Interview with Beth Caudill

Please join with me in welcoming Beth Caudill. Tell me about yourself. How long have you been writing?

I’m a stay-at-home mom of two boys living in central North Carolina with my husband. I’ve been writing fantasy and paranormal short stories since 2005 when I discovered Kelley Armstrong’s Online Writing Group Forum. Writers could get chapter critiques and there were challenges to get the creative juices flowing. I no longer have time to keep up with the group but I really enjoyed my time there. I serve on the Board of my local RWA chapter Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.
I currently have three short stories available at The Wild Rose Press and a novella from Whispers Publishing. You can read excerpts and reviews of my stories at my website.

You've been really busy. How did the inspiration for Healer’s Fate come to you?Most of my stories start from a single scene I’ve imagined or dreamed. For Healer’s Fate, I started thinking about how werewolves would throw a wedding. I knew it would be outside but beyond that I had to play with it. An entire culture could be built around something like a wedding. The story expanded from the consequences of what happened at the mating ceremony. Initially I’d titled the story A Wolf’s Wedding, but by the time I’d submitted the story it had grown and my editor asked me to change the title to something that could encompass the whole story.

Sounds intriguing, tell us more.

Corliss Rumdone hides behind her status as Healer to avoid the normal wolf pack hierarchical challenges. A forced mating changes the course of her life. Instead of Raymond, the beta wolf selected for her, she mates with Liam—her best friend and heir to the Alpha pair.

Liam whisks them away to a shifter retreat so they can allow the mating bond to settle in private. But interference from those seeking power and two terminal children arouse past hurts and challenge their new relationship. Even their home is not the haven it should be as Liam must watch Corliss fight for the right to stay his mate. For one healer, death becomes a weapon to balance life.

How do you balance your day-to-day commitments with your writing life?

Badly. Seriously, even as a stay-at-home mom it is hard. There are school field trips or personal friends I eat lunch with occasionally – usually when I haven’t seen them in over a month. And then there are some lunches with writer friends where we talk about what we are working on or new publishing news. It doesn’t happen every day but can mess with the schedule.
I’m trying to carve out 4 hours during the day to write. Some things like the grocery store shopping, which I used to do in the mornings after the kids went to school, are now done by my husband at night.
Another big time suck are the social networking sites. Creating blogs is still writing but won’t get your story finished. Also reading other authors blogs, keeping up with Facebook and Twitter will suck you in and the next thing you know an hour has gone by. I’m setting a schedule now where I can only check Facebook/Twitter first thing when I logon and after I’m finished with my word count for the day.

What shapeshifter character do you like best besides your own?

Wolves are still my favorite characters, even if they aren’t mine. I’m anxiously waiting for next year when Hawke (the wolf Alpha) from Nalini Singh’s Psi/Changeling series gets his story. I love Curran, a lion shifter, from the Kate Daniels urban fantasy series by Ilona Andrews. I don’t usually get attached to just one type of paranormal. I like authors that can develop an entire world, like Deborah Cooke’s dragons in the Dragonfire series or Virginia Kantra’s selkies in her Children of the Sea series.

What is on your nightstand right now?

A lamp, telephone, 7 books [two I’m actively reading (Atlantis Betrayed by Alyssa Day and The Darkest Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay) and the rest have been there for a few years. Guess I should do something with them], 5 remote controls (3 TV, 1 Cable, and 1 DVD), cough drops, tissues, scissors, coaster with a drink on it, and two stuffed animals (a snow leopard and mini white tiger).Pretty much like the rest of my room – lots of books and stuff lying around.

What are your other passions outside of writing?

I spend a lot of time reading. I also grow roses and cross stitch.

There's nothing quite as fragarant as a home-grown rose. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I’m running a Halloween contest on my website for a few $10 gift certificates to Amazon. I’ll select two people from among my newsletter subscribers (you can sign up here) and one person from the followers of my author blog.
I have a flash fiction free read available here.
You can find at the following places:
Website – http://www.BethCaudill.net/

Author Blog - http://bethcaudill.blogspot.com/

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/beth.caudill

Twitter - http://twitter.com/beth_caudill