Behind the Scenes: Beauty & the
Bigfoot (A Paranormal Romance)
By Kelli A. Wilkins
This “Behind the
Scenes” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each blog,
I’ll talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or
characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the book.
Warning: Blogs may contain spoilers.
Beauty & the
Bigfoot
is a contemporary paranormal romance—and it’s one of the most controversial
books I’ve written. Why? Because the heroine, Tara, falls in love with a
creature commonly known as Bigfoot. (In the book, Tara names him Joe.) The
story blends sensual love scenes with a healthy dose of offbeat humor. Readers
aren’t supposed to take the story seriously, because the characters don’t take
the story seriously.
However, when the
book came out, several reviewers were appalled at the premise and had an issue
with the love scenes. (Yes, Tara and Bigfoot/Joe consummate their relationship—several
times.) Some ebook retailers wouldn’t sell the book because it was classified
as “erotica” and a few readers reported the book to sellers, calling it “bestiality”
(among other things).
Yeah, this little
story certainly caused some controversy. What’s interesting is that in addition
to everything else, the book could also be categorized as… (Spoiler Alert!) a shapeshifter romance. I never saw shapeshifter
romances featuring werewolves, werebears, werepanthers, etc. called out for bestiality
or labeled morally reprehensible, but then again, I don’t read too many
reviews.
Maybe the negative
reviewers of my book just hated the idea of a woman falling in love with a “Bigfoot”—although
that’s not exactly who—or what—Joe is. Or maybe they never bothered to read the
whole book and never learned Joe’s true identity at the end… who knows?
But I’m happy to
say most reviewers and readers LOVED the book. They called it “a hoot” and
understood the premise, the humor, and read all the way to the end to discover
the “twist” ending that truly makes this a love story.
When I got the
idea for the story, I knew I had to write it with tongue-in-cheek humor,
otherwise the story wouldn’t work. Nobody would take a Bigfoot romance seriously.
So right from the start, I incorporated humor into as many scenes as possible.
When the book opens, Tara doesn’t believe Bigfoot exists and thinks her Bigfoot-hunter
father is crazy. But she soon learns that things aren’t always what they seem…
I loved creating
the wacky scenes between Tara and her oddball father. They were a lot of fun to
write, and I just kept up the strangeness as the story unfolded. I added in
zany secondary characters (the mob of people, the sheriff) to add more conflict
and take the story to another level.
As I wrote the
romantic scenes, I knew there had to be a reason Tara is attracted to Joe, and
a reason Joe is in love with Tara. I won’t give away the plot twist here, but I
can say that Tara and Joe have a long history together, and they knew each
other before the story started.
Believe it or not,
this book required a lot of research. Since Tara’s father is a Bigfoot expert,
I had to become a Bigfoot expert to write his scenes. I went to the library and
read a lot of books about Bigfoot before I started writing. (Yes, the librarian
thought I was crazy, so I know how Charlie felt!) All the things Charlie says
about Bigfoot (the historical legends, the size of his footprints, the nests,
his hair, the Patterson film) are accurate.
Beauty & the
Bigfoot
is one of my favorite contemporary romances. It’s certainly got an unusual
plot, interesting characters, and blends wacky humor with a love story. Here’s
the summary and few of those positive reviews…
BEAUTY & THE BIGFOOT
Can true love
exist between the species?
Tara’s world is
anything but normal. Her father is known as the resident crackpot—just because
he’s on a personal mission to catch a Sasquatch. Despite all of the “Bigfoot
evidence” cluttering their house, Tara never really believed in Bigfoot—until
the day her father brought him home.
She affectionately
names her father’s prized catch ‘Joe’ and discovers there’s something oddly
familiar—and erotic—about him. With a media circus descending on her father’s
ranch and a showdown brewing with the local sheriff, Tara risks her life to
save Joe.
When Tara finally
succumbs to her animalistic urges, she learns that Joe is not exactly who—or
what—he seems. Joe is more than a Sasquatch… he’s her soul mate!
Order Beauty & the Bigfoot here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SL9WT2
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4Dog0Q
A few positive reviews…
“I could use a lot
of words to describe Beauty & the Bigfoot, but if I
had to narrow it down to just one word, it would be this: fun. I knew I was
going to be in for a treat when I picked this novella up; there was just no way
a story with a title such as this could take itself seriously. This story was a
hoot and a half, and Ms. Wilkins has definitely been placed on my “authors to
be watched” list because of it.” - Bobby,
Reviewer, Bookwenches.com
"An erotic
twist on the classic bigfoot tale! Beauty & the Bigfoot is a
thoroughly entertaining read on a classic legend that I found enjoyable and
sexy! Ms. Wilkins puts a twist on the Bigfoot myth that left me pleased with
the ending. Beauty & the Bigfoot was a well thought out, erotic, and
downright fun read to the end. If you are looking for an entertaining read, Ms.
Wilkins delivers.” - Missy Brown,
Reviewer, Paranormalromance.org
"4 Coffee
Cups! I thought this story was going to take a weird and strange turn when I
first started reading it… but I discovered it to be a regular love story with
an odd twist. I enjoyed this book a lot. This is one story where you will laugh
and sigh all in one reading.” - Kimberly,
Reviewer, Coffee Time Romance & More
I hope you enjoyed
this “Behind the Scenes” look at the making of this fun romance. I welcome
questions and comments from readers and other authors. Contact me via the form
on my site or on social media.
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20+
romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 5 horror ebooks. Her romances span
many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror
stories.
Her
non-fiction tale, “The Dog That Wouldn’t Bark” recently appeared in the Chicken
Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog anthology.
She
also released two horror shorts, More Than I Bargained For and Silent
Sentinel in 2021.
In
January 2021, Kelli published Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing. This fun and innovative guide to
journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get
you writing about your feelings and emotions.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her
social media links.
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