Cate Beauman is getting ready to release her latest book, “Waiting For Wren.” Cate has received a great deal of praise from her previous works. She is excited to see what her fans think of her latest installment.
Her latest book centers on Wren Cooke. Wren has everything she’s ever wanted. She has a great career as one of LA’s top interior designers. She travels a lot to keep up with her clientele. In her travels she meets up with Tucker Campbell. In the book things start to heat up Wren and Tucker. You can read a bit of the book at Cate’s website.
Cate was kind enough to chat about her latest book, writing novels, and her upcoming projects.
Art Eddy: Your new book “Waiting For Wren” is due to come out in November. Can you tell me a bit about it?
Cate Beauman: I’m really excited to share “Waiting For Wren” with everyone. My readers kept asking me when I was going to tell Tucker Campbell’s story, and this is it.
Wren Cooke is one of LA’s most sought after interior designers. This gorgeous, smoky-eyed workaholic is used to doing things her way. She enjoys the occasional casual date, but her jaded views of love and relationships keep most men at arms length.
But most men aren’t Tucker Campbell, Ethan Cooke Security’s hunky former LAPD Detective turned bodyguard. Tucker’s sinful looks turn many heads; he belongs on the cover of magazines, yet Wren wants nothing to do with him…until the phone calls start…and creepy texts inundate her inbox.
Wren soon finds herself in need of Tucker’s help. Her life is falling apart, and Tucker’s smooth ways and slow grins aren’t making her situation any easier. Wren’s problems quickly escalate, and Tucker whisks her away to his family home in Utah. Sparks fly and the mysteries only deepen when tragedies from Tucker’s past somehow add to the danger of the present.
AE: Wren Cooke and Tucker Campbell look to be the main characters. What can we expect from these two?
CB: Lots of heat! Wren’s completely career-minded and has little time for anything but her clientele and their needs. Tucker’s smooth and gorgeous and he wants Wren. Throw in an isolated winter home in Utah, a few snowstorms, a little firelight, and a lunatic to keep things extra interesting, and you have a very entertaining story!
AE: Does “Waiting for Wren” have a connection with your other novels? Would people need to read the other books to follow this story?
CB: All of the novels in The Bodyguards of L.A. County Series have a connection, but since each story chronicles a different bodyguard from Ethan Cooke Security, they can be read as standalones or in order. I personally think a series is better when read in order. Readers catch up with characters from previous novels as their lives continue to move forward, but anyone can hop in on whichever book they choose, and they’ll have a good sense of what’s going on.
AE: How do you think your fans will react to this book from your previous ones?
CB: I hope they’ll love this story too! “Waiting For Wren” is dark and very intense, but Wren and Tucker are so much fun. They have a great chemistry, which lends a nice balance between the romance and suspense.
AE: Speaking of fans, you have received a great amount of praise from your last four books. Do you ever take into account what fans might want to see happen with the main characters in your stories?
CB: I love my readers! I’m truly honored that my fans enjoy my work. Without them, I would be writing for myself, and what’s the fun in that? I think as a storyteller it’s important to write with your readers in mind. Most of my fans enjoy seeing their favorite characters’ lives continue to unfold as the series moves forward, but when I create new heroes and heroines, they are who they are.
Even as the storyteller I don’t always get a say in who they turn out to be or how they move the plot forward. My characters are very real in my mind. They have traits that I love about them and others that I don’t. They’re beautifully flawed and make a lot of mistakes-just like any other human being.
AE: Looking at your Facebook page you wrote that you are now working on your sixth book, “Justice For Abby.” Can you give me a quick synopsis of that book?
CB: “Justice For Abby” is the story of Abigail Harris, a sex trafficking survivor. Readers first met Abby in “Forever Alexa”, the fourth novel in The Bodyguards of L.A. County series. Abby’s finally home, but her ordeal is far from over. She’s fighting to put her life back together while Jerrod Quinn, Ethan Cooke Security’s newest bodyguard, helps her hide from the Mid-Atlantic sex ring. Abby is the Federal Prosecution’s star witness and the key to toppling a multi-million dollar operation. The stakes for Abby and Jerrod have never been higher.
AE: You have been busy. You had three books come out last year and two this year. For you as a writer do you get on a roll and need to make sure you get all of your creative thoughts out so you don’t lose them?
CB: I don’t know that it’s a roll so much as an obsession. Typically I have story ideas floating around in my head for months before I get a chance to tell them. When I finally get around to writing everything down, I have a hard time disconnecting myself from the process. I think of my characters constantly and even dream about them! It’s pretty intense.
AE: Does writing come easier to you now since you started writing these novels?
CB: Writing is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Creating engaging stories with great characters and a cohesive plot is not easy. Weeks of research and months of effort and rewrites go into each novel. Luckily I love what I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else!