Tuesday, September 2, 2014

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Cate Beauman, Author

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.

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


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

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1 comment:

  1. Thank you for hosting me again Joyce. I'm very excited to be here!

    ~ Cate

    ReplyDelete