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SEVEN: Beth Anne Miller

Posted on November 27, 2010 at 6:10 PM

                               

                                

Beth Anne Miller's love affair with Scotland is evident in her forthcoming novel INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST. Ask her about her less-traveled roadtrips to Scotland and Ireland, horseback riding, her uncanny memory for numbers, and one of her favorite quotes: "Not all those who wander are lost." Escape to bonny Scotland by reading her time travel romance and walking right into the breathtaking Highlands!

                                                         

                              Glenfinnan Monument and Loch Shiel

 

Eilean Donan Castle

                                                    

                                                                                            

A couple of years ago Beth and I became friends through our mutual love for all-things-Celtic, and she even emailed me from The Cliffs of Moher after capturing this stunning sunset.

                                                        

                                                      

                                         

A lifelong New Yorker, Beth has been an avid reader since a ridiculously young age (rumor has it she was reading street signs at around 2, but this could be an urban legend), and is often in the middle of several books at once. A road trip through the eerie moors and misty Highlands of Scotland provided the inspiration for INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST. She longs to ride a galloping horse across a field of heather (and if she has a handsome kilted man to accompany her, so much the better). She currently works in the publishing industry in New York City and is trying to plan her next road trip.

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Discover seven fascinating things about Beth! For the next two days, she will be answering your questions about her forthcoming book, writing romance novels, and anything else you want to know (within reason!) Please make her welcome and ask away!

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~ Seven Things You Probably Don't Know About Me ~

Beth Anne Miller

 

1.  I’ve been a certified scuba diver since I was 14, and went to college for marine biology, with the career goal of hugging whales. I ultimately realized (after an internship at a marine mammal research lab in California) that Whale Hugging was an unrealistic career goal and changed my focus to a more general biology degree. And then I did a 180 and got a Master’s in Literature to go with the Bachelor’s in Biology.

 

2.  I am a huge fan of 1980s hair bands. If there’s a bunch of eyeliner-wearing, long haired androgynous dudes in leather screaming at octaves that defy the normal human range, then I’m there. I even have a plush llama named Sebastian, after Sebastian Bach from Skid Row (I also saw Sebastian Bach play the title role in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway, and he was awesome).

  

3.  I’m a Lord of the Rings geek—have read the books and written papers on them for college, have seen the movies a million times, and have been to see the complete score performed live to the first two movies at Radio City Music Hall (Return of the King- October, 2011—who’s in?). I can sing along with Aragorn’s Elvish song in Return of the King. Oh, and I can’t watch one movie without watching all of them, which can make for a very long movie night.

  

4.  I am, for some unknown reason, obsessed with all things Scottish. I say “for some unknown reason,” because I have absolutely no Scottish blood in me at all. Maybe it’s from growing up in a neighborhood where the streets all have Scottish names (McLean, McDonald, Barrie, Murdock, Campbell, Douglas)? Anyway, I love reading novels about Scotland, I love bagpipe music, I love the kickass Scottish tribal band Albannach, I love traveling to Scotland, and I obviously love men in kilts. Oh, and Gerard Butler.

  

5.  I am a huge fan of road trips. My first one was in a convertible down the west coast from the Puget Sound area of Washington to San Diego and then over to Arizona and Las Vegas. That resulted in me later buying a convertible (so much fun to drive!). Then followed a road trip through Scotland (1400 miles in like 9 days—so beautiful there!), and then another one in Ireland (with an obnoxious Garmin GPS that nearly got chucked out the window). It’s just so wonderful to tool around on the less-traveled roads and come upon a castle ruin. Wondering where to go next …

  

6.  I don’t like cheese. There, I said it. I occasionally eat pizza (but I’m picky about it), and I will eat American cheese (not the Kraft singles, but the kind you get at the deli counter), but as a rule, I don’t like it. Which makes me a nightmare in restaurants, because I always have to ask if the food I’m ordering has cheese on it. And if I don’t ask, assuming it doesn’t, then I find out the hard way that I should have asked. There’s one pizza place near work that uses a ton of parmesan, and I can’t even walk by that place without gagging. FYI, not liking cheese makes you a target for ridicule, strange looks, and outright horror.

  

7.  I spent a 9-week semester at sea on a schooner during my sophomore year at college. We started out in St. Maarten and sailed to and among various Caribbean islands before heading up the eastern seaboard to Long Island, NY. It was a fantastic experience, except for the fact that I was seasick for 9 weeks. There is this legend about something called sea-legs that folk are rumored to acquire a few days into a nautical journey, which makes them able to handle the motion of the sea, but I think that’s all a bunch of rubbish.

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~ Sometimes, in order to have a future, one must journey to the past ~

 

       

INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST is being released by The Wild Rose Press (www.thewildrosepress.com) in print and e-formats on February 4, 2011. You can find Beth at www.facebook.com/bethannemiller17.

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29 Comments

Reply Beth Anne Miller
09:26 AM on December 06, 2010 
Hi Zoe!

Alas, no-- I went to high school on Long Island, NY-- and I never did the fingerless gloves thing. :) But other than that...

My friends and I stayed in Carbisdale Castle on our road trip! Couldn't believe that a place like that serves as a hostel for part of the year! Unfortunately, we didn't stay there long enough to really explore-- just one night, and then we were out the next morning very early.

Thank you for the kind words!!

Beth
Reply Zoe Ferraris
01:52 AM on December 04, 2010 
Wonderful post!! And talk about traveling back in time -- um, did we go to high school together? San Francisco, 1988? Hair bands, LOTR geek, Scotland obsession. Were you that that chick with fingerless gloves and raccoon eyeliner singing Duran Duran in a low key near her locker? I went on a student trip to Scotland and RAN AWAY so I could stay there longer. (I am still haunted by Carbisdale Castle.) But seriously, if you'd been in my high school, I think I would actually have enjoyed the experience. And anyway, you look way too young. :-) I can't wait to read your book!
Reply Beth Anne Miller
10:47 AM on December 02, 2010 
marcharshman@hotmail.com says...
Dear Beth Anne,

I am enjoying reading about you and your work. With my daughter I was on the Glenfinnan train, as well as to Eilean Donan this May --and so must ask: was the weather really as nice as your photos? Mind you, my daughter had just spent a semester in St. Andrews and so we were well prepared. And on Skye we had lovely weather ...mostly. Good luck with this novel and those I'm sure are to come. Marc Harshman


Hi Marc,
Thanks for the well-wishes!
Yes! The weather was gorgeous in Scotland! My friends and I were on a 9-day road trip, and with the exception of some mist at Glencoe (which was appropriate given the history of the place), and some cold rain on the ferry to Orkney, we had beautiful weather the entire time. Sigh, now I wish I was back there... but maybe in the spring. :)
Reply marcharshman@hotmail.com
10:42 AM on December 02, 2010 
Dear Beth Anne,

I am enjoying reading about you and your work. With my daughter I was on the Glenfinnan train, as well as to Eilean Donan this May --and so must ask: was the weather really as nice as your photos? Mind you, my daughter had just spent a semester in St. Andrews and so we were well prepared. And on Skye we had lovely weather ...mostly. Good luck with this novel and those I'm sure are to come. Marc Harshman
Reply Beth Anne Miller
11:37 PM on December 01, 2010 
Deb Fexis says...
Hey Beth,
Despite your weird cheese aversion that I will NEVER understand (don't you know that Cheese makes the world go 'round? It's the Cheese that binds us? )... you are quite alright. Can't wait to read your book, but my question right now has to do with the telephone number of the guy on the cover. It's Ok... you don't have to post it here, just send his digits to my email. K? Thx.


Hey Deb,
Let me ask him, he's sitting right here. Oh wait, no he's not. I keep forgetting. :) he is pretty nice to look at, yes?
Reply Beth Anne Miller
11:36 PM on December 01, 2010 
Christina says...
While, supposedly, I do have some Scottish blood, I only came to appreciate Scotland this year on a visit to Oban, Mull, and Iona. Awesome.
I love the title of your book Into the Scottish Mist. It really evokes a memory of water and mystery.
Have you ever been to Oban? How about Iona?


Thanks, Christina! I'm glad you like the title. :)
Alas, I have not yet been to Oban or Iona. I've been to Skye and to Orkney, and hope to get back to Scotland one day soon and do some of the other islands.
Reply Deb Fexis
11:22 PM on December 01, 2010 
Hey Beth,
Despite your weird cheese aversion that I will NEVER understand (don't you know that Cheese makes the world go 'round? It's the Cheese that binds us? )... you are quite alright. Can't wait to read your book, but my question right now has to do with the telephone number of the guy on the cover. It's Ok... you don't have to post it here, just send his digits to my email. K? Thx.
Reply Christina
06:49 PM on December 01, 2010 
While, supposedly, I do have some Scottish blood, I only came to appreciate Scotland this year on a visit to Oban, Mull, and Iona. Awesome.
I love the title of your book Into the Scottish Mist. It really evokes a memory of water and mystery.
Have you ever been to Oban? How about Iona?
Reply lexcade
04:03 PM on December 01, 2010 
Beth Anne Miller says...
Lexcade: Sebastian Bach was awesome in Jekyll & Hyde... he has a really beautiful voice, and really nailed it, especially the Hyde part.

Robin: I am sure there is a Scottish National Cheese, but given my disdain for all things cheese-related, I have not sought out this info. :)

Jo: I'm sorry you didn't know about my cheese aversion. Why do you think I'm always eager for Chinese food for lunch? No cheese!

Susie: I wanted so bad to get that line on a license plate frame, but I could never get it to fit right.


if i'm not mistaken, the national cheese of scotland is dunlop. and baz has such a fabulous voice...if only he'd sing everything rather than talk...
Reply Beth Anne Miller
03:26 PM on December 01, 2010 
Hi Laura,
Here's the short blurb from the cover of the book:

"Sometimes, in order to have a future, one must journey to the past.

Abby Sanders returns to her beloved Scotland after a long absence, seeking peace after a terrible tragedy. A chance detour reunites her with Ian Mackenzie, the love she left behind four years ago. Their attempt to rekindle their romance along the shore of Loch Ness is cut short when Abby vanishes.

After a desperate search for the woman he's spent four years trying to forget, Ian is forced to believe the unbelievable: he must travel through the mists of time to find Abby. But finding her is just the beginning.

Trapped four hundred years in the past, Abby and Ian must find a way to end a bitter clan feud or sacrifice their return to the present and their future together."

It's basically a time travel romance with a twist: rather than one character traveling to the other time and meets the other character, in this case both are from the present and both journey to the past. Hopefully, people will like it! :)

As to the numbers, I just have a really good memory for numbers (I don't think it's photographic, necessarily, but it's pretty darn good). I used to work in a bookstore, and when we rang up an employee's purchase, we had to enter his or her social security #. One of my friends who worked there (who had left for many months and then came back to work there for the holidays) was buying something, and I rattled off her SS#... I think she was alarmed. I still remember it. :)
Reply laura7
03:03 PM on December 01, 2010 
Could you tell us a little about the plot of your novel without giving anything away?

Also, I'm intrigued with your memory for numbers and would love to hear more!
Reply Beth Anne Miller
02:31 PM on December 01, 2010 
Elizabeth says...
"FYI, not liking cheese makes you a target for ridicule, strange looks, and outright horror."

Preach it! As a fellow cheese snubber, it's nice to know I'm not alone. ;-)


I'm with you, Elizabeth... cheese = ick. And I'm not sorry to say so out loud!
Reply Elizabeth
02:21 PM on December 01, 2010 
"FYI, not liking cheese makes you a target for ridicule, strange looks, and outright horror."

Preach it! As a fellow cheese snubber, it's nice to know I'm not alone. ;-)
Reply Beth Anne Miller
02:20 PM on December 01, 2010 
Lexcade: Sebastian Bach was awesome in Jekyll & Hyde... he has a really beautiful voice, and really nailed it, especially the Hyde part.

Robin: I am sure there is a Scottish National Cheese, but given my disdain for all things cheese-related, I have not sought out this info. :)

Jo: I'm sorry you didn't know about my cheese aversion. Why do you think I'm always eager for Chinese food for lunch? No cheese!

Susie: I wanted so bad to get that line on a license plate frame, but I could never get it to fit right.
Reply suzie townsend
02:10 PM on December 01, 2010 
Beth! "Not all those who wander are lost!" AH! My favorite quote :) Yay for Tolkien geeks!
Reply Robin
01:12 PM on December 01, 2010 
Great to see you guesting on the blog! Is there a Scottish National Cheese?
Reply lexcade
01:09 PM on December 01, 2010 
i LOVE sebastian! would love to see him in jekyll and hyde...
Reply JoSVolpe
01:05 PM on December 01, 2010 
Yay, Beth! And seriously...you don't like CHEESE? I don't think we can hang out anymore....

Well, I guess your LOTR geek love trumps that any day. ROTK 10/11 like woooooooooah!! :-)

Okay, now that I've completely embarrassed myself....

You ROCK!
Reply Beth Anne Miller
10:59 AM on December 01, 2010 
Gwen Roman says...
GIven your love of travel, I bet you'd have no qualms taking off for parts unknown in order to research your next novel. What are some of the destinations you'd most like to see?


Hi Gwen!
I would love to go back to Scotland and Ireland, as well as visiting Australia and New Zealand. Or maybe I'll have to go back out to sea to do some research (with one of those anti-seasick patches). So many places, so little time....
Reply Beth Anne Miller
10:52 AM on December 01, 2010 
I started this manuscript when I was working at the lab and we had literally nothing to do for a few weeks, and I was really bored at work. I had a minor obsession with the actor Gerard Butler, and thought it would be interesting to write about a hot time-traveling Scottish actor. :) had a friend at work who would brainstorm with me almost every day, and the book slowly evolved from there. That was a very lengthy process, and I learned a lot about writing during that time. Now I have ideas for other things and work on them here and there, but have to really make some time to get back into it.

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