KATHRYN R. BIEL: AUTHOR

A while back, I wrote this blog post  about how things I've written about in my books have a strange way of coming to fruition.  So, today, I was returning home from a family outing. The hubs had met us out and was in the car behind us. Much of the time, when we have two cars, at least one of the kids decides to ride with Dad. Today, it wasn't discussed and they were both with me. We live on a main street and about 5 p.m. on a Friday, it's a pretty busy thoroughfare. I had stopped while waiting to make a left turn into my driveway. Next thing I know, I hear a loud crash, then feel an impact as we're hit from behind. Turns out, a Ford F150 had rear ended my husband, who then rear ended me. We pulled right over and assessed the damage. Now, keep in mind, we paid off my van two weeks ago. My husband's car is totalled. His passenger side airbag deployed, but the driver's side didn't. His rear bumper is barely on. His seat broke as his weight went backward...

When my friend Hilary Grossman told me she was updating the cover to her first book, Dangled Carat , my first thought was, "Well, that's too bad. I really like her book cover. I wish she wouldn't change it." Now, I'm eating my words because I LOVE this cover! Here it is, the all new and improved cover: Intrigued? Want to know more about it? Read on: For every girl who wondered if she should love him or dump him..... For every girl who listened to her heart instead of her friends advice.... For every girl who l wondered if she was wasting her time dating that guy.... meet Hilary....   She had gotten used to dating the commitment-phobic Marc, thirteen years her senior. They had a great relationship--why rush into things? She saw no need to pressure him for marriage, believing that when the time was right, he would propose. But after they had been together for four years, their friends decided to take matters into their own hands, pushing Mar...

It started probably close to thirty years ago. Somewhere, in our basement, in the rack of cassette tapes, there was a pirated copy of Queen's Greatest Hits. My eldest brother had recorded it from somewhere and penciled in the names of the songs in his block handwriting. Occasionally, we listened to this cassette and the songs became part of my childhood. Part of the MTV generation, I remember watching bits and pieces from Live Aid. I listened to my other brother's Iron Eagle soundtrack just to hear 'One Vision.' By 1991, I was a Queen fan. I owned the album, Innuendo , and played the shit out of it (the cassette tape, of course). My brother had given me the VHS of Queen Live at Wembley '86  for my birthday. I killed time in my sophomore English class by writing out all the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody. It was more entertaining than paying attention (sorry Mr. DiPrimio). Then, I remember with heartbreak, coming home from school one Monday in November to hear th...

In case you didn't know, I don't have a lot of patience. I want things to happen NOW. One of the benefits of being an indie author is that sometimes, I can make them happen NOW. Conversely, one of the drawbacks of being an indie author is that I have to make myself wait to make things happen. But today is not one of those days. For today, I shall unveil the cover to my third novel, I'm Still Here . Once again, Becky Monson has really outdone herself on this one. This cover was a group effort though. The ladies at ChickLitChatHQ weighed in endlessly on what makes a good cover. Heather McCoubrey   came through with this image. Interestingly, I had picked a different image from the same photo shoot, but this one was the one. Here's the blurb for I'm Still Here : It started out as an ordinary day for Esther Comely-Cox, if you consider simultaneously totaling your car, smashing a Ho Ho in your face and meeting a handsome doctor ordinary. Estranged from h...

I know, like young lovers parting at summer camp, I promised I would write. And I have been. Just not here. But trust me, I've been busy. Here's what I've been up to lately: Editing my third novel and working on the cover. Now, mind you, when I say "working on the cover" I mean looking at things that my cover designer sends and being a complete and total pain in the butt about it. My first round of edits have been completed. The book is with a second critiquer/editor. After that, it gets printed out and goes to my copy editor. Then, all the formatting begins. Which leads me to what else I've been doing. Formatting. I seriously spent FOUR HOURS last night re-formatting Good Intentions . You might ask why I spent that much time on a book that has been out for 13 months. Well, that is a complicated one. Actually, it is pretty simple. As much as I love the cover of Good Intentions , especially after my cover designer spruced it up in December, it really does n...