Guest Post: Anatomy of the Perfect Beach Bag Book
I write books for your beach bag. Because that is what I love to read myself. I am always on the hunt for them; those sand-in-your toes, big-floppy-hat-wearing, icy-drink-swilling joys to read. Frankly, I think we all need more of that in our lives, particularly right now.
Beach bag books are special. They are the best of travelling companions. A beach bag book is here for you when you want it, and quietly tucked away when you don’t. Well, maybe not quietly tucked away, because the best ones call to you to come back to your chair or towel and finish reading them. And even when you finish they leave a bit of melody in your heart.
Everyone’s criteria for a wonderful beach bag book might be a little bit different. I must admit, on any beach – and for me, Hawaii is the best beach location – I read for the pure pleasure of it. No heavy so-called “literary” stuff for me, please! Not in my beach bag. So what do I look for? Primarily three things. Well, maybe four.
First of all, I look to be swept away, to another place, another time or another life. I actually try to find books that have something to do with the particular beach I am on. That means a book with a strong sense of “whereness.” When I read I want to be transported. Maybe somewhere new, but even if it’s a familiar destination my senses must be stirred. I want books to pull me in and take me there.
I look for books that rejuvenate me rather than exhaust me. Mostly romance as I love a good happily-ever-after. I want to laugh a lot and cry only a little bit. And never an ugly cry. It’s not that I don’t like serious books. I do! Just not on the beach.
I want characters I can relate to – even historical ones. I prefer a strong heroine, the kind of woman I’d like to invite for a long and chatty lunch. With cocktails. And a hero I might like something else long with….also with cocktails. (Yes, there is a theme here, cocktails.)
All of the above are things I look for when choosing the book. Plus one more thing. I am a sucker for a pretty cover! Yes, I have been known to buy a book for its cover.
But once I’ve read the book, how do I know it truly delivered on its promise? Two ways: the movie in my head and the music in my head. A sure sign for me is when I start thinking about who I’d pick to star in the movie. An even surer sign is when I can hear the music in my head. If I love a book I always just find the playlist almost writes itself. Even for historical books, although the music may be modern! (Yes, I think Pink’s Raise Your Glass pairs well with a Regency rake. Don’t you?)
I do the same thing for the books I write. For the novel I have underway right now, Rewrite the Stars (from The Greatest Showman) dances through my head every time I sit down in front of my laptop. Even though my books are set in Hawaii in the early 1900s the theme of star-crossed lovers stands the test of time. Don’t you think?
And of course, I would cast Jason Momoa as the hero in any movie!
I’d love to hear what (and who) you love to read on the beach. So here is my persistent question: What’s in your beach bag?
Title: Bound in Flame
Author: Katherine Kayne
Release Date: October 28, 2019
Publisher: Passionflower Press
Blurb: Letty Lang is a suffragist of the most fearless kind, with a bullwhip, big plans, and ancient power she doesn’t understand. Will a fast horse and a stubborn man derail her dreams?
Banished to boarding school to tame her wild temper, Leticia Lili‘uokalani Lang sails home to Hawaii, bringing her devotion to animals with her. She’ll be among the first female veterinarians in history—most remarkable in 1909 when women still cannot vote.
With one mad leap into the ocean to save a horse, Letty sets another destiny in motion. She is a mākāhā, a Gate to the healing fires of the land, her beloved ‘aina. Letty must fight to harness the ancient power that lives within her, fueled by her connection to the islands. But the price of power is steep. Her inner flame burns hot—hot enough that her kisses can actually kill, a precarious inconvenience since the horse’s owner, Timothy Rowley, lights another kind of fire.
Can Letty learn to master her power to have a chance at life and love? Or is the danger of the flame too great?
About the Author
