Interview with Eddie Cleveland, author of The Beauty’s Beast

What can you tell us about your new release, The Beauty’s Beast?

The Beauty’s Beast is a story about how two broken souls can find the missing part of themselves in each other. Gabe is an ex-Navy SEAL who carries the physical scars of war on his face. Living in LA, he doesn’t often meet people who don’t impulsively judge him or write him off because of his looks. He’s built walls around himself, keeping people at arm’s length and going to sex clubs to meet fast and frivolous women. It’s a shock to him when he sees a new face in the crowd. A woman who doesn’t care about his bravado or his huge cock, she sees him. Vanessa is a Hollywood starlet who just landed a role that promises to make her career. It’s about a nymphomaniac who is sexy, powerful and in charge. There’s only one problem, Vanessa has never had an orgasm in her entire life. Not even by herself. She ends up in the sex club to do some research for her role and runs into Gabe, a man who makes her body feel things she’s never experienced before. A man who seems to be able to look into her soul. A man she needs in her life.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I feel like being an author has been a dream of mine since I knew that it was a job. The thing about dreams is we sometimes tend to trade them in for other things. What inspired me to dust mine off and give it a shot was that I was approaching forty and didn’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering how things could have been if I’d given this a fair shake. I gave myself (several) pep talks and took a huge gamble, leaving my stable career with a guaranteed pension in the military for the life of an Indie author. I’m happy to say it worked out and I’ve never regretted it for a day.

Which books would we be surprised to find on your shelves?

Since I write romance I don’t think anyone would be too surprised to know that I also read it. Probably the thing that people would be surprised by is the numerous cook books I have on my shelf (and use).

What is a typical day like for you?

Right now, a typical day for me is to get up at 5am, drink coffee and put together my newsletter. Since it’s summer, I’ve been taking advantage of the good weather and getting some serious renovations on my house. My kitchen is completely gutted to the studs right now and I’m working on putting it back together. Then in the afternoon and evening I spend time with my family and from about 8pm to 11pm I write.

BAM. You’re a superhero. What’s your superpower?

It would definitely be to control time. I never feel like I have enough hours in a day and my to-do list never seems to get finished. It would be awesome to be able to freeze time and get a bunch of stuff done, then unfreeze it and keep going. Also, I’m not always the most patient guy, so it would be nice to be able to zip part all the waiting parts!

What is the one movie you can quote the most?

That would have to be Anchorman. It still makes people laugh too. “They’ve done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time.”

What scene in The Beauty’s Beast was your favorite to write?

There were a few and for different reasons. This book has some scenes that unfold inside of LA sex clubs. Since I’ve never been, I had to do some research before writing. That was fun and I enjoyed learning about that lifestyle. In every book there are scenes where you get insight into why characters are the way they are. What made them break. I love writing those scenes the most as it makes the characters the most real to me.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I do, I firmly believe that at the end of our lives it is the things that we don’t do which we regret. I always try to keep that in mind and live my life so I won’t be buried with a heavy casket full of regrets.

Eddie Cleveland is the author of the new book The Beauty’s Beast. 

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