So, Beth D. Carter, tell us a bit about yourself. Also, what inspired you to become a writer?
* Hello! Thank you so much for having me on your site today! I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers. I try to write characters who aren't cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box. I love writing characters who are real, complex and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love. I love to hear from readers so I’ve made it really easy to find me on the web. You can find the social media links later on in the post.
* As for the inspiration... My mother’s Harlequin Presents novels, particularly those written by Carole Mortimer, shaped my writing career. They were so emotional and heartfelt that I was sucked into each story. I wanted to write stories like that.
When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
* The first book I ever wrote was when I was about twelve. I wrote it longhand in a spiral note book, and each chapter was ten pages long. The heroine’s name was Amanda, and she was the daughter of a madam in the Old West, and the hero thought she was a prostitute working there. Deep stuff for a twelve year old, huh? LOL! I think I got frustrated with it and threw it away, much to my mortification now.
How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
* Two. One story is over 600 pages and took me two years to write. Sadly, that story will probably never see the light of day unless I can afford an editor and self pub that epic masterpiece.
What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
* Good question! Best: READ READ READ. Learn how to write by reading.
* Worst: Changing a story plot because the publisher didn’t like it.
The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s part of a series, please list the order the books need to be read in for maximum reading enjoyment.
* When Lightning Strikes is a stand alone story, although I do have more ideas for “coma” induced paranormal events.
What sparked the idea for the story?
* I love time travel and I thought how interesting it would be for someone in the past to come to the future (our time).
Do you have anything else you'd like to share about the story?
* When Lightning Strikes has been one of my favorite stories I’ve ever written (so far!). It’s a time travel where the heroine comes forward to our time from 1794. I did a lot of research for this story, as well as paying tribute to some of my own ancestors.
* The heroine’s name is Henrietta Lydia Knapp and Knapp is a family name with a long history. My sixth great-grandmother, Lydia Knapp, had a prestigious family tree, linked back to Katherine Cromwell, the Tudor line, and Charles VI (the Mad King of France), whose own lineage was deeply engraved on England and France’s bloody history. Lydia Knapp’s grandfather came to Massachusetts in the 1600’s, making him one of the first people to settle the untamed new world. Genealogy is truly amazing and humbling at the same time.
* It was so interesting researching certain facts from Colonial America. One of the most interesting was The Flowing Hair dollar mentioned in When Lightning Strikes. It was designed by Robert Scot and on January 24, 2013, a specimen striking from the 1794 production sold for $10,016,875, the highest price ever paid for a coin. Wouldn’t that be a true pleasure to find in the attic!
*** Now for some fun info… ***
Would you/have you own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet?
* Yes, if I really wanted a pet. But I have a kid and a dog that gets on my nerves, so I probably wouldn’t right now.
Which do you prefer: rain or sun & warm weather or cold weather?
* I prefer either rain or sun and warm. That would be a big HELL NO to cold.
If you could live anywhere in the universe, where would it be and why?
* The mom in me says anywhere my son is. The sci-fi geek in me says the Tardis.
If you were stranded on a desert island and were only allowed to have five modern conveniences with you, what would they be?
* 1. a lifetime supply of chapstick; 2. a satellite phone; 3. a generator for electricity; 4. my laptop; 5. my tablet
* Thank you! This was a very fun interview!!!
* He sure the hell doesn’t have time for a woman claiming to be from 1794.
* Henrietta Knapp is trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she’s out of her time. A bolt of lightning has brought her more than two hundred twenty years forward. Why? She doesn’t know. Not until Micah John appears.
* As mistrust and fear drain away, Micah John and Etta find a love that outshines the bad and the ugly. But will they be given the chance to hold onto a happy ever after, or will the lightning strike again?
* “What do you think?”
* She looked from him to the window and back again. “What do I think about what?”
* “The clothes.” He liked the Capri pants and thought they would nicely show off her cute ass. Of course, he would never tell her that.
* Her mouth dropped open a little. “You said my brain couldn’t wrap about the facts of technology, but truthfully I can’t understand how women can wear so little.”
* He laughed. “This is nothing. You should go to The French Riviera where you can to go topless on some of the beaches.”
* “You’re lying,” she accused.
* Micah John shook his head and held up his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”
* “Oh, my,” she said and looked back at the clothes being modeled. “Robert Burton wrote in his book The Anatomy of Melancholy, ‘When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done, puritans with puritans, papists with papists’.”
* “Right,” he said. “We’ve shorted it to when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
* “I suppose that is a more succinct way of saying it.”
* She looked around at all the women passing by. Shorts, miniskirts and tank tops, all exposing more skin that she’d probably ever seen. He almost felt sorry for her. “I’ve come out in public in just my dress, sans petticoats. I suppose I can acclimate to being a Twenty-first century woman.”
* “Atta girl.”
* He pulled her into the store.
Thank you for joining us here today, Beth D. Carter! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.
1 comment:
Thank you so much!
Post a Comment