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| Cate Beauman, Author DECEIVING BELLA 11th The Bodyguards of L.A. County |
Welcome back to Cate
Beauman and her newest Bodyguards of LA County book, DECEIVING BELLA. The
Bodyguard romantic suspense novels feature a new heroine and bodyguard in each
standalone book and also some repeat characters. DECEIVING BELLA, the eleventh of the Bodyguard books,
involves a heroine who is a top skincare specialist, a long-lost father, and a
“hottie” next door neighbor, formerly an NYPD detective.
Beauman uses music to
inspire her writing and develops a playlist for each of her stories. You can
see the list for DECEIVING BELLA following the interview. She is already
working on the twelfth Bodyguard book and enjoys time in between
writing at her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their
St. Bernards, Bear and Jack.
Don't miss the opportunity to enter the Amazon Echo giveaway at the end of the interview; and check out the excerpt and song list.
Q: Can you remind us
how you got started writing the Bodyguard series? What prompted you to create a
series that gives you the flexibility to create new main characters but offers
familiar structure with the bodyguard concept?
Cate Beauman: When I started my writing career I had no
idea that my first book would be the beginning of a series. I began Morgan’s Hunter with the goal of telling
a standalone story about a no-bull bodyguard and his feisty principal. I
introduced Ethan and Sarah to the storyline and knew I had to share their
adventure too. It wasn’t long after that the Bodyguards Of L.A. County was
born.
I love that my
readers get to check-in with previous characters all while meeting new heroes
and heroines. It’s fun to come back to Los Angeles or wherever Ethan Cooke
Security and his team of Close Protection Agents are going to take us. Although
it’s a given that each novel will include a bodyguard, every storyline is
entirely different.
Q: I am always
curious how you select the careers for your heroines. In DECEIVING BELLA you
chose ‘top skincare specialist’ for Isabella. Does her career help to engage
readers? Or, define her character? Or tell the story?
Cate Beauman: I truly love Isabella Colby. She was
such a fun character to write. She and Reed McKinley make an amazing team.
Bella’s career is perfect for her. She’s a bit of a girly-girl. She’s into
fashion and always looks amazing. Basically, she’s the exact opposite of her
hottie next-door neighbor, Reed. Luckily, their differences seem to work for
them. I can’t wait for everyone to meet this couple. They’re great!
Q: Do you find that
humor helps to create characters and/or romance?
Cate Beauman: I can’t imagine telling a story
without humor involved. What’s more engaging than characters that are having
fun/making each other laugh/making the reader laugh? Everyday life can be
pretty depressing. My goal is to create great adventures that take readers away
from their troubles and drop them into a different world. If they’re bored, I
haven’t done my job.
Q: Did setting
DECEIVING BELLA in Los Angeles help to support the suspense and/or romance?
It’s a great town for a mystery!
Cate Beauman: DECEIVING BELLA actually takes place
in Los Angeles and New York City. It’s the best of both worlds. In this case,
the setting helps support both the romance and suspense. Reed and Bella live in
the Palisades. They often walk the beach together and eat ice cream. Their
relationship mostly starts after a walk along the water. Reed is from the Big
Apple. Unfortunately, trouble follows him to his new home in Los Angeles.
Q: Have you included
any of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot?
Cate Beauman: Writers are constant observers. I’m always
watching the way people interact or respond in everyday life situations. I
never set out to base my characters on anyone I know personally. I want my
heroes and heroines to be unique individuals who grow as the story unfolds. I
think it’s vital to make my characters as real as possible with their faults
and virtues just like any other typical human being. That’s what makes
characters so beloved. They must come alive in a reader’s mind.
I think a writer’s
personal experiences find their way into the pages of the book whether we want
them to or not. After all, the story world is a reflection of how an author
sees the world. The building blocks of any story start with the writer’s
perceptions.
About Cate Beauman
International bestselling author Cate
Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her
novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction
Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch
Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE
FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold
Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also
selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and
FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite
Awards.
Cate makes her home in North Carolina
with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently
Cate is working on her twelfth full length romantic suspense novel.
About DECEIVING BELLA
Isabella Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in
LA, she finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as
the Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content
until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed
cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father
threatens to destroy her happy life.
Reed McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint
as an NYPD detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s
starting over as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour
workweeks and little time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship.
Then he bumps into the gorgeous woman next door.
Reed and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella
is keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old
questions he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth,
but he soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences.
Excerpt from DECEIVING BELLA
Should we get started?” Bella gestured to the kitchen.
“After you.”
She walked in front of Reed, hurrying to the table to pull
out a chair. “Does this work?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” He sat down.
She immediately draped him with the black cover, wanting to
get to his hair while it was still wet. “So, what are we doing here, exactly?”
“Just a cleanup, especially on my neck.”
“Sure.” She grabbed the sheers and took her place by his
side, sliding her fingers though his short hair and stopped. “Oops.”
His shoulders tensed. “What?”
“Just kidding. A little haircutting humor.”
He tilted his head up, meeting her eyes. “A comedian.”
She laughed as he smiled. “I haven’t even started cutting
yet.” She gave him a bump. “Try to relax. I promise you’re in good hands.”
“Chop away.”
“Thanks.” She combed her fingers through his hair once more,
using small snips to freshen up his look. Silent seconds ticked by as she
breathed in the masculine scent that was Reed. He didn’t seem to wear cologne
or use any fancy shampoos, but he smelled good just the same. “So, how was your
day?”
“Not too shabby.”
She worked her way around his head, finding his cut a breeze
to clean up. He easily could have gone another week without any problems. “What
did you do?”
“Worked a little. Boxed.”
“Fascinating.”
“I could make up something about stopping a bank robbery in
progress or rescuing a cat from a tree.”
She smiled. “The truth is fine, thanks.”
“What about you?”
“It was pretty much a normal day at the office—a
second-session tattoo removal, a microdermabrasion, two stretch mark
reductions, the usual stuff.”
“What’s the tattoo of? The one you’re taking off?”
“A woman’s name. Genevieve. The relationship didn’t work
out.”
He winced. “Ouch.”
“Triple ouch. Tattoo removal is not a pain-free procedure, nor is it cheap—and he went pretty
ornate with Genevieve. Hopefully next
time he’ll pick a woman with a shorter name or abstain from getting himself
tatted up altogether.”
He laughed.
She grinned, loving that sound. Did he have any idea how
gorgeous he was when he smiled like that? She picked up the clippers off the
table and let her knees rest against his as she leaned in and gently lifted his
chin, evening out his sideburns. She swallowed, feeling his breath on her skin
and his eyes studying her face. Licking her lips, she met his gaze. “You better
hope I get this part right, or you’ll have to tilt your head for the next four
days.”
He sent her another one of his pulse-pounding smiles.
“You’ll have to help me decide if I should lean more to the left or right.”
Oh, this cutie had the potential to be trouble. Her eyes
darted to his mouth mere inches from hers as his five o’clock shadow tormented
her sensitized fingers. She took a step back and a steadying breath. It was a
good thing they were just friends—currently the only relationship status she
was interested in.
The Unofficial DECEIVING BELLA Soundtrack
I love music! I can’t imagine a world without catchy tunes
playing, especially when I’m writing. Music is inspiration. Melodies, beats,
and the mood of each song help me portray emotions and feelings as I tell a
story. It’s a rare day when I don’t have my headphones in place, bopping my
head, while my fingers race across the keyboard. You can listen to the
“soundtrack” for each book on my website
The soundtrack, of sorts, for Deceiving Bella:
·
Favorite Song by Ben Rector
·
Lay It All On Me by Rudimental w/Ed Sheeran
·
Into You by Ariana Grande
·
Cake by the Ocean by DNCE
·
Truth by Steve Moakler
·
Any Other Name by Thomas Newman
·
Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfeld
·
All I Want by Kodaline
·
Crash by Usher
·
Stand By You by Rachel Platten
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Thank you very much Joyce! I always appreciate the time you take to put together a quality interview. So much fun!
ReplyDelete~Cate
I found your great blog through the WLC Blog Follows on the World Literary Cafe! Great to connect!
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