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| Cate Beauman, Author SAVING SOPHIE 7th in Bodyguards of LA County series |
Best seller author Cate Beauman
has just released her seventh romantic thriller in the “Bodyguards of LA County”
series: SAVING SOPHIE. Reviewers
tout this series as having “a great balance of romance, action, and suspense”
with “well developed characters” and “believable story.”
Beauman claims
she is “quite mundane compared to those of my bodyguards!” She says she is a
wife and mother “addicted to storytelling.” She listens to music when she writes and has provided her list for SAVING SOPHIE.
Don't miss the GIVEAWAY opportunity at the end of the article.
Don't miss the GIVEAWAY opportunity at the end of the article.
Q: SAVING SOPHIE is your seventh ‘Bodyguards
of LA County’ romantic suspense novel. How do you conceive of new plots and
protagonists for these best-selling novels?
Cate Beauman: I have to admit that ideas just sort of
pop into my head and I go with them. Perhaps I’ll be watching something on
television or reading something that sparks an idea and “Poof!” a plotline
evolves. I typically watch documentaries and read various magazines with a pen
and pad of paper close by, waiting to be inspired.
As
for the protagonists, I typically have a conflict in mind and try to figure out
what type of dynamics and characteristics would work well for that story and
build from there.
Q: What is the
inspiration behind SAVING SOPHIE?
Cate Beauman: Stone and
Sophie are as opposite as can be—or so it seems—and that’s why telling their
story was so much fun! Readers met Stone in JUSTICE FOR ABBY. He’s a gorgeous bad boy, more
interested in taking care of himself than worrying about anyone else. Stone’s a hard-ass. There’s no other way to say it, but
everyone has an achilles’ heel.
That’s what drew me to Ethan Cooke Security’s latest bodyguard. I kept asking myself what type of woman
had the power to bring a man like Stone McCabe to his knees. Enter Sophie Burke, a shy jewelry
designer dealing with lots of trouble, and you just might have your answer.
Q: Why did you
set SAVING SOPHIE in Los Angeles and Maine? Did the setting add to the plot?
Cate Beauman: SAVING SOPHIE takes place mostly in Los
Angeles, but there are a few situations that bring Sophie and Stone to Maine.
Because I write a series, I try hard to keep each story fresh. Luckily
bodyguards can do their job anywhere, so they find themselves in circumstances
that take them all over the world.
Q: How do you
typically integrate romance and suspense to entice the reader to turn the page?
Cate Beauman: I love blending romance and suspense
together. I honestly can’t imagine writing one without the other. Watching
characters fall in love is always fun, but add a few elements of danger to the
mix and then it’s just plain exciting! I think that alone entices readers to
get lost in the story.
Q: Why will
readers embrace Sophie? Is she someone we’ll like? What makes an embraceable
protagonist?
Cate Beauman: I think readers will like Sophie a lot.
Sophie’s shy and sweet and the perfect match for Stone. Sophie hasn’t had an
easy life. Somewhere along the way she forgot how powerful she is. Luckily,
Stone’s there to help her remember.
I
think a huge key to creating an embraceable protagonist is making characters as
human as possible. I find it annoying when a hero or heroine is “perfect”
because that’s just not real. We’re all flawed. We have strengths and
weaknesses, as do the men and woman of The Bodyguards series. I think readers
like to read about people they can relate to. Sophie and Stone make plenty of
mistakes, but they also work hard to fix them.
Q: How much of
your work and/or life experiences can you use to write the Bodyguard series? Do
you base your characters on people you know? Do you travel to the locations where you set your plots? Or
do you rely on research for back story?
Cate Beauman: I have to admit that my life is quite
mundane compared to those of my bodyguards! I’m happily a wife and mother who
is addicted to storytelling! I’m not much of a jetsetter and I’ve never
actually touched a gun, so I do lots of research to bring my novels to life.
Google and I are very close friends. I quick reference information constantly—and
that’s after I’ve spent weeks learning as much as I can about the topics I write
about. I’m also a people watcher. I could spend hours on a bench, watching
people walk by. I love imagining who they might be and what their lives must be
like. I never base my characters on anyone I personally know. I love getting to
know my characters as they unfold on the pages. That’s
one of the most joyful parts of writing for me!
Q: What’s next?
Cate Beaman: I’m currently working
on my eighth novel, Reagan’s Redemption, which I plan to release in early
spring of 2015.
About Cate
Beauman
Cate currently lives in North Carolina with her
husband, their two boys, and St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. She is the author of
the best selling romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Before her career as an author, Cate
worked in special education for 12 years.
“I’m a pretty lucky girl; one day I
woke up and my entire life changed. I saw the light, so to speak, and decided I
was going to be a writer. Now,
four years later, I’m currently working on my eighth novel, Reagan’s
Redemption, which I plan to release in early spring of 2015. I’m very grateful for the support and
success I’ve had.”-Cate
About SAVING SOPHIE
When the only choice is to run…
Jewelry
designer Sophie Burke has fled Maine for the anonymity of the big city. She’s
starting over with a job she tolerates and a grungy motel room she calls home
on the wrong side of town, but anything is better than the nightmare she left
behind.
Stone
McCabe is Ethan Cooke Security’s brooding bad boy more interested in keeping to
himself than anything else—until the gorgeous blond with haunted violet eyes
catches his attention late one rainy night.
Stone
reluctantly gives Sophie a hand only to quickly realize that the shy beauty
with the soft voice and pretty smile has something to hide. Tangled up in her
secrets, Stone offers Sophie a solution that has the potential to free her from
her problems once and for all—or jeopardize both of their lives.
Excerpt SAVING SOPHIE
Sophie glanced around one last time at the
town she’d called home for more than twelve years as Dylan merged south on the
onramp towards Brunswick, knowing she would never come back to the place where
she and her mother had made their fresh start.
“Your train leaves at nine. We should make it
in plenty of time.”
“I’ve never traveled by train.”
“Me neither.” Dylan moved into the right
lane, letting faster traffic pass. “Have you decided where you’ll go?”
She shook her head, even though she’d thought
of little else since she woke this morning, knowing today had to be the day. “Somewhere
big. Somewhere where he can’t find me.” She swallowed. “He’ll look. He’ll never
stop,” she said, staring into the side mirror, waiting for the black Mercedes
to rush up behind them and force them to pull over. “You have to be careful.”
Dylan huffed out an amused laugh. “That
bastard doesn’t scare me.”
She wished he didn’t scare her either. “Be
careful anyway.”
“I will, but he’s a coward.”
“No more than me,” she murmured, glancing
down at the hints of bruised skin peeking out from under her sleeves.
Dylan tossed her a look. “Don’t go there.”
She sat back fully in her seat, unable to
take her eyes off the mirror until Dylan eventually exited the interstate and
drove toward the center of town, stopping in front of the Amtrak station as the
train pulled up.
“Looks like you won’t have to wait.” She set
the emergency brake and searched through her purse. “Here’s my license.” She
handed over the Maine ID and paper ticket she’d bought and printed when Sophie
gave her the green light from her kiosk at the mall. “We don’t look all that
different with your wig, so this should get you your next ticket in Boston.”
“Thank you.” Sophie leaned over and gave
Dylan a big hug. “Thank you so much. I wouldn’t have been able to do this
without you.”
“Don’t look back, Sophie.” Dylan eased away,
squeezing her hand. “Get out of here and never look back. Here are the phone
numbers for the Stowers house shelters in Baltimore and LA I told you about—just
in case.” She handed over the March copy of Trendy
magazine with papers sticking out from the edges.
“Thanks. Please don’t forget to put flowers
on my mother’s grave.”
“I won’t.”
She nodded and hugged Dylan for the last
time. “Bye.”
“Bye. Take care of yourself.”
“I will.” Sophie got out, sliding her
backpack on her shoulder as she made her way to the bored-eyed man at the
ticket kiosk.
“Ticket and ID, Ma’am.”
Sophie handed over both, holding her breath,
waiting for her plan to fall apart.
“Safe trip.” He gave them back.
“Thank you,” she murmured, letting loose a
shaky exhale as she turned and moved toward the train, wanting to run instead
of walk. She boarded the first available car and stared out the window as she
sat down, watching Dylan pull out of the lot in the rusty hatchback, already
missing the only person she’d had a connection with. She bobbed her leg up and
down, struggling to keep her fidgeting at bay. Minutes passed, feeling like
hours, until finally the doors closed. The train jerked forward, moving toward
Boston—the first stop on her journey to freedom.
The Unofficial SAVING SOPHIE Soundtrack
“Here
are a few of the songs that I had on “repeat” while I created Stone and Sophie’s
story! You can listen to them on
my website www.catebeauman.com.
The
soundtrack, of sorts, for Saving Sophie:
·
Grey Street by Dave Matthews
·
Sleep by Plumb
·
Come To Me by The Goo Goo Dolls
·
All I Want by Staind
·
I’d Come For You by Nickelback
·
Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran
·
In My Veins by Andrew Belle
·
Only You by Matthew Perryman Jones
·
Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk
Links
Social links:
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Thank you for hosting me again Joyce. I'm very excited to be here!
ReplyDelete~ Cate