Simply Interviewed: Beth Williamson

**Ali: First of all, thank you so much, Beth, for spending the week with us here on my blog! It's been great celebrating the first book in your new series, Devils on Horseback. This is the third series you've written, second in Historical Western romance. What do you like about creating a new series? Is there anything you dislike?

*Beth: Series for me are an important part of who I am as a writer and a reader.

So why a series? Well, I've always loved the familiar as a reader. Give me a series, any genre, and I am hooked completely. I think it's human nature to gravitate toward the familiar, don't you? I get involved with the characters - I've had readers tell me they can't wait to find out what happened to so-and-so. I'm the same way, give me a character I can bond with and I will.

When I started writing romance novels, my first book, The Bounty, started with the desire in the back of my mind to turn it into a series. Fortunately, I did.

The Malloy family series turned into seven books (no I didn't think of J.K. Rowling when I planned them). The seventh book is available in ebook format, and will be in print next April. Many people wondered if I was pushing too far with seven books. Most series books have three books - a trilogy. Why seven? That completed the circle for me. I had loose ends I needed to tie up and I was invested in the characters. They needed an HEA the same as I did. The Malloys are now completely written.
Time to move on eh?

My newest series (also westerns, but anyone that knows me is so not surprised), takes place about 20 years before the first Malloy book.

**Ali: I imagine that with writing any historical romance there must be a lot of research going into it. Was history something you had studies before writing? Or did the story ideas come first and then the research?

*Beth: No, I never studied history beyond the standard classes in school. BUT I absolutely love to read historical stories and historical romances, as well as watch historical movies. I can't get enough of them! It was only natural that when I started writing that the historicals were what I wrote. Story ideas definitely come before the research, however, remember that I've written over a dozen westerns, so a lot of that research is already ingrained in my head. LOL!

**Ali: Right now you're well known for your Historical Western romances... so much so, that I almost forget you've written contemporary, lol. Do you think you'll be publishing another contemporary romance anytime soon?

*Beth: LOL! My editor at Loose Id wonders that too. :) I'm not sure when it will happen, but yes I'l be writng more contemporary romance soon. This December I have two contemporary erotica stories in Sasha White's second Secret Thoughts anthology from Samhain. Not exactly romance oriented, but they're contemps.

**Ali: Of all the books you've written, is there one that means more to you than others?

*Beth: That's like picking a favorite child. Ooh, that's hard!! Each book means something special to me of course. If you make me choose, then I'd have to pick The Bounty. I labored over that book for eight years, tweaking, twisting, rewriting. Even the characters changed names (they were originally Frankie Malloy and Barrett McHugh). When I finally was offered a contract for the book, I'd never felt so proud of myself. It's my first, and therefore, holds a very special place in my heart.

**Ali: When ever you do have time to read for yourself, what could we catch you reading? What's next in your pile of books to read?

*Beth: Oh I read all kinds of books. Let's see, I just finished Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, really good book and an NC author, oh and Mirror Mirror by Marie Harte (scorching!). I just started Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. My TBR pile is so big and scary, I can't even begin to give you a list. Suffice it to say it's probably at least 50 books. One at a time though right? ;)
I just want to say thank you to Ali and all the folks that stopped by this week to play. I had fun and I hope you did too. I'm off to Tennessee for the weekend to the Women's Expo. Happy Friday!!