AMA - You Ask, Bethany Answers!
Hey, loves. It's that time of the week again where you ask me all your burning questions and I do my very best to answer them. If you're wondering where your question is or why I might not have answered it yet, you can click on the AMA tag in the upper left-hand corner of this post, and you will see all the old AMAs. It is very possible I might have already answered a question exactly like yours recently, and that will give you the answer you are looking for.
Or, I may have simply not gotten to it quite yet, but I will. I don't always answer questions in order that I receive them - sometimes I see one that makes me laugh or smile and I want to answer it first, so I do.
Do you have a question for me?
That's great. Add it HERE.
Now, onto the questions for this week, loves.
***
1. Have you ever been surprised that some character showed up in your head? Like, you never wanted to write about him, but he just had something to say and you had to go with it? Love all of your books btw!
Hi there.
And thank you so much.
This is kind of funny because I suspect you mean like a character I have already written, or whatever, but this is kind of how Anton came about. I am sure I have shared this story before, but this is my space, so let me go ahead and just tell everyone again. I had a dream one evening about a Russian man who came into my head for no particular reason. While yes, I had an interest in organized crime before I began writing it in my romances, I had very little intention to write organized crime romance. Up until that point, it had literally never crossed my mind as something I wanted to do.
But here this man was in my head - he said his name was Anton, and he was tattooed, very handsome with jet black hair and ice-blue eyes. He told me he wanted to tell me story. Let me tell you about this woman. That's kind of how he showed up in my head just like, let me tell you about her.
And for the next several months of my life, I spent writing about my first mafia couple. All because a character I never thought about or wanted to write just showed up in my head with a hell of a story to tell. And honestly, almost every character has kind of been like this after, too. I never really think I am going to write any particular character, but then they somehow manage to worm their way into my brain with whispers of their voices and stories and there I am, stuck. I have to write them to get them the hell out of my head or I don't actually get any kind of peace.
As for like ... a character I was determined I WOULD NOT be writing and ended up writing after they had already showed up on page or were mentioned ... Dino DeLuca, Joe Rossi ... Cory Rossi (who is now all plotted and waiting for me to get to him when I have time). I convince myself I either don't want to write these people, or I have no stories to tell for them, but they clearly decide something different. Or my readers hound me enough about wanting to see a certain couple or character that then said character starts making noise in my head, and I have to give them my attention or they never shut up.
So yes, this happens to me pretty regularly.
I have also never regretted writing one of these characters, either. So, there's that.
*
2. Do you know the order to the Guzzi 2nd Gen series yet? Or can we know ... lol.
Hi there.
So I think maybe I put this up on my website on the "Coming Soon" section, but I will have to go check. Pretty sure they are on there though with expected release dates for when each and every book should release in 2019. Because I try to set my schedule for the next year way ahead of time just to give myself a baseline of what I'm looking at for work and what's to be expected in that way.
I also feel llike it keeps me on track, so if you ever wanna know what I am writing next or what the rest of the schedule looks like for the upcoming year, you can find it there. Those release dates are pretty firm for me. I expect to hit every single one of them given how far into 2019 I already am writing-wise. I will be done over half of my 2019 books before 2019 even gets here.
Anyway, yes, I do have the order of which the books will publish, and yes, you can all know them. It's not some great secret, just a matter of semantics and when whose particular story needed to be told first.
Corrado/Alessio/Ginevra is first.
Christopher/Valeria is second.
Beni/August is third.
Bene/Vanna is fourth.
Marcus/Cella is fifth.
And you know, given how big this series is because there are so many brothers involved ... it is likely there will be more books to their series, but I am not going to go into details for it. Just think novellas, outtakes, Christmas things ... whatever. I like to revisit my big series that had real length to them because well, people tend to get most attached to those characters and they ask to see more. So I suspect it will be longer than five books just because that's how it usually works out for me.
Hope this answers that.
*
3. Will you ever write a heroine who happens to be plus size? I was just wondering.
Hi there.
You know, I don't really give something like this much thought ... I guess because everyone has a different perspective on what plus size is. When Sports Illustrated puts their first plus size woman on the cover and she basically looks like the exact body shape of Cecelia for Antony ... I don't see anything that needs labeled as plus size, really. Like that's a label that varies for people's perspectives. Just because a heroine's stomach is desribed as tone or flat doesn't mean she's not wearing a size 12 or 14 jeans. Someone can still be thick and big-boned without being obese or whatever the case may be.
That's a label and a discriptor I don't want to use.
So, if you're asking whether or not I'm going to write a book, label the heroine plus size, and market it that way so that everyone knows my heroine is a size 12 or higher, the answer is no. I don't like that label, and I don't like being told I am plus size because I wear a size 14 jeans, either.
That's a label given to women by society to remind us if we look a certain way, or we don't fit to the spec of measurements for their standard of beauty, we get to be called this instead of that.
Stop carrying it around and be proud of the body you're in instead.
That's the perspective I have on it.
Hope this answers your question.
*
4. Do you have any musical muses?
YAAAAAAAS.
Okay, so to be honest ... I used to listen to Lana Del Rey on repeat over and over again because there was something haunting about her music that really just did it for me by way of my muse. Some of her lyrics inspired some of my best scenes, and even books, in some cases. Off to the Races, for example, like ... Just yeah, she was a big motivator for my muse in a lot of ways.
And then her music started to get a little ... happier over the last couple of albums. And while I enjoy those songs on a personal level, they do nothing for the angst h00r that is my little black heart. I need like gut me, twist the knife in deeper, and rip my heart out with the tip when you yank it from my body kind of music.
I need to feel something.
And it can't be something happy.
Sue me, I guess.
So now I lean a lot toward the vocal stylings of artists like Lewis Capaldi or rapper NF, or even Ivan B when I need music with lyrics that are gonna sucker punch me and take by breath away. They make my black heart bleed with sadness whenever I listen to their music. Like what more can I ask for, you know?
So yeah, those are kind of the big ones for me right now. But it changes, too. That's why my writing playlist is constantly changing or having new music added to it.
*
5. Hey, Bethany! I've been reading your books for ages now! I just love every single character. The Guzzi series will probably be my favorite but I was wondering when you and London Miller will start the new series from the Seasons of Betrayal world? I LOVED Kaz! He's my favorite leading man outside of Cross of course. Thank you for answering my question (if you do).
Hi there.
So that world is actually called The Undergrounds, not Seasons of Betrayal. Seasons is simply a series inside The Undergrounds world. London and I have actually decided to finish the next series in the world entirely before we publish it because we don't want readers to have to wait for the next book to come out. At least, not wait forever and a day, you know.
So, once the Boykovs are entirely written, you can rest assured we will let you know when you can expect the series to drop, and where you can pick it up.
Hugs.
Okay, loves. That is all for this week. Until the next!
Or, I may have simply not gotten to it quite yet, but I will. I don't always answer questions in order that I receive them - sometimes I see one that makes me laugh or smile and I want to answer it first, so I do.
Do you have a question for me?
That's great. Add it HERE.
Now, onto the questions for this week, loves.
***
1. Have you ever been surprised that some character showed up in your head? Like, you never wanted to write about him, but he just had something to say and you had to go with it? Love all of your books btw!
Hi there.
And thank you so much.
This is kind of funny because I suspect you mean like a character I have already written, or whatever, but this is kind of how Anton came about. I am sure I have shared this story before, but this is my space, so let me go ahead and just tell everyone again. I had a dream one evening about a Russian man who came into my head for no particular reason. While yes, I had an interest in organized crime before I began writing it in my romances, I had very little intention to write organized crime romance. Up until that point, it had literally never crossed my mind as something I wanted to do.
But here this man was in my head - he said his name was Anton, and he was tattooed, very handsome with jet black hair and ice-blue eyes. He told me he wanted to tell me story. Let me tell you about this woman. That's kind of how he showed up in my head just like, let me tell you about her.
And for the next several months of my life, I spent writing about my first mafia couple. All because a character I never thought about or wanted to write just showed up in my head with a hell of a story to tell. And honestly, almost every character has kind of been like this after, too. I never really think I am going to write any particular character, but then they somehow manage to worm their way into my brain with whispers of their voices and stories and there I am, stuck. I have to write them to get them the hell out of my head or I don't actually get any kind of peace.
As for like ... a character I was determined I WOULD NOT be writing and ended up writing after they had already showed up on page or were mentioned ... Dino DeLuca, Joe Rossi ... Cory Rossi (who is now all plotted and waiting for me to get to him when I have time). I convince myself I either don't want to write these people, or I have no stories to tell for them, but they clearly decide something different. Or my readers hound me enough about wanting to see a certain couple or character that then said character starts making noise in my head, and I have to give them my attention or they never shut up.
So yes, this happens to me pretty regularly.
I have also never regretted writing one of these characters, either. So, there's that.
*
2. Do you know the order to the Guzzi 2nd Gen series yet? Or can we know ... lol.
Hi there.
So I think maybe I put this up on my website on the "Coming Soon" section, but I will have to go check. Pretty sure they are on there though with expected release dates for when each and every book should release in 2019. Because I try to set my schedule for the next year way ahead of time just to give myself a baseline of what I'm looking at for work and what's to be expected in that way.
I also feel llike it keeps me on track, so if you ever wanna know what I am writing next or what the rest of the schedule looks like for the upcoming year, you can find it there. Those release dates are pretty firm for me. I expect to hit every single one of them given how far into 2019 I already am writing-wise. I will be done over half of my 2019 books before 2019 even gets here.
Anyway, yes, I do have the order of which the books will publish, and yes, you can all know them. It's not some great secret, just a matter of semantics and when whose particular story needed to be told first.
Corrado/Alessio/Ginevra is first.
Christopher/Valeria is second.
Beni/August is third.
Bene/Vanna is fourth.
Marcus/Cella is fifth.
And you know, given how big this series is because there are so many brothers involved ... it is likely there will be more books to their series, but I am not going to go into details for it. Just think novellas, outtakes, Christmas things ... whatever. I like to revisit my big series that had real length to them because well, people tend to get most attached to those characters and they ask to see more. So I suspect it will be longer than five books just because that's how it usually works out for me.
Hope this answers that.
*
3. Will you ever write a heroine who happens to be plus size? I was just wondering.
Hi there.
You know, I don't really give something like this much thought ... I guess because everyone has a different perspective on what plus size is. When Sports Illustrated puts their first plus size woman on the cover and she basically looks like the exact body shape of Cecelia for Antony ... I don't see anything that needs labeled as plus size, really. Like that's a label that varies for people's perspectives. Just because a heroine's stomach is desribed as tone or flat doesn't mean she's not wearing a size 12 or 14 jeans. Someone can still be thick and big-boned without being obese or whatever the case may be.
That's a label and a discriptor I don't want to use.
So, if you're asking whether or not I'm going to write a book, label the heroine plus size, and market it that way so that everyone knows my heroine is a size 12 or higher, the answer is no. I don't like that label, and I don't like being told I am plus size because I wear a size 14 jeans, either.
That's a label given to women by society to remind us if we look a certain way, or we don't fit to the spec of measurements for their standard of beauty, we get to be called this instead of that.
Stop carrying it around and be proud of the body you're in instead.
That's the perspective I have on it.
Hope this answers your question.
*
4. Do you have any musical muses?
YAAAAAAAS.
Okay, so to be honest ... I used to listen to Lana Del Rey on repeat over and over again because there was something haunting about her music that really just did it for me by way of my muse. Some of her lyrics inspired some of my best scenes, and even books, in some cases. Off to the Races, for example, like ... Just yeah, she was a big motivator for my muse in a lot of ways.
And then her music started to get a little ... happier over the last couple of albums. And while I enjoy those songs on a personal level, they do nothing for the angst h00r that is my little black heart. I need like gut me, twist the knife in deeper, and rip my heart out with the tip when you yank it from my body kind of music.
I need to feel something.
And it can't be something happy.
Sue me, I guess.
So now I lean a lot toward the vocal stylings of artists like Lewis Capaldi or rapper NF, or even Ivan B when I need music with lyrics that are gonna sucker punch me and take by breath away. They make my black heart bleed with sadness whenever I listen to their music. Like what more can I ask for, you know?
So yeah, those are kind of the big ones for me right now. But it changes, too. That's why my writing playlist is constantly changing or having new music added to it.
*
5. Hey, Bethany! I've been reading your books for ages now! I just love every single character. The Guzzi series will probably be my favorite but I was wondering when you and London Miller will start the new series from the Seasons of Betrayal world? I LOVED Kaz! He's my favorite leading man outside of Cross of course. Thank you for answering my question (if you do).
Hi there.
So that world is actually called The Undergrounds, not Seasons of Betrayal. Seasons is simply a series inside The Undergrounds world. London and I have actually decided to finish the next series in the world entirely before we publish it because we don't want readers to have to wait for the next book to come out. At least, not wait forever and a day, you know.
So, once the Boykovs are entirely written, you can rest assured we will let you know when you can expect the series to drop, and where you can pick it up.
Hugs.
Okay, loves. That is all for this week. Until the next!
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