WELCOME AUTHOR KARILYN BENTLEY

Readers, my guest today is a friend from one of my RWA chapters. She's a very nice person and has released her first novel. Her prior publication had been in an anthology.

Karilyn Bentley

Welcome, Karilyn. Readers love to get to know authors. Please tell us about growing up..


Karilyn: Hi Caroline! Thank you so much for having me here today! I’m excited to be blogging with you! I grew up here in North Texas and am blessed with a wonderful family. We had a golden retriever growing up and she had a personality all her own. I remember making a peanut butter sandwich and leaving it on the table to grab a baggie and while my back was turned, Tasha grabbed it off the table and ran to the back door. We always put her out when she was bad, so I guess she knew she wasn’t supposed to have that sandwich! Dogs crack me up. I’m definitely a dog person. Currently The Hubster and I have two dogs and a handful of fish, so I have a lot more dog stories if you have hours to listen to them. My favorite thing to do is read and I love to eat cake, especially carrot and chocolate. I’ve been told I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas.

Caroline: Hey! That’s not fair, because you are so thin! Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Karilyn: I love paranormals or historicals because they take me out of my reality and into a different world. My favorite authors change, but the ones that I’ve learned something from are JR Ward, Karen Marie Moning, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Sarah McCarty.



Caroline: How many books do you read a month?

Karilyn: Maybe about 2 now. Reading is one of my favorite activities but the older I get, the more life interferes with my reading. I’m currently reading LOVE WILL FOLLOW by Bailey Bristol.

Caroline: When you’re not writing, what’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Karilyn: I like to play the piano, although I don’t do it that much any more. Nowadays, I’m a bit addicted to internet Mah Jong.  I like to take walks around the neighborhood or go to the gym and who doesn’t like vacations?


Caroline: Describe yourself in three or four words.

Karilyn: A good listener. (I hope!)

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Karilyn: Since around 2002 when I looked around my then cube and realized I’d rather be sitting at home eating bon-bons. And what better way to do that, than to write. Of course, I’ve yet to find the bon-bons, but I’m still looking.



Caroline: Yeah, me, too. Where do you prefer to write?

Karilyn: I have a study now, but I used to write on the bed with my laptop, or on the kitchen table, or sitting on the floor. 

Caroline: Do you need quiet, music, solitude?

Karilyn: I like quiet, but that doesn’t always happen.

Caroline: Mmm, I like writing to classical music. PC or laptop?


Karilyn: Laptop. You can take it anywhere and my hubby increased its memory so it now actually works.

Caroline: Isn't it nice to have a supportive husband? I'd be lost without Hero. Are you a plotter or a panzer?



Karilyn: Panzer, but I have to have a bit of plotting to know where the story goes and how it ends. No matter how much I try to think of the story in-depth prior to writing, it never works. I have to get in there and start writing before the details will come to me.

Caroline: Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Karilyn: Not in my romances. The very first story I wrote was about a kid I knew in HS (the story is currently hiding in the closet never to see the light of day again). He had an interesting story and I tried to capture it. Since it’s home is in the closet, you can correctly assume it didn’t work out so well.


Caroline: I think most of us have a few clunker stories hidden away. Well, maybe not Nora Roberts, but I mean us mortals. Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you set goals? Do you write daily?

Karliyn: I try very hard to write every day, but it doesn’t always work out that way. I wish I was more disciplined.

Caroline: I wish I were too. What do you hope your writing brings to readers?



Karilyn: I hope they enjoy the story and it makes them feel good when they finish reading it.


Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Karilyn: I would love to be able to write FT and be able to make enough writing to quit my day job. We’ll see how that plan goes.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Karilyn: I’m working on the next book in the Draconia Tales series.


Caroline: What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Karilyn: Keep working. If you want to be published, only you can possess the drive to keep on trying. Sit down and write.

Caroline: Tell us about your latest release, MAGICAL LOVER.

Kerilyn: I’d love to! My latest release is MAGICAL LOVER, the first book in the Draconia Tales series. Here’s a bit about it:


In a world where men can become dragons, Thoren is one of the most powerful. As a shape-shifting Draconi, Thoren wants nothing more than to continue searching for Halfling children, and returning them to Draconia. The last thing he wants or needs is a mate-until he meets Keara, an outcast unaware of the power that lies within her. Keara doesn't know what to make of Thoren or of the magic he practices. She learned early to keep her magic hidden--her witchy red hair and green eyes are burden enough. When Thoren offers his hand in place of a forced marriage with Lord Simon, Keara jumps at the chance to leave her town behind. But she fears Thoren will shun her when he discovers the truth about her abilities. Can Thoren convince Keara she is his lifemate, or will her secret talent be the wedge that drives them apart?


Here’s the excerpt:


“I know enough to realize she denied you.” The stranger growled at Lord Simon, his voice gentling as he turned to Keara. “She will take me though, won’t you?”


Keara locked her gaze on the stranger, drawn by his green eyes that looked so much like her own. She had never seen green eyes on anyone else, but knew what they meant. Remembered what her grandmother had told her about them.


“Green eyes are the mark of evil, girl,” the old woman liked to say. “Be wary of them.”


The wind whipped the stranger’s hair about his face. A chiseled jaw topped by firm lips that whitened around the edges and a long straight nose comprised a face tightened in anger. His compelling eyes bored into hers.


She couldn’t stop staring at those eyes, all the while his fingers continued their steady pattern against her mark, sending sensuous feelings coursing through her veins.


A stranger or Lord Simon? The man whose touch sent zingers of pleasure throughout her body, or the possibly crazy, but socially acceptable man who might have her best interest in mind. Did she actually think that?


There was no choice. It took two tries to get the words out of her dry mouth.


“I’ll take you.” She lifted her chin toward the stranger and said a silent prayer he would spare her life.


Caroline: Geat excerpt and lovely cover. The Wild Rose Press has wonderful covers, don't they? Where can readers find your books?


Karilyn: They can find my books on The Wild Rose Press or Amazon.


Here’s the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Lover-Draconia-Tales-ebook/dp/B005I63WW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1313881343&sr=1-1


Here’s The Wild Rose Press link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?/main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4593
MAGICAL LOVER is available in print and e-book.
Caroline: Anything else you’d like readers to know?

Karilyn: Thank you so much for reading MAGICAL LOVER! I hope you enjoy it!

Caroline: How can readers learn more about you?

Karilyn: My wonderful hubby made me a website, so please stop by and check it out: www.karilynbentley.com 
My email is karilyn@karilynbentley.com.
My Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karilyn-Bentley/120814741330722 
Stop by and say hi!

Thank you for sharing with us today, Karilyn. Best of luck to you!