Former bank vice president publishes tenth novel
Bethany Turner poses with her new book, “Cole and Laila Are Just Friends,” during her book signing on June 8 at Amy’s Bookcase Paperback Exchange in Farmington. (Curtis Ray Bennally/Special to Tri-City Record)
Curtis Ray Benally
The annual Colorado Book Awards honored a romantic comedy set in the fictional community of Adelaide Springs, Colorado.
Brynn and Sebastian hate each other by Bethany Turner of Cortez was named one of the best romance novels at the 2024 Colorado Book Awards on June 21 at the Tivoli Turnhalle Theater at the Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver by Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book.
Published by Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins, the book is the ninth novel by Turner, who previously worked in banking.
“I was a vice president of a bank and raised young children who are now adults,” Turner said. She came to a point in her life where she began to think about what she wanted to do next.
Turner had been writing for pleasure for about 15 years. “It was really just a stress reliever and a creative outlet,” she said.
“We were going through this incredibly stressful time at work and at the bank,” Turner said. “I didn’t have time for anything else, and after my family went to sleep, I just wrote because I needed something to do to clear my head.”
Turner began sharing her stories with others and received positive comments.
“That wasn’t the path I wanted to take, but I’m definitely on that path now,” she said. Her writing career began when she was signed to Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins.
Turner said she is “in the real publishing world, but very local” and has lived in Cortez for more than 20 years.
Author Bethany Turner will discuss her new book with Amy Henkenius, owner of Amy’s Bookcase Paperback Exchange, on June 8 in Farmington.
Curtis Ray Benally
In fact, her two most recent books are set in a Colorado town that she based on Creede, Colorado. Adelaide Springs has a population of 350 and is trying to stay a place on the map.
“It was very different for me. It was the first time I wrote about a small town, the first time I wrote about a fictional town. I absolutely fell in love with Adelaide Springs,” Turner said. “It was very different for me to do it in Colorado. When I did it, I immediately realized that this is why all the Hallmark movies are set here.”
Turner said she has nothing against Hallmark movies, but said their stories are “more complex and have more layers.”
When writing about a place, she found that Adelaide Springs “really became another character in the book, a mountain town that offers things that I don’t think a lot of other places offer.”
Turner also noted that the characters had more depth after Adelaide Springs became a major setting.
“There are these supporting characters that have become so important to me. They have been just as enriching to me as my main characters. That came from my understanding of how small towns work,” she said.
Brynn and Sebastian hate each other follows the story of Brynn Cornell and Sebastian Sudworth. Brynn has just been named host of the most successful morning show in America when “she gets caught on a hot mic kind of trashing her small hometown,” Turner said.
The only way for Brynn to save her career was to return home and essentially “accept defeat,” Turner said.
Here she met Sebastian, who was “at the other end of the journalistic spectrum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. … He’s been off the radar for six years,” Turner said.
“She’s going back to Adelaide Springs to save her career and Sebastian went there to escape his career,” Turner said.
From this book comes Cole and Laila are just friends, The book hits bookstores on June 4. It is also set in Adelaide Springs and tells the love story of Cole and Laila, who are friends with Brynn and Sebastian.
Both books are described in the title as “love stories,” and Turner said that was done that way because that’s what they are. They are not typical love stories.
“Originally it was actually a romance, but then we were very cautious,” she said, adding that it was changed to a love story because “the word romance just has a connotation that I find silly, but at the same time I understand.”
There’s “romantic tension” and she “likes a little steam,” Turner said. “It’s really about these characters and their journey. I keep it clean, but I don’t think clean has to mean boring.”
Turner, who is a fan of movies and television, also incorporates a lot of pop culture into her books.
Brynn and Sebastian hate each other And Cole and Laila are just friends are available locally at Amy’s Bookcase Paperback Exchange in Farmington and Maria’s Bookshop in Durango. They can also be purchased at Barnes and Noble and online.
For more information about Turner and all her books, visit her website at https://seebethanywrite.com/
