Aloha to Jamie Beck and SECRETLY HERS (Sterling Canyon Book 2)

Reminder: I have a special giveaway to celebrate June at this link.

Jamie Beck stops by for a cozy interview to celebrate SECRETLY HERS ...

But a creative writing career seemed like a pipedream, so I went to Tulane University assuming I'd figure out what to do with the rest of my life by graduation day. While attending school in the Big Easy, I fell in love with psychology. But psychiatrists go to medical school, and subjects such as biology and chemistry weren't my forte. Alas, another career eliminated.

Ultimately, I earned a joint law/M.B.A. degree and practiced commercial real estate and lending law for a decade in my hometown of Pittsburgh (Go Steelers!). I learned a ton and met great people, but was never passionate about the work. When my husband's career took us to Connecticut, I opted to stay at home to raise our two young children. That decision presented a second-chance to revisit the idea of writing romance novels.

Kim: Connecticut: What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Constitution State?

Jamie: One of my favorite things about Connecticut is the number of trees and stone fences you see everywhere. The state is densely forested, and some of the stone walls must date back a hundred years or more. It’s all very quaint and different from my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also, if you live near the coast, you can enjoy the gentle lapping of Long Island Sound as it meets the shore. Finally, the best smell (in my opinion) is the crisp scent of autumn leaves. It doesn’t hurt that they are also spectacularly colorful in October!

Kim: What did you learn from psychology and the law that you could apply to your writing career?

Jamie: I could probably write several pages about this one question, but I won’t bore you. Basically, the law taught me how to research, which comes in handy when trying to make my stories authentic to places or professions I don’t have personal experience with. Also, I’ve used legal concepts to create conflict in my stories. In fact, I’ll be giving a workshop on how to do that at the Connecticut Romance Writers or America’s Fiction Fest conference on September 10th.

As for psychology, that helps me with character development. Specifically, it ensures that my characters’ motivations are well-founded and logical, and spring from their backgrounds and the events occurring in the story. There is nothing I dislike more than reading a story and finding a main character to be inconsistent, clichéd, or simply unbelievable.

Kim: What inspired the Sterling Canyon series and SECRETLY HERS?

Jamie: I’m an avid skier and absolutely love the Rocky Mountains, so I wanted to write a series based on the fantasy of living in a small ski town surrounded by athletic men. Readers love sports heroes, but most popular series involve football, baseball, or hockey. There aren’t that many skiers in romantic fiction, so I thought it would be a fresh twist on an old favorite.

Sterling Canyon is loosely based on Telluride, Colorado. It’s such a quaint, “old West” kind of town, I couldn’t resist.

As for SECRETLY HERS specifically, Trip stole the show in ACCIDENTALLY HERS. He just jumped off the page (at least, for me he did). He basically wrote his own story. Honestly, this was the easiest book I’ve written, because I am so in love with him, I couldn’t get the words down fast enough!

Kim: What's next for Jamie Beck?

Jamie: A lot! Later this year, the final book of my St. James Novels comes out (Worth the Risk, November 1st). In early 2017, we’ll release the third Sterling Canyon book, and then I’ll be rolling out a new series (The Cabot Novels), which will be set in the Pacific Northwest and follow the lives of the Cabot family siblings. I’m working on the first book now, and so far, I’m really happy with the shape it’s taking. These will be highly emotional books with heavier women’s fiction notes.

Bridal Veil Falls in Telluride

Image by Terry Foote (link)

Mahalo, Jamie, for sharing Sterling Canyon with us! SECRETLY YOURS releases today!

On her thirty-first birthday, hopeless romantic Kelsey Callihan has all but given up on happily ever afters, which is why she agrees to a risqué proposition from Sterling Canyon’s notorious playboy, backcountry skier Trip Lexington. After all, every girl needs a little fun, and with Trip, there are no mixed signals or risks of a broken heart. And if his tips can help her land a husband in the process, all the better.

Trip couldn’t be happier with his secret, no-strings fling with sweet and sexy Kelsey until she calls it quits after meeting a man she believes could share her dream of marriage and family. His jealousy turns to outrage when he discovers that the man is his estranged half brother and lifelong rival.

Now Trip must decide whether the fire in his gut is due to sibling rivalry or something much more dangerous…like love.

jamiebeck.com
facebook.com/JamieBeckBooks

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Jamie is hosting a giveaway at this link.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Sterling Canyon Book 1