Meet Beverley Bateman

My guest today is romantic suspense author Beverley Bateman. Let's get to know her.

 

Welcome, Beverley. Tell us about yourself.

I think I’m really quite a boring person. Everyone else is traveling to wonderful places and doing exciting things. I’m Canadian and live in the Okanagan valley in British Columbia, BC. It’s beautiful country. There are large lakes, beautiful beaches, orchards of apples, pears, peaches plus raspberries, blueberries and lots of other fresh produce. We have mountains and great skiing, both downhill and cross-country. And of course, it’s wine country. We have world class wines which I feel is my obligation to taste. I write, edit, workout and spend a lot of time on the computer.  In the winter, I snowbird with my husband and two Shiba Inu dogs.  I prefer San Diego and Tucson to freezing temperatures and piles of snow. And I write while we’re there, plus a little sightseeing, some dining out and relaxing in the sun.

I've never heard of Shiba Inu dogs. Do you have a picture of them?

Here's the two of them together.

They are beautiful. I see where they like to sleep. This is where my dogs slept, too. LOL Although I only had one at a time.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
  

Like so many other authors, I’ve written my whole life. I wrote little stories in school. I used to sketch out locked room murders and figure out how someone could accomplish that. I wanted to write a book, but life, jobs, children, interfered. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided it was a wake-up call. Positive thinking and good treatment worked on the cancer. I decided I needed to write a book and a decided on an idea and wrote my first book.

How long does it take you to write a book?

That depends on what you mean by – write a book. I’m one of those writers who write a brief outline, maybe a line per scene. I’m sort of a panster. Once I’ve thought about the story, the plot and the characters, and write my outline I start to write. I write the whole story, usually 80,000 – 90,000 words. It takes maybe three months. Once finished I go back and edit, probably at least three times, send it out to be edited and then I edit it again. That probably takes another three months.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to work out. I go to the gym and I run in the mornings. I putter with watercolor painting and I’m a beginning genealogist. And of course I like to read. 

What is the best part of writing for you?

It’s writing. I know that sounds silly, but sitting down working on whatever story I’m writing makes me happy. I like thinking about new ideas. I write them down because I won’t start a new one until I finish the story I’m working on. I like working my way through the story, killing off the bad guys and tying up loose ends and making a happy ending. But as long as I’m writing, I’m happy.

Are your stories driven by plot or character?

Definitely plot. I come up with plots all the time. I love plotting murders and kidnappings and anything long that line. Then I have to figure out the characters – hero or heroine and after I decide on one I have to decide who their partner needs to be. How do they complement or challenge the other? The plot comes easy, but writing characters my readers can connect with is more difficult.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work?

That’s a great question. There can be happy endings. In most of my books I hope women realize they can take control of their life. It may not be easy but they need to figure out what they want and how to get it and then go for it.

What two authors would we find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?

I confess I love J.D. Robb. I’ve read all her books and love Dallas, Rourke, and Peabody and all her characters. They’re fun reads and I love her plots. The second author is probably Robyn Carr. I love her characters. (I wish I could develop characters like hers) I love both Virgin River and Thunder Bay.

Tell us about your latest book.

MISSING is a contemporary western romantic suspense. It might cross over into the paranormal, a little. In this book the hero’s brother is an American Indian whose spirits from the past speak to him. MISSING is the second in the Hawkins Family series. Luke is the second brother and he’s the one who doesn’t work on the ranch. He’s the town of Duster’s doctor. Romance, suspense, poisoning and kidnapping in contemporary Montana pretty much covers the story.  

Please share your story with our readers.
 

Blurb

Running from a disastrous engagement, and an over-powering father, Dr. Allie Parsons agrees to help out an old friend and travels to Duster, Montana. She’s agreed to help the local doctor for a brief period of time until he can find a permanent new doctor.  Raised her whole life in New York city, Allie is greeted with culture shock when she finds out how small Duster is, but she also finds a warm, friendly community. And the doctor turns out to be young, tall, dark and handsome. He sends her emotions shooting sky high. She’s welcomed into the Hawkins family and develops a relationship with his daughter. A mysterious stranger leaves notes at the clinic and Allie fears they are a warning he’s going to kidnap the doctor’s daughter.

Luke Hawkins, one of the Hawkins’ brothers is looking for a doctor to take over half the practice from the retiring doctor. He’s not expecting his temporary replacement to be a young, sexy, single woman from New York. He knows she’s the woman he’s been searching for all his life, but he also knows she won’t stay in Duster. He doesn’t believe the notes are meant for him until his daughter is kidnapped.  Now he has to save his daughter and convince the woman he loves that she really is a small town doctor at heart.

EXCERPT

          Allie pushed open the door to the clinic and stepped into the small, crowded waiting room. The slight scent of antiseptic tickled her nose. She stopped. 
           Silence crept across the room. One by one, heads turned toward the door.

           It might be the novelty of a stranger, but more likely it was the novelty of a stranger in fancy city clothes with a run in her stocking. She threaded her way through the patients to the reception counter. Patients watched her. A few of them put down the magazines they were thumbing through.

           She’d bet a month’s salary those magazines were three or four years old. The furniture in the waiting room had seen better days, but it was serviceable.

           The men and women stared at her, probably wondering who the heck she was. Several patients smiled at her. She managed to return the smiles. At least no one laughed.

             A man stood behind the counter, tall, broad-shouldered, and maybe thirtyish He had curly dark hair, a strong, square chin and he caught her attention right away. His cobalt blue eyes, under long dark lashes, latched on to her as she walked toward him. Even partially covered by his lab coat, his muscled chest strained against the white t-shirt.

           If he was the doctor he was definitely not the old geezer she’d expected. A few feet from the counter, she stopped. His electric blue eyes locked on her. She couldn’t look away. Sensuality oozed across the space between them. Her breath hitched into an irregular rhythm, kicking her pulse up a notch. 
           “Good, you finally got here. I thought Jean would send someone a little faster.” His rich, smooth voice rolled over her. “Look, we’re backed up. Patients’ files are over there and the appointment book is on the desk. Check them in, pull their file, and put the file in the slot by the examining room door.”

           “Excuse me?” She stared up at the man snapping orders at her. She’d run away from one tyrant and had no intention of putting up with another overbearing one, even if he was knock-down gorgeous. His firm abs, linebacker-type shoulders and muscular body did not compensate for his attitude.

           Who did this jerk think he was?

           Her back stiffened. She assumed he was the doctor, but his manners confused her. If staff and working partners were expected to put up with this, no wonder they hadn’t been able to find another doctor.
           “You’re not going to make me repeat all that are you? I have a room full of patients. When I asked Jean to send a temp over from the hospital, I thought she’d send someone with training and at least a vague idea of what they were doing.” A sigh slipped through his lips and he rolled his eyes. The look he gave her placed her one step above an idiot.

           He pointed to a huge pile of folders. “The patients’ files are…”

           Allie pulled her shoulders back, raised her chin and tightened her lips together. “Excuse me. I believe you’ve made a mistake. First of all, I’m not stupid. Second, I’m not your damn temp. I’m a doctor, Alexandra Parsons, M.D. I understood you were expecting me.”

“You’re the new doc? Shoot. I didn’t expect you today.” The heart-stopping man stared down at her. His full lips drooped in apparent disappointment.

The disappointment could be her or the fact he still didn’t have a temp. She couldn’t tell.

“I arrived early, so I could acquaint myself with the town and find a place to live. I dropped by to introduce myself.”

He focused on her, drawing his eyebrows into a frown. “You’re the new physician? I should have known by that fancy outfit, it screams big city.”

“Sorry. I’ve just arrived and haven’t had time to get my jeans and plaid shirt yet. I’ll move that to the top of my list, so I’ll fit in.”

          A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he controlled it, as he ran his fingers through the tangle of dark curls.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1dYoRsZ  

Sony:  bit.ly/1dsvnu0 

Barnes & Noble:  bit.ly/1crQBHp

One last question, Beverley. Where can readers find you?

I have a website http://www.beverleybateman.com, a blog http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/

I’m on Twitter http://twitter/kelownawriter Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverleyBateman?ref=hl Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Beverley-Bateman/e/B008M01F5E

Thanks for visiting today, Beverley. I wish you much success with MISSING.