Name of release: WICKED BURN
Date of release: 12/02/2008
Blurb:
He wanted all of her…
Vic Savian knows what he wants when he sees it. And what he wants is his sexy neighbor, Niall Chandler. So when he sees her in the hallway of their building being harassed by an aggressive suitor, Vic makes his move—and finds himself greatly rewarded…
And did she ever let him have it…
Sleeping with her gorgeous neighbor—when she didn’t even know his last name—was the craziest thing Niall’s ever done. Now, she can’t seem to get enough of Vic—or the uninhibited passion he stirs in her. Suddenly, with his help, she’s opening to sensual pleasures she’s never known before. But when Niall’s past comes back to haunt her, will she and Vic let themselves venture beyond the bedroom and explore the possibility of love that’s in their hearts?
Link to an excerpt
Interview:
Hi! Congratulations on your new release. First off, can you introduce yourself? Don’t be shy…
Thanks! I’m Beth Kery, and my first New York debut book, WICKED BURN, comes out on December 2! I also write for Ellora’s Cave and Samhain.
Tell me a little bit of what your book’s about…
It’s about a couple who come together unexpectedly one night…explosively. It’s about two people who forget everything while they’re smoking up the sheets, but who inevitably have to get out of bed and face their pasts and their fears. WICKED BURN is erotic, but it’s first and foremost a romance. It’s a very emotionally-laden story.
Where did you get the idea for it? (Is it part of a series, etc.)
WICKED BURN isn’t part of a series. If I remember correctly, I got the idea for it because I live in the city, where people right on top of each other and sleep (technically speaking) just feet away from each other, even though they’re in separate units. I liked the idea of a couple living so close that their attraction magnified to intense levels, even though they’d hardly ever spoken and lived separate lives.
Do you have a writing schedule? Was there anything different about writing this book than any others? (If this is your first release, make sure to mention it!)
I write almost every day. When I’m trying to finish a novel, I keep a word count and write it down in a journal. I’m a big believer in productivity…just getting those words down on the page. When I wrote WICKED BURN, it felt very different, because I knew I was going to try and get an agent with it, and submit it to the New York market. I’d never done that before. I had to try and figure out that market, which was difficult. To be honest with you, I never quite figured it out. So I just wrote something from the heart.
What was your favorite part of this book? Your least favorite?
Hmmmm…although this book has some of the most intense sex scenes I’ve ever written, I’d have to say my favorite scene is a quiet, unassuming one. It occurs in the middle of the night, when my heroine, Niall, awakes alone, in a panic from a traumatic dream. She pads out to the living room and finds my hero, Vic, working on his play. She experiences a moment of self-consciousness, because they are relatively new lovers, and Vic is this supremely confident alpha who also happens to be a famous playwright. But he ends up pulling her down on the couch, putting her feet in his lap and covering her with a blanket. They exchange light-hearted conversation and he ends up finishing his editing on top of her feet. She falls asleep to the sensation of his pencil scratching on his notebook. I love that scene for its quiet simplicity and the evidence of their deepening intimacy.
My least favorite scene in WICKED BURN?
Don’t laugh, but probably the final scene. I didn’t want to say goodbye to this couple. They’d become close friends, in a way.
Anything else you’d like to say about writing this book, or the book itself?
When Laura Bradford called me after reading WICKED BURN, I was confused at first about whether she wanted to represent me or not. She joked that editors tell her, “Don’t send stories about a heroine with a past. We want them to be carefree and having hot sex on a tropical island or something.” Oh no, I thought. WICKED BURN isn’t going to fit with what they want. But then Laura went on to say that she loved the heat with the emotional core, and she wanted to represent it. I gave a great sigh of relief.
Thank goodness for people who aren’t constantly chasing after trends. I’m very grateful to Laura for that.
Thanks for the terrific interview!
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 am · Link
Hi Megan and Beth:
“Wicked Burn”, sounds like a great book. I will definitely add to my list.
Excellent interview.
Regards
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:34 am · Link
Wonderful interview.
Beth, I personally love it when the characters have a past, as long as they get their HEA. The reason being, it makes them seem so much more real and if they could be real then this story could really happen. Those kind of stories give hope to all us dreamers.
Sounds like a wonderful story. Good luck in your new market!
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm · Link
Thanks Lea and Crystal! And yeah, Crystal, I’m all ‘pasts’…AND happily ever after.
Thanks for having me, Megan!
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm · Link
@beth kery: Congrats on the book release, Beth!
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm · Link
I just got done reading the excerpt and let me tell you I’m ready to get to the good stuff. This book sounds great. I cannot wait to read it. Thanks Megan for the find, and Beth thanks for giving me a new story to look forward to! I hope you have many more to come.:)
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:58 pm · Link
I hope you enjoy it, Rachel! I just got back from the bookstore. Fun to see my first book on the shelf!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:56 am · Link
Great interview! Wicked Burn sounds fantastic. I’m looking forward to reading it.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm · Link
Thanks for introducing this (new to me) author. I went to my local Borders today- and made them go look in the back for it- since it wasn’t on the shelves and they said they had it in stock!