Take Five and Meet Beth Barany & Her Book ~ A Christmas Cupcake

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Beth Barany Tell us, what inspired you to write your book, A Cupcake Christmas?

Thanks for hosting me L.A. I’ve always loved baking and Christmas elves, so what better than combining the two in a romance?! Plus, I wanted to write more in my Christmas elf series. I also wanted to write a story with a too-serious (dare I say, workaholic?!) meets a fun-loving man, and see what would happen. One of my favorite things to write about, and a story I know oh so well. (Yep, my life!)

How do you use setting to further your story?

I love using my local setting of Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco. Setting can enhance a mood or contrast it. I love using the Bay Area famous fog or how it’s often drizzling in winter. I also love using landmarks and the views to bring familiarity or discomfort to the scene.

Since the locations I use have lots of hills, there’s lots of vistas to mention and help my characters to have a bigger picture. I also use the hills as a form of exercise. My hero thinks: “Maybe a good fast walk up some of San Francisco's famously steep hills would help him clear his head, and heart.”

And I use the weather and location to bring my lovers closer together, like here:
“Florian grinned. She could swear his eyes twinkled but maybe it was the light of the restaurant or of the sky. Dusk was falling. Low sunlight reflected off the fog hovering above them. Kate walked back with him, arm in arm, to her van parked behind the kitchen a block away. There they stood in the cold foggy night.”

How is your main character completely different than you?

She’s a full-time baker! I am not, nor would I want that to be my job. I do like the creative part of coming up with recipes though. Clearly! Since I did for the story.

What do you do to rev your creative juices?

I love to travel, even if it’s to a new part of town or to the next town over. I especially love going to Paris! Way more than just an hour’s drive away. LOL Also, I listen to a lot of music and purposely search out the newest pop or pay attention to what other people’s favorites are to stretch my horizons.

I also love to watch action and science fiction/fantasy movies. I come away from that immersive experience ready to create my own through my stories. Lastly, I often walk around my neighborhood, or whatever neighborhood I’m visiting to people watch and see new things.

I love seeing people interact with each other and their environment and to interact with them, even if it’s just a “hello, how are you” type interaction.

How do you create internal and external conflict in your characters? I find conflict often the hardest to create when I start planning a book.

I do too. I had to figure out a way to find my stories conflict, so I created a way to dive into my character’s fears. They form a great basis for creating obstacles in my characters way. I teach that in my book, Plan Your Novel Like A Pro. I do the planning, then I write.

Often things come out differently than I planned, but that’s okay. I follow the muse where she leads. It’s in the editing that I revisit the conflicts and really make sure they’re connected to my character’s deepest fears and inner challenges. I’m in the middle of that right now for a new series, totally different from my romances, and it’s a wonderful challenge, and why I love writing stories so much.

I love making the external conflicts deeply personal to my main character. Not easy, but definitely worth it. (If you’re curious about what I’m working on next, I’ll give you a hint; it’s science fiction murder mystery. More about that here.)

If you could live during any era of history, which one would you choose?

I’m very attracted to the cathedral building era in France, so the Middle Ages. One of the other books in the Touchstone Series is a time travel to medieval France during the building of a town’s cathedral, Touchstone of Love. When I lived in Paris, I made a point to visit all the cathedrals in the surrounding area, including my favorite: Mont St. Michel on the northern coast of France.

Give us a brief summary of A Cupcake Christmas:

Love, chaotic magic, and cupcakes. What could possibly go wrong?

Florian MacMillian needs a final job to complete his baking resume—preferably a job where he’s unlikely to blow things up with his unruly magic—before returning to the North Pole and taking his rightful place as Master Baker to all the elves.

Kate Delore desperately needs help in her fast-growing cupcake business in downtown San Francisco. Florian is a perfect fit, so she brings him on as baker. For a short time, Florian is happily up to his elbows in batter, and Kate’s business is booming.

But when things heat up between them, Florian wonders if he should risk his legacy to cook up something truly special.

Another Magical Tale of Romance and Adventure by award-winning novelist, Beth Barany. Book 5 in the Touchstone series.

“I truly enjoyed it. I am a sucker for anything Christmas and Santa related which probably didn’t hurt. … Overall the story was light, charming and just right for a pleasant escape from the daily grind, kind of like a good dessert (yes, I love my sweets). I have to say this was my favorite of Beth Barany's romances I’ve read thus far…” — Beth Chapmon (Book Reviewer)

  

Buy: 

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Bio:

Award-winning novelist Beth Barany writes magical tales of romance and adventure to enchant readers into worlds where anything is possible. In her off-hours, Beth enjoys gardening, walking, and watching movies with her husband, author Ezra Barany. Together they live in Oakland, California, with their cat and over 1,000 books.

Get the first book in the Touchstone series here.

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