A New Year and a New Anthology

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by Paula Gail Benson

Happy new year to all! I hope your reading and writing is bringing you much joy.

I’ve written before about belonging to the Lowcountry Romance Writers (LRWA, a chapter of the Romance Writers of America). I’ve continued to be a member, even though it is based in Charleston, S.C. and I live in Columbia, because its membership is so delightful, and its programs and projects offer some great opportunities to learn and practice the craft of romance writing.

Even though I have a few romantic short stories to my publication credit, I don’t consider myself primarily a romance author. My concentration lies more with mystery stories.

I do have great admiration for romance authors in their ability to work out unique stories following a fairly-well defined and expected structure. I also really appreciate their tremendous expertise in marketing their work. Not to mention that reading a good romance about fascinating characters facing strong, realistic challenges is a wonderful fictional diversion because you can always count on a happy ending.

For the previous two anthologies, I’ve enjoyed working on time travel stories. In Love in the Lowcountry, Volume One, my characters journey to Charleston of the 1930’s. My story in Volume Two has modern characters interacting with those living during President George Washington’s visit to Charleston.

For the upcoming Volume Three, which must involve a South Carolina vacation, I followed up on the antagonists featured in my story from Volume One. How do two very disagreeable folks redeem themselves and find they might have their own love story?

Are you a fan of Bill Murray’s movie Groundhog Day? Well, picture the former antagonists having to relive fifteen-minute time loops, each period taking them further back in history. Combine that with a connection to Edgar Allan Poe’s military service on Sullivan’s Island and you have my new story, “Poe Substitute.”

Please watch for news of Volume Three, which will be released in early March 2025. I’ll be bringing you additional updates as the time for publication approaches.

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll check out our previous Love in the Lowcountry (A Winter Holiday Collection Book 1) (now available on Amazon Kindle for only $1.99—14 great stories!) and Love in the Lowcountry Volume 2: A Winter Holiday Collection (also available on Amazon Kindle for only $1.99—11 great stories). And don’t forget to celebrate with our LRWA authors the release of Volume Three in March 2025!

Valkyrie Brothers Book 1 - Elevator Ride by Bethany Maines - Cover reveal graphic

2025 is Coming!

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2025 is coming for me!

And I am not ready.  I’m not ready for Christmas, I barely made it through Thanksgiving and New Year’s is barreling down on me like a freight train.  In 2025, I’m trying something new as an author—a release schedule that doesn’t sync up with my work conference season, and a “long” quick release schedule.  In romance publishing it’s not uncommon to see authors releasing books in a series mere weeks or a month apart. But I tried that in 2022 and I think I’m still recovering.

In 2025 I’m planning on releasing a complete trilogy, but I plan on doing them three months apart — March, June, and September.  This will off-set them from peak seasons at work and also give me a little breathing space, while hopefully keeping readers engaged.  But that means that I’m setting up a lot of marketing now in 2024. And if I’m putting my time toward one thing then I’m taking time from somewhere else.

So what should you be doing – if not preparing for 2025?

Christmas shopping!  I don’t even have proper list or a spreadsheet!  I’m just randomly buying crap and hoping that I’m getting closer to wrapping.

Upon reviewing those last few sentences, I have come to the conclusion that I might be a giant nerd.  Does anyone else have a shopping spreadsheet?  Just me?  OK, well, if you do… nerds unite! You are my people.

But I haven’t even put up a tree.  The stockings are up, so we’re not totally without Christmas, but still… The days are ticking by too fast! Although, I can’t tell for sure if that’s true since we didn’t get an advent calendar either. How can I really tell how close we are to Christmas without small amounts of chocolate being continually fed to me?

Meanwhile, I feel like I’m ADHD as I try to wrap up all my writing goals for the end of the year.  There’s all the marketing I need to do, a contest I want to submit to that means I have some pages that need polishing, a novel that needs polishing and a paranormal romance that is begging to be written.  And every time I work on one I feel guilty that I’m not working on the others.

How am I supposed to get enough family time, let alone Christmas cookies, into my December with that many projects?  If you’ve got time saving tips or great gift ideas–I’m all ears.

Valkyrie Brothers Book 1 - Elevator Ride by Bethany Maines - Cover reveal graphic - Release date: March 24, 2025

But what I hear you saying is that there is a new series coming?

Yes.  There is!  The Valkyrie Brother’s Trilogy!  Half rom-com, half mystery and all fun.  The series features three brothers navigating reuniting their family, fighting off bad guys, and coincidentally meeting their true loves in elevators all across town.  Book 1 – Elevator Ride – will be released in March of 2025 and is currently available for pre-order.  If you want to learn more, it was recently featured over at Dru’s Book Musing Blog!  And while you’re over there check out Dru’s fabulous reviews and other content.

Learn more about Elevator Ride: https://drusbookmusing.com/cover-reveal-elevator-ride/

Pre-order: https://amzn.to/3AnaMLQ

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Bethany Maines drinks from an arsenic mugBethany Maines is the award-winning indie and traditionally published author of romantic action-adventure and fantasy novels that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind-end. She can usually found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel or screenplay.

See a few of her books on the Our Books page: https://www.thestilettogang.com/books/

Luckless Love epub & print editions from co-writer team Bethany Maines & Juel Lugo.

Luckless Love

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3-D rendering of the print edition of Luckless LoveLuckless Love Releases November 18!

Next week will see the release of Luckless Love, a contemporary “enemies to lovers” romance with a hint of “mistaken identity” set in Eastern Washington with a “happily ever after” ending.  This standalone novel was fun to write, but more fun to research. The story revolves around a winery and it’s head enologist (that’s wine maker for us less fancy people) who falls for a new-to-town photographer.  To be fair, Juel Lugo, my co-author did the most research, I just tasted the wine.  And I was very much OK with that division of labor.

Did I Learn Anything?

Yes, I did! Dom Perignon is not just the name of expensive champagne. He was a real person who helped in the invention of champagne.  The people of Champagne wanted to make it more bubbly and Monsieur Perignon figured it out. This fact is of zero relevance to the plot of Luckless Love, but I still enjoyed learning it. Each section of Luckless Love does come with a wine recommendation and I hope that readers enjoy trying new wine as much as my co-author and I did.

So What is the Book About?

Photographer, Simone Laurent is homeless, loveless, and luckless when her motorhome conks out on the last leg of a year-long road trip. Arriving at Ryan’s Garage in the small town of Luckless Washington, Simone meets Jordan Ryan, the grumpy wine-maker from the Amante Winery, and mistakes him for a mechanic. But while sparks and tempers flare, normally sunshiney Simone is still unable to pay for repairs to her motorhome. Simone sets out to get a job, vowing to dismiss all thoughts of the sweaty “mechanic” from her mind. But that’s hard to do when Jordan turns out to be her new boss. But while Jordan and Simone are determined to focus strictly on the big wine event coming to town, their friends, family, and Cupid have other plans. With the crush coming from more than grapes, this hapless duo will need all the help they can get to make sure they end up in Luckless Love.

Luckless Love is a wholesome standalone rom-com, full of quirky characters, laughs, true love, and a guaranteed happily ever after.  The print edition is now available! Follow the links below to get your copy!

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/4dfmAO6

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216958888-luckless-love

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Remember to check out all of the Stiletto Gang’s catalog on our book page!  www.thestilettogang.com/books/

Luckless Love epub & print editions from co-writer team Bethany Maines & Juel Lugo.

Can I be a Co-Writer?

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A Co-Writer Spills the Beans

Co-writer team Bethany Maines & Juel Lugo present Luckless Love.In my upcoming release, Luckless Love, my heroine is returning from a year long road trip and searching for someplace to belong.  Wanting to belong to a community is a universal theme that I think appeals to readers, but when I started to write the book, I didn’t immediately leap to that theme.  I had to explain my reasoning for using it to my co-writer—Juel Lugo.

Luckless Love started out during COVID when Juel who is my business partner in real life and I took a script writing seminar on how to write a Hallmark movie.  We both felt that we could write one, and with too much time on our hands and since we were in each other’s COVID pods, we gathered around a computer and took notes on how to write a Hallmark movie.

What Are Your Co-Writer Goals?

Juel is not particularly interested in being an author.  She doesn’t want to do the work of putting words on a page, but she is endlessly interested in stories and structure.  As a life-long reader, and marketing expert, she knows that stories are what move the human psyche.  So our deal was that she would do the bulk lifting on inventing the plot. I would walk her through how to outline and then I would do the actual writing.  But that meant that we had endless discussions on our characters, their motivations and how to get them to fulfill their plot obligations.

I don’t know how other co-authors work together, but with over ten years of experience in working with each other, we managed to make it through the outline with very little disagreement.  Having both taken the seminar we both could recognize when we were deviating from the Hallmark pattern.  And then we could also agree when we were fine with leaving that path.  Hallmark has a lot of constraints about how serious or realistic things can be (don’t mention divorce or cancer!), which is understandable for their brand, but for writing a novel it can feel like the characters are lacking in depth.

Did We Make it the End?

So did we make it through the writing process with our friendship and partnership intact?  Absolutely. It was a fantastically distracting project during a time when we very much needed one.  It was also fun to take on a challenge that neither of us had done before.  The script version achieved a PNWA Literary Contest Finalist ranking and we are quite proud of our little romance novel.  We’re looking forward to it’s upcoming release on November 18.  Check out the links below if you’re also interested in a sweet romance, all about wine, second chances and finding some place to call home.

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/4dfmAO6

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216958888-luckless-love

***

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

 

Remember to check out all of the Stiletto Gang’s catalog on our book page!  www.thestilettogang.com/books/

Benefits of Contributing to an Anthology

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by Paula Gail Benson

Robin Hillyer-Miles and I, two blogging partners here at The Stiletto Gang, also are members of the Lowcountry Romance Writers (LRWA), a chapter of Romance Writers of America based in Charleston, South Carolina. Since 2019, LRWA has organized and published two anthologies, titled Love in the Lowcountry: A Winter Holiday Collection and Love in the Lowcountry, Volume Two: A Winter Holiday Collection Book 2. Both are available through Amazon.

LRWA is now in the process of creating its third anthology, which again requires that stories take place in South Carolina. For this anthology, they also must involve a vacation. Contributors must participate in two rounds of beta reading, work with a professional editor, and develop and circulate promotional materials. Learning and using these skills is invaluable experience for both debut and seasoned authors. We continue to have a lot of fun putting these anthologies together.

Robin and I have both written several messages about how these anthologies benefited us as writers: from Robin, “Musings on a Tuesday” and “No Regrets,” and from me “Love in the Air,” “A New Anthology,” and “The Meet Cute.”

These anthologies also provide some virtual vacations and insightful information for readers who visit in person and/or virtually. Bookstores in Charleston, South Carolina, often have customers seeking fiction about the city. Most of our anthologies’ romances describe historical or cultural backgrounds in a very engaging format, meeting the bookstores’ customers’ requests. Robin Hillyer-Miles, a certified tourism professional, has assisted all the participating writers in confirming the accuracy of the details in their work.

In addition to giving authors a writing credit, contributing to the anthology allows the opportunity for learning new writing skills, trying out new genres, and developing different characters. Not all writers enjoy crafting short stories, but the attempts demonstrate how to be more economical with word usage and narrative. Except for hints at relationships, I had not written romances prior to my stories in the anthologies. They also represent my first efforts at exploring time travel, which allow me to involve modern day characters with historical figures and events, something I find fascinating.

One author in the first anthology used her story as part of a trilogy. She offered the prequel in her newsletter to entice readers to try her work. That gave me the idea to consider how two characters I developed for my story in the first anthology (the two rejected by the main love interests) might appear subsequently. (Note: it continues to be a challenge to find those two less desirable characters’ more likable qualities.)

In the second anthology, my story had three potential romantic couples, one that became predominant. Determining how to resolve the characters’ interacting plotlines became a fascinating puzzle that led me to contemplate writing a more expansive account, featuring each couple independently.

Even if you don’t ordinarily read or write short stories, try dipping into an anthology or two. They offer some great examples of craft and compiling material by theme, not to mention some excellent reading.

The Meet Cute

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by Paula Gail Benson

Cover from First LRWA Anthology

Currently, I’m working on an up-to-10,000 word short story for the third Lowcountry Romance Writers’ (LRWA) anthology. The story must somehow involve South Carolina and a vacation.

I’m basing mine on characters I developed in my story that appeared in the first LRWA anthology. It’s been fun to give this couple its own romance since they were the antagonists in the original story. Figuring out how two basically disagreeable folks become likable and get together has been both challenging and delightful!

During a brainstorming session with some of the other anthology contributors, I described the female protagonist’s situation, background, and desires. She was focused on finding a way to connect with her 10-year-old daughter, who seemed more in sync with the ex-husband and his fiancée. I was interrupted from describing my character’s angst with the question: what’s her love interest and where’s the “meet cute”?

I’d heard the term “meet cute” and recognized the concept. Wikipedia, referencing Merriam-Webster, describes it as: “a scene in media, in which two people meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances, and go on to form a future romantic couple.” Wikipedia illustrated the entry with a depiction of Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting.

Image that appears in Wikipedia

Romeo and Juliet opens with a “meet cute”? I had to reread the play.

So, Romeo is pining after Rosalind, who is a Capulet niece. The Capulets are trying to fix Juliet up with Paris. Then, Romeo sneaks into the Capulets’ banquet at their home. Tybalt protests his presence, but Mr. Capulet says, don’t call attention to him. Meanwhile, Romeo sees and zeroes in on Juliet. After some fancy talk about pilgrims’ hands meeting in prayer resembling kissing, they trade a few smooches.

Okay. I understand the setup as a “meet cute.” Romeo goes to romance the girl he’s fascinated by and instead falls in love with the daughter of his family’s worst enemy. It’s the story’s tragic overtones (not to mention all the pilgrims’ hands speeches) that obscure the humor of that scene.

I thought about some of my favorite Rom-Coms: Legally Blonde, where Elle meets Emmett at Harvard, or Shakespeare in Love, where the bard first sees his muse dressed in male attire and auditioning for a role. One of my favorite romances is Lisa Kleypas’ The Devil in Winter, one of her wallflower series. The couple are acquainted but have their actual first face-to-face meeting after the male has kidnapped the female’s friend in a previous book. Evangeline Jenner is the shy, stuttering daughter of a wealthy gambling house owner who approaches Sebastian, Lord Vincent, one of London’s best-known rakes to save her from her relatives’ manipulations. That initial scene sizzles with sexual tension.

Could I do that with my characters? I’ve tried by having them reconnect at a restaurant where the female does not at first recognize the male, who is her server. I asked for some feedback from another writing group and was fascinated to hear their reactions to this couple. The group had a lot of good suggestions and questions. I always find questions encouraging because it means readers want to know more.

What’s your favorite “meet cute” scene and has it ever involved unlikable characters?

Cover of LRWA Anthology Volume 2

Bethany Maines drinks from an arsenic mug

Alekos!

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Alekos Now Available!

Whew!  I’ve made it to summer and the final (for now) book of my Rejects Pack trilogy.  Alekos wraps up the storyline started in the books 1 and 2 (Hudson & Killian) in what I hope is a satisfactory conclusion.  Hint: I’m trying to tell you there’s a Happily Ever After without giving away any spoilers.

Challenges

This series tested my creativity in quite a few ways.  I actually started Alekos first and then went back and wrote the first two installments.  This created a challenge in that the first two books were therefore more honed in to their themes and where they had to end up in order for book three to make sense. But that also meant that I had to a fair bit of editing on Alekos in order to make all the little plot jigsaw pieces line up.

I also started it during the pandemic and then was faced with the decision to include or not include the pandemic in the text. I ended up choosing to include it but with only light mentions rather than as a plot point.  One of the most curious things about the 1918 Influenza epidemic is that it seemed virtually unmentioned in fiction of the time.  It was certainly influential as a theme, but most of us haven’t ever read a story that features masks or other remnants of that outbreak.  When that was first pointed out, I couldn’t understand why.  It seems notable and worth a short story or two to try and capture the moment.  I did write one Covid piece of short fiction based on the drag races that sprang up during the lock downs (Fireball Rolled a Seven – Crimecucopia Funny Ha Ha edition), but writers have seen very sharp opinions from readers about mentioning the pandemic in novels mostly they don’t like it.  Reading is for escape and bringing Covid back into the escapist fantasy isn’t always wanted.  However, it was one of the hurdles my heroine had to overcome, so I left it in without dwelling on it. Hopefully, readers now have had enough distance that seeing a mention of a mask in fiction won’t send them scurrying for the door.

What to Expect

But I think I rose to meet the challenges of crafting a Indiana Jones / The Mummy inspired series that gives magical new worlds, globe trotting adventures, and mythological beings, archaeological mysteries, and one very pissed off ancient Egyptian mummy(ish) person. And I can’t wait for readers to be able to share the complete (for now) adventures of the Rejects Pack.

Pre-Order / Buy Now: https://amzn.to/3l32CAL

Learn more: https://www.bethanymaines.com

About Alekos:

Alpha wolf, Alexander Ash has forged a family dedicated to finding a cure for the magical wasteland that has stretched across Greece since the devastating Night of 1000 deaths. But on the brink of finally being able to right the wrongs fate has dealt, Alex meets translator Eliandra Smith and finds himself called to her in a way he can’t explain. But as Lia is swept into Alex’s world of mystical beings, magic, and deadly ancient wars, they soon discover that she is tied more closely to his past that she could have imagined. And Alex discovers she might also be the one thing that can kill them all.

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning indie and traditionally published author of romantic action-adventure and fantasy novels that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind-end. She can usually found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel or screenplay.

A Gathering in Charleston, South Carolina

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by Paula Gail Benson

82 Queen

This year, I had been regretting my inability to attend any writing conferences. Being among writers and readers always helps to inspire and bring new ideas into focus. Not to mention, adding to my “to be read” list.

A few months ago, I heard from a dear friend to so many of us, Dru Ann Love, that she would be coming to Charleston, South Carolina, to tour the city with friends. Could some of us who lived nearby join them for lunch one day?

My work schedule kept changing, so I wasn’t certain until the last minute that I could join the group. I asked my friend Sue Husman, a retired librarian and voracious reader, if she would ride with me from Columbia to Charleston.

For lunch, we had a reservation at 82 Queen, described on its website as “a uniquely ‘Charleston’ dining experience” in “three buildings and a garden courtyard nestled in the Historic French Quarter.” I had not been there in decades, but I knew it would be delightful and memorable.

As we left the Municipal Garage, we ran into Jackie Layton, who writes “cozy mysteries with Spunky Southern Sleuths,” including the Low Country Dog Walker and the new Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mysteries, which will debut in July. I was impressed to learn that Jackie combines writing with being a part-time pharmacist. She lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and her website is http://jackielaytoncozyauthor.com. Sue, Jackie, and I took a few minutes to peruse Buxton Books on King Street before heading to 82 Queen.

We dined upstairs in a room wallpapered with images of green parrots. Dru Ann was our most gracious host, introducing us to her friends, Yifat Cestare from New York and Marla Husovsky from California. Since meeting, they had traveled to join each other at several destinations for exploration, food, and fun. Yifat explained the number one requirement was laughing a lot. We were glad to comply.

My lunch: tomato pie and salad. YUM.

Dru Ann made sure we knew about each of the authors. Tina Whittle and Nora McFarland had traveled from Savannah, Georgia.

In addition to short fiction, Tina Whittle writes the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver mysteries that feature gunshop owner Tai and corporate security agent Trey. She reads tarot and enjoys boxing, sushi, and mini pilgrimages. Her website is http://www.tinawhittle.com.

Nora McFarland has an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and has worked in national (CNN) and local news. Her protagonist is Lily Hawkins, a TV News photographer who lives and sleuths in Bakersfield, California. Nora’s website is http://www.noramcfarland.com.

Pralines and Cream Ice Cream for Dessert!

Dorothy McFalls and I always joke that we only meet when traveling to writing conventions. We have both been members of the Lowcountry Romance Writers (chapter of RWA), based in Charleston. Dorothy’s a Charleston resident who writes romance and mysteries. She has two websites: http://dorothymcfalls.com and http://dorothystjames.com. Her mysteries include the White House Gardener, the Southern Chocolate Shop, and the Beloved Bookroom series.

Everyone was very supportive of my short stories, including “Crossfire in the Crosshairs” available in eBook A Death in the Night to be released in August by Dragon Soul Press. You can pre-order here.

Dru Ann had her own happy news that was announced at Malice Domestic. She and Kristopher Zgorski have collaborated to write a short story for a Beatles related anthology that will be edited by Josh Pachter. We are all very excited to read their work. Meanwhile, we’ll be following Dru Ann’s reading adventures at https://drusbookmusing.com/.

The group with something above!

We had a fabulous time, enjoying great food and conversation. One of the topics was about staying in haunted places. I noticed in the photo our server took that a shiny figure seems to float above us. Some might call it a reflection from the light fixture, but I wonder!

Many thanks to everyone involved in this wonderful day. Dru Ann, Yifat, and Marla, don’t you think you could make Charleston an annual destination?

Hudson!

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Hudson is Released into the Wild!

It’s release day for Hudson, book 1 of the Rejects Pack.  This archaeological thriller / paranormal romance melds all the booby trapped tomb adventures of Indiana Jones with some shifter wolves, flirtatious banter and tosses in some evil warlocks and a mysterious mummy for good measure.  So in some ways today is the day that I find out if everyone else finds that as fun as I do.

What Readers Are Saying

Part of book marketing is to send “Advance Reader Copies” or ARCs to individuals who will read and review a book–hopefully early, and hopefully with something quotable.  When I first got into publishing I had no idea what an ARC was and spent weeks scratching my head until someone actually used the entire phrase. Fortunately, for Hudson, the advance reviews are looking quite positive. I can only hope that they continue on the same trend. All of the Rejects Pack boys have been fun to write and I’m even thinking about keeping the series going, so I hope that it’s well-received.

The Inspiration for Hudson

In case you haven’t guessed, I like action-movies and sparky couples who serve up quips and flirt their way through dangerous escapes. And for the Rejects Pack series I definitely set out to write a series with those kind of main characters.  So, if you like action-packed romances, angry Egyptologists, shifter wolves, and ancient booby-trapped tombs, then you will also love Hudson, book 1 of the Rejects Pack.

Learn More or Buy Now:

Hudson on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3l32CAL

Enter to Win a Print Edition of Hudson: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/365402

Watch the Promo Video: https://youtu.be/S7u4J8J9WWE

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.