E.E. Burke's BEST OF THE WEST featuring BETH WILLIAMSON

My BEST OF THE WEST guest today is BETH WILLIAMSON. Besides have a weakness for Reese's and shoes, she's a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Western historical romance. 

I caught up with Beth at the recent RT Conference outside a coffee shop and she was busy writing (and talking to herself...or to one of her characters). She recently released her latest book in the popular Malloy family series. Let's take a sneak peek at THE GEM. 

Life gives you want you want. But you have to fight for what you need.

    Charlie Chastain is an oddity, and it doesn’t bother her a bit. Her life in Ft. Laramie—hunting game, up to her elbows in carcasses, stitching hide clothing—suits her independent spirit. So what if she’s not a great beauty like her sisters? No one will force her into society’s mold, much less a dress. But to say she is completely happy would be a lie—and no one understands that better than the only man in her life she trusts. Elijah Sylvester.
    Aside from serving as the fort’s resident fix-it man, Eli has spent a lifetime fighting bullies who consider him stupid, a throwaway. He fights his feelings for the woman who makes his heart hammer, but considers him nothing more than a friend.
    When Charlie’s restless feet send her off on a new adventure, Eli saddles up so she doesn’t go unprotected. But their trip takes a dangerous turn and suddenly the hunters become the hunted. And by the time Charlie realizes how much Eli means to her, it could be too late.

Here's an excerpt:

   Everything changed the moment she saw Elijah Sylvester naked.

   Charlie should have knocked on the door again. She should have shouted to him before she entered his cabin. But she hadn’t. He was her best friend. They had spent time together every day for the last ten years. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without Eli at her side. As her friend, not as a man.

   But now she’d ruined that friendship because of her impetuous actions—she walked in to find Eli naked, covered in soap. Although it was merely seconds, she lived a lifetime as she drank in the sight of the man she never knew beneath his ill-fitting clothes.

   Soap bubbles clung to his body, accentuating golden muscles and sinew. Eli was tall and lean, but his form was built of elegant lines. How had he hid this from her for ten years? She’d never thought of him as a man, and now she would never think of anything else.

   He ruined everything by revealing himself. Never mind that it was her fault or that he seemed as mortified as she was. He held a bucket over his head, presumably to rinse himself into the hip bath he stood in. His arms shook, as the water must’ve weighed a good bit.

   He dumped the water over his head. The bucket clattered to the floor and he wiped the suds from his face. As he reached for the towel on the back of his chair, she moved closer to him, without thought. He jumped back and slipped on the wet floor, landing on his ass with a howl of pain, probably obtaining a few splinters in the process.

   “Shit, Eli!” Charlie was right there beside him, inches away from his naked body.

   Her heart stuttered and her thoughts scattered. She couldn’t look away.

   “What are you doing here?” His voice was rough as sandpaper.

   “I came to see if you wanted to go hunting tomorrow. I saw Big Buck.” She held out her hand. “And you’re naked.” She sounded like the village idiot. Her cheeks were hotter than a forge, burning up her face.

   He scrambled backwards and got to his feet. She was painfully aware of how close she was to him.    Close enough she could smell him, touch him—hell, she could kiss him.

   Holy shit. What was wrong with her?

   “I know I’m naked.” He snatched the towel off the chair, the end slapping her in the leg. She winced and made a face. She couldn’t decide to laugh or cry as he wrapped the towel around his torso. Unfortunately the thin fabric did not hide the body she’d seen in its full glory. “Why didn’t you wait until I invited you in?”

   She shook her head. “I didn’t know you’d be naked.”

   “Oh, for God’s sake, Charlie, would you forget about me being naked?” He tightened the towel with a jerk.

   “I can’t.” She stepped closer, her curiosity overcoming the ridiculous reaction she couldn’t control. “You’re not what I expected.”

   “You need to leave.” He pointed at the door.

   She reached up and ran her hand down his shoulder to his arm. “I didn’t know you had these under your shirt.” Her fingers traced the curve of a muscle. “Hell, I saw Mason without his clothes, but he didn’t have these. You hide yourself from people. It’s no wonder. The women would chase you if they knew what was under your clothes.” She touched the other shoulder and his small nipples pebbled to a point. Men’s nipples did that too?

   “Jesus, Charlie. What are you doing? What are you saying?” He stepped back to put at least a foot between them. Her hand traveled with him, the heat from his skin almost burning her.
   Her gaze snapped to his and her hand finally dropped to her side. “I don’t know.”
   The moment stretched between them, the air crackling. Charlie managed to suck in a breath, but her chest was heavy. It was like breathing underwater.

Available Now:
Samhain: http://tinyurl.com/nhwf47s 
iBooks: http://tinyurl.com/njhtuqe
Nook: http://tinyurl.com/odo6a5c
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/phxzxr7
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1S5Sca6
Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/pbfh4nv
ARe: http://tinyurl.com/omhqqml

Meet Beth

Beth Williamson, who also writes as Emma Lang, is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her books range from sensual to scorching hot. She is a Career Achievement Award Nominee in Erotic Romance by Romantic Times Magazine, in both 2009 and 2010, and a semi-finalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

Beth has always been a dreamer, never able to escape her imagination. It led her to the craft of writing romance novels, fueled by Reese’s and tenacious pursuit of the perfect story. She’s passionate about purple, books, and her family. She has a weakness for shoes and purses as well as bookstores.

Life might be chaotic, as life usually is, but Beth always keeps a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a cowboy on her mind. ;)

Website: http://www.bethwilliamson.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bethwilliamson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/authorbethw

E.E.: Who is Beth Williamson? Tell us five interesting things about yourself that readers would not know about.

Beth: I'm originally from New York but have lived in North Carolina since 1997.

I have 2 brothers and 1 sister.

Beth is actually my middle name.

I adore Nathan Fillion and totally <3 Firefly and Castle.

I've been married since 1990

E.E.: When did you know you wanted to write?

Beth: Third grade. Before that I spent so much time in my imagination, it likely hadn't occurred to me that I was a writer. Until my third grade teacher commented on my lovely poetry, and then the decision was made. Eight years old and I knew not only what I wanted to do, but who I was deep inside. A writer.

E.E.: Did you find it difficult to get published?
Beth: I've written poems that were published, and worked as a newspaper reporter and technical writer. I guess that means I was published, but not really, y'know? I started to "write" romance novels back in 1995, although it took me about 8 years to write two books. The first one will never see the light of day. The second was THE BOUNTY, my first published romance novel. I've been lucky to have publishing contracts and I feel blessed to have all that I do. I'm now a NYT bestseller and I get to write what I love, and at the end of the day, that's worth more than anything.

E.E.: Why should readers check out the Malloy Family series and what was it about these characters that made you want to write about them?

Beth: The Malloys! They were my first series beginning with THE BOUNTY. It was my first published novel in ebook and print. As such, the Malloys hold a special place in my heart. I love family-centered books and the Malloys do anything and everything for each other. The last (possibly?) and 12^th book, THE GEM, releases on July 21. It’s been an amazing 11 year journey with this family I love so dearly.

E.E.: Why historical westerns?

Many people think I'm a little loony to continue to write (and read) historical western romances. I mean, it's a small genre without the giant sales or big shiny bling in the publishing world, right? Ah, but I have loved western romances from the moment I read my first one, which was Elizabeth Lowell's Only His. 
   I was hooked. HOOKED! The reason why? For many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that western men, cowboys live life by a code of honor. Even the most alpha male has a sense of honor, an ingrained code he abides by.
   What does that mean? Why, cowboys are like modern knights. Fierce warriors who carry a weapon, defend those who are defenseless, protect damsels (whether in distress or not), and are just waiting for a strong woman to tame them.
   *sigh*

E.E. Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

Beth: I don’t think you can be a writer without being a story teller. They go hand in hand, in my opinion. When I first conceive of a book, or a series, I become a story teller. Spinning a yarn in my head about who these people are, what they like, what they wear, what their favorite foods are and so on. Then I start on their story and I let them take over my brain. My hands and fingers become the writer while the characters are telling their story.

Truth. J

E.E.: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Beth: Oh, I’m quirky all day long. I think what would surprise people is I have conversations, sometimes in my head and sometimes out loud, with characters. When I’m doing something by rote, like driving, the stories in my head take over. I’ve been known to dictate the story as I drive, and that’s when I talk (argue with) to the characters. It’s most assuredly a quirk. ;)

E.E.: Why do you write under two names: Beth Williamson and Emma Lang?

Beth:  It's not multiple personalities, I swear! LOL. The truth is rather boring - I write under two different names due to a publisher request. My writing style is the same, regardless of the pen name, and the books are generally in the same genre - historical western. I try to make it as seamless as possible - with one website etc.

Today, Beth is giving away an eBook download of choice from the Malloy family series (which you can check out on her website at http://www.bethwilliamson.com/series/malloy-family/  

Just leave a comment and enter the drawing.

What do you love about Western historical romance?

a Rafflecopter giveaway