Tag Archive for: Carrie Mae Mysteries

Audio Books

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 by Bethany Maines

On my first book, Bulletproof Mascara, the
novel was also spun off into an audio book and (guilty admission) I have never
listened to it. Or rather, I got ten minutes in, freaked out, turned it off and
never went back.  It wasn’t that it was bad. It was more that the voices
in my head had become external, but they weren’t actually my voices.  The process of publishing is, in many ways, about
taking something deeply personal and turning it over into the public domain. And
at the time, I had barely come to terms with my friends, family, and complete
strangers having opinions on my characters. Having the auditory sensation of
hearing them in different voices was completely disconcerting.

However, it’s been a minute since then (I love how that phrase implies
that it really was a short amount of time) and I’m a little more resigned to
the process of sharing my fake people with the world. So I recently took a deep
breath and dipped a toe back into the audio waters.  This time the process
was much better.  Not only did I get to select my voice actor, but I could
add my two-cents on her interpretation. I’m completely in love with this new
version of my novel The Second
Shot. It’s been so fun to hear the book with her voice. It has also been illuminating to realize when I’ve written something that looks so good on the page, but turns out to be difficult to read out loud.  

The Second Shot is
book one of the Deveraux Legacy series and I can’t wait for my voice actress to
tackle book 2, The Cinderella Secret,
and 3, The Hardest Hit (due out
10.18.21).  Currently the book is under going the Quality Assurance check with Audible and once approved it will hit the virtual store shelves.

Listen to an audio sample and learn more here:
https://bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy/

Or purchase the print edition here (¢.99!): books2read.com/The-Second-Shot

A drunken mistake in college
cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years
later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny
problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux
never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as
Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly
becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique
must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the
only ones who get a second shot.


**

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her
daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Chapter by Chapter

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by Bethany Maines

I recently read a review on Goodreads of my book GlossedCause. 
“I love this series from
Bethany Maines! Such a funny and interesting read throughout and makes you want
to keep reading! This series is definitely best read in order, short stories
included! A few nitpicky things that I didnt like were titled Chapters that was
a theme for the chapter. (I like a simple number or location & number) and
I’d love another book where Carrie Mae played a bigger role.”
The reviewer gave me a good number of stars and overall that’s
a pretty dang good review.  So, thanks!  But I find myself flummoxed by the comment on
chapter numbers.  I just… I mean… Chapter
numbers?
First of all she’s completely blowing my theory that no one
reads my chapter titles.  The truth is,
and this is a deep dark secret regarding the chapter titles in the Carrie Mae
series.  They’re really just for me.  I mean, I hope the rest of you who bother to
read them enjoy them too.  But really
they’re a secret code while I’m writing that means I can glance at the table of
contents and remember what’s going on in each chapter. Also, they’re usually
song titles which means at the end of the book I have a pretty nifty playlist.  (Check out this one from Bulletproof Mascara
chapter titles on the Carrie Mae YouTube channel.)
I’m not sure what lesson is to be learned from this, other
than I should stop reading reviews, but I’m sure I’ve definitely learned
it.  Maybe.  Or maybe next time I’ll do chapter titles
with latitude and longitude and possibly three character names and a
unicorn.  We’ll just have to wait and
see.

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, Tales From the City of Destiny, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found
chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You
can also view the Carrie Mae YouTube
video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Food of Thoughts

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By Bethany Maines

Last weekend, I participated in a local author program
called Food for Thought.  Put on by the local
business district in partnership with a local literary group, CreativeColloquy, the program hosts different authors each week at a farmer’s market
for a minimal fee ($5).  These type of
events are great ways to connect with readers, brush up on my “elevator pitch”
for books, and see what’s resonating with the public.  The elevator pitch is essentially a one to
two sentence synopsis of a book.  And
with that many people visiting the booth, I can try out different versions and
wording to see what pitch makes people look interested in a book.  For my Carrie Mae Mysteries, slightly older
ladies resonate with “It’s the story of what would happen if Mary Kay ran an
international espionage organization.”  But
the younger women and men do better with “If James Bond was a woman.”  Even if I didn’t end up selling a good amount
of books, that kind of market research is pretty invaluable.  But, of course, being out in the public is
also a way to connect with the… um… unique individuals that walk among us.
My favorite unique person this last weekend was the
gentlemen who told us a series of stories about his experiences with ghosts
including some “Indians” because he had been staying at a house built on an “Indian
Burial Ground.”  The problem was that as
he meandered on about his experiences, the Native Americans he described
sounded straight on out of the movies, and lacked any resemblance to the actual
tribes that populate the area.  Not all
tribes wear “leathers” crazy face.  Our
tribes used capes woven from cedar bark and a type of fabric woven from the
hair of a now extinct type of dog.  <LEARN MORE HERE>  So…
try being more educated before doing drugs. Also, and not for nothing, if a
housing developer were to find human remains, archaeologists and police would
have to be called and the local tribes would claim the bodies.  Nobody wants to build on top of human remains
– they disintegrate, leaving cavities in the ground and make foundations
unstable.  It’s unsound construction, OK,
nut job?  And also, also, you’re scaring
people away from my booth.

But he’s just the tiny fly in the ointment. The majority of
people at such events are at minimum polite and usually excited about talking
to an actual author.  And in the end, talking to such enthusiastic readers and writers are what keep me coming back to
these type of events.  So if you see me
out and about, stop by to say hi.  Just
don’t tell me about your ghost experience… unless it’s historically accurate.
***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales
from the City of Destiny and An
Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Glossed Cause Released

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by Bethany Maines

In book 1 of my Carrie Mae Mystery Series, Bulletproof Mascara, unemployed twenty-something Nikki Lanier was offered a position with the Carrie Mae cosmetic corporation. But soon, Nikki learned that the powder and lipstick were simply cover-up for the Carrie Mae Foundation: a secret organization of international espionage founded for the purpose of “helping women everywhere.”  Nikki’s adventures continued in Compact With the Devil, and High-Caliber Concealer, and today I celebrate the release of book 4 – Glossed Cause!  

And because I love all my Stiletto Gang readers, I’m giving away three digital copies of Glossed Cause.  Simply use the entry form below.  Winners will be notified via email on 8/14.


GLOSSED CAUSE


When Nikki Lanier’s nemesis Val Robinson returned from the dead with a request to rescue Nikki’s long-absent father, Nikki dropped everything to go do it. But soon Nikki realizes that if wants to her life back, she’s going to have not only save her father, but convince her boyfriend that Carrie Mae isn’t a terrorist organization, and stop an international arms dealer. Can she do it, or is it a Glossed Cause?


Buy the E-BOOK or PRINT book now!

or
Enter to win a free copy!
 

ENTER TO WIN

Nikki Lanier in the Hot Seat

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by Bethany Maines

In today’s blog we’re interviewing Nikki Lanier, the star of the Carrie Mae Mysteries and the upcoming Glossed Cause by Bethany Maines. The interview questions are selected questions from Marcel Proust’s Questionnaire of 35 questions intended to reveal an individuals true nature.  So read on to find out what makes Nikki Lanier tick…

1. On what occasion do you lie?
Most occasions? Sorry, that’s an awkward question. I have to lie to most people on a daily basis. The Carrie Mae Foundation, the non-profit charity branch of Carrie Mae Cosmetics, and my employer, has the extremely simple goal of “helping women everywhere.” But the Carrie Mae founders realized early on that helping women sometimes requires a silk glove of diplomacy and sometimes an iron fist of enforcement. Basically, the Carrie Mae Foundation is part non-profit, part black ops force. And I’m part of the iron fist, but I can’t tell anyone. My boyfriend—the CIA agent—just found though… I guess we’ll see how that turns out.

Nikki Lanier

2. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A Saturday afternoon at the beach with my friends, my boyfriend, no one shooting at me and no phone calls from my mother. You wouldn’t think that would be so hard to achieve, but it’s been difficult. My friends all work for Carrie Mae, my boyfriend works for the CIA and my mother doesn’t know when to butt out, so getting a free Saturday rarely seems to happen.

3. What is your greatest fear?
That everyone will find out that I’m just faking it. I know they say imposter syndrome is a real thing for women, but I just keep feeling like everyone else has it more together than I do. I mean, yeah, I can speak five languages, but one of those is Latin. And OK, so I can shoot pretty straight and I know how to get into AND out of a bar fight and a foreign country, but I still can’t shake the feeling that other spies have their stuff way more together. Oh, and my other greatest fear is that my father will try to steal the Mona Lisa.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I have a tiny bit of a temper and sometimes something will just set me off. Next thing you know, I’m force feeding someone their lipstick. I have to say though, having a job where I get to punch people on the regular has cut back in my occasional outbursts. Mostly. Sort of. I think.

5. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Sigh. My hair. I think I’m finally at a place in my life where I’m OK with being a red-head, but there was a lot of my childhood that I hated it. And even now, it just seems to have a mind of its own.

6. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My boyfriend, Z’ev Coralles. He’s got these brown eyes and this voice that just makes me melt. How am I supposed to resist him? I know I should. My boss would be a lot happier if we broke up, but… He knows how to salsa and then there’s his derriere. Don’t tell anyone, but it should probably have a few poems written about it.

Val Robinson

7. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Does being a selfish jerk count as a trait? My father and my ex-partner, Valerie Robinson, think they can just walk into my life and mess up everything. They don’t apologize; they don’t even care. They just make messes and I’m the one that has to clean up. It would have been a lot easier for me if Val had just stayed dead after I dropped her off that bridge in Thailand. But Val never does what she’s told, even when she’s being told by a bullet to the chest.

8. What is your motto?
I never had a motto until I started working for Carrie Mae—they have quite a few little sayings. Most of them come from the founder – Carrie Mae Robart, she was a tobacco heiress, who turned down her father’s money to start Carrie Mae Cosmetics in her garage. She used to cross-stitch little sayings onto pillows. Currently, my favorite is, “Sunscreen, waterproof mascara, and a silenced .38 will take you just about anywhere you want to go in life.”

Find out what adventures Nikki is up to next in Glossed Cause!
Top Carrie Mae agent Nikki Lanier’s nemesis and ex-partner Val Robinson has returned from the dead and she wants Nikki’s help.  When Val said that Phillipe Lanier—Nikki’s long-absent father—had been kidnapped, Nikki dropped everything—friends, family, boyfriend, to fly to the rescue.  But soon Nikki realizes that her father’s kidnapping may not be what it seems and she may have just tanked her life for one of his ridiculous schemes. As Nikki and Val arrive in Amsterdam, Nikki realizes that if wants to her life back, she’s going to have to not only stop an international arms dealer, but convince her boyfriend, CIA Agent Z’ev Coralles, that she’s not the bad guy and that Carrie Mae isn’t a terrorist organization. But with Philippe refusing to be rescued, and an INTERPOL agent gunning for Val and Nikki, as well as making moves on Z’ev, Nikki is starting to doubt her own abilities. Can she do it, or is it a Glossed Cause?

Glossed Cause

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by Bethany Maines

Today I’m excited to announce that the fourth book in my
Carrie Mae Mystery series—GLOSSED CAUSE—is available for pre-order!  (Available August 8th!)
In the Carrie Mae Mysteries you’ll enter a world where the
Carrie Mae Cosmetics Corporation has decided that helping women form their own
home-based cosmetics sales businesses isn’t enough.  They want to help women everywhere, and
sometimes that requires more than the protection of waterproof
mascara—sometimes that takes a silenced .38 and the ability to kick more than a
little ass.
In Bulletproof Mascara
we met the red-headed, hot-tempered Nikki Lanier and followed her through
training and a first mission with partner, turned traitor, Val Robinson. And in Compact
with the Devil and High-Caliber
Concealer, we learned more about Nikki, her staunch team of friends, and
her tempestuous relationship with the drop-dead-sexy and drop-dead dangerous
boyfriend Z’ev Coralles, but in Glossed Cause we’ve come full circle.  Val is back and she’s brought nothing but
trouble…
GLOSSED CAUSE: Top Carrie Mae
agent Nikki Lanier’s nemesis and ex-partner Val Robinson has returned from the
dead and she wants Nikki’s help. When Val said that Phillipe Lanier—Nikki’s
long-absent father—had been kidnapped, Nikki dropped everything—friends,
family, boyfriend, to fly to the rescue. But soon Nikki realizes that her
father’s kidnapping may not be what it seems and she may have just tanked her
life for one of his ridiculous schemes. As Nikki and Val arrive in Amsterdam,
Nikki realizes that if wants to her life back, she’s going to have to not only
stop an international arms dealer, but convince her boyfriend, CIA Agent Z’ev
Coralles, that she’s not the bad guy and that Carrie Mae isn’t a terrorist
organization. But with Philippe refusing to be rescued, and an INTERPOL agent
gunning for Val and Nikki, as well as making moves on Z’ev, Nikki is starting
to doubt her own abilities. Can she do it, or is it a Glossed Cause?

PRE-ORDER GLOSSED CAUSE




***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales
from the City of Destiny and An
Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Who are you like?

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By Bethany Maines

One of the most common questions a writer hears is: Who are
you like?  In other words, what (famous,
more talented, richer, that I would have heard of) author are you like?  Of course, as authors we would always like to
respond – I am like no one! I am a unique snowflake of infinite genius!  Bow down before my staggering work of
novelistic achievement!  Possibly at this
point is where we also start investing in a parrot, flowing robes, and a pencil
thin moustache to twirl.  I’m not saying
all authors would go full Disney villain. Clearly, the eyebrows and make-up
require a more high-maintenance lifestyle than most of us are cut out for.  I’m just saying, nobody likes to think of
themselves, as “just like” somebody else. 
However, temper-tantrums and eyeliner aside, it is a useful
question.  It does let people know where
they should look for you in the library and where you fall on their reader
spectrum.  For the record, I usually
answer this question with – Janet Evanovich. 
My series Carrie Mae Mysteries is female centered spy series, with
plenty of hunks, humor, and huge action scenes. 
However, I also write in another genre – contemporary fantasy.  I write modern day fairy tales about fairies,
vampires, and what happens when a mermaid meets a SEAL. 
Writing in multiple genres used to be very “not done”
because the publishing houses found it hard to market.  The prevailing wisdom was that readers don’t
read multiple genres (uh… say what?), Self-publishing has opened the door for authors
to write whatever their unique snowflake heart’s desire, but it’s still a risk,
and a challenge for those doing the marketing, to figure out what to say to the
question – who do you write like? 

I guess for now, I’ll have to go with this answer – I write like my
fingers are fire with sheer greatness and my mascara is totally, totally on
point.
***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales
from the City of Destiny and An
Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Organizing My World(s)

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by Bethany Maines

An author’s job is not just to tell a story, but to decide how a story should be told. Is it better
in first or third person? Is it told in one long march of words or are their
chapters? We have to decide genre, tone and feeling. And once those decisions
have been made an author must create and track the main plot of the story – the
one that we struggle to capture in the blurb text on the back cover – as well as
the sub-plots, underlying themes, and finally, the characters themselves.  All of those pieces require not just the ability
to write, but also the ability to track information. Because, as any serious
reader will tell you (sometimes at great length), consistency and details
matter greatly to a well written book, and while we can rely on an editor for
some items, they are only human and can only catch so much.  It is in an author’s best interest to provide
the cleanest manuscript possible.
I’m currently working on two vastly different stories: the
fourth Carrie Mae Mystery Glossed Cause and a Romance Horror
novella Wild Waters.  Each story comes
with an array of characters, research and plot twists that to be perfectly
honest I can’t hold in my brain. 
Possibly pre-production of a toddler I could have kept hold of all the
details, but no longer. Now, to keep all my worlds organized, I must rely on a system of notes, plot outlines and
spreadsheets.

For the Carrie Mae books I track characters with a spread sheet
that notes who they are (name, basic role, job or company) and also what book
they have appeared in or if they have been deleted or omitted from a book.  I also have a rather extensive style sheet
that helps me keep track of how certain things, such as chapter headings are
formatted and whether or not I’m consistently formatting things like “AK-47”
and “INTERPOL” the same way over multiple books.
For Wild Waters I’m writing in two
different time periods – WWII and Vietnam ­– and they each use distinctive
slang that I organize in a couple of basic lists.  There are
also multiple character points of view and it is important to keep track of
what characters know and when they know it, so that each plot point is revealed
at the correct time. Tracking character
arcs are more difficult and sometimes require multiple ways of
visualizing.  I will frequently write out
the plot from each characters point of view or I will graph it out on a virtual
whiteboard, utilizing the main plot points.

There is no perfect system of course, and each author must
work the way that works for them. But when examining a well-written book, I am
frequently in awe, not just of the beautifully constructed words or strong turn
of phrase, but the underlying construction of a book.  Sometimes, I find it amazing that any books
get written at all.

***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Equal Rights for Positives

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by Bethany Maines

A funny thing happens when you read your own reviews – you start
thinking about them. 
I’m about a month away from completing the manuscript for Glossed Cause, the fourth book in the
Carrie Mae Mystery Series, and I made the mistake of checking out a few of the
reviews on High-Caliber
Concealer (CM #3).  I knew it was
a bad idea.  It’s always a bad idea.  What happens when I get to a bad one,
hmmm?  It’s not like I can look the
reviewer up, knock on their door and explain how monumentally wrong they
are.  But you think, “I’ll just look at
the good ones.  Just one.  I can stop there.”
You know this a total lie, right? Reviews are like Pringles
for the eyes.  Like I can stop with just
one.  I open up Amazon, I’m looking and…
then I read this: “If you enjoy reading about
Stephanie Plum, you’ll love Nicki! Maines is getting better with each book.”

And I thought, “Hell, yeah!”
<insert fist pump here>

Just one?  But I have popped – I cannot stop. I should
read more! 

Eventually, of course, I got
to one with a complaint. I’d spent too much time on Nikki’s personal life. Gah!
But, but, but… Glossed Cause is about
her FATHER (among other things).  What do
I dooooooo????

Now I’m stuck staring at the screen, half way through the
book, trying to figure out if I should turn the ship or stay the course.  “Stay the course!” my internal editor
yells.  But it’s hard to hear over the
crashing waves of doubt. 
I was complaining a negative comment on another project to
my husband he said, “Well, I think it was awesome and my vote counts more.”  <insert lightbulb going on here>

Why do the negatives get more votes?  Shouldn’t the positives get equal
rights?  Here’s what I and anyone else
who is stuck in this trap are going to do: 
We’re going to go back, we’re going to read the first positive review,
and we’re going to believe that one.  Because
Maines really is getting better with
every book.

Take a C.A.R.D.

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by Bethany Maines

While I was reading Sparkle Abbey’s recent blog post about
how real her characters in their Pampered Pets Mystery series, I laughed and
sympathized with the authors who are clearly suffering from C.A.R.D. –
Character / Author Reality Disorder. 
Most authors I know suffer from this.  We invest a lot of time in these people and we go through a
lot together. Of course it’s only natural that they start to take on a life,
even if it’s only a virtual life, of their own.  Sparkle Abbey described their characters as the best
(fictional) friends a girl could have. 
But what happens when you don’t like one of your characters?  It’s possible that I created a
character to be an excellent villain and now they… Just. Won’t.  Die.
The third novel in my Carrie Mae Mystery series High-Caliber
Concealer (on sale November 17 – available for pre-order now!) brings back all
the girls.  Nikki, the heroine, and
linguistics major, with a nagging mother who tries to keep her job as an independent
espionage agent for Carrie Mae a secret from her CIA Agent boyfriend.  Jenny, the bombshell blonde with a
beauty pageant history and a love of firearms.  Ellen, the grandmother of two, and well-trained sniper.  And Jane, the geeky Intelligence
Analyst  who keeps the team up to
speed, but fails at keeping them politically correct. But at the very end of
the book, I also bring back a character that’s been kicking around for two
books now insisting on getting more “screen” time, and of course, that segued
right into book four – Glossed Cause. 
And I have this thought: Oh, now I remember why killed you.  It’s because you are SO ANNOYING. 

Is it ok to fight with your characters?  Just punch them in their virtual face a
little bit?  Or do I need to check
myself into the library and get a stiff dose of non-fiction to combat the
raging C.A.R.D. outbreak I’m clearly suffering from?
    

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of Destiny and An Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.