Beth Henderson Brings Us Romantic Suspense

Fellow Wild Rose Beth Henderson is back with more stories of her writing life and a ghostly romance you will enjoy. Believe or not it is her 37th release. Wow!

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Welcome Beth Henderson…

Is writing something that comes easy to you or not?

Yes, spinning stories has always been easy to do, except of course, when it isn’t. There are those writing-myself-into-a-corner times. It was learning my craft that took a while. While the movies were running in my head, that didn’t mean they hit the paper in a format that would make sense to a reader. I rewrote my first three books numerous times from scratch because of comments that editors gave me. The carrot was always that they said they liked my prose, but the story wasn’t quite there yet and if I considered rewriting it, they’d like to take another look at it. I did that for twelve years, resending and rewriting. The 1^st book I wrote was back in the bodice ripping years. Oddly enough, all three of those books sold to publishers within six months of signing the first contract the fall of 1989. The books were released in 1990 and 1991.

I still hit writer’s block spots occasionally but it’s a temporary thing these days. Life is what has stalled my career often along the way with illness (clinical depression brought me to a full stop in the late 1990s), divorce, and caregiving for my parents 24/7 definitely brought things to a complete halt along the way. But the stories were still in my head and wanted out. GHOST NOTES is my 37^th published title and there are three more in the pipeline currently.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I wrote what I called my first book (though it was only 5 pages long) when I was in the 7^th grade and ran out of Nancy Drew books to read. In the 8^th grade I believe the length increased to possibly 20 pages. My classmates couldn’t believe that “for fun” I wrote stories as that equated to schoolwork to them. Senior year in high school had a much longer spy story. Spies were everywhere at the time. Not that I realized research was needed since I obviously wasn’t a spy. By my twenties, I knew research was required and dived into the historical past. I actually have a history degree as well as a master’s in composition. My first serious attempt at writing a novel was made when out of work for nearly six months but I was hooked after that.

What other genres of novel would you love to write?

I’ll have been a traditionally published author for 33 years in Spring 2023 so nearly any genre I wanted to write in, I have at this point. My first book was an American West historical and I’ve written seven of those. My first book published was a romantic suspense/romantic comedy, and my agent at the time shifted me into doing romantic comedy. She said, “Just do what you’ve been doing, just don’t steal anything or kill anyone.” I’ve written young adult when a previous editor asked if I’d be interested in spinning Saved By The Bell stores (I wrote 7). When market interest in American Old West adventure dipped, I moved to Steampunk for Weird West. Then I discovered urban fantasy mystery comedy and dove into it. I’ve even written a set of four cozy romantic comedy mystery books.

GHOST NOTES combines my love of soft jazz with romantic suspense. I adore the hero and had such fun giving him his life on stage back. But also in having my heroine discover her late husband had been murdered, not killed in an accident. I even “inserted” the hero from another book into the story. The guy I’d still run away with if he were real.

When I retire from spinning new stories and just enjoy what others have written, I’ll be able to say I let my fictional children play in every genre I’ve ever fancied.

Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?

Actually, the longest book I ever wrote sorta falls into this category. It wasn’t like any of my usual genre stories. It took me 30 years to finish it because I knew it wasn’t genre per se. It played out over 30 years, too, so by the time I finished it, it was a vintage story rather than a contemporary. Because publishers usually want you to write a similar book to follow one up, I decided to simply go Indie publishing with SUPERSTAR. There would be no other anything like it in my tally of spun stories. It’s still the book I reread a couple times a year because I miss hanging out with the hero, Paul Montgomery.

In fact, when I needed a mentor for my hero in GHOST NOTES, I offered the job to Paul, so he’s actually in two books I reread now.

What project are you working on now or what book will be next?

My current projects are all urban fantasy. I’ve turned in the fourth book in The Raven Tales series that I write as J.B. Dane, am pounding my way through the fifth, and still have the sixth to finish. That will wrap up the series. One I’m quite fond of because I could snark away and get really creative with the magic to be tossed and the mysteries to solve.

After that, I may dip into another historical romantic mystery or return to the Steampunk trilogy that has been gathering dust since The Raven Tales contracts began eating my time away. There’s also the option of resting on my laurels when the urban fantasy series wraps. Lots of options ahead.

Visit me at www.4TaleTellers.com to keep abreast of new releases and also for some short stories posted in the blog. Free reads on those!

Ghost Notes

by Beth Henderson

Jace Hastings, rising music star, is presumed dead in a vehicle collision, courtesy of a stalker with deadly designs. Ten years later, P.I. Gaelen Wyndom can’t believe someone wants her to find him. Pelham Flannery rejoined the world from ICU, fully aware someone had tried to kill him. To live, he went under the radar, distanced himself from music, and disguised everything that would give away his identity as Jace. After a decade, is it safe to come out of hiding? Gaelen, delighted to be trained as a professional investigator by her new husband, continued in her new career after he was killed. Assigned to locate Jace Hastings, she isn’t told who wants to find him, but she puzzles it out. If she’s right, it’s the man who tried to kill him before. Which means she needs to find Jace Hastings and save him.

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Available from

AMAZON | B&N

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