Happy Monday!
Each Monday I would like to take some time to get to know some of our favorite authors. My hope is that this will help readers connect with the authors.
Today I would like to introduce you to: Bethany Turner!
Bethany is such a joy to know! She is one of the funniest and joyful people that I know. When I had the opportunity to meet her, she made me feel so welcome and accepted! Her wonderful personality shines in her books!
Author bio:
Bethany Turner is an award-winning author of romantic comedies, including The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, a finalist for the Christy Award. A former bank vice-president and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned 35), Bethany now serves on the executive staff of a growing church in Southwest Colorado, where she lives with her husband and their two sons. She writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.
To help us get to know her, I have given her some questions and here are her responses:
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I’ve always liked to write, I suppose, but I didn’t actually start taking it seriously (or even write anything just for fun) until the past ten years or so. Once I started, I guess there was no turning back!
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I’m in edits on my upcoming novel, Plot Twist. It’s the story of an aspiring screenwriter named Olivia Ross who meets a struggling actor in a Hollywood coffeehouse and, after a brief but impactful first meeting, they agree to meet back at that same coffeehouse ten years from that day, to make a movie together. The rest of the book is Olivia’s story, told one day per year at a time, as we check back in for those ten years. It’s all building up to…something. Or maybe nothing. But a “date with destiny” impacts her life in huge ways, as her life is playing out all around her. The story takes place from 2003 to 2013, and it’s been a lot of fun to write a story from a slightly different time, and also to spend ten years with characters and see who they truly are and who they become.
Q: What are some of your writing must haves? (Drink, snack, supplies, etc.)
A: Coffee. And, of course, coffee. Did I mention coffee?? Also, my MacBook is pretty important—but secondary to coffee.
Q: What is your favorite time period to write about? Or read about?
A: I’m definitely a contemporary girl, apart from a few exceptions. Lately, however, I have really been enjoying reading about and writing about the recent past. (See Pudge and Prejudice for reading, and Plot Twist for writing!)
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: Of all time, I have to go with Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen, all the Harry Potter books (but especially Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I’m also a huge fan of Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, though that one is definitely not a clean read! But it is the book that has most informed my voice as an author. A more recent read that I think would now classify as one of my favorites of all time is Pudge and Prejudice by A.K. Pittman. It’s Pride and Prejudice set in a 1980s Texas high school, and it is perfection.
Q: If you could spend a day with one fictional character, who would you pick and what would you do?
A: I feel like I need to answer this one two different ways, if that’s okay. One of my fictional characters, and one of someone else’s. Out of my characters, I think I’d like to spend the day with Sarah Hollenbeck from The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck. Sarah cracks me up, and I think we would just spend the day drinking coffee and watching movies and making snarky comments. That sounds amazing right now! (Although spending the day with Hadley Beckett or Max Cavanagh from Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish sounds great, too…especially if they’d cook for me!) But if I were going to spend the day with a fictional character I didn’t create, I’m leaning towards Samuel Payton from Jessica Kate’s A Girl’s Guide to the Outback. We would walk around the farm and he would teach me things (I wouldn’t actually be much help with the work, I’m afraid.) and I would have the chance to remind him how special and wonderful he is. I think Sam needs that in his life. (Of course, all of those are only if Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth, and Michael Hosea are not available.)
I have saved my favorite question for last!
Q: What would you like readers to take away from your books?
A: Each book is so different, but I think one thing that remains true throughout is that there is no one-size-fits-all model for any of it. Love. Faith. Personality. Fears. We’re all uniquely and wonderfully made, and I think that far too often we fall into the comparison trap. I love writing stories that, hopefully, readers can connect to in their own unique ways from their own unique perspectives. And I hope that they can laugh along with me, and maybe even laugh at themselves, because I think we could all stand to have more laughter in our lives.
To connect with Bethany, please click on any of the following links: her website, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
I’m also featuring her newest release, Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish. This book is filled with humor, but also a great message about forgiveness. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf!
About the book:
Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanaugh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel’s other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.
When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he’s sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public’s good graces is to work alongside Hadley.
As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along, but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love. In the meantime, hide the knives.
Fan-favorite Bethany Turner serves up a heaping helping of humor and romance with this thoroughly modern story centered on cooking, enemies, and second chances.
All The Bookish Adventures 
Thank you so much for featuring me, Kailey! It was an honor to be here, my friend.
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You’re welcome!
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