Saturday, February 22, 2014

Excerpt from Beverly Bateman's Missing



 
As promised, Beverly's excerpt from Missing...don't miss it.


Blurb:

Running from a disastrous engagement, and an over-powering father, Dr. Allie Parsons agrees to help out an old friend and travels to Duster, Montana. She’s agreed to help the local doctor for a brief period of time until he can find a permanent new doctor. Raised her whole life in New York city, Allie is greeted with culture shock when she finds out how small Duster is, but she also finds a warm, friendly community. And the doctor turns out to be young, tall, dark and handsome. He sends her emotions shooting sky high. She’s welcomed into the Hawkins family and develops a relationship with his daughter. A mysterious stranger leaves notes at the clinic and Allie fears they are a warning he’s going to kidnap the doctor’s daughter.

Luke Hawkins, one of the Hawkins’ brothers is looking for a doctor to take over half the practice from the retiring doctor. He’s not expecting his temporary replacement to be a young, sexy, single woman from New York. He knows she’s the woman he’s been searching for all his life, but he also knows she won’t stay in Duster. He doesn’t believe the notes are meant for him until his daughter is kidnapped. Now he has to save his daughter and convince the woman he loves that she really is a small town doctor at heart.

 
 Excerpt:

Allie pushed open the door to the clinic and stepped into the small, crowded waiting room. The slight scent of antiseptic tickled her nose. She stopped. 

Silence crept across the room. One by one, heads turned toward the door.

It might be the novelty of a stranger, but more likely it was the novelty of a stranger in fancy city clothes with a run in her stocking. She threaded her way through the patients to the reception counter. Patients watched her. A few of them put down the magazines they were thumbing through. 

She’d bet a month’s salary those magazines were three or four years old. The furniture in the waiting room had seen better days, but it was serviceable. 

The men and women stared at her, probably wondering who the heck she was. Several patients smiled at her. She managed to return the smiles. At least no one laughed.

A man stood behind the counter, tall, broad-shouldered, and maybe thirtyish He had curly dark hair, a strong, square chin and he caught her attention right away. His cobalt blue eyes, under long dark lashes, latched on to her as she walked toward him. Even partially covered by his lab coat, his muscled chest strained against the white t-shirt. 

If he was the doctor he was definitely not the old geezer she’d expected.

A few feet from the counter, she stopped. His electric blue eyes locked on her. She couldn’t look away. Sensuality oozed across the space between them. Her breath hitched into an irregular rhythm, kicking her pulse up a notch.

“Good, you finally got here. I thought Jean would send someone a little faster.” His rich, smooth voice rolled over her. “Look, we’re backed up. Patients’ files are over there and the appointment book is on the desk. Check them in, pull their file, and put the file in the slot by the examining room door.”

“Excuse me?” She stared up at the man snapping orders at her. She’d run away from one tyrant and had no intention of putting up with another overbearing one, even if he was knock-down gorgeous. His firm abs, linebacker-type shoulders and muscular body did not compensate for his attitude. 

Who did this jerk think he was?

Her back stiffened. She assumed he was the doctor, but his manners confused her. If staff and working partners were expected to put up with this, no wonder they hadn’t been able to find another doctor.

 “You’re not going to make me repeat all that are you? I have a room full of patients. When I asked Jean to send a temp over from the hospital, I thought she’d send someone with training and at least a vague idea of what they were doing.” A sigh slipped through his lips and he rolled his eyes. The look he gave her placed her one step above an idiot.

He pointed to a huge pile of folders. “The patients’ files are…” 

Allie pulled her shoulders back, raised her chin and tightened her lips together. “Excuse me. I believe you’ve made a mistake. First of all, I’m not stupid. Second, I’m not your damn temp. I’m a doctor, Alexandra Parsons, M.D. I understood you were expecting me.”

“You’re the new doc? Shoot. I didn’t expect you today.” The heart-stopping man stared down at her. His full lips drooped in apparent disappointment.

The disappointment could be her or the fact he still didn’t have a temp. She couldn’t tell.

“I arrived early, so I could acquaint myself with the town and find a place to live. I dropped by to introduce myself.”

He focused on her, drawing his eyebrows into a frown. “You’re the new physician? I should have known by that fancy outfit, it screams big city.”

“Sorry. I’ve just arrived and haven’t had time to get my jeans and plaid shirt yet. I’ll move that to the top of my list, so I’ll fit in.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he controlled it, as he ran his fingers through the tangle of dark curls.

Buy links:Amazon
Sony
Nook
iBookstore
 
 
Bio:

I’ve said in other interviews that I think I’m really quite a boring person because everyone else is traveling to wonderful places and doing exciting things. I’ve been told boring is individual so maybe I have a quieter lifestyle. I’m Canadian and live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, BC. It’s beautiful country and I love it here – in the summer.. There are large lakes, beautiful beaches, orchards of apples, pears, peaches plus raspberries, blueberries and lots of other fresh produce. And of course, it’s wine country. We have world class wines which I feel is my obligation to taste.

I write, edit, workout and spend a lot of time on the computer. We also have mountains and great skiing, both downhill and cross-country, however, in the winter, I snowbird with my husband, and two Shiba Inu dogs. I prefer San Diego and Tucson to freezing temperatures and piles of snow.

Find Beverly:
Blog
Website
Twitter
Pinterest
Facebook
Goodreads


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Beverly Bateman on My Way or Their Way -Indie vs Traditional Publishing, Chime In




 
Today I'm pleased to bring you Beverly Bateman.
And don't forget her excerpt from Missing on Saturday
 

My Way or Their Way -Indie vs Traditional Publishing

When I first started writing it was the traditional way; write, submit to an editor, get a rejection, get depressed and then try again. Then editors got so busy we switched; write, submit to agent, get a rejection and try again. Vanity press and self-publishing were dirty words. I got published by several small press publishers in both print and e-book. I learned a lot from them, but when you told people who you we published by, they treated it like vanity publishing. 

Then Amazon developed the Kindle and e-books took off, as did Indie authors. I got my rights back for the books I’d published several years ago. There was nothing wrong them but they didn’t do much marketing and took a fair percentage of any sale. I decided to become an Indie author.

It was a great decision. I love it. There’s a learning curve and you have a lot more work because you’re responsible for your own editing, formatting, cover and marketing, but you have the freedom of doing it your way.

I’m seeing posts from Indie authors who have been offered a contract from a traditional publisher. They’re struggling with their decision. I’ve thought about it, but I love the control I have and the freedom of being an Indie author.

What about you? Do you still want to go traditional with a New York publisher, love being an Indie or maybe combine both? I’d love to hear your thoughts.


 LA: Chime in, give us your pro's and cons.


Blurb:

Running from a disastrous engagement, and an over-powering father, Dr. Allie Parsons agrees to help out an old friend and travels to Duster, Montana. She’s agreed to help the local doctor for a brief period of time until he can find a permanent new doctor. Raised her whole life in New York city, Allie is greeted with culture shock when she finds out how small Duster is, but she also finds a warm, friendly community. And the doctor turns out to be young, tall, dark and handsome. He sends her emotions shooting sky high. She’s welcomed into the Hawkins family and develops a relationship with his daughter. A mysterious stranger leaves notes at the clinic and Allie fears they are a warning he’s going to kidnap the doctor’s daughter.

Luke Hawkins, one of the Hawkins’ brothers is looking for a doctor to take over half the practice from the retiring doctor. He’s not expecting his temporary replacement to be a young, sexy, single woman from New York. He knows she’s the woman he’s been searching for all his life, but he also knows she won’t stay in Duster. He doesn’t believe the notes are meant for him until his daughter is kidnapped. Now he has to save his daughter and convince the woman he loves that she really is a small town doctor at heart.


Buy links:
Amazon
Sony 
Nook
iBookstore


Bio:

I’ve said in other interviews that I think I’m really quite a boring person because everyone else is traveling to wonderful places and doing exciting things. I’ve been told boring is individual so maybe I have a quieter lifestyle. I’m Canadian and live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, BC. It’s beautiful country and I love it here – in the summer.. There are large lakes, beautiful beaches, orchards of apples, pears, peaches plus raspberries, blueberries and lots of other fresh produce. And of course, it’s wine country. We have world class wines which I feel is my obligation to taste.

I write, edit, workout and spend a lot of time on the computer. We also have mountains and great skiing, both downhill and cross-country, however, in the winter, I snowbird with my husband, and two Shiba Inu dogs. I prefer San Diego and Tucson to freezing temperatures and piles of snow.


Find Beverly:
Blog
Website
Twitter
Pinterest
Facebook
Goodreads