Who is EB Carter?
Learn about her, her family, her life away from writing and how Ethan and Kara came to be.
EB Carter is a 37-year-old American writer working on her first series called "Stay With Me." Her specialty is romance fiction, with a focus on first-person point of view. She greatly enjoys using a writing style that fully immerses readers into the story.
"I want readers to feel like they are living the story, not just reading it. I want them to love the characters and know them as well as they would real-life friends. I want them to be able to see themselves or their own experiences in the story, so that they can fully connect with the characters."
While her genre of choice tends to be known for forced drama just to fill the story, EB Carter loves to incorporate scenarios and problems that are more "real life" into the mix. She also uses personality traits that tend to be more complex, giving her characters a more relatable personality.
"We all deal with some form of mental health issue. It could be anxiety, depression, ADHD, or, in the case of Ethan Thompson, PTSD from his time in the US Army. Writing characters this way not only raises awareness about these issues, but I also believe it helps others who struggle with them to feel less alone."
Away from writing, EB travels the country with her husband, her young son, and her 5 dogs in their RV. She works full-time in the world of dog sports competitions, not only competing with her own dogs but also helping teams across the country learn how to work as one with their canine companions. You will find proof of this in her writing when it comes to the character of Jessie, Ethan's Military Working Dog.
"There is so much of my dogs in the character of Jessie. The little quirks and things that Jessie tends to do all come from my dogs. Her mannerisms and reactions to the world around her are 100% them. But, that being said, out of all my dogs, the bond that Jessie and Ethan share closely resembles the bond between myself and my Jinx. She's the one you see in the picture with me. She is to me as Jessie is to Ethan, down to the way she presses her forehead against mine to calm me. She IS my Jessie."
When not traveling the country, EB and her family live a quiet life in the state of Maryland.
-The Origins of Stay With Me-
The idea for Ethan came to my mind many years ago. The image of a broken man, haunted by his past, with his only friend in the world being his dog. I knew that I wanted his life to be completely transformed by meeting "the one". The idea that kept recurring in my mind was that no matter how much of himself he revealed to her, she never left. She accepted him for who he was and who he wasn't, and that changed him to his core. Suddenly, everything in his world revolved around her. Loving her, supporting her, doing everything in his power to be what she needed and to be the best version of himself.
I have always been a big fan of the concept of not necessarily "saving" someone, but of finding your person in life, no matter who they are, and doing everything you can to help them become the best version of themselves, while also bettering yourself in the process to be able to do that for them. Being willing to set aside your own needs and possessions, so that you can look at them and say, "it's okay, I'm here, stay with me. We can do this; you can do this." And I believe that Ethan and Kara embody that idea fully.
I have tried writing their story many times over the past 10 years, but it never resonated with me. It didn't click until around March of 2023. After a long day at work, I started writing and the words just kept flowing. I didn't even start with chapter 1, I began writing at chapter 24, "Look At Me," of book 1. That scene had been nagging at the back of my mind that night. I put on my earbuds, listened to a specific song that perfectly captured the way Ethan saw Kara, and I just couldn't stop writing after that. To this day, that song is the one I think of when I think of Book 1 in this series, and I don't think that will ever change.
Fall into me- by Forest Blakk
The day that I met you, the world had just spit me out
On my way to the bottom, sure I'd never be found
Then you saw me for me, made me believe in myself
On the day that I met you, it all turned around
You said, "Close your eyes, don't look down"
Fall into me and I'll catch you, darlin'
We'll dance in the street like nobody's watchin'
It's just you and me and the song on repeat in my head
Playing over and over
I'm drunk on your voice, high on the moment
I'd fall for you twice if that's what you wanted
I'd give you my life from now 'til forever
I'm falling in love with you over and over again”
Listen to it here: