KATHRYN R. BIEL: AUTHOR

I don't want you all to think I've forgotten about you. I haven't. I've been away, enjoying a family vacation. I don't like to post that I'm going away, so I just sometimes go AWOL for a while. Things have been crazy hectic here all week. My uncle passed away last week, and I had the services this past weekend. It has been heartbreaking and devastating. The family has suffered a profound loss. Trying to keep moving forward, I am busy at work, as it is annual review time. Which, for those of you lucky enough not to be in the school special education world, it means twice the meetings and four times the paperwork in the same amount of time. I am also receiving PT myself currently (about which I hope to blog soon). I'm trying to beta read for a fellow author. Heather, I'm almost done. I promise. Oh, and I'm working on a small little side project ... publishing my second novel. The digital versions will be available on 3/1/2014. It is currently...

Ok, I had no idea what Galentine's Day was, until I was given this assignment. Here is a good explanation: To sum up, "It's like Lilith Fair, but without the angst. Plus frittatas." So, for this Galentine's Day post, I'm supposed to describe how Maggie and her best friend, Michele, would celebrate Galentine's Day. [But before I go into that, you all need to know a secret about Michele. Michele, you see, is real. Sure, she's in the book and her name is Michele Suarez, but there is really a real Michele. When I originally wrote GOOD INTENTIONS, the best friend character's name was Lucy Suarez. Then, my best friend Michele, convinced me I needed to change it to Michele. So I did. So the Maggie-Michele relationship is pretty much like the Kate-Michele relationship. So while I'm writing about fictional Maggie and Michele, it is pretty much what Michele and I would really do, if we were not running a thousand places with the kids and trying ...

Today, it's time for the Bachelors to reveal some interesting details about their lives. With us today, we have Ryan Milan and Matt Slavin from GOOD INTENTIONS. Again, please go easy on them, since it is their first official interviews. Celebrity you've been told you look like: Ryan: I've been told that I look like a taller, older version of Taylor Lautner. Matt: Gee, hard to compete with that one. I'm proud to say that a girl in a bar on Lansdowne Street once told me I looked like J.D. Drew from the World Champion Boston Red Sox. Naughty food you like to indulge in: Ryan: I eat whatever food is in front of me. I have a naturally high metabolism, so I don't think about it too much. Matt: Pizza, wings, beer. Oh, and I usually eat one (or two) Egg McMuffins when I am bringing them to Maggie to cure her hangover. What you wear to bed: Ryan: Classy pajama bottoms from Brooks Brothers. You'd never catch me in ugly pajamas. Matt: Red...

So, while I love to read romance, I really had no idea how to write it. My favorite part is the witty banter and the palpable tension that my favorite authors create with their words. I wanted so much to be able to create that in my own works. I hope I was able. For those of you who haven't read it, here is a romantic scene, at the end of the first date between Maggie and Ryan from GOOD INTENTIONS: The conversation was easy and fun.  I laughed a lot, and I was pretty sure he was enjoying himself too.  Before I knew it, the bartender was announcing last call, yelling out, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!”  In disbelief, I looked at my watch.  1:45 a.m.  I wasn’t even tired.  Wow.  Ryan stood up to leave.  He really was stunning looking in his dark slacks and cream shirt that showed off his olive complexion.  I sighed and stood up.  “You okay?” he asked, concerned.  I forced a smile and lied, “Just tired...

Today, we will be having a Q & A session with Maggie Miller, the main character in GOOD INTENTIONS. Please be gentle on her ... this is her first interview. 1) What three qualities do you find most attractive in a partner? Maggie: If you had asked me this when I was right out of college, I would have immediately replied, "Tall, dark, and handsome." Since my college days, I've grown a bit, and while a handsome face is a bonus, I'd rather have a man who will stand by me no matter what, who will not judge my past mistakes, and who has a sense of humor to match my own. 2) What’s your idea of romance? Maggie: Being with someone who will take the kids so I can go get my hair cut. But I do love the idea of the Lifetime Movie story book ending where the hunky man comes in and sweeps me off my feet. 3) Who's your favorite on-screen couple (Film or TV)? Maggie: Rhett and Scarlett 4) What's been your most embarrassing moment in regards to t...

After publishing GOOD INTENTIONS early last summer, I stumbled across a group on Facebook called Chick Lit Chat. This is a group of (mostly) women who are authors of chick lit and women's fiction. Some are self-published, as I am, and some have publishers. Some are newbies, like myself, while others are quite prolific. Some are American, while some are British and there are even a few Aussies in there as well. And they are all awesome. Not only do these ladies write good books (and the ones I've read so far have been highly entertaining), but they are kind and helpful and just all around awesome. I've learned so much from the group and never fail to smile after our Thursday night Twitter chats. Of course, the first rule of Chick Lit Chat is that you don't talk about Chick Lit Chat. But we're coming out of our closed group for the week to do a series of blog posts on our Chick Lit novels. Since HOLD HER DOWN is not yet out, I will be blogging about Maggie in GO...

As I've mentioned before, I am the memory keeper in the family. At least for my mom's side. Even from the time I was a young child, I spent hours looking at the stacks of photo albums at my grandmother's house. I know all the pictures and all the stories. I am probably about 4 years old. This is at my grandmother's house.  Sometimes, I am not sure if I remember the event because of the event, or because of the picture. In my family, partly because technology was poor and partly because we're bad with pictures, we have a lot of bad pictures. This has become strikingly evident as I am compiling a life story in pictures (which is the third one I've done in the past two and a half years, which makes me very, very sad). My grandmother tried to take pictures. My dad took some, When pressed into service, my mom would even take a few. My aunt sent the doubles to my grandmother so she could see what was going on in their lives in New Jersey. And the majority of...