friendship – Bethany Monaco Smith

Behind the Story: Freaking Love Part 1- Inspiration

Freaking Love is officially out in the world! You can read it here.

With Freaking Love finally out on Kindle Vella this week, I wanted to share a little behind the scenes about the inspiration for this story.

Please note: This contains spoilers for the first couple of episodes of Freaking Love. If you haven’t read it yet and want to remain spoiler-free, avert your eyes now. Otherwise, continue on.

When it started…

I’d have to look back at the date to be sure, but I’m almost positive it was early spring of 2017. There’s a possibility that it was 2016, but that seems too early in my memory.

What it started as…

This story started as a script. I’ve always loved screenwriting and it came very naturally to me because I love telling all the parts of a story. I love the idea of how you can overlay music with a scene to heighten its effects. I love all of that. What’s funny is I hate writing in the third person and it took a long time for me to find the right stylistic fit to make this into a book. When I heard about Kindle Vella, the serialized format really seemed to fit with that serialized way I thought of this story. That said, in its origins, it was actually set over two linear timelines. The past, the high school days that this story tells (though that’s now set in the present-ish time) and a present about twelve years later, exploring the family dynamics and personal relationships somewhat like Parenthood. Because of this, it was originally called Nontraditional, because it was about a group of families raising kids and many of those families and situations were nontraditional.

The inspiration…

Like with almost anything I write, the inspiration didn’t come from one specific place, but rather a compounding few things that came together and created this story in my mind. The first was that a boy I used to crush hard on and was once close friends with got engaged and I started thinking about the almost relationship we had and wondering how it would’ve gone if we’d ever actually dated. I realized it probably would’ve gone pretty badly. Then I laughed, thinking that I’d probably have ended up pregnant or something.

The next day, I was listening to Yellowcard in the car (they’re one of my favorites) and the song Ten came on, which is a (fairly sad but beautiful) song about a miscarriage. The singer reflects that that baby would’ve turned ten that year. And it got me thinking what would’ve happened if I’d gotten pregnant at seventeen. Which took me back to my previous thoughts.

Finally, for some reason or another, I decided to listen to Last Play at Shea by Billy Joel. I grew up listening to him but since my mom didn’t really like the song, I’d never heard Scenes from an Italian Restaurant before. It seemed to fit with the theme of this story that was rapidly building in my head. And so it became mostly what you see in Freaking Love today.

Final fun fact…

Because I originally wrote it in two timelines, I know plot points for these characters that happen YEARS ahead in the story, so there will probably be a time jump to early adulthood at some point.

Are you enjoying Freaking Love? Like and follow for more behind the scenes content and for lots more from me, follow me over on Instagram @bethanymonacosmith

WIP Wednesday 7/14

This week’s work in progress teaser is from a short but fun middle school chapter during which an important nickname that will be frequently heard throughout the entire series is born.

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet!

Do you have a fun or sweet nickname? Have you ever given a nickname to someone else? Let me know in the comments.

As always, like and subscribe for more teasers and behind the scenes. You can also follow me on Insta @bethanymonacosmith

Teaser Tuesday 7/13

This week you’re getting three teasers for the price of one!

These teasers are from the first three episodes of Freaking Love, which is hitting Kindle Vella this week. These three episodes will be free to read.

I’ve been working on parts of this story since 2017, so I’m crazy excited for everyone to finally be able to meet these characters and jump into their world!

I hope you enjoyed these teasers. Check back next week for more. And don’t forget to follow me over on Instagram @bethanymonacosmith for more teasers and behind the scenes fun.

Freaking Love is launching on Kindle Vella this week, so don’t forget to check it out!

WIP Wednesday 7/7

This week’s work in progress teaser is from a chapter all about how much middle school sucks.

Buuuut it’s a whole lot better when you’ve got five best friends who have your back. Especially when one of them is your person, your best friend in the whole world, who happens to be a sweet, swoon-worthy boy who’d do anything for you.

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet!

As always, like and subscribe for more teasers and behind the scenes. You can also follow me on Insta @bethanymonacosmith

Teaser Tuesday 7/6

It’s another teaser Tuesday for Freaking Love

This week we’re meeting Maia’s dad, Leo.

Leo is one of my favorite parents that I’ve ever written. He’s not based on anyone in my life, but he’s a character I deeply love for many reasons.

Dad is bent over, his head between his legs. He hasn’t said anything, but he growls occasionally.

My dad is a strange combination of old school Italian and liberal hippie. He’s fifty percent businessman and fifty percent soccer hooligan. He has tattoos over at least half his body, but nowhere you’d ever see doing business with him. He’s got a hot temper but he’s extremely loving. He’d do anything for the people he cares about. He’s also extremely protective, especially of me, so I’m a little worried about how he’s going to handle this.

I hope you enjoyed this teaser. Check back next week for more. And don’t forget to follow me over on Instagram @bethanymonacosmith for more teasers and behind the scenes fun.

Freaking Love is launching on Kindle Vella in just a couple of weeks and the first three episodes are free!

WIP Wednesday 6/30

Here’s another snippet of my work in progress, Friends Like This. It’s all about the fear and uncertainty of maybe falling in love with your best friend.

This story revolves around Rae and Aaron and their four other best friends, growing up in a small town– Ida, New York. Fun fact: this story is set in the same town as Freaking Love and there’s some fun character crossovers.

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet!

Thanks for reading!

As always, like and subscribe for more teasers and behind the scenes. You can also follow me on Insta @bethanymonacosmith

Teaser Tuesday: Freaking Love

Hey y’all! It’s teaser Tuesday and because I’m behind on my teasers, today you get two for the price of one!

Keep scrolling to meet two of the most important people in Maia’s life: her boyfriend and her best friend.

The first teaser for Freaking Love is about Maia’s boyfriend /first love, Braden Hale.

I walk out of the AB Construction offices to Braden’s beat-up, piece-of-shit, older-than-dirt pickup truck. I can’t believe the fucking thing still runs.

Braden is sitting on the hood.

If I wasn’t trying to stave off a panic attack I’d make a note of how damn sexy he looks. Okay, I guess I can still make a note. And that note is: mmmm.

He looks like a good old country boy.
Beat-up, old-ass pickup truck? Check.
Faded, worn blue jeans? Check.
Tattered ball cap? Check.
Cheeky grin? Check.

He slides his ball cap off and runs his fingers through his matted down, reddish brown hair.

His grin grows into a full smile when he sees me.

For a moment, I melt.

In the second teaser Tuesday for Freaking Love, we’re meeting Maia’s best friend, Vince Ardito.

He furrows his brow at me, launches himself off the door, plops into the other office chair and propels himself over to the desk I’m sitting at. He runs a hand through his thick, shaggy, dark blond hair that falls between the nape of his neck and his shoulders. He leans his elbow on the desk, puts his head on his fist, and stares at me with his piercing blue eyes.

Vince is effortlessly cool. And he doesn’t even realize it. But all the girls do. How could they not? He’s built like a linebacker or maybe a viking. He’s tall and broad shouldered with thick muscles all over his body. Every move he makes is suave. Everything he does, he does perfectly.

He puts one big hand on my forearm and says with concern, “what’s going on Mai?”

I hope you enjoyed these teasers, if so, don’t forget to like and follow for more teasers and behind the scenes fun.

Freaking Love is launching on Kindle Vella in just a few weeks and the first three episodes are free!

Work in Progress Wednesday

For the next few weeks I’ll be posting some fun quotes from my biggest work in progress, Friends Like This, the first book in a series about a group of best friends growing up in a small town.

Of course the central arc revolves around two of the best friends and their will-they-or-won’t-they friends to lovers romance.

This story is not inspired by my life but is heavily nostalgic and inspired by where I grew up and fun I had growing up in a small town.

Friends Like This is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. It’s set in the same town as my new Kindle Vella project, Freaking Love, and there’s some character crossover.

I decided to share some quotes from this to let you know what I’m working on and hopefully get other people as excited about this project as I am. If all goes according to plan, I want to release the first two books in the series next summer!

Hope you all enjoy!

#wipwednesday #wip #teenromance #yaromance #teenfriendship #yabooks #smalltownromance #friendstolovers #smalltownfriendship #yaauthors #yaauthorsofinstagram #romanceauthors #indieauthors #yabookstagram #romancebookstagram

Coming Soon: Freaking Love

Y’all I am so FREAKING excited about this!

Freaking Love is a project I’m launching on Kindle Vella when it goes live in late July. It’s a cozy YA story full of romance, friendship, family, heartbreak, and a whole lot of love.

I started writing this back in 2017. I can’t remember if it was a book or a screenplay first but it’s been back and forth. I really envisioned it as a TV show and had the first two full scripts written for it. But I knew that was beyond a long shot and I always knew I wanted to tell these stories for a long time, without worrying about a show being canceled.

Fast forward to the year from hell (2020 what’s up) and I finally found my narrative style and started transitioning this back into a book, yet it still felt very much like I was writing a TV show. Each small chapter was a scene. So when I heard about the episodic formula of Kindle Vella this project jumped to the front of my mind.

I’m so excited to put one of my favorite stories out there in the world (finally!).

Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting some teasers each week with some favorite quotes from the first few “episodes” to get you excited for the story and introduce you to some of the characters! I hope you’ll love them as much as I do.

#kindlevella #kdp #indieauthor #yaromance #teenromance #yastories #teenstories #teenfriendship #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #yabookstagram #yareaders #yalovers #romance #friendship #amwriting #writingcommunity #freakinglove #teasertuesday

Music inspiration: Magic by Ben Rector

Hey everyone, today I wanted to give a shout out to an album that has been on constant rotation for me as I write my series, Friends Like This. It’s a story about six best friends who grow up together and the misadventures and romantic entanglements that come with it. It’s full of nostalgia and friendship and love and this album connects so strongly with those emotions.

Because of that, Magic by Ben Rector has a tight hold on my heart.

I’m not someone who easily falls in love with musical artists and especially albums. I might love a song or two but it takes a lot to make me really love an album or artist. But boy do I love this album and it made me a fan of Ben as well.

Read on to find out where that love came from and why it means so much to me.

Back at the end of 2018 (? I think), I kept seeing a recommendation on YouTube for the song Old Friends by Ben Rector. I finally clicked on it and immediately fell in love. I’d recently turned thirty and this song and video screamed nostalgia. I’m a ’90’s kid and by nature I think we’re a nostalgic bunch, but I am particularly so. Naturally this song hit me right in the feels.

It became part of my regular rotation, showing up on multiple playlists of mine. It made me think of my childhood, my senior year of high school, while connecting with where I’m at now.

I’m listening to the album as I write this and the song just came on. And it made me smile like the cheesy idiot that I am. Okay, moving on.

Skip ahead two years and I’d started writing Friends Like This about a group of six best friends who grow up together from age five on. Naturally, Old Friends was a song that really resonated with me when I started writing it, so I was playing it nonstop. YouTube then recommended the second song off this album I Will Always Be Yours. I listened. And I realized it totally represented a major arc for the central love story in the book. Then I heard Love Like This (which has become one of my favorite songs ever) and it felt like that couple’s song.

I think I heard Kids next, which was also resonates with that series. And then another song off the album popped up and finally I sat down and listened to the whole thing. Not only did much of it connect with the series, it also resonated with me.

This album makes me feel all the things. It hits all my soft spots:

Nostalgia.
Friendship.
Love. Love. Love.
Cozy feelings.
Awesome music to listen to in the car.
Heartache (Sometimes makes me cry every time).

If you love any of those things, go listen. Right now. Seriously. This album is great. These songs are Magic (yeah I had to do it). Even my kids jam out to it.

If you haven’t yet, go check out this album and don’t forget to like and subscribe here so you don’t miss any of my random thoughts and tangents and more behind the scenes on music that inspires me as I write.

I hope you listen to this album if you haven’t before. If you do, let me know what you think of it. If you already have, let me know if it makes you feel all the things too!