, that the counselors play a crucial role in the camper’s experience. The Durand counselors are, essentially, the face of leadership and support to each individual camper. We offer a weeklong training period to the counselors, so they know what to expect. That training program is similar to many management retreats utilized around the world by companies to hone leadership skills. But that’s only the beginning. Then the kids arrive, and the challenge really begins. What’s required to succeed as a counselor—and as a Durand executive—is a large measure of ingenuity, leadership, people skills, and humanity. Those are qualities we’ve been unable to measure adequately from a resume, recommendation letters—which are almost always glowing—and a few interviews. Camp Durand works for us, no matter how unconventional it may seem. It’s worked for us for decades. The executive contestants are under nearly constant observation for four weeks: one week of training and the three weeks while the children are there. Their schedule is arduous. They’re considered to be on the clock from seven thirty in the morning until nine p. m., when the night supervisory staff takes over for them. They’re expected to work Saturdays until three, with only Sundays off. It’s not enough to brag about qualities of leadership, planning, intelligence, innovation, salesmanship, compassion, determination, hard work, and courage: The counselors have to demonstrate those skills daily with a group of children, some of whom have been labeled as criminal, uncooperative, manipulative, lazy, or unreachable. It’s a lot harder that it sounds at first blush,” he said, his mild tone in direct contrast to his lancing stare.

“So Durand does it again. It combines philanthropy—no, it uses it—to optimize the bottom line.”

His smile was closemouthed, slashing . . . dangerous.

“Yes, I understand. That’s the way you would view it,” he mused as if to himself, sounding not at all concerned by her pessimism as he leaned back in his chair. His stare on her made her feel like a wreck he was considering making into a project. It was a cold, sharp knife, that stare, so Alice couldn’t figure out why it made her sweat so bad.

“Would you be adverse to accepting a position at such a seemingly mercenary organization?” he asked.

“No,” she replied without pause.

His gleaming brows arched. “Ah. So you’re a little mercenary yourself.”

“I don’t know about that. I’m not stupid, if that’s what you mean.”

He gave a gruff bark of laughter. “No one could accuse you of stupidity,” he said with a swift glance at her paperwork spread across the desk. He stood abruptly. Alice jumped up like she’d been released after being held down on springs.

“This has been enlightening,” he said briskly, holding out his hand. They shook. “We’ll be making our decision on finalists for Camp Durand within the next two weeks. Chicago-area colleges and universities were Sebastian Kehoe’s last stop on the recruitment tour. We’ll be in contact.”

“Right.”

His eyes flashed. She grimaced. She hadn’t meant to sound sarcastic, but recognized she had. Well, at least this fiasco was over with. Now she had all the valuable interviewing experience either she or Maggie could ever want for her. Everything after Dylan Fall would be trite. She had a future full of cakewalk interviews before she landed her new, realistic job. Probably a boring, entry-level, menial one given the current job market.

She turned to go.

“Alice.”

She came to an abrupt halt, pausing in the action of reaching for the door. She didn’t care for the fact that she looked over her shoulder with a measure of eagerness. It was hard not to crave every glance she could get of Dylan Fall. Despite the fact that he intimidated her, he was one hell of a sight.

“I know a man—he’s a member of the Durand board, in fact—who grew up in the Austin neighborhood on the west side of Chicago,” Fall said. “Are you familiar with that neighborhood?”

She studied him narrowly, trying to see his angle and failing.

“Yeah. It’s one of the worst in the city.”

“Worse than Little Paradise.”

She barely repressed a snort. Mr. Slick, Gorgeous CEO in his immaculate Italian suit had a lot of nerve, presuming to know about Little Paradise. He noticed her flash of disdain, because his brows rose in a silent, pointed query.

“There’s nothing worse than urban hillbillies, Mr. Fall,” she explained with a small, apologetic smile. “I don’t know how much you actually know about Little Paradise, but that’s a pretty apt descriptor for who lives in the trailer park there. It’s just that in our case, the ‘hill’ is a giant garbage dump.”

She’d been trying to use levity. She must have only sounded flippant, though, because he looked very sober.

“My point is, Durand doesn’t just offer philanthropy to needy kids to get publicity and prime photo ops, and then drop them off on the streets and forget about them. The man I’m speaking of rose through the ranks, starting as a Camp Durand camper when he was twelve years old. People-building isn’t an empty philosophy at Durand. We want the best, no matter where the best comes from.”

She realized belatedly she’d turned and was staring at him now full in the face. Searching. Suspicious.

Hopeful.

Against her will, her gaze flickered down over his snow-white tailored dress shirt and light blue silk tie. A vivid, shocking impression popped into her head of sliding her fingers beneath that crisp cotton and touching warm skin, her palm gliding against the ridges and hollows of bone and dense, lean muscle. Her gaze dropped to his hands.

Just the thought of his hands sliding across her skin made her lungs freeze.

I’ll bet he could play me perfectly. He just looks like he knows his way around a woman’s body. He’d do things to me I’ve never even imagined.

They were completely inappropriate thoughts, but that didn’t halt her instinctive reaction. Need rushed through her like a shock to the flesh, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. Her thighs tightened, as if to contain that unexpected flash fire.

Maybe it was because her few former lovers suddenly seemed young and clumsy in comparison to Dylan Fall?

Her stare leapt guiltily to his face. His dark brows slanted dangerously, but he also looked a little . . . startled? His eyes flickered downward, just like hers had. She hunched her shoulders slightly at the web work of sensation that tingled the skin of her breasts, tightening her nipples against her bra.

The whole scoring, nonverbal exchange lasted all of three ephemeral seconds.

Her hand curled into a fist when she recognized she’d let her guard drop.

“I’m happy for your friend. But I’m not a charity project,” she said.

“Neither was he.”

She flinched slightly at the stinging authority of his reply. Dylan Fall was a little scary in that moment.

“We’ll be in touch,” he repeated, looking down at the desk in a preoccupied fashion, and she knew she’d imagined not only that spark of mutual lust, but his cold, clear anger at her pitiful display of insubordination.

* * *

Pre-order GLIMMER:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

5 ARC’s of GLIMMER, next Monday!

I’m giving away 5 advanced review copies of GLIMMER on Monday, the 16th. If you haven’t yet thrown your hat in the ring, here is the link!

5 ARC’s of GLIMMER!

I was very excited to open up a box the day before yesterday and see some early advanced review copies of GLIMMER!! This is a super sexy, suspenseful coming-into-your-own contemporary romance that’s coming out in May, with a second book in the series coming out in November called GLOW. For me, the heroine of GLIMMER and GLOW, Alice Reed, leapt straight out of some alternate reality to my brain to the page. She’s fresh, different . . . and she’s a mystery without knowing it.

To enter a drawing for 5 ARC’s of GLIMMER, go to my facebook page here. Good luck!