Interview and Giveaway: Bite Me by Beth Bolden

Lisa: We’re so pleased to welcome author Beth Bolden to TNA today to celebrate the release of her new novel, Bite Me. Welcome, Beth! Let’s start right out with a question about the book:

What’s your favorite scene in the book, and what makes it a fave?

Beth: There’s a scene in Bite Me where Miles, one of my MCs, runs away from a frustrating situation and goes to spend an evening with his ex-roommates and best friends. Romantic scenes are awesome, of course. I write romance, I would have to enjoy them. But another thing that is really my jam is scenes with friends. Platonic relationships have such a different feel to them than romantic relationships. There’s a looseness and a freedom, coupled with this iron-clad loyalty and trust, that I find very appealing. Also, I don’t deny that it can be great to get a little peep at the upcoming characters in a series.

In this particular scene, Miles has lost control of his temper, and he’s decided to write an email to express his feelings. His feelings are conflicted, and he’s also been drinking, and the results are (in my humble opinion) both hilarious and enlightening. It was so fun to write, and I hope it’s just as fun to read.

Lisa: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author?

Beth: Least favorite thing to do: editing. What? You mean the book isn’t flawless and perfect just the way it is? I’m shocked and dismayed. But really, the difficulty is finding good people to work with you and help you fix stuff. Even though it’s great to hear the book is awesome and wonderful and fantastic, I always know it isn’t perfect, and as an author, it’s so tough to see parts that need improvement. The key is to find good people who feel comfortable being critical. And that’s not always easy.

If I could just sit down and write book after book, and never worry about editing or marketing, that would be a dream.

Lisa: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the characters in the book, who would you choose and why? Also: On the flipside, which character would you probably least get along with? Why? 

Beth: Miles and Evan are very much polar opposites. Evan is a planner and is a natural born organizer. Miles flies by the seat of his pants and lets his creativity show him the right path to take. I like to think the two of them are born from the more distinct halves of my personality.

Some days, in some moods, I live by my spreadsheets, especially in my real life job, and if I don’t stay organized, too many details slip through the cracks. Having the two jobs necessitates organization. If I wasn’t organized, everything would be a chaotic mess. Books would not get done. They would not get marketed or published. But while that part of me is very necessary, it’s not very fun.

There’s a beautiful freedom in being able to shuck off the spreadsheets and the schedule and play hooky. To write something that isn’t in the plan, just because my brain decides it would be cool. Like Miles, I don’t like to just follow a recipe, I like to experiment in the kitchen, and figure out different ways of doing things. The problem with that is that people need fed and my grocery budget isn’t unlimited.

There’s a balance we have to discover when we’re trying to unlock this “adulting” bullshit, and by the end, I tried to show Evan and Miles, more adequately balanced and living their lives without veering too far to either side of the spectrum. Compromise is a powerful thing.

Lisa: Thanks so much for being here today, Beth, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you. And readers, don’t forget to check out the Rafflecopter giveaway details below!

About the Book

Title: Bite Me
Series: Kitchen Gods: Book One
Author: Beth Bolden
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 10 February 2018
Cover Design: AngstyG
Buy the Book: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Blurb: Talented pastry chef Miles Costa is bored. Working at the celebrated Napa Valley restaurant Terroir is supposed to be the cherry on top to a promising career, but instead it’s a creative desert. So when he gets an offer to turn his online video series into a career, he leaves his three best friends in Napa and swaps Terroir for Los Angeles.

With the resources now at his fingertips, turning his pastry series into a hit should be easy. Then Miles meets his producer, Evan Patterson, and realizes he’s screwed. And not even in the good way.

It’s not a meet-cute . . .

Evan lives to work and loves every minute detail Miles loathes. Not only that, he seems hell bent on micromanaging every aspect of Miles’ show despite the fact he knows nothing about the culinary arts. Evan doesn’t even like sweets—until Miles seduces him with a rainbow of delectable confections he can’t resist.

. . . it’s a collision.

With every confrontation, the intensity between them flares even hotter until they’re not sure if it’s hatred they feel . . .or something else. Is it possible for two people with nothing in common to discover common ground and romance?

Tour Excerpt

“You’re late,” Evan said, head bent towards his screen, fingers not missing a beat as he typed furiously.

“I know, I’m sorry, I thought I’d grab a coffee.”Miles slid into the chair next to Evan, but Evan still didn’t look up.

“Oh thanks for bringing me one too,” Evan said levelly, even though he had to know that Miles only had one cup in his hands.

“I . . .uh. . .didn’t know you wanted one?” Miles said sheepishly. He’d made it back into the building two minutes late, and then had raced to Evan’s cubicle, only to not find him there. He’d made the rounds, until one of the writers stopped him and said Evan was in the conference room, still working after the meeting had ended.

Why hadn’t it occurred to Miles to bring him coffee? He liked the good coffee place as much as anyone else. It was probably because instead of actively trying to charm anyone in particular, Miles just fallen into bed with willing people and had never wanted someone who didn’t want him back—or wanted him but fought it. Miles knew he was going to have learn to be more aware and less selfish if he was ever going to convince Evan to consider dating him. A great almost-blowjob wasn’t going to cut it. Not with Evan.

Sex was probably off the table now, even though Miles knew Evan wanted it. Miles wasn’t familiar with the sort of self-denial Evan practiced; if he wanted someone and the feeling was mutual, sex happened. It was an easy way to live, and an easy way to get off. Everything about Evan was complicated, but Miles wanted him anyway. Inexplicably.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring you coffee,” Miles said when Evan remained silent, typing away, the staccato of the keys all the response he probably deserved.

“It’s okay.” Evan paused. “I wouldn’t expect you to be looking out for other people. Me, especially.”

And yeah, that was galling. Especially galling when Miles had spent the last half an hour discovering that nobody had probably ever really looked out for Evan before. It probably wouldn’t take an extraordinary amount of effort to make him feel special and considered. And Miles still couldn’t figure out how to meet even the lowest of expectations.

“I’m sorry, I’m . . .I know it isn’t an excuse, but I was with Lucy, and Chloe and Steph and . . .” Miles hesitated, trying to find the best way to say, sorry, we were gossiping about you and they told me you were a foster kid and I wish you had told me yourself.

All Miles knew was that was definitely not the way to break the news.

About the Author

Beth Bolden lives in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband and their beloved cat. She wholly believes in Keeping Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball. She’s a fan of fandoms, and spends too much of her free time on tumblr.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published eight novels and two novellas, with Catch Me, the next novel in the Kitchen Gods series, releasing in May 2018.

Order Bite Me Recipe Cards Here

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter 

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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