Friday, February 5, 2016

Finding Lyla by: Cate Beauman Interview & Teaser


About the Book:

Title: Finding Lyla
Author: Cate Beauman
Publisher: Cate Beauman
Pages: 452
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Principal Dancer Lyla Markovik-Avery is always on the go. Grueling practices and endless performances rule her busy days—and things are about to get more hectic. Russia is rolling out the red carpet for their beloved star, despite the string of violent terrorist attacks that have rocked the nation.

Bodyguard Collin Michaels’ life is falling apart. His long-time relationship recently ended. He’s trying to start over, but that’s easier said than done. Luckily, Collin has a new assignment on the horizon: keeping a beautiful ballerina safe for the next three weeks.

Collin finds comfort in Lyla’s easy friendship, but that all changes after a night out on the town. Simple feelings become complicated—something Collin can’t afford, especially when tragedy strikes and Collin realizes Lyla’s caught in the middle of a dangerous plot for revenge.

Collin and Lyla are forced to flee. They need to reach the border before it’s too late, but the odds are stacked against them in a country that wants them dead. With time running out, Collin formulates a risky plan that might be their only chance of making it out alive.

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Book Excerpt:
Moscow, Russia
February 1991

Jonathan’s heart raced as the steady rhythm of the machines tracking his wife’s vitals filled the operating suite.
“Hold me tighter,” Mina whispered as she stared up at him and nervously licked her dry lips.
“You’re doing great. He or she will be here before we know it,” he reassured her, sliding his fingers down Mina’s smooth neck and shoulder, one of the few places he could touch on their side of the bluish-green curtain.
“I can’t stop shaking.”

He glanced at Mina’s delicate, trembling arms strapped into place on the table, as if she were affixed to a cross, and he felt his pulse kick up another notch with his sense of helplessness. “It’s cold in here.” He smiled, kissing Mina’s nose and brushing at the silky blond wisps of hair escaping her surgical cap. “Soon this will be over and we’ll finally get to meet the little one who’s been kicking you for months.” He smiled again as Mina did, doing his best to reassure her while his stomach continued its greasy roil. 



About the Author
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 Finding Lyla, the tenth novel in her popular bodyguards series.

For information on Cate's new releases, monthly giveaways, and upcoming events, sign up for her newsletter at: http://www.catebeauman.com/author/home.html#!newsletter-sign-up/c9td.
Her latest book is the romantic suspense, Finding Lyla.
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Interview:

Where are you from?
My family and I currently reside in North Carolina. We love it here. We get the opportunity to experience four seasons with winter being the shortest. I’m not a huge fan of cold weather, so that works out well!

Tell us your latest news?

I’m excited to be launching another story in the Bodyguards of L.A. County series, Finding Lyla! It’s hard to believe my readers and I have made it to book ten! Woo hoo!


When and why did you begin writing?
I never knew I wanted to be a writer. I didn’t even know I could write! I worked in special education for twelve years, which I loved. After my family and I moved, I accepted a job that I ended up loathing. I quit soon afterwards and decided to give writing a try. Lucky for me, it worked out well!    

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It took about two years after I wrote my first word to feel comfortable calling myself a writer. When I launched my first three novels and watched them climb the ranks on Amazon, I felt like it was acceptable to deem myself a storyteller.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I don’t know that I was inspired so much as unsure of what I wanted to do next as a career. I remember finishing a Nora Roberts novel and saying, “I’m going to do that.”

Do you have a specific writing style?

I don’t know that I do. I have a story to tell. The words flow and I type them down with the help of a loose outline to keep me on track. That’s about as fancy as it gets! Because I write a series, I try to make sure each adventure is entirely different from the ones before.

How did you come up with the title?

All of the titles in the Bodyguards of L.A. County series have the heroines name in them along with a word that describes the story itself. Now that I’m moving on to book eleven, it’s getting a little trickier to come up with a name, but I’m determined to come up with a perfect fit every time.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I write for sheer entertainment. If my readers forgot about their troubles for a little while and enjoyed a good story, I’ve done my job.

How much of the book is realistic?

I like to think that although highly unlikely, Lyla and Collin’s adventure could certainly happen. I’m not a big fan of writing anything too far-fetched.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I wish my life was this exciting! The story idea for Finding Lyla is nothing more than a figment of my very active imagination.

What books have most influenced your life most?

I think Homeport by Nora Roberts was pretty important to my writing/reading life. I was never a big reader until one of my girlfriends made me promise to give Ms. Robert’s book a try. I fell in love and devoured every romantic suspense novel I could get my hands on after that.

I also love the book He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. I love the honesty among the pages of that book. Why would anyone want to spend time with someone who doesn’t value you and want to spend time with you? The cool thing is that you can apply Greg and Liz’s message to anyone and everyone in your life. It has worked well for me over the years.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Nora Roberts is hands down my favorite author and writer. I love her work ethic and can only hope I entertain my readers half as much as she has entertained me over the years!

What book are you reading now?

I’m currently writing my next novel, so I don’t read much during that process, but I finished A Cold Dark Place by Toni Anderson before I got started. What a great read!


What are your current projects?
I recently started writing Deceiving Bella, book eleven in the Bodyguards of L.A. County series which I hope to release this summer.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?

I would have to say that one of the biggest things I have learned throughout my writing journey is to support myself, trust who I am as a person and as a writer. I think that’s vital to thriving in an often brutal industry.

What would you like my readers to know?
There are currently ten books available in the Bodyguards of L.A. County series. I think one of the coolest things about the books in the series is that they can be read out of order. Each novel chronicles a new bodyguard and the woman who will become important in his life. Readers get little peeks at former couples as they move through their lives, which everyone seems to love, but anyone can pick up any book and have a pretty good idea of what is going on. 


1 comment:

  1. Thank you for allowing me to stop by and introduce myself and Finding Lyla to everyone!

    Have a great week!

    ~Cate

    ReplyDelete