Interview with Author Bethany Averie by Stacy Hoff

Today I’m interviewing one of my favorite authors—Bethany Averie. Bethany infuses realistic people into supernatural worlds that are so believable, you think you can enter these worlds yourself. And you find you want to, despite powerful foes, epic battles and poor odds of good triumphing over evil.

I’ve read absolutely all of Bethany’s work. Yep. That’s right. All of it. But it’s her latest series I’m going to focus on here.

Though Bethany’s series is classified as YA (young adult) I enjoyed it throughly, despite my forty-four years of age. And whereas I do sometimes dabble in YA reading (Twilight, Harry Potter, Beautiful Creatures) I had never  before encountered a modern, middle-America YA storyline built upon Greek Mythology. A novel idea by Bethany? You bet! And it makes for engaging—and intriguing—reading.

I’m glad the last book in her series—Immortal Love—is finally out. I had been waiting for the crescendo.

Bethany, tell us a little about yourself

I started off my writing as a kid (I don’t usually mention this, but it’s true). I had a little song I made up when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. My dad picked out the simple melody on his guitar and started singing it with the instrument. Even as a kid I was slightly embarrassed (although, also flattered) by that. No, I won’t tell you the title or the words, nor will I tell you how to get in touch with my father to find out (and if he reveals it, I won’t speak to him for at least a week—that’s how embarrassed I am. He thinks it’s an adorable song, I’d rather it stayed within the family). But enough about my embarrassments.

The things I am proud of with my early writing are the collaborations I’ve done with my younger brother, who is a musician/composer—and brilliant as far as I’m concerned. Our first collaboration was at his behest when I was in high school. He had a tune he felt needed lyrics, and since he’s not a lyric-writer, he approached me. Stunned he’d ask me, I immediately agreed to try. It wasn’t easy to come up with something to the music and my lyrics certainly didn’t do his tune any justice, but it was fun anyway. We got a friend of mine to sing it and we recorded it on a cassette tape (yes, those old audios. This was before MP3 players and Smart phones!) The next time we collaborated was for my wedding. I had written a duet for a man and a woman about the bride and groom and I wanted it played as a prelude at my wedding. My brother came up with something just gorgeous. Unfortunately, through a miscommunication, the song didn’t make it on my wedding DVD, but I heard it from the room I was sitting in waiting to go down the aisle, I also got to hear the soprano from the church choir and one of my brothers-in-law (who has an awesome tenor voice) practice it for my wedding. It was lovely. Would I collaborate with my brother again? In a heartbeat. He’s easy to work with and so talented.

Tell us about about your non-writing  work

When I’m not working on writing novels or blog posts (or Facebook or Twitter), I’m Wife and Mom. Those are both full-time jobs and require a lot of my attention. But I wouldn’t change it. My Husband is my Real Life Hero and one of my biggest supporters. My offspring laughs at my (bad) jokes and thinks I’m hilarious. I always figured I was somewhat funny, but I learned how truly comical I am when I became a mom. There is no greater encouragement when it comes to cracking jokes and being silly than being a parent. Trust me. Well, I suppose, if you’re stand-up comedian an audience would do that, but I have no aspirations to do stand-up. I leave that to the professionals and enjoy my own brand of humor. Which, luckily, my family and friends seem to appreciate—and even readers have liked some of it, so I figure I can leave stand-up alone. We all have our talents.

Tell us your goals as a writer

Those constantly change. In the beginning, it was to be published. With my 4th book coming out, I’ve achieved that goal. Of course, I want to continue writing and publishing, so that’s the immediate goal right there. My other goal would be to see what the future holds—where I end up as a writer, where my talent can take me. I don’t know the future—I don’t even try to predict it—but I’m interested to see what it holds.

Lastly, Bethany, tell us what your next project will be

Personally it’s the newest addition (or character, if you will humor me) in the Averie Household. The new arrival is expected any day now and so that’s the most immediate project. In terms of writing, I’ve got several things bumping around in my head. There is a project that has been trying to get out for 6 years. I won’t talk about it much because that was my first mistake with this poor novel. Another project is in conjunction with my Immortal Dreams Trilogy, but I don’t know what is going to happen with it, so I can’t really talk about it, either. Then there is a rough idea that I’ve hashed out a few details that I don’t know if it’s going to stay in my files or if I’m going to pursue it. So yeah, just because the Averie family is growing, doesn’t mean I’m stopping writing. I’ll be on hiatus for a while to adjust to the new addition, but I don’t plan to stay away from writing or the writing world indefinitely. You’ll just have to keep watch for my return, because you never know when it’ll happen.

Thank you, Bethany for letting us get to know you. Trust me, I will be watching for your return!

Bethany Averie Author bio:

Bethany Averie is the second-to-the-youngest of eight children. As a kid, she loved fairy tales, especially Cinderella and Beauty & The Beast. Bethany still loves fairy tales, Greek & Roman Mythology, and romance. She resides in the Lone Star State with her real life hero, and a shadow who calls her ‘Mom’. When not writing, Bethany enjoys time with family and friends and dreaming up new worlds. You can reach Bethany at http://writebybethany.blogspot.com/ and/or on her website: http://bethanyaverie.wix.com/authorbethanyaverie She can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Bethany Averie’s Links Page:

Official Author Website: http://bethanyaverie.wix.com/authorbethanyaverie

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/BethanyAverie.Author

Blog: Write By Bethany http://writebybethany.blogspot.com/

Email: bethany.averie@gmail.com

Twitter: @WriteByBethany

Goodreads Profile Page: https://www.goodreads.com/BethanyAverieAuthor

The Immortal Dreams Trilogy by author Bethany Averie, follows the adventures and journey of 18 year olds, Laney Alberts and Jason Magnus.

Laney believes she’s an ordinary human. As a descendant of the Greek god, Morpheus, Jason has enjoyed the cushy life of an Immortal.

However, both their lives are about to change. The Fates have selected them to stop a power-hungry goddess, from taking over both the human and Immortal worlds. Do Laney and Jason have what it takes? Can they even survive?

As the goddess of discord, Eris, plots their demise and her rise to power, the pair must learn to trust themselves, each other, and their allies.

Start your journey with Book One, Divine Love. Uncover secrets and betrayal in Book Two, Astral Love. The ultimate battles for life and hope come to a head in Book Three, Immortal Love. Discover whether two unlikely teenagers can save the world or if it’s just a bunch of Immortal Dreams.

AMAZON LINK FOR IMMORTAL LOVE http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Love-Dreams-Book-ebook/dp/B00VEUQF40/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431693126&sr=1-4&keywords=bethany+averie

  Links for Stacy Hoff

AMAZON LINK FOR LAWFULLY YOURS: http://www.amazon.com/Lawfully-Yours-Stacy-Hoff-ebook/dp/B00U7U2WCC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425508177&sr=8-2&keywords=book+-+lawfully+yours

AMAZON LINK FOR DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES: http://www.amazon.com/Desire-Everglades-Stacy-Hoff-ebook/dp/B00NFSMCYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410289138&sr=8-1&keywords=desire+in+the+everglades.

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Filed under: New Release, romance, Writer's life, YA