Title: Unmasking Paulie Bingham
Genre: Romance, Murder Mystery
"The last thing I expected was to fall in love with a
woman."
Until Katrina Newman touched his face for the first time, British pop star
Paulie Bingham was content with his openly gay lifestyle. That he could be any
other way never entered his mind. Now, with Kate tugging at his heartstrings,
he begins a journey of self-discovery that will lead him through the best—and
worst—times of his life.
Though her faith in him sometimes falters, Kate’s love for Paulie never ebbs
despite his obsessive ways, his foray into drugs and his habitual infidelity.
But will his connection to a high-profile London
murder case prove more than Kate & Paulie’s tattered relationship can
handle?
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” Anne Carter
asserts, when asked about her life in Southern California,
where she’s lived since she was two. She cites the people, the weather and the
beach as factors in her love affair with the West coast. Family, too, provides
an anchor to the area, which she describes as a melting pot of humanity, “rich
with characters and plots just waiting to be written.”
While romantic mystery and suspense are her favorites, Anne has written middle
grade mysteries, literary shorts, poetry and non-fiction. Long a lighthouse
fanatic, it was only a matter of time before her obsessions intersected and a
series of lighthouse novels emerged. Paranormal elements abound in both POINT
SURRENDER and CAPE SEDUCTION, where mystery, romance and troubled ghosts
provide hauntingly entertaining tales set in California lighthouses.
When she is not writing, editing or promoting, Anne enjoys time with her
husband and children, two happy dogs and a psychotic cat. She is a skilled
photo editor and loves restoring old snapshots and creating digital slideshows.
Watch for the third paranormal lighthouse mystery, ANGEL'S GATE, coming soon!
For more about Anne Carter and to read excerpts, visit www.
BeaconStreetBooks.com or write AnneCarter@BeaconStreetBooks.com.
“I’m here
to see Paulie Bingham.”
“What makes
you think he’s here?”
Kate
swallowed, narrowed her eyes, and looked past the man into the house. “Because
I gave him that leather jacket on the couch there, and he never goes anywhere
without it,” she lied.
“You expect
me to believe that? And who are you?” Arms akimbo, the man squared his stance,
tried to block her view.
“I’m his
fucking mother.” Now certain that Paulie was inside, Kate muscled her
way in, tossed her bag onto the couch. “Where is he?”
Sullen, the
man gestured toward the hallway.
Kate
paused. “I suggest you get dressed and leave. Now.”
“Oh, no
way. Dude owes me money. I don’t mind giving him a little extra time to get himself
together, so I’ll just hang out.”
The cowboy
boots placed neatly beside the wall clearly weren’t Paulie’s style. Kate picked
them up, along with an adjacent stack of folded clothing, and shoved them at
the man. “How much?”
“One
hundred for the hour. No, wait. Two hundred. Because he’s a junkie. Makes it
tough.”
Kate pulled
some bills from the hip pocket of her jeans. “Here’s twenty. Be glad I don’t
bust you, too. Now get the hell out.” She flashed a fake movie badge she had
pocketed just in case.
The rent
boy gave her a wide-eyed stare, then hurried into his pants and carried the
rest out the door. Kate sighed, waited until she heard the sports car start up
and drive away.
She was
hesitant to go into the bedroom, afraid of what she might find. Afraid not to.
She eased
the door open. “Paulie?” she beckoned softly, peering into the darkened room.
The light from a nightstand clock radio barely illuminated the figure of a man
lying on the bed.
“Paul?” she
repeated, taking a halting step into the room. “Are you okay? It’s Kate.” She
didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she heard him sigh. “Thank
you,” she whispered, then moved closer to the bed.
“I wish… I
wish you were really here,” came his softly spoken words, wistful, weak.
“You are
always here. But you always go ‘way.”
Kate went
to him, sat down on the edge of the bed, found his hand in the darkness. “I
won’t go away. I promise.”
- What are your
ambitions for your writing career?
To entertain. To enlighten. To share good
fiction.
- Which writers inspire
you?
Years ago, when I was just starting out,
I was very inspired by Nora Roberts. Also, Nicholas Sparks (but not because he
was so good.)
- What have you written?
(*Include books, novellas, short stories, poems, blogs, awards, or
anything of interest*)
All
by Anne Carter unless noted:
In
Too Deep – Contemporary Romance
Starfire
– Alternative Romance (Novella)
When
Harry Met Soli – General Fiction (Novella)
StarCrossed
Hearts – Contemporary Romance
A
Hero’s Promise – Romantic Suspense
The
Gypsy in Me – Romantic Suspense (WIP)
Point
Surrender – Romantic Mystery (Paranormal elements)
Cape
Seduction – Romantic Mystery (Paranormal elements)
Angel’s
Gate – Romantic Mystery (Paranormal elements) (WIP)
Unmasking
Paulie Bingham – Alternative Romance
For
the Love of Katrina Bingham – Alternative Romance
“Just
Like Jay” by Pam Ripling – from Murder
in La La Land –Anthology by Sisters in Crime/LA
Locker
Shock by Pam Ripling – Middle Grade
Mystery
Old
Enough by Pam Ripling – Middle Grade Mystery
Eureka!
by Pam Ripling – Short Story published in Thema Literary Magazine
We
Sat on the Grass at Lunch Time by Pam
Ripling – Nostalgic poem published in Peace Magazine
- Give us some insight
into the main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
In Unmasking Paulie Bingham, Paulie is
truly special. He is confused about his own sexuality after meeting a woman
that turns his world upside down. As someone who’s always been confident about
himself and where he’s been, Paulie’s encounter with Kate causes him to seriously
question his future.
- What are you working
on right now?
I actually have two books on the WIP
desktop, but the one getting the most attention is Angel’s Gate, the third in
the Beacon Street Mysteries series.
- What genre are your
books?
They are all over the place, but romance
is a common thread.
- What draws you to this
genre?
It’s a universal theme. Even people who
say they don’t like/read romance find that they really do. Consider: Jason Bourne has a love interest; James Bond
has shed tears over a woman. Aragorn struggles between his love for Arwen and
his attraction to Eowyn.
- When did you decide to
become an author?
I started writing in junior high school.
My Creative Writing teacher encouraged me after a few short stories caught her
eye. I didn’t start trying to get published until I was past baby-raising age,
however!
- Where do your ideas
come from?
Does anyone really answer this question? J I
do have a giant mental filing cabinet where I store experiences, ideas,
concepts, etc., that occur to me on a day-by-day basis. I think we all do that.
If I need a setting, I might draw on a street scene I’ve walked through in
D.C., Seattle, Singapore or Barcelona. When my protags went to London, I had
places I’d been for them to visit in the book. Stuff like that!
- What was the hardest
thing about writing your latest book?
This is a great question. I wrote this
book very quickly, because I felt passionate about the subject. However, that
very subject kept me from getting it published for the longest time. Having a
gay man as the protagonist was a risk. People might assume there to be elements
to the book that don’t actually exist. Those who’ve ventured to read it find it
a heartwarming story of the commitment between two people, regardless of their
sexual persuasion. Paulie is sweet, funny, charming and sometimes, broken.
Readers want for his happiness.
- How many more books do
you plan to be in this series?
This series has two parts. Part 2, For
the Love of Katrina Bingham, releases on September 1st!
- Who designs your book
covers?
I actually do all my own covers.
- How are you published
(*i.e. indie, traditional, or both) and why?
I have been traditionally published since
2001. However, like many, I’ve recently ventured into the “Indie” world and
have not looked back. I really like having control over the production of my
books, from start to finish. I like being able to choose my editor, my pricing,
my covers. If a customer has a problem, I know I will be able to fix it.
Clearly, there are advantages to being traditionally published, too, especially
for authors new to the industry without the experience to tap into necessary
resources to go indie. Plus, there is a stigma attached to being “worthy” if a
traditional publish accepts your work. This image may or may not be warranted.
We all know a lot of unworthy work gets published, just as some stellar books are
indie-produced.
- How do you market your
books?
Market them? You mean I’m supposed to be
doing that? LOL. Actually, it’s a learning thing, all the time. What worked
yesterday won’t work tomorrow. I do what everyone else does: I blab on Facebook & Twitter, I run
contests, I blog and blog-hop, I talk about my books until I’m embarrassed. I
have book launches, go to book and author festivals. I trade promotion with
other authors. Word of mouth is paramount.
- Did you make any
marketing mistakes or is there anything you would avoid in the future?
Mistakes mainly have to do with spending
hard cash on marketing with little or no results. Print advertising hasn’t been
particularly fruitful for me. If I was already a household name, it would
probably work better. I also paid a publicist for a while, but frankly, she
didn’t get me anything I couldn’t have gotten myself.
- What is your favorite
motivational phrase?
“Hope is the thing with feathers/That
perches in the soul/And sings the tune without the words/And never stops – at
all.”
- What is your favorite
book and why?
I could never name any one book,
unfortunately. Some recent books I’ve loved include: The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford; The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle; Freezer Burn by Gayle
Carline; The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.
- What advice would you
give to new authors (and your younger self)?
a) Work hard, but don’t worry so much.
b)
Don’t expect miracles, create them.
c)
Write to please yourself first. You will always be the best promoter of
your work, and if you aren’t enthused, no one will be.
- How can readers
discover more about you?
- To end: Give us three Good to Know
things about you. Be creative.
a) One thing we didn’t mention is my two names. When my first romance was
about to be published, I wanted a pen name because I thought it was cool. After
all, Nora had two names, right? My father had recently passed away and I wanted
to pay him homage by using my maiden name, which is Carter. My middle name is
Ann(e), so I became Anne Carter. Later, when I started writing children’s
fiction, I used my “everyday” name of Pam Ripling.
b) Chocolate. Actually, Dark Chocolate. (You
already know what the question was.)
c) Lighthouses; old movies; photographs; graphic
arts; classic rock; Jonny Lee Miller; Mexican food; green tea; convertibles;
travel; London, Edinburgh, York; Port Townsend, Washington; dogs; genealogy;
Photoshop; ice cream; (enough, already? J
)
Thank
you so much, Melissa! I lined out the questions I didn’t answer, because I felt
you didn’t really expect me to answer them all—I’m wordy enough as it is! Great
interview...!
