Friday, May 8, 2020

This week in The Loft: Canadian Author Beverley Bateman!

Joining me this morning in The Loft is author Beverley Bateman! Beverley utilizes her background in nursing to craft medical thrillers and tales of romantic suspense. Now living in Medicine Hat, just south of Calgary, Alberta, Canada (home of the the World Famous Calgary Stampede), she delights in plotting perfect murders and helping her antagonists solve them. Beverley firmly believes that good triumphs over evil and love conquers all. 


Author Beverley Bateman

S:  Good morning, Beverley! 

Why did you become a writer?

B:  I’m not sure I had a choice. I have been writing since I was very young. I made up stories about my dolls, my toys, and my books. I would rewrite endings for my books. Then I wrote locked room plots. I was forever thinking up plots or characters for books and kept the ideas in folders. I still do.

S:  What attracts you to the romance genre?

B:  In the romance genre, you have well developed characters and supporting characters. They develop relationships and you get to watch both the characters and their relationships grow and develop.  It pulls you into the story and you become part of it. I read well-written murder/suspense stories with great plots, but that extra emotional pull from character and relationship development isn’t there. Plus, I like a happy ending.

S:  Do you write in other genres? Why or why not?

B:  Not really. I co-authored a romantic horror story once. He wrote the horror and I wrote the romance and the relationship. I’ve tried to write a murder story, but I had to keep bringing in a hero and heroine and develop a relationship and the romance kept creeping in.

S:  (Smiles.)  I have had the same problem. I finally decided that it wasn't natural to bar romance at the door. It's fact of life.

What is your perfect romantic evening?

B:  I think my perfect romantic evening was a one I had with my husband. Several years ago, we took a trip to Jamaica. We got to the resort and dinner that night was on the beach. They set up tables three or four feet from the water. The water lapped gently against the sand throughout dinner. We had a delicious seafood dinner by candlelight and it was served with an excellent wine. A Jamaican steel drum band played in the background. It was pretty much a perfect evening.

S:  (Sighs.) That is romantic! I think we all wish for evenings like that!

What are you currently working on?

B: I have just finished a romantic suspense book set in New Orleans. "Death Southern Style." It’s at my editor and after revisions, will be on sale. I’m now about a third of the way through Book Two in The Foundation series, "Liability Wife, Lydia’s Story." It’s an organization about women helping women, with romance thrown in, of course.

S:  How many books do you average a year? Which book is your favorite so far

B:  Under normal circumstances, I usually manage one book a year. I like many of my books, but I think The Foundation, Book One, "The Fourth Victim Sara’s Story" is my favorite. And the other one is "Targeted," a contemporary western romantic suspense story.

S:  Tell me about "Fourth Victim Sara's Story."

B:  As I said, it's part of The Foundation series. Here's the blurb--

Sara’s emotionally abusive husband dies unexpectedly. She’s struggling to reclaim the intelligent, independent person she was before she married.  She vows never to let a man take over her life again. Now she’s part of a special team, training to help other women and on the track of a serial killer.

Mac is been responsible for training women in special ops techniques, so they are prepared when they are challenged to save other women. When he meets Sara, sparks fly between them. He wants her to quit the training and let him take care of her.

Can Mac step back and trust her in a dangerous situation? Can Sara and Mac resolve their issues, or will they go in opposite directions? 



S:  Sounds like a very moving story! Where can readers buy your book?

B:  It's available from all major booksellers, including--



iTunes:  https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-fourth-victim/id1440048796?ls=1&mt=11


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