#ChickLIt May Book Boyfriend Blog Hop

NOTE: Today's blog post is brought to you by my newest hero, Ty Townsend, in honor of Book Boyfriend Blog Hop week. Read below about how you can make him the official book boyfriend. Take it away, Ty.

Hello and welcome, everyone! My name is Ty Townsend and I have a unique profession. I'm an Elvis impersonator! Everyone always told me I look like the legend himself, and since I love to sing, I chose a career where I could honor his legacy. I perform in Branson and Vegas and hope you'll attend one of my shows. Between gigs (like now) I chill on my favorite, secluded beach, Key Lime Island. In fact, I just got out of the water. Anyone have a towel?

Since I'm campaigning for Best Book Boyfriend, may I humbly suggest ten reasons why you should vote for me:

1) I have a sexy black leather costume just like Elvis. I'll wear it if you want. 
2) I'll sing any Elvis song you like. What's your favorite?
3) I love to play the guitar. Want a lesson?
4) My crazy pet is a parrot. Her name is Saylor and she curses a lot. "Vote for Ty, dammit." (Sorry, I can't control what comes out of her mouth. It can be embarrassing, especially in certain situations if you know what I mean.)
5) Key Lime Island is a private beach that's only accessible by boat or helicopter. In other words, it's very private. Want to go for a long walk on the beach?
6) Are you thirsty? I make a mean key lime martini? *heads to the kitchen*
7) Can you sing? We can perform a duet at The Tipsy Turtle. Come on. It'll be fun.
8) Maybe you'd prefer a boating adventure. I'll rent a speed boat from the Key Lime Marina. Let's go.
9) *Plucks a Hibiscus blossom* You need this behind your ear. Purple looks great on you.
10) Remember, please vote for TY TOWNSEND. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Vote by emailing traciebanister@gmail.com
Ty/Elvis has left the blog.

 After a deadly storm, Pepper is stranded on Key Lime Island with a rogue boyfriend, an Elvis impersonator, and his cursing parrot. Now what?

Available on Amazon (and FREE with KU) here: Beth Carter's Amazon Author Page
 
Don't forget to sign up for the big GIVEAWAY and visit the other talented authors on this blog hop. But, really, who can beat an Elvis impersonator?! Happy reading and voting.
 

Tracie Banister  http://traciebanister.blogspot.com/

Becky Monson  https://www.beckymonson.com/blog 

Hilary Grossman  www.feelingbeachie.com

Glynis Astie  http://www.glynisastie.com/blog

Jayne Denker  http://jaynedenker.com

Jennie Marts  http://www.jenniemarts.com/blog.html 

Barbara Valentin  https://barbaravalentin.com/blog/

Beth Labonte  www.secretary4life.com

Victoria Cooke  https://victoriacooke10.wordpress.com/

Holly Kerr  http://hollykerr.ca/my-blog/

Meredith Schorr  www.meredithschorr.com

Stacey Wiedower  www.staceywiedower.com/blog/

Laurie Baxter  http://lauriebaxter.com/blog/

Jennifer Farwell  http://jenniferfarwell.com/#blog

Natalina Reis  https://catarinadeobidos.wordpress.com/about/

Celia Kennedy  www.womanreinventsself.blogspot.com

Beth Carter  http://banterwithbeth.blogspot.com/

Ellyn Oaksmith  http://ellynoaksmith.com/

BJ Knapp  http://bjknapp.com/blog

Lizzie Lamb  https://lizzielamb.co.uk/lizzies-scribbles/

Sylvia Ashby  http://sylvia-ashby.com/?cat=64

Karen M. Cox  http://karenmcox.merytonpress.com/blog/

Lindsay Detwiler  http://www.lindsaydetwiler.com/

Kirsty McManus  http://www.kirstymcmanus.com.au/category/blog-news/

Melissa Baldwin  http://www.authormelissabaldwin.com/news.html

Geralyn Corcillo  http://thingsthatmakemegommmrrh.blogspot.com

Cassandra O'Leary  www.cassandraolearyauthor.com/blog/

Cat Lavoie  http://www.catlavoie.com/blog

Kate O'Keeffe  http://kateokeeffe.com/blog

Monique McDonell  www.moniquemcdonellauthor.com/blog

 

CASTING CALL for THURSDAYS AT COCOONUTS

 

Here we go with another weekly challenge from one of the talented authors of Romance Writers Weekly (RWW). This week, Victoria Barbour http://victoriabarbour.com/blog asked us to create a cast of characters from our new release or WIP. I hope you made it over here from Jeanne McDonald's blog at https://authorjeannemcdonald.wordpress.com/

In my newest release, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, I have quite a cast of characters and know who would be IDEAL to play them in a movie. See if you agree or feel free to suggest your own cast. Here goes:

Suzy - A wedding planner who can't find her own wedded bliss. She's a motherly single mom who is still pining for her high school boyfriend and faces the ultimate betrayal on her wedding day. She single handedly deals with neurotic brides and a horrible, pretentious mother of the bride--all with a smile (mostly). To play Suzy, I'd suggest Amy Adams. She looks like the perfect wedding planner who could handle my crazy brides.


Alex (Alexandra) - A bank marketer who falls for a sexy bad-boy cop. Alex is a beautiful blonde professional who is a savvy businesswoman but falls for a married officer who may be stalking her. She also has a "touch" of OCD and is habitually late. Reese Witherspoon would make a fantastic Alex. I could see her in the boardroom, being sexy and harried all the while having serious chemistry with the cop.




Hope - A fun high school guidance counselor who is adored by her students. But Hope hates her body, her frizzy hair, and is straddled by hippie parents. She loves her BFFs, Alex and Suzy, but wishes she had one-ounce of their sexiness. Hope faces many trials with her hippie parents and discovers a secret that almost went to the grave. Melissa McCarthy would make such a great Hope. I can just see her dealing with the hippie parents, Larry and Montana, and the students would love her!




Sgt. Tony Montgomery - A sexy bad-boy cop who has a cheating wife. He falls for Alex but won't leave his marriage because of his young son, Joey. Tony has a few secrets of his own but that swagger, chiseled jaw line, and icy blue eyes pretty much let him get away with anything. I don't KNOW who would be best for Tony. He needs to have dark hair and be tall. I describe him as a younger, taller George Clooney in my novel. Any suggestions? Maybe a taller Adam Levine? I know Adam's a singer but he has the right look. Feel free to suggest an actor to play the cop! Thanks to Leslie for suggesting Ian Somerhalder for one of her characters. He'd make a great Tony/cop!

Okay, that was fun. And, by the way, my novel is available on Amazon at

tinyurl.com/l9m26ht

THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS has gotten over sixty rave reviews! I can't tell you how much that excites and humbles me. Thank you! Please comment and then hop over to see the cast of characters for  Carolyn Spear at http://www.carolynspearromance.com/blog

Choosing Novel Settings

It's Tuesday which means the Romance Writers' Weekly blog hop is hopping away. This week's question was posed by the lovely and talented Brenda Margriet.  http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog/romance-writers-weekly-whats-up-with-settings-lovewritechat 
Brenda asked her fellow writers how we choose our settings and whether they are real or fictional, no matter the genre. I hope you made it over here from Elizabeth's blog http://elizabeth-janette.blogspot.com

In THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, my characters live in a town called Crystal City (fictional) and is set in Missouri (real). Crystal City is mid-sized and loosely based on my home-town of Springfield. Side note: Since I have cops in my novel, I tried out different names to make sure the abbreviated version of Crystal City Police Department (CCPD) would sound okay over a police scanner! I do enjoy the familiarity of writing about places I know but also like the challenge of creating entirely new worlds, people, and places.

As far as my three main characters' job settings, they're all very different and only one is similar to my real-life experience.

Alexandra (Alex) is a bank marketer who gets involved with a sexy bad-boy cop who may be stalking her. I was a bank marketer and did date a cop (cough, cough). Many of her duties such as creating branding campaigns, chairing 8 o'clock Monday morning marketing meetings, writing television scripts, and getting promoted to VP all happened to me.

Hope is a high school counselor. Of course, we ALL went to high school but I've never been a teacher nor a counselor, so Hope is completely fictional. She has hippie parents (I didn't have those either) but I loved the seventies and wanted to incorporate that decade. Hope also hates her looks, hair, and compares herself to her gorgeous girlfriends. Who doesn't do that?!

Suzy is a single mom who is a wedding planner. I, too, was a single mom for many years. As far as Suzy's company, Weddings By Suzanne, I've never been a wedding planner but discovered I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with themed weddings--and creating neurotic brides and a nasty, pretentious mother of the bride was icing on the ol' wedding cake.

So, the long answer to the question posed is a little of both--I used a few real-life experiences and settings but the vast majority of my novel is fictional. I hope you'll comment and then head over to Gemma's blog at http://gemmabrocato.com/blog I was lucky enough to meet Gemma/Heidi when we both went to Kansas City to hear Stephen King talk. What a great time. Meeting the fun, sweet, prolific Gemma and hearing SK on the same day! Wow. It's not often that authors who live in other cities, states, and countries get to meet, so this was a big deal. I'll never forget her first words when I walked into the B&N coffee shop. "I'd know you anywhere." Sweet.

Please follow the fun, quirky, talented RWW writers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly?ref=bookmarks or Twitter at #lovewritechat.

Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop

It's time again for the Romance Weekly blog hop. Every Tuesday several authors from around the globe get together to answer the same three questions. This week, I posed the questions so I had better answer them.

Which type of character do you prefer writing about: Sexy, romantic, sweet, quirky, mean, old, young, smart, silly or other?

I discovered in my debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, that I really, really LOVE creating nasty and/or quirky characters. Mrs. Biltmore is a pretentious, racist, horrible mother of the bride who drives my poor wedding planner, Suzy, crazy. I also liked creating a bad-boy cop and writing in a male POV. My hippie parents are quirky and were a blast. Plus, I loved the seventies so it was a fun throwback for me to reenact some of those memories.

 Have you ever killed off (or gotten back at) an ex in your writing? On paper, of course.
 
YES! I won't say who exactly but it was someone I dated. And he deserves it! So far, this character is in a yet-to-be published novel. I did change his name and profession to avoid a lawsuit (yes, he'd do that!) and it was quite fun to give him his due. So, there!

What hobbies do you have that you incorporate in your writing?
Decorating, gardening (especially planting flowers), dancing, and shopping. Also enjoying wine with friends just like my characters do every Thursday at Coconuts. My characters also do crazy things that I wouldn't do and I can't wait to get them into trouble in my sequel.

How Far Would You Go?

To get into the head of your characters and write realistically, how far would you go?

We all draw upon our former and current professions to write. We've also heard the adage, "Write what you know." However, sometimes we need details that we can't find on the web. We need to be in the moment. We need to touch, smell, see, hear--even fear--what our characters go through.

Luckily, my career path has involved a wide variety of industries and I'm glad. It helps keep my writing diverse and I rarely lack for ideas or inspiration. I've worked in education, healthcare, banking, hotel management and even at a movie theatre as a teen.

But let's say I want to write about something completely different like an over-the-road truck driver or a stripper. Just how far would I go? Here are some professions I'd like to try in the name of research: 

• Waitress
• Bartender
• Starbucks barista
• Police officer
• Fireman/woman
• Television reporter
• Wedding planner (although I wrote about one anyway and thought up some great themed weddings if I say so myself!)
• Amish farmer
• Boutique employee
• Bookstore employee
• Scientist
• Court reporter
• Tarot card reader
• Stripper (I'd watch--not participate!)

That's a pretty exhaustive list and would keep me busy writing novels for years. How about you? What professions would you add? Just how far would you go in the name of research?

Naming Characters

How do you choose names for your characters? Do you keep a list? Do you use names of family, friends and co-workers--or your dreaded former boyfriends?!!

Lately, I've noticed when writing in a hurry I "grab" the same character names too often, namely (pun intended) "Jenny" and "Sylvia." I don't know why but I do. Actually, my parents almost named me Jennifer but didn't like "Jenny" so they chose Beth. I happen to like the name Jenny so maybe that's why I use her as a character. I also tend to use "S" names quite a bit like Sarah and, yes, Sylvia.

When we're all spending too much time on Facebook or Twitter, I say we keep a running list of interesting names that we see online. At least we'll feel halfway productive while socializing. I often check the phone book (the real, heavy one--old school) for last names. Last names are particularly hard for me.

Of course, if you have an ethnic character from a country you're not that familiar with, you'll want to Google possible names so they are realistic.

Last but not least, I bought a baby book of about 5,000 names. That should keep me from tiring out poor Jenny and Sylvia! How about you? How do you choose names for your characters?

Character Traits

Now that we've chosen a unique profession for our characters, let's choose some interesting traits and personality types. Choose two, three or four distinct traits (good or bad!) for each character and use them consistently in your novel or short story. Then, you'll ensure that your characters are all very different, likeable (or the love to hate type) thereby captivating the reader.

Here are several mannerisms that come to mind: boastful, shy, silly, conceited, confident, possessive, jealous, intelligent, belligerent, charming, nosy, tattle-tale, hateful, racist, flirty, sexy, loud, fun-loving, persuasive, generous, stingy, selfish, sweet, generous, sensitive, pretentious, talkative, quiet, sarcastic, funny, neat, sloppy, punctual, habitually late, brooding, hopeful, hopeless, positive, negative, pessimistic, optimistic, power hungry, timid, and the list goes on.

Which of these personality types have you used for characters? Which combinations would be the most fun? Freel free to add more.

Wacky Characters

What are the wackiest, most unique characters you've ever written about? An exotic dancer? A lion tamer? We all enjoy reading about unusual characters so I've come up with a list of several unique professions.

Wouldn't it be fun to create one of these as a main character? Here goes: Sex therapist, undertaker, prostitute, circus worker, Amish or Mennonite, nun, wiccan, palm reader, inmate, stripper, pimp, billionnaire, homeless person, inventor, gypsy, cowboy, escort, celebrity, inventor, and a bank robber.

Which of these would you dare tackle? Have you already written about characters in these professions? Can you think of other unique professions? Please share.