Beer ... and Sexy Novels? Yes, I'm Your Wench.

Greetings and salutations!   I'm that gal over on the side surfing beer kegs.  Wonder why?  Allow me to elaborate.

I'm Liz Crowe, and I'm over-committed (or perhaps should be committed)....I mean, who isn't right? But no seriously, I am.

I own a craft microbrewery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  As Marketing, Sales and Distributor Relations Director I am in charge of all promotions for the Tap Room (the beer bar that is attached to my brewery), staffing of the Tap Room (which essentially consisted of Me, Myself and I and anyone I could bribe to help for the first ten weeks or so), working with my brewer to come up with beers that will sell, managing all aspects of said sales both in and out of the Tap Room (i.e. bottles on shelves, tap handles at other bars), and all the social and face to face networking I can squeeze in there in order to further all of the above.  And it's a Small Business, meaning it's a constant, daily battle of the Great God Cash Flow, sometimes catastrophic equipment failures, managing growth (we have been very successful so far which bring its own set of dilemmas) and personnel issues.

Me and My Boys (i.e. Partners)

My first set of stories--The Brewing Passion Series--has been published by Breathless Press, beginning with "The Rookie" last September, "XXXMas Ale" this past December (on my birthday no less), and "Jockey Box" this past March.  These three hot shorts are the missing chapters that introduce characters in my novella The Tap Room, a "choose your romance" style novel releasing September 30 (and there is a follow up short to The Rookie called "Specific Gravity").

Coming up I have a nice juicy m/f/m novel with Rebel Ink Press due for release Oct. 3.  Vegas Miracle is full of complex characters, leading complex lives.  Here's a blurb,

and the sweet cover. 

Ryan and Grace Sullivan have all the outward indications of a happy life: money, success, an undeniable physical attraction that quickly evolved from whirlwind relationship to marriage. But lately, Ryan's become moody and distant. As their relationship starts to crumble, Ryan discovers something about himself he can't admit just as Grace realizes the young man she encounters at an invitation only party, Henri Christophe, a celebrity chef with the most successful restaurant in Las Vegas, is her husband's lover. But Henri holds a secret himself.  He wants to be more to both of them.

Trying to make their unconventional arrangement work, Ryan's deep-seated fear of relationship failure continues to thwart everyone's happiness. When he finally walks away instead of confronting the emotional connection the trio share, he returns to find their lives flipped inside out. A sought after hotel and resort consultant, Ryan has yet to meet a problem he couldn't solve. But when it comes to his own heart, Ryan may be too late.
  

And I've got a great short story as part of Decadent Publishing's 1NightStand series.  

Ramon Castillo, world famous soccer player and international playboy has been brought low by a career-ending injury.  After the humiliation of a shattered leg at the World Cup final he has spent a year in surgeries and painful therapies, the last three months of which are at the Castillo resort in Las Vegas under the watchful eye of his cousins, Jackson and Gabriel.  They are both worried about his lack of interest in soccer, women, or in anything much else besides the black jack tables. 

Gillian Winter, catering and banquet manager for the MGM Grand Hotel is nurturing her own deep wounds.  Her beloved husband has died unexpectedly, leaving her with a young son whose one dream is to meet his hero:  Number 17 on the American National Soccer team, Ramon Castillo.  When a chance encounter in the lobby of the MGM reveals Ramon's presence in their midst, everyone's lives are changed forever.   Is real healing possible for Ramon and Gillian after just one night stand?

(why that last bit of the blurb is in a Pretty Yellow Box I have NO idea)

I've got a couple more of these fun shorts under contract, Turkish Delights and its sequel. But more on that as I get cover art, no?

And, as many of us do, I am sitting on my hands waiting to hear from a publisher about a Big Submission (Cheeky Blonde: a novel of brewing intrigue, sabotage, murder and, well, sex). Plus the three huge WIPs I've got in some stage or another sitting on my computer or still up in my brain.

Yeah, and teenagers who play sports at a high level, an executive style spouse who's not home much, 2 dogs and....oh you get the picture.

My life wasn't always this complicated.  I spent years as a Professional Trailing Spouse, moving from town to town and eventually overseas and then some, schlepping from Japan to Turkey to England ever in pursuit of His Next Job.  My kids were small then, so it was probably good I focused on them.  In hindsight I wish I had embarked on writing then, when I had time between learning new languages just to function, and going to "International Ladies Lunches" (a.k.a. the Society of Aggravated Trailing Spouses Just Waiting for the Hubs to Stumble over a Local Hottie On the Make--been there done that, that's another blog post).  

Instead, when we determined that heading back to the U.S. was best for family unity, I picked up my Realtor's license where I had left it and made some pretty good money (selling real estate is basic guerilla marketing---not just anybody can do it and be good at it trust me).  When the opportunity to join the craft beer bandwagon presented itself it only took me a week to ponder and research the possibilities before gathering my marketing toys and jumping on board.  I like to think the rest will be urban legend someday...

But the writing....I know that's why we are all here...after cutting my teeth on some erotic classics (Story of O/the Highlander series/Clan of the Cave Bear--oh the pleasures!) my now forgiven spouse tossed me a few newer ones (Shayla Black is one of my Biggest Influencers) told me to "shut up about it and just write" and the rest is history.  Using my life in the world of men (and the growing ever more popular with women world of Craft Beer) I concocted a brewery owned by 2 men and a woman who is going through a divorce (no I'm not projecting, merely saying "what if?").  Their lives intertwine and connect in ways that are both romantic and smoking hot.  Ultimately, "Erin" must make a choice--hence The Tap Room's "choose your romance" format.  

Coming up with three completely different story arcs and potential HEAs was brutal considering I had already decided who I wanted her to end up with but I will say that it made me flex the creative muscle in ways I never though possible and I'm glad for it.  Of course I am armpit deep in Major Edits and it's proving to be more difficult than your average project, given the complexities of merging timelines and man options in a way that makes sense.

So that's Liz, in a not so brief nutshell.  Prior to The Tap Room release, be sure and fill in some of the blanks by grabbing The Rookie, XXXMas Ale and Jockey Box, available at Amazon, Good Reads, and on the Breathless Press site.  Follow the Adventures of the Beer Wench if you are so inclined at www.a2beerwench.com  (she's a lot of fun).  

Naughty brewer...