I realized I had to answer "other" on the first question... I don't think there are any authors right now whom I regularly work with. Or if there are, they're not writing much
I tend to beta for a particular story, not the author, if that makes sense, though I do tend to stick with the same group of authors. And I often get these jobs by begging
You remember, Yvonne... "Hey, loved that sneak peek of Damaged, are you writing any more, do you need a beta reader, I work cheap, hint, hint?"
My only real regular beta reader is my friend Claire Hess -- she doesn't post to the boards much these days, but she's been a FOLC for almost as long as I have. I first met her right after the airing of "Contact," as I recall... she showed up to a FOLC dinner at a restaurant wearing tin foil on her head
We knew right away we'd love her <g> And she's been a terrific help with pretty much everything I've written over the past four years.
I've also got a number of friends who sign on to beta a story here or there. I often use this as a form of revenge
"Well, if you want me to write it that badly, you can bloody well help!" So beware of nagging me
PJ