New Release Feature
When in Doubt Add Butter
and Q&A w/Beth Harbison
and Q&A w/Beth Harbison
Please welcome Beth Harbison #1 NY Times Bestselling author
to the forum
Debbie - Beth
Welcome, tell us a little about your new Release –
Beth - It’s about a private chef who
works for a crazy collection of people, all of whom fire her imagination one
way or the other, and ends up following her personal recipe for life only to
end up with a dish she never imagined.
Tell us the biggest challenge going from Silhouette Romance
to mainstream fiction – Remembering I
have the freedom of more words/pages to tell more of the story. Ideally every book concentrates on one
central and compelling question and the sub-plots, if you have room, fan out
from there, adding depth and other perspective. Silhouette didn’t have a lot of room for sub-plots, though
focusing on the romance was definitely fun. I think Jennifer Crusie once said that writing series
romance is like writing Gone with the Wind on the head of a pin – not easy!
Where do you get your ideas for your novels –
Everywhere, anywhere; each usually
starts with one question, i.e. “what if you ran into your first love again and
found out he’d never gotten over you?”
If I was say your mother-in-law :) would I recognize
myself in any of your novels –
You might think you do, because everyone who knows a writer well thinks they
must inevitably end up on page, but the truth is everyone I write about is an
extension of myself in some way – either what I am or what I never want to be,
or something in between.
It’s the only way to write anything that will come across as authentic –
every emotion, rationale, etc. must have a logical initiation, even if the
outcome (like PTA moms doing phone sex to pay off a debt) seems really
ill-advised.
How does it feel to also have a published author daughter
Paige (who I’ve read and reviewed) and did she come to you for advice on
becoming an author –
We read each other’s work and offer
critique. It’s very funny but
somewhere along the way she turned a corner from being someone who made me want
to scream because her school essays were so fragmented to being an enviably
awesome writer. Every single time
I read her work, I am amazed at how
good she is, how that brain developed and knows things, even intuits things,
that I never taught it. I know
that sounds ridiculous, but I think every doting over-protective parent out
there can probably relate.
Are you already working on your next novel –
Yes. Always.
Do you write full time –
Yes. Apart from parenting, it’s my only job.
Are you a reader and if so what authors and genres do you
enjoy –
I love humorous essays: Quinn Cummings,
Jen Lancaster, Jenny Lawson, Laurie Notaro, Bill Bryson, David Sedaris,
etc. If I want to get wrapped up
in a story, I head toward cozy suspense: Nicci French is a favorite, Harlan
Coben, Stephen King, Peter Straub, etc.
I’m sure your fans here would love to meet you in person, do
you have any B&N events or signings planned –
I don’t at the moment, but I’m easily
found and contacted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBethHarbison
Thank you so much for taking the time to let us get to know
you a little better and Good Luck with the novel
My Review of When In Doubt Add Butter
When In Doubt Add Butter
Beth Harbison
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN13:97803125999096
338 pages
Beth Harbison
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN13:97803125999096
338 pages
Gemma Craig has a dream job, a few select friends and her
cousin, best bud and confidant Penny. Gemma is a private chef and she loves
being her own boss and doing what she’s most passionate about in the world,
cooking. Even though some of her client’s are a bit off she has others that she
genuinely likes like Lex and one who’s a mystery that she’d love to solve she
calls him Mr. Tuesday who she’s never met. Oh and she’s also terminally single
it seems with no prospects on the horizon which never bothered her in the past,
but with Penny’s pregnancy her clock may have just started ticking again. As
fate would have it a one night stand seems to be the turning point in her life
and unfortunately not for the best, even though the sex was. It seems someone’s
trying to sabotage her reputation as a chef, and since she doesn’t have the
requisite 6months savings it’s not good news, oh and the result of her tryst
has just tested positive on a certain stick and even though the man in question
seems to want to see her again fate isn’t being kind to them. So now her
future’s in question not just professionally but personally too and although
she has the support of her friends she knows this is her own demon to face.
Fortunately she’s gotten through other tough spots in her life, unfortunately
it looks like they’re back. But she’s older and wiser now and after all it
can’t all be wrong when your motto is “When In Doubt Add Butter”.
Beth Harbison is another first timer for me and it’s been a
pure pleasure to get to know her a little through her fiction. This tale shows
her maturity as well as her quirky sense of humor how she deals with all of
life’s injustices and inadequacies as well as the good. Her protagonist has a
few blooms off her vine but she’s by no means decrepit, she has the sense of
humor that lights the pages of what could otherwise be dooming and a narrative
that is very visually stimulating and at times salivating. Her other characters
are a stable full of kooks, villains, and good friends with one or two that are
completely outside of the box of normalcy. This is a love story yes, but it’s
far from just a romance, it’s about making lemonade when life hands you lemons,
it’s about realizing you can come of age at any age and it’s about trusting in
yourself and recognizing the care and love of those around you and finally it’s
about a leap of faith even when the cliff is looming.
You won’t need a leap of faith to enjoy this novel and if you love women’s fiction you’ll love this as much as I did.
Ms. Harbison to you I say, what took me so long to find you and I can’t wait for our next journey together.
Buy the book here visit the author's website here
You won’t need a leap of faith to enjoy this novel and if you love women’s fiction you’ll love this as much as I did.
Ms. Harbison to you I say, what took me so long to find you and I can’t wait for our next journey together.
Buy the book here visit the author's website here
Here is a sample of the audio book
WhenInDoubtAddButter.mp3 2276K Play Download |
Found your review via the author's web page. Loved it. Thanks. I am a new GFC follower and look forward to more of your reviews. Donna
ReplyDeletehttp://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com
Thanks for the comment Donna and the nice compliment too and welcome
DeleteDeb