Bethany Maines's Blog, page 9

Wayward Characters

    “Sam, did you just have Will drive you home so he would pay for our take-out?” Jenna whispered, draping her friend in a throw blanket.

    “Yes,” Sam whispered back without a hint of guilt. “And if you were a real friend, you would go over there and spill something on him, so he would have to take off his shirt.”

    “I’m starting to think Chase was right. You are not that injured,” said Jenna.

Love & Treasure, Bethany Maines

In my upcoming novella, Love and Treasure, I have two couples stumbling their way toward love. The main couple, Chase and Jenna, know they’re attracted to each other but the events of the story conspire to keep them apart.  But Samantha and Will are the bumbling side-kicks who haven’t quite realized that they’re destined for each other. Originally, Will, the straight-laced descendant of the town founder was intended to be the villain of the piece.  But as I wrote he won me over with his goofiness and well-intentioned, but occasionally misguided, desire for historical accuracy.  (In case, you’re wondering, I, like my hero pirate/stunt man/ restaurant owner Chase Regard, draw the line at historically accurate bathrooms.)

For the most part, my characters do as they’re told.  The bad guys set about their purpose with a Shakespearean-like intention to block the heroes.  And the heroines and heroes go about the business of saving the day without too much complaint.  However, every once in a while one of my characters simply turns up with extra personality and tries to turn the ship.  Sometimes I fight for control and other times… Well, who am I to deny true love?  Will and Sam are clearly destined for each other and only the meanest author would try to block that.

Love and Treasure is a modern day, stand-alone romantic comedy novella, reminiscent of the Gilmore Girls. If you like sword fights, treasure-filled caves, and laughs while a feisty heroine and rakish hero struggle to find their happily ever after, then you need Love and Treasure.  Love and Treasure will be available 7/21/20.  Learn more and pre-order:

The Good Old Days Weren’t Always That Good

“It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

–Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

The pandemic has brought many things surface, but as I work with my roster of usual clients (I’m a graphic designer) I’m caught by surprise at the growing gulf between those who wish to return to “normal” (don’t we all) and those who have pushed forward to embrace technology in an effort to create “normal-ish”.  Some of the solutions that have come up during the pandemic are poor substitutes (distance learning, I’m looking at you), but at least function.  Some of the solutions work better than the original (Zoom with out of state friends!).  But what I see is that the clients who are embracing technology to remain connected are going to have an on-going and continued advantage over organizations that take the “we’ll just wait for normal to come back” approach even after the pandemic subsides.

Honestly, I don’t believe that normal is going to come back. That is not a negative prediction.  It’s an estimate based on what I know about history and technology. Humans are always looking for “faster” and once we’ve found a new faster way to do things, we don’t go back to slower.  So all the shortcuts we’ve developed are going to stick with us. The organizations who think that everything will go back to the way it was are going to be severely disappointed. And I think this rule can be brought down to an individual level as well.

Which has made me ponder what “normal” am I clinging to for the sake of familiarity?  Am I afraid of being a different person tomorrow because it would require change today?  What challenges have I been avoiding because they would require me to dig in, learn, and potentially fail? Learning something new is hard, but results are clear — trying new things keeps us connected, flexible and more likely to survive.  And as I stated slash possibly sang and danced to in my last Zoom dance party, I Will Survive.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Peregrine’s Flight – the next book in my Shark Santoyo series is almost here (print edition is already available!) and will be available 6/16.

Blurb: Peregrine Hays has always been able to see the angles and fix any situation—but even she can’t fix the death of Shark Santoyo. All Peri wants to do is finally move on, but when mysterious new player Hernan Arroyo comes to town looking for Shark and digging up the past, he unwittingly puts Peri in the path of the Reyes brothers, their hunt for a smuggler of stolen Mayan artifacts, and a shadowy figure known only as the Mannequin. Peri is struggling, but maybe with the help of her friends, she can learn to fly.

Learn more about the series:  https://amzn.to/3aUhDuA 

Pre-Order Peregrine’s Flight:  https://amzn.to/3eGyan6

Love & Treasure – Surprise it’s a novella! If you like sword fights, treasure-filled caves, and laughs, then you need Love & Treasure.

Blurb: Chase Regard is captain of the nearly-historically-accurate pirate ship Cupid’s Revenge, a pirate-themed restaurant and dinner show, and the mountain of debt that came with both. But Chase has an ace up his sleeve: his ancestor left a heap of treasure somewhere on the coast near Ashville, Oregon. All Chase needs to find it is the help of the red-headed, fiery, and occasionally forgetful, academic Dr. Jenna Mackenzie, the director of the Ashville Museum. But when Chase and Jenna team up they must face the town’s history-buff bully, accusations of theft, and an oncoming storm before they find out that X marks the spot for love and treasure.

Releasing: July 

Thriller Giveaway: Fellow Stiletto author A.B. Plum and I are part of a massive Thriller Giveaway!  60 series starting books AND an e-reader are up for grabs. Last day to enter is 6/10 so click that link quick! Enter for a chance to win here: : https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/june-2020/fast-paced-thrillers-series-starters/

Motherhood Training

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was annoyed/amused that everyone was complaining about being forced to live my life (I only got to go to the grocery store!! Wahhhhh!).  But with Mother’s Day on the horizon, I’m actually finding this to be more and more true. People are grumpy, unhappy, short-tempered and depressed.  It is exactly as though they’ve been forced into motherhood without the benefit of having a baby!  They have no idea what is going on, the changes seem daily, someone always seems to be yelling about something, wearing a face mask seems like kind of a good idea, and there is no end in sight, except for possibly 18 years in the future.  Who knew that motherhood would prepare me for a pandemic?

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, here is what I’ve learned from motherhood that will help you through this:

Your memory is now dead. Don’t feel bad. Just accept it and move on to writing everything down.
You feel strangely stuck in a loop and yet wildly out of control.  That’s OK.  Start building routines.  Set the alarm clock.  Get up.  Get dressed like an (comfy) adult. And then schedule a time to do something you enjoy – like reading a book or trying something new.  Routine helps maintain the feeling that you have some control.  Control the things that you can, and try to let everything else go.
Someone always wants something and they all seem to want it at the same damn time.  That is some sort cosmic law. However, you cannot do all the things all at once.  Which, sadly, is also a cosmic law.  So take a breath, pick one thing and do it.  You will have to accept that you may always feel like you picked the wrong thing.  That’s OK.  Just do the one thing and then you can pick the next thing and do it.  Later you can point and say, “Look, I did the thing.” and you will feel good about it.
Work out.  It sounds like some sort of lame advice from the TV doctor, but it’s still true.  Your brain is working over time, but you’re going to have a hard time sleeping if your body isn’t also tired.  So give it something to do – go for a walk, do an online class, whatever.  You’ll feel like you did a thing (see above) and you’ll feel better.
Other people annoy the shit out of you, which if you’re me was always true, but now you have less patience than ever.  That’s normal.  You’re like cable internet and someone added three extra devices.  Your bandwidth has now been exceeded, you have no more room to put new stress and new thoughts.  So, start turning off other devices.  Say no to that other Zoom meeting.  Say no to whatever sounds the most tiring (except working out, do that anyway) and give yourself some headspace.

Good luck in your personal pandemic zone.  Take care of yourself.  Remember to breath.  And of course, remember to read a book.  This week, I’m recommending  Shotgun Honey Volume 4: Recoil , an anthology of lean, mean crime fiction featuring my short story Johnny Stills Goes to Atlantic City (or Suzy Makes Cupcakes).
Order from all major retailers: 
• Amazon — Trade Paperback | eBook

• Barnes & Noble — Trade Paperback | eBook
• iTunes — eBook
• Kobo — eBook
• Play — eBook  

Techno Tics

As we, or at least some of us, continue to stay home in attempt to not spread disease several things have become apparent.  First and foremost, lighting matters.  I mean, I always knew that fluorescent lights sucked, but nothing makes the members of a Zoom meeting ask Dear God, when did Miss Havisham get here? like bad lighting.  Also, painting walls has become of huge concern to me.  We’re having so meetings in the homes of others and all I can think is… Color.  It’s called color.  The world is full of it.  Why is NONE of it on your walls?  And no off-white doesn’t count.  Off only counts as a thing when it’s next to Broadway.

Next up: aging and technology.  No one expects Nana to be up on Tik Tok, but in recent times it has quickly become apparent who has been keeping up, at even a minor level, on technology.  This has reconfirmed my resolve to learn at least some basics in a technology even if I don’t “like” it.  At some point I will be older than the dirt on which I’m standing and I don’t want some young whippersnapper having to explain to me that emails don’t live on my computer.  Or whatever the future version of that is.

To help me in that goal, and just as though I had spare time coming out my ears, I signed up for a course on Amazon ads. The first week has been a fascinating delve into testing ads and ad copy and basically to do all those things that I generally avoid because I don’t “like” it. So, goal… accomplished.

I hope all of you are keeping well and if you’re being forced to do something you don’t like, I hope that it will at least benefit you and yours in the future.

Here is a sampling of my new ad copy:

Shark’s Instinct

Get the money. Get the girl. Get out. But with traitors and a brewing gang war on his heels, will Shark’s instincts keep him alive or get him dead?

LEARN MORE>>

The Second Shot

A Romantic Suspense with feminist flair, The Second Shot delivers a one-two punch of passion and action that will keep you turning pages.

LEARN MORE>>

News from the Inside

COVID Update: Social distancing and sheltering-in-place continues, my time spent googling “how to look good on webcam” has increased and Facebook ads have become increasingly applicable.  Why, yes, I do want that ridiculous photography gadget.  However did you know? I have learned that even with headphones on my daughter yells at her online schoolwork games like they’re sporting events.  “Giraffes don’t belong there!”  As part of my attempts to maintain my introvert lifestyle and avoid my family who are now EVERYWHERE I have started reading romance novels on Radish, an app for episodic romance novels that lets you browse by your preferred trope.  Werewolf biker romance?  Sure, why not.  Anything to forestall another round “do we have any more paper towels?” Because no, we don’t.

Regular Update: I have a new book coming out!  In fact, I have two.  Shark’s Fin is a mystery thriller and book four of the Shark Santoyo Crime Series.  It arrives in May and because there’s a wee bit of a cliff hanger, I’ve decided to put out book five, Peregrine’s Flight a month later.  The Shark series is ridiculously fun to write, with wickedly good good guys and wonderfully bad bad guys, each book takes readers on a fresh adventure as Shark and Peri inch closer to taking down the big mob boss.  It’s gritty, funny, and full of twists and turns, you can blast through all three Shark Santoyo novels on Kindle Unlimited and then pick up Shark’s Fin in May and Peregrine’s Flight in June!

SHARK’S FIN

Book 4 of the Shark Santoyo Series

Release Date: May 12, 2020

When Shark Santoyo made a deal with the FBI to flip on Geier—the boss of The Organization— he thought he’d be done in a few weeks. But six months later Shark is faced with an FBI handler who is working against him, an assassination investigation and an increasingly erratic Geier. But as the threats mount, Shark realizes that if he wants to make it out of this mess alive, he’s going to need the help of the only girl who has ever held his trust and his heart—Peregrine Hays.  Peri and Shark believe together they can make it through anything. But they’ve never taken on both the FBI and Geier before.

Praise for the Shark Santoyo Series: “Anti-heroes, bad guys, uncles and the dynamic crime-fighting duo of Shark and Peri equal reading bliss, especially if you like some heart, brains and wit with your down-and-dirty grit. All I can add is READ IT.” –Tome Tender Book Blog

READ OR BUY THE SERIES NOW:  https://amzn.to/3aUhDuA

PRE-ORDER SHARK’S FIN: https://amzn.to/34km8fd

2020 Plans

Well, the first quarter of 2020 has certainly been a bit of a rollercoaster ride.  Currently, it feels a bit like we’re stuck at the top of the loop-de-loop.  Hopefully, the ride operators get their heads out of… the gearbox and get us down soon.  Meanwhile, I thought I’d do a bit of recapping and let everyone know what’s coming from me this year.

QUARTER 1 – An Unfamiliar Sea – if you missed my non-stop announcements about book 3 of The San Juan Island Mysteries please let me know you secret avoidance techniques because I’d like to employ those ninja skills against the nightly news and COVID-19.  An Unfamiliar Sea see’s our heroine Tish Yearly grappling with being a business owner and solving the murder of one of her new employees.  As usual her grandfather Tobias is there to provide steady support and sarcastic commentary.

Snap up book 1 – An Unseen Current – for .99 and then sail through books 2 and 3.

LEARN MORE>> bethanymaines.com/sanjuanislandmysteries

BUY NOW>>Amazon

QUARTER 2 – Sooooo many criminally fun things are happening!

April 6 – Shotgun Honey Vol. 4: Recoil – My story Johnny Stills Goes to Atlantic City is featured in this fantastic anthology. LEARN MORE>> https://www.shotgunhoney.com/books/shotgun-honey-presents-volume-4-recoil/
May – Shark’s Fin – Book 4 of the Shark Santoyo Series blasts it’s way into stores.
June – Peregrine’s Flight – Book 5 of the Shark Santoyo Series follows right behind book 4 because… well, because, trust me, you’re going to want it that way.

PS – Want to catch up on all the Shark tales?  Check out books 1-3 (Shark’s Instinct, Shark’s Bite, and Shark’s Hunt) on Kindle Unlimited.

LEARN MORE>> bethanymaines.com/shark-santoyo

BUY NOW>> Amazon

QUARTER 3 – Whew.  I’m taking a break for the summer.  Well, not really.  I won’t be publishing, but I will be working on my novella for Galactic Dreams Vol. 3 set for release in 2021. (It’s Beauty & the Beast this time – eeeeeee!!!!)  A brand new romantic suspense novel (I can’t tell you about it yet!) and a new holiday novella in my Christmas Carol series – Winter Wonderland.

QUARTER 4 – Fall is the time for staying inside with delicious things.

October – The Cinderella Secret – Book 2 of The Deveraux Legacy series delivers Aiden’s story and is it a doozy. It’s got thrills, chills, and hidden family secrets. I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this one.

The Cinderella Secret – Aiden Deveraux holds the key to unlocking the secrets of Ella Zhao’s past and Ella holds the key to Aiden’s heart. Too bad someone’s trying to kill them both.

LEARN MORE>>bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy

December – Winter Wonderland – When a Marcus Winter, a photographer with a bah humbug take on the holidays, meets Larissa Frost, a set stylist who loves all things Christmas, sparks are destined to fly, but when a famous diamond goes missing from the shoot they’re working on Larissa finds that Marcus may be the only one who can keep her from being framed for a crime she didn’t commit.

Can’t wait for Christmas to read a Christmas adventure?  Download the award-winning Blue Christmas for FREE today: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/to271maetc

And that should round out 2020 in style.  Hopefully, we’ll be pandemic free by then.  And remember, if you have to stay in, at least stay in with a book.

By Genre!

Originally posted on the Stiletto Gang – 02.26.20

One of the best parts about blogging with the Stiletto Gang is hearing about the spectrum of genres that the authors work in.  But I work in several and I know that can get confusing for readers, so here’s a primer of genres and how they apply to me.

Mystery – A detective either professional or amateur must attempt to solve a mystery, usually a murder.  In my San Juan Island Mystery series amateur detectives Tish (an ex-actress) and her grandfather Tobias (an ex-CIA agent) solve murders in the San Juan Islands of Washington State.

Learn more: www.bethanymaines.com/sanjuanislandmysteries/

Crime – The main plot revolves around some form of crime. There can be elements of deduction and mystery, but the main elements involve some sort of criminal behavior.  In my Shark Santoyo Series, Shark is attempting to navigate his way out of the criminal life, but faces enemies on both sides of the law.

Learn more: www.bethanymaines.com/shark-santoyo/

Thriller – While a mystery detective finds a crime and steps in to solve things, the thriller protagonist has the crime happen to them and must fight their way out to simply get back to his or her ordinary life.  In my Deveraux Legacy Series, the Deveraux family must face a series of antagonists who seek to bring them down.

Learn more: www.bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy/

Romance – A book where the relationship between the two protagonists takes center stage.  The best part about Romance is that like a good wine, it pairs well with anything.  Most of my novels contain an element of romance, but not all of them push the romance to the forefront.  But in the Deveraux Legacy series, each of the cousins will find love while battling the baddies, making the series genre “Romantic Thriller”.

Want a free romantic thriller from me?  Get Blue Christmas today: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/to271maetc

Science-Fiction – Sci-fi explores the future of science and humanity as they intertwine.  I participate in an anthology series called Galactic Dreams that translates fairy tales to science-fiction.  Each author in the anthology assists in building the shared universe of Galactic Dreams, meaning that each of our stories share the same background, timeline and rules.

Learn more: www.bethanymaines.com/galactic-dreams/

Fantasy – Fantasy stories contain elements of magic and wonder.  My mother read us The Hobbit when we were quite young and so I always assumed that fantasy was something that everyone enjoyed. Then I grew up and realized that some people think that it’s not “real” literature (what does that even mean?!) and sometimes hate it for appearing to have no rules if magic can simply make things happen.  So fantasy is my little secret.  I don’t write a lot of it, but I periodically dabble to make myself happy.

Learn more: www.bethanymaines.com/scifi-fantasy/

Release Day for An Unfamiliar Sea!

An Unfamiliar Sea officially launches this week! An Unfamiliar Sea is a classic mystery with two sleuths: 28-year-old Tish Yearly and her 79-year-old grandfather Tobias.  Tish and Tobias navigate the rocky waters of living together in Tobias’s house on Orcas Island in the San Juan Island of Washington state, solve murders, and try to keep their dog Coats from getting diabetes.

This series was inspired by the time I spent assisting my grandmother before she moved out of her house, my childhood trips to Orcas Island and by those enduring one hour mystery shows like Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and Psych.  For me those shows were always about enjoying the quirks and foibles of the characters as much as the mystery. I enjoyed the puzzle of working out how someone died, but I loved seeing how the strengths and weaknesses of the detective would play out each week and how they would triumph in the end. And if you ever read any of my books, you’ll quickly realize that I like books with lots of chuckles and quick banter and these books are no exception. From Tish and Tobias arguing about condolence pie to the neighbors and who all have opinions on Tish’s dating life I try to keep readers laughing too hard to figure out the mystery (but good for you if you do!).  So if you want a mystery that makes you smile and feels like an island vacation between two covers, then please take a trip to the San Juan’s with Tish and Tobias Yearly.

**

AN UNFAMILIAR SEA 

In a storm, you never know which way is home.

Tish Yearly is about to open a wedding venue on Orcas Island, in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. All she wants is to sail through her first wedding, figure out why her best friend isn’t talking to her, and tell her grandfather she’s dating someone he doesn’t approve of. But before she can get to any of that, Tish’s favorite employee turns up dead—apparently drowned in four inches of water. Now Tish, and her grandfather, former CIA agent and current curmudgeon and licensed P.I. Tobias Yearly, are wading through the suspects including a meth-cooking uncle, a brother with anger-management issues, and the mysterious island drug kingpin, who may or may not be going straight. Tish is attempting to navigate this unfamiliar sea, but she may not be able to weather the storms to find her way home.

Learn more about Tish Yearly: Dru’s Book Musings Character Interview

Buy the book: Amazon

How to Craft a Mystery

Step One:  Read the paper and/or listen to your weird uncle to learn about strange ways people have died recently.  This usually involves blurting out something like “ooh, another dead body!” while snatching up the paper in the middle of the busy hour at a coffee shop.

Bonus Points: If someone shuffles away from you at the coffee shop, collect an additional 20 Murderer Alert points!

Step Two: Having decided on your method of death it’s time for research! Start googling all sorts of things that will help you cover up your crime.  Also, go on a vacation to the place that you plan on putting your dead body.

Bonus Points: If you can say “This is a good place to kill someone!” in an aggressively cheerful manner to the person at the tourist bureau who just wants to help, collect an additional 20 Walking Sociopath points!

Step Three: Sit down and write the book.  This is the boring bit, but it does come with fun voices in your head to talk to.

Bonus Points: If you finish the manuscript, collect an additional 20 I Have No Life points!

Step Four:  Realize that there is a plot-hole in your book and go back to step three.

Bonus Points: If you don’t become an alcoholic, collect an additional 20 At Least I’m Not an Asshole Like Hemingway points!

Step Five: Get your book back from the editor and give back your Hemingway points while you try to get over the stupid, stupid, stupid edits.

Bonus Points: Look, you’ve got a complete book at this points, you shouldn’t need stupid bonus points, but hey, if that’s what keeps you going, then take 5 I Need a Cookie points.

Step Six: Release the book into the wild and realize that you are a winner!

An Unfamiliar Sea will be available on 1.21.20

Tish Yearly just opened a wedding venue on Orcas Island in Washington State and one of her employees just drowned in four inches of water. Now it’s up to Tish and her grandfather Tobias Yearly, the 79-year-old ex-CIA agent and current private investigator, to find out who could have wanted the sweet waitress dead.

>>PRE-ORDER NOW! 

Merry Christmas!

Some years I’m more into the Christmas spirit than others.  This year I started listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I’ve squeezed in my favorite Christmas movies – White Christmas and Die Hard. I have decorated the mantle with every single Christmas card, including the one from the distant family friends that came with a two page letter (who has the time for that??).  And I have wrapped all the presents and bought all the stuffs. Christmas is happening at my place.

But not all years are filled with the Yuletide joy.  And I do remember a few seasons in which I wanted to stab the eye out of the next bell ringer and I deeply resonated with Hans Gruber.  Well, I mean to be honest, I still resonate with Hans Gruber.  Who doesn’t want 600 million in bearer bonds and who wouldn’t get mad about some stupid NYC cop ruining a perfectly good heist?  I mean, really.

But whether you’re feeling like curling up away from everyone with a good book (ahem, here’s a few you might like – Bethany Maines on Amazon) or you’re going to be rocking it with family and friends – I wish you a Merry Christmas and a restful vacation.  And as Hans once said, “It’s Christmas, Theo — it’s the time of miracles.” So maybe this year we’ll all get our Christmas wishes (and 600 million in bearer bonds).