Falling in Love was Not one of his Plans. Warrior Lover by Karilyn Bentley.

Today it’s my pleasure to Interview Karilyn Bentley, author of Warrior Lover. Before the interview let’s learn a little bit about this book...

As a Watcher, a guardian warrior of the Draconi, Enar has never fit in with his kind. When he sees Lily--the ideal Watcher's woman--he instantly claims her, believing she will bring him the acceptance he craves. Falling in love with her was not part of his plan. As her town's outcast, Lily wants nothing more than to escape. When Enar locks a necklace around her throat and declares she belongs to him, she jumps at the chance to leave. Her excitement soon becomes trepidation when Enar won't tell her what to expect in his world. But even her worry can't overcome her growing attraction to him. Soon Lily learns what life as a Watcher's claim entails, and refuses to submit. To keep Lily, Enar must turn his back on everything he thought he wanted. Will he choose his people? Or the other half of his soul?

GIVEAWAY! To celebrate her latest release, Karilyn will be giving away a PDF copy of WARRIOR LOVER to one lucky commenter.

Interview time!

SKY:   What inspired you to write this book? 

KARILYN:   It’s the second in the Draconia Tales trilogy. Enar and Lily are introduced in the first book, Magical Lover, and I couldn’t leave them without finishing their HEA. In the original version of ML, Enar stole every scene he walked into, which caused me to have to rewrite all his scenes. I finally decided the poor guy deserves his own story!  

SKY:   How did you come up with the title? 

KARILYN:   Enar is a Watcher, a race of warriors, so the title refers to him since this is predominately his story. But as Lily learns to tap into her inner strength and fight for what she wants, the title also describes her. 

SKY:   Tell us about your book cover and how it relates to your story. 

KARILYN:   I love the book cover! The cover model holding the sword represents Enar, since he carries a sword as his main weapon. The colors are great and I love the little dragons on the Draconia Tales banner. They represent the dragons prominent in the series. And did I mention the hot cover model? :-)

SKY:   Are you currently working on another story? If so, we'd love some details.

KARILYN:   Yes, I am! I’m working on Dragon Lover, the third book in the Draconia Tales series. This is Fafnir and Aryana’s story. They appear previously in the series and now get to have their own story. Fafnir is stuck in dragon form and wants to be turned back into a human. But will Aryana accept him when she realizes his true identity?

SKY:  Tell us about your favorite writing environment. Is it indoors, outdoors, a special room, etc.

KARILYN:    I primarily write in my office, which faces north and overlooks my street. It’s nothing fancy, but can make for some interesting neighbor watching. I’ve also been known to take the laptop and sit in bed writing. While I wouldn’t mind writing outside, the glare from the sun prevents me from seeing the computer screen. I haven’t figured out how to get around that! And I think I live in the allergy capital of the world, so extended stays outside at certain times of the year aren’t good for me. :-)

SKY:   How long have you been writing? How long have you been published? 

KARILYN:   I used to make up stories all the time as a child. My high school English teacher called one of my assignments too creative and said I should take creative writing. Once I got in college, I stopped writing (too busy with a biology degree) but ideas kept running around in my head. Back in 2001-2002 I worked in a cube, got tired of seeing three brown walls each day and wanted a job where I could work from home. That’s when I remembered all those stories hiding out in my mind. I’ve been writing ever since, but didn’t get published until 2009, when I placed in the Got Wolf contest at The Wild Rose Press. My novella won 4th place and started my writing career. I still work the day job, but I no longer have to look at brown, cloth, cube walls. 

SKY:   What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write in the future? 

KARILYN:   I prefer writing fantasy and paranormal because I love the woo-woo aspects of the world. I like creating my own little world to live in where with a wave of your hand you can wash the dishes or vacuum the floor or dust. A girl can dream, right? As of right now there isn’t another genre I’d like to write in. That could change since, according to my hubby, on occasion I do change my mind. :-)

SKY:  Do you prefer to write short stories, novellas or novels? Why? 

KARILYN:   Most of my stories end around 65 – 72K words. Not sure why this is. In some ways a novella is easier for me to write as far as the word count goes. It’s also harder to write since you can’t dive as deeply into the characters. But it really comes down to what the characters want. 

SKY:   Do you write books in series? If so, share a bit about the series you currently have published or are coming soon.  

KARILYN:   Yes, all of my books are in a series. The Draconia Tales are fantasy novels while the novellas feature werewolves. I do have another book that I’m currently writing in the Draconia Tales series, but although I love my werewolves, none of the secondary characters are clamoring for their story. Not sure if I will be writing anymore of those (see above for liable to change my mind! :-)). 

SKY:  Thanks so much for joining me today, Karilyn. This book sounds amazing! 

Purchase Warrior Lover at Amazon.

Visit Karilyn at her Website ~ Facebook and Plotting Princesses blog

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a PDF of Warrior Lover!