Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour for Love Like Krazy by Kristen Beairsto. Kristen was nice enough to do a guest post for us below. You can also check out my review here. Please make sure to leave a comment or question for Kristen below as she will be awarding an eBook copy of Love Like Krazy to five (5) random commenters during her tour. The more often you comment, the better your odds at winning. You can follow her tour here.
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Editing by Kristen
Beairsto
Considering I just spent a marathon week
of editing, it’s no wonder when I sat down to write this post all I could think
about was editing. When I’m talking
about editing, I’m not referring to the proofreading variety where verb tense
is examined and you double check comma placement. The kind of editing I’m talking about
involves story arcs, plot elements, and characterization.
Editing
seems to always be a fine line of not letting your ego get in the way of
recognizing issues and having confidence in your skills.
For me, editing hasn’t always been simple. It’s very easy to get bogged down by it,
especially when facing a deadline.
Having two days to go through 100 pages on top of other responsibilities
can be daunting. I tend to get caught up
in agonizing over whether or not a scene fits or if a character’s actions are
realistic enough. I also tend to add a
lot of excess description of the environment and the characters, so I have to
find a balance between what the reader needs and what’s going to slow the story
down.
Editing is definitely a skill writers
continue to develop through out their writing career. When I was younger, I had the opportunity to
see hand written manuscripts by Mark Twain where whole sections were removed from
stories that later became his famous novels.
As a reader, I loved seeing the thought process that he went through to
arrive at the final product. Given the
chance, I’d love to read some unedited versions of stories by my favorite
authors.
What do you think? Would you enjoy seeing an unedited story by
your favorite author or do you prefer the final product?
~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Love
Like Krazy
Author: Kristen Beairsto
Publisher: Self
Length: 122 pages
Genre: Romance
Sub-Genre:
Contemporary
Available at:
Blurb:
Most women would
probably be offended at being mistaken for a stripper, but Kit Conner finds the
situation rather comical. But despite Kit’s outward appearance of being able to
handle just about anything, few are aware of the dark secrets Kit harbors and
the demons she hides by cloaking herself in a wall of crazy antics and an
outrageous fashion sense. As she returns to her hometown to play the role of
maid of honor for her best friend’s wedding, Kit’s determined to hold on to
those she holds dear for as long as she can. The only thing standing in her way
is the absurd attraction she feels for Benjamin Mathews.
Benjamin Mathews
is a guy who appreciates things to be slow, steady, and safe. Ben knows many
consider him to be boring, but he’s happy with his life and loves the horse
ranch he runs with his brother. The only thing he worries about is surviving
the planning of his brother’s wedding.
With a wedding
between Kit’s best friend and Ben’s younger brother fraying the nerves of
everyone involved, Kit’s return home brings out her dark secrets into the
light. The emotional overload starts to weigh on Kit and she begins to see Ben
as an anchor. As their relationship intensifies, Kit struggles to believe they
might actually have a future and soon finds herself fighting for the love she
never thought possible.
Excerpt:
Ben and Greg
arranged things so everyone could relax for the first few hours before the real
entertainment showed up. Ben glanced at his watch and noted the stripper would
show up in about an hour.
As he grabbed a
beer for himself, he started to head towards the poker table. As he moved
passed the front window, he heard the music before he saw its source. Loud
blaring techno music nearly drowned out the country music behind him. It came
from within a black Cadillac convertible pulling into the driveway. The New
York plates said KRAZYLV.
The music
suddenly died as the occupant in the Caddy turned the engine off. The driver’s
head was covered in a red zebra stripped cowboy hat obscuring their face. As
the driver climbed out, however, he had no doubt in his mind she was female.
Ben first saw
the flame red cowboy boots step out of the car. She turned to close the car
door and turned her back to him. Above the boots, red leather pants hugged
every curve of two very long legs and wide hips. From there, a red tank top
clung with a plunging neckline covering her torso, which included a flat
stomach and large breasts. Long blonde hair curled at the ends around her
breasts. But as she turned her back to him, Ben discovered the top only covered
the front of her and a few crisscrossed strings held the top on in the back,
exposing smooth skin. She bent over to grab something from the backseat of the
car and displayed a very nice view Ben greatly appreciated.
When she turned
to face him fully, he saw she still wore sunglasses despite the sun being
almost completely set. Even from the distance he stood, Ben could see the deep
red lipstick she wore, the heart shaped mouth practically invited a kiss. But
between the sunglasses and hat brim pulled down, he still couldn’t see her face
clearly.
She was an hour
early, he mused, but he would forgive her since she was sure to stir the party
up.
Outside, Kit
pulled her backpack from the backseat of her Caddy, turned and glanced up at
the two-story house where her best friend lived. She grinned, studying the
exterior of the home. Apparently, her best friend was well on her way to
becoming a Matthews.
The Matthews
were one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the small
California town. Raymond Matthews, Greg and Ben’s father, was a banker and
venture capitalist. His wife, Loren, up until recently was a highly successful
businesswoman and now, from what Kit understood, spent her extra time with her
philanthropy. But unlike most of the rich people she came to know and meet, the
Matthews were genuine people.
Of course, Ray
and Loren Matthews weren’t above using a regal demeanor when the moment called
for it, she mused.
Yep, Anne was
well cared for, Kit decided as she started up the drive towards the front door.
As she stepped closer, Kit realized she heard the low hum of country music and
remembered the bachelor party Anne told her about. She smiled in anticipation
as she wondered whether or not the stripper arrived yet.
Before Kit
reached the door, it opened and Ben stepped out.
He still looked
the same, she decided. Tall and handsome, with wide shoulders screaming lean
on me, and those piercing midnight eyes.
Kit sighed
inwardly as she felt the familiar flutter in her stomach. Damn, she was still
attracted to him. Oh well, she dealt with it as a teenager, she could deal with
it as a grown woman.
“Hi, you’re
early, but that’s all right.” He looked down at her backpack and frowned. “If
you don’t have a stereo or anything, that’s fine, but I hope you have your own
music. I don’t think you’d like dancing to the stuff we have.”
Kit frowned,
confused.
Ben watched her
heart shaped mouth frown, the rest of her face still obscured from view. The
backpack she carried didn’t seem to carry much. He certainly hoped she had her
own music, for the price they were paying, the least she could do was provide
her own music.
After a moment,
a seductive smile slipped across her mouth. There was something oddly familiar
about her, but unable to see the majority of her face because of her hat,
sunglasses, and the dark, Ben wasn’t sure how he might know her.
“Don’t worry,
sugar,” she offered in a husky tone, “I’ve got my own tunes.”
He gave her a
friendly smile and nodded. “Good. Why don’t I announce you first?” He turned,
opened the door and stood in the doorway, blocking the view inside the house.
Ben asked someone to turn off the stereo. “Now, gentlemen, I would like to
introduce the real entertainment of the night,” Ben announced.
Moving aside,
Ben turned and motioned for Kit to step inside. The seductive smile stayed in
place as she stepped over the threshold of the door. A few men whistled in
appreciation, a few others gave catcalls.
Smugly watching
his buddies’ reactions, Ben saw her mouth curve from the corner of his eye.
Glancing down, Ben noticed she had yet to remove the sunglasses. Seeing her
seductive smile change, something else nagged his brain.
“Honey, no
offense, but what’s your costume?” Ben whispered out of the corner of his
mouth.
Ben watched the
amused smile spread fully across her lips. Pulling her sunglasses down the
bridge of her nose, she turned slightly so the light in the room fully
illuminated her face. She looked at him over the top of the glasses with
familiar wide pale blue eyes dancing with mischief.
Ben felt his
stomach hit the floor.
Her lips parted to reveal white even teeth. “A maid
of honor,” she drawled with a knowing wink.
~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author:
An avid
reader since she first learned to read, Kristen discovered romance novels as a
teenager. And what can she say? She was a goner. Kristen discovered she’s a
sucker for a good love story, strong characters, and that all-important happily
ever after. She wrote her first novel length story at the age of eleven and
after falling in love with romance novels, her writing started featuring
romantic elements.
When Kristen’s not
reading or writing, she’s hanging out with friends, family, her two
rambunctious daughters, and her exceedingly tolerate husband. She’s also a huge
New York sports fan.
Website: www.KristenBeairsto.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKBeairsto
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thanks for sharing this and the excerpt, i love to get a feel for the author and her writing style.
ReplyDeleteI think I prefer the final copy because I have come across some authors lately that you can tll didn't go through edits and it can be a bit annoying. Deleted scenes can always be posted elsewhere as teasers and freebies unless they didn't fit with the story.
ReplyDeleteFrancesca