CBB Book Promotions Blog Tour, Interview, & Giveaway: Bodyguards of L.A. County (Cate Beauman)

Welcome to the blog tour for Falling for Sarah and Saving Sophie by Cate Beauman!  The tour runs July 1-29 with reviews, excerpts, interviews and guest posts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

Falling for Sarah is only 0.99 cents for a limited time!

About FALLING FOR SARAH: Widow Sarah Johnson struggled to pick up the pieces after her life was ripped apart. After two years of grieving, she's found contentment in her thriving business as photographer to Hollywood's A-list and in raising her angel-faced daughter, Kylee... until bodyguard and long-time friend Ethan Cooke changes everything with a searing moonlight kiss.
Sarah's world turns upside down as she struggles with her unexpected attraction to Ethan and the guilt of betraying her husband's memory. But when blue roses and disturbing notes start appearing on her doorstep, she has no choice but to lean on Ethan as he fights to save her from a stalker that won't stop until he has what he prizes most.

Only 0.99 for a limited time!

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 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.

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International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards.Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack.
Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her popular Bodyguards series. For information on Cate's new releases, monthly giveaways, and upcoming events, sign up for her newsletter at: http://www.catebeauman.com/author/home.html#!newsletter-sign-up/c9td  

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When did you first realize that you wanted to tell stories to the world? What was your first step towards becoming an author?

I think there were a lot of little things that brought me to my moment of realization. For years I knew something was missing in my life. I didn’t have any major passions. I love being a wife and mom; I enjoy working with children, but I never had anything that ‘filled me up’ personally.  I always felt like there was something more I wanted to do but had no clue what it was.  After my family and I relocated from the Northeast to the South, my new path started to unfold. We were hundreds of miles from family and friends and the comforts of home. I’d accepted a job that I truly despised and quit promptly afterward.

     The economy in the States wasn’t great. My husband and I had pretty much resigned ourselves to being broke as a one-income family until I could secure new employment. After the kids would leave for school each day, I would either paint a room in our new home or read a Nora Roberts novel and gorge myself on chocolates. I was miserable! 

     One evening, out of nowhere, after finishing the novel I had been reading, I had this epiphany. I decided right then and there that I was going to write a book of my own. I scribbled down some basic ideas and the next day, I got to work. Weeks later, I had a rough draft—and I do mean rough draft!  I joined a critiquing site, Critique Circle, where I learned so many wonderful things about the craft of telling a good story and met some really great writing friends. 

Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I’m definitely not a rigid writer, but I do use a vague outline for my first drafts. I find that having a good grasp of the main conflicts and detailed character sketches more helpful than planning everything out step by step. The details come together as I get to know my characters better.  By the second draft I know just what needs to be revised and go from there.

Research! You must have done a lot of research for your books. Tell us about it.

Research is a HUGE part of storytelling.  It’s impossible to bring characters and situations to life if you don’t know what you’re talking about.  I actually LOVE to research.  It’s such an exciting way to learn new things.  I pretty much follow the same research routine before I begin each novel.  After I figure out what I want the story to be about, I make a list of topics I don’t know enough about, which often leads to MORE topics I didn’t realize I didn’t know anything about and get to work. I watch documentaries and YouTube, read books and articles, do personal interviews, access pictures via Google Images, and keep my eyes open for related topics in the news. 

What books have most influenced your life most?

I think Homeport by Nora Roberts was pretty important to my writing/reading life. I was never a big reader until one of my girlfriends made me promise to give Ms. Robert’s book a try. I fell in love and devoured every romantic suspense novel I could get my hands on after that.

I also love the book He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. I love the honesty among the pages of that book. Why would anyone want to spend time with someone who doesn’t value you and want to spend time with you? The cool thing is that you can apply Greg and Liz’s message to anyone and everyone in your life. It has worked well for me over the years.

How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

Writing any story is full of ups and downs. There are good days and bad days—moments where you’re certain you won’t be able to finish your project. On occasion you find yourself struggling with self-doubt. But somehow you pull it off and realize you’ve created this four hundred page miracle that not only has a cohesive plot but also characters your readers are sad to say goodbye to when they reach the ending. That’s what it’s all about. Making it to the finish line and enjoying the process.

My advice is to write for the love or writing and for no other reason. Write everyday, even when it’s hard, and never give up.

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?

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! 

If you were to compare the lead characters from all your novels, what would bring them together and what would make them stand apart from each other?

I try hard to make the men and women of Ethan Cooke Security come alive among the pages of each novel. Part of the process is allowing the characters to be as authentic as you and me. Every person has strengths and weaknesses. They make mistakes and are flawed. All of my characters are the same way.

I think what makes them all different are the parts that make you and me different—their pasts and all that they’ve had to overcome and experience, their gestures, and unique personalities.

I think that’s why readers enjoy this series so much. It’s fun to read about people you can identify with. 

What do you love about writing? What do you hate?

There are so MANY things I love about writing! I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired of the satisfaction that comes along with watching a novel unfold on my laptop.  It’s always such an amazing feeling when you’ve written the last word and somehow, you’ve pulled a plot and characters together to make a story that you hope readers will enjoy.  I want readers to get lost in a great adventure and enjoy the characters I’ve created. 

I think the only thing I hate about writing is the fear that I won’t be able to come up with the next story. I’m constantly terrified that I won’t be able to pull a plot together or I won’t be able to find the words.  Somehow it always works out, but there’s this weight that sits on my shoulders until I officially type the last sentence and can say, ‘the end’.

Why will readers embrace Sophie? Is she someone we’ll like? What makes an embraceable protagonist?

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.

Where did you come up with the idea to write your latest release, Finding Lyla?

Typically I get my story ideas from crime documentaries or some sort of crime television program, but I can’t say that is the case for Finding Lyla. When I was coming up with ideas for this novel, I knew I wanted to tell a story about a hero that had struggled through some rough times and a heroine that had some unresolved issues of her own, but was soft, strong, and gentle all at the same time. During the summer months, I started paying close attention to the ongoing Russia/US conflict and Lyla and Collin assured me they wanted their story to revolve around an adventure that combined all of these elements together.

$25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Ends August 3rd
Prizing is provided by the authors, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 18. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.