H.C. Bentley's Blog, page 5

Giving Back in 2023

Thanks to my readers, 2022 has been my best year in publishing so far. For me, this isn't a brag, but a marvel. I still can't believe I get paid to create fictional people and places. And while I'm not getting rich by any means, I feel like I'm on the right track to start giving back through my publishing.

I've been giving a lot of thought to how I would like to go about this and I've narrowed it down to

two causes I would like to support.

The first is the scholarship fund set up in my dad's name. For those who don't know, my dad worked at our local technical school where students learned vocational skills such as welding, CAD, etc. He believed that there should be just as much emphasis put on trade schools as there is on colleges. In his memory, my family set up a fund to help send tech school students on to trade schools. Our first recipient, awarded at the end of the last school year, went on to a well-known welding school, thanks in part to the scholarship he received.

I'll be working on setting up goals, dates, etc for future fundraising efforts through HCB. But, in the meantime, if you'd like to donate directly, here's how you can do so. You can also follow The Frank Carden Memorial Scholarship Facebook page for updates and awardees.

Through snail-mail:

UCB

PO BOX 27

Dixon, KY 42409

Please make check payable to-

Frank Carden Memorial Scholarship

Through Paypal: Paypal.com/paypalme/fcscholar

The second cause is helping to combat food insecurity in my community. As someone who has gone through food insecurity in the past, I can tell you that it's hard and it's demoralizing. There is not much that's worse emotionally than trying your hardest to provide for your family and realizing it's still not enough. And according to Feed America, 29% of those experiencing food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs. This means they make too much money to qualify for assistance, but not enough to adequately feed their families.

We have a food bank in our county for those in need, which is great, but they can only do so much. Plus, there are those in my town who don't have regular access to transportation to get to the food bank, which is in another town. I would love to do something here in my town, even if it's just a free pantry, for those who need it. This idea is still in its infancy, but once I get it lined out, I'll be taking a portion of my sales each month to get it up and running, as well as helping to stock it. When that time comes, I'll also set up a way to accept monetary donations to help get (and hopefully keep) this running.

The idea of even doing either of these things wouldn't be possible without my readers. So, thank you in advance to anyone who's ever bought a book or spread the word about my work. I look forward to writing more for you in the future and, hopefully, taking your support and paying it forward.

Paperbacks are now available!

It's official: my backlist is now available in paperback! I'm so excited to finally have this process completed and available for my readers. To say I squealed like a kid at Christmas when I opened the boxes of proofs is an understatement. Ha!

For my American readers, you can get unsigned copies from Amazon or, if you want something a little extra special, you can order signed copies directly from me through the shop on my website. :)

For my international readers, you can order directly from Amazon. However, the cost of shipping books (or much of anything, really) internationally is just too high. I'm so sorry! But, I'll soon be making signed bookplates available for those that want them for their paperback copies of my titles.

Happy reading!

Important Announcement

I've been going back and forth about a decision regarding Mississippi Heat. Mainly because I'm struggling with not only the words but the time and the creative mentality to write those words to the best of my ability.

That being said, I've made the decision to delay the release of this book until a later date.

When I set out to write this book, quite some time ago, I had no idea how much my life was going to change during the time I'd be trying to write it. The end of July and most of August were challenging, due to the first anniversary of losing my father. Not only was it his passing, but his birthday was in August (just after he passed, in fact), as is the wedding anniversary of my parents. There was a lot to deal with and I'm not ashamed to say I've struggled a lot in my dealing with this event in my life. Some days are better than others and other days I struggle to make it out of bed.

Add this to working full-time, going back to school for certification for said job, the admin/business side of the writer deal, plus everyday home life things, and I hit the edge of burnout. My brain had to let something go and, unfortunately, it's been the writing. The words just aren't coming to me, despite my desperate wish to be able to write them.

I want to make sure I'm giving you all the best story I possibly can. In order to do that, I feel I need to delay the release of this book. This post is not to say that Mississippi Heat will no longer be written. I absolutely still plan on going forward with this story. It just won't be released this October as I had planned. I haven't set a new release date yet and probably won't until I know I'm much closer to finishing the manuscript. As soon as I have a new date to share, you'll be the first to know.

Thanks for being patient with me,

Backing the Bluegrass Charity Anthology

Recently, I was asked to do a piece for Backing the Bluegrass: A Charity Anthology. As a Kentucky author, I'm thrilled to be included and help out my fellow Kentuckians. So much so, that I was actually early in getting my piece submitted!

My story takes place after the wedding scene at the end of Stay With Me. Charlotte, Abigail, and Amy- along with the rest of the Kincaid sisters-go on a little road trip. And one of them spills some pretty exciting news!

Check out the info below on how you can support the anthology and help the flooding victims of Eastern Kentucky.

✨Backing the Bluegrass is now available for preorder!

Recently, I was asked to do a piece for Backing the Bluegrass: A Charity Anthology. As a Kentucky author, I'm thrilled to be included and help out my fellow Kentuckians. So much so, that I was actually early in g! as the state, but we know as authors we can help, too. Join over thirty authors in a charity anthology to help the victims recover. Many of them hgave lost everything they own, and it will be difficult getting their lives back again.

✨ Backing the Bluegrass features a collection of extended scenes/short stories from over thirty authors with the characters you love. As a reader, you may notice that this is a Payhip preorder, and you may not be familiar with them. No problem! See below for answers to your questions.

✨ What is a Payhip preorder? It's the same as any other vendor (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Google Play), with one exception. The money comes out WHEN you preorder.

✨ When will my book be delivered? Books will be live August 31st at 8AM CST (US TIME)

✨ How will my book be delivered? Through Bookfunnel. If you've never used Bookfunnel, it's super easy. You can read through their app, on your computer, or on any device you so choose.

✨ What happens if I have issues with downloading the book? In your email from Bookfunnel, there is FAQ link, as well as a support link from Bookfunnel themselves. They will handle all support - all you have to do is reach out to them. There will be very clear instructions in the email.

✨ Why are you doing it this way? Why not use a vendor? We're doing this to get the money in the hands of the people who need it ASAP. Vendors keep authors money for 30-60 days, and the need for Kentucky is immediate.

Thank you so much for your support! Preorder here ➡️ https://payhip.com/b/Ogt1Q

Mississippi Heat excerpt

Nothing like a mean girl to make a bad situation worse...

Lacey & Jo are trying to figure out what happened to their friend and Ashley just can't seem to help herself. The way I see it, she gets what's coming to her. *shrug*

Mississippi Heat is coming right along (even if this is part of a really rough draft)! If you're interested in being a beta and/or ARC reader when the time comes, let me know!

Mississippi Heat - Releasing October 2022. For more info or to add it to your Goodreads, click here.

“Well, we were just walking by and couldn’t help but overhear your conversation about your little friend.” Ashley’s voice dripped sugar. “It’s such a sad thing, her taking off that way.”

“She didn’t take off.” This time it was Lacey, speaking through gritted teeth. “She wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t she?” Studying her nails, Ashley shook back her hair. “I know I would, if I were her.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rage burning in her chest Lacey stood, her voice rising.

“She flirted with every guy here. Didn’t she, girls?” Ashley looked at each of her friends, got their smiling nods of agreement. “Claire probably just took off with one of them for a little… fun time.”

“You need to shut your mouth and walk away.”

“Why? What are you going to do if I don’t?”

“Well, let’s just say that little nose job you got last summer is going to need some upgrades.”

Gasping, Ashley’s hand shot to her nose as the jaws of each of the girls beside her dropped.

“I did not have a nose job,” she hissed from behind her hand. “And you wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Now Lacey rounded the table to stand toe to toe with the other girl, not caring about the people who were watching to see what happened next. “Keep talking shit about my friend, someone who could be in serious danger or worse, and see if I don’t.” Hot tears welled up in Lacey’s eyes as she glared at Ashley. “You wouldn’t be saying any of this if it was one of your friends.” Lacey gestured to the other two girls. “Or your sister or someone you loved. So, how about instead of being the heartless bitch you usually are, you try for a little common decency, since it’s the best we can hope for?”

The sound from the slap that cracked across Lacey’s cheek was quickly smothered by the collective gasp from onlookers. Lacey heard Jo’s outraged “what the fuck?” just before her friend’s chair scraped back from the table. But before Jo had the chance to come to her best friend’s aid, Lacey reacted by baling up her fist, swinging back, and decking the pert blonde with everything she had.

Living in Farmville

We're in the middle of summer here in Kentucky, which means we're also in the middle of growing season. For the last couple of months, farmers have been in various stages of field prep, planting, etc. Usually, for us non-farmers, it means maybe getting stuck in traffic behind a tractor or seeing the tractors in the fields kicking up dust. Every so often, we'll see farmers burning off their fields.

Now, normally this isn't a huge deal. A little smoke, a little flame, and the job's done. But on this particular day last month, The Hubs and I were leaving the house and see what can only be described as a mushroom cloud. We're thinking something has exploded (with oil wells and grain silos scattered throughout the area, it's happened). Come to find out, a farmer in the next town over was burning off his field and it got a little out of control.

The Hubs wanted to drive down to where the fire was, to see if help was needed, and y'all... it was crazy. The fire was approaching not only someone's house, but it made its way to the road. In the time it took him to turn the car around and head away from the fire, the flames were close enough we could feel the heat from them inside the Jeep. That was about the time I said it was time to nope right out of there.

We continued on to our original destination, which was in the next county over. Y'all, the smoke from this fire could be seen almost 30 miles away! And when we got home, two hours later, the smell of the smoke had reached our house. It was several hours before the air cleared and the smell dissipated.

This was definitely the craziest field burn I have ever seen. I truly thought it was going to turn into a wildfire devastation. Luckily, that ended up not being the case.

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Mississippi Heat Excerpt

Now that I'm actually getting words down again (hallelujah!), I went back and finished the prologue for Mississippi Heat! I tend to bounce around instead of writing chronologically, so while I worked on other parts, the prologue sat half-finished. Oops! Obviously, this is the rough draft, but I wanted to give you guys a little taste of what's to come!

Mississippi Heat - Releasing October 2022. For more info or to add it to your Goodreads, click here.

Prologue

In a clearing nestled in the woods in rural Mississippi, the ominous sound of a shovel scraping dirt filled the air.

"They don't learn." The man, sweating and covered in dust, grunted as he jabbed the spade back into the earth. "I try to teach them, to prepare them, and they just don't learn." Gripping the wooden handle, he sent dirt flying as he swung the shovel to the side. “Every time it’s the same. Whine, cry, beg, plead. But still don’t learn a damn thing.”

He climbed out of the hole, one not very deep despite his efforts, and, with all of his anger behind the motion, stabbed the shovel into the ground so it stood on its own. Bracing his hands on his hips, he stood and took in his surroundings while he caught his breath. Noticing the rapid rate the sun was sinking beyond the horizon, he looked at the body laying on a dry patch of grass.

She was young, maybe sixteen, and pretty. Or, at least, she had been. Three days of captivity had her dishwater blonde hair, still in its haphazard ponytail, matted with dirt and sweat. Her skin held a fine coat of dust, from the top of her head to the tips of her bare toes. The clothes she wore, a t-shirt and running shorts, were no longer pristine. Her face, once made-up and fresh, showed signs of her distress and fear in the tear tracks through the dirt on her cheeks. Her mouth still held the strip of fabric between her teeth, the gag still knotted below her ponytail. Lengths of rope still bound her wrists and ankles. And the jagged purple and red line, stretching from ear to ear along her throat, stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin.

The line she’d earned when she’d proven there was no further point in trying to teach her, forcing him to end it all.

Now she just lay-bound, still, and blank eyes staring-her body waiting for him to finish his plans for her.

“Things could’ve been different if you had just listened.” He shook his head with a sigh, leaned down, and grabbed her by her ankles. Her cooling skin didn’t phase him as he dragged her to the hole and rolled her into it. “But you’re just like the rest.”

He made quick work of filling the hole, carelessly leaving the poor girl in an unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere. After all, she’d failed him, leaving him with nothing but a quick and fleeting sense of disappointment. Once he’d finished his task, he returned the shovel to the ramshackle shed and checked his watch.

“Just in time,” he murmured with satisfaction before catching sight of his hands.

The wide-palmed hands were dirty, covered in sweat and dirt. Their long fingers were tipped in neatly rounded nails, each now caked with dirt underneath them. Earth had also settled into the lines of his knuckles, between his fingers.

The sight of it disgusted him. He considered himself a fastidious man, one who needed to be clean at all times.

His father had been a farmer and had often come home after a day of work covered in dirt and smelling of sweat and livestock. The older man had often joked that it was the smell of hard work and dedication.

The son just thought it was disgusting and beneath him. And from that young age, the son had vowed never to work in a job that had him coming home filthy and stinking.

Deciding he needed to be clean again, especially before going home, he snatched up the jug of water he kept tucked into the corner of the shed. He set it at his feet as he pulled a short pocketknife from his trousers, using it to clean out from under his nails. Then, carefully so as not to splash water on his clothes, he ran water over each of his hands, rubbed them together to loosen the grime before rinsing them again. He watched the water droplets fly as he shook his hands dry before placing the jug back in the shed. As he was reaching for the door, he looked down and noticed the dirt smudging his pants legs.

“Damn it.” Stepping back, he searched the small space for anything resembling a clean rag. Spotting one, he made quick work of dusting as much of the dirt from his pants as possible before finally closing up the shed and heading back to his house.

It was a bit of a hike, but then again, he couldn’t have his family finding out about what he considered his mission. The duty he felt he needed to undertake.

After all, it was none of their business.

His wife would never question him about where he’d been or what he’d been doing. After nearly ten years of marriage, she knew better. She’d become the quiet, subservient wife she should be and deferred to her husband in all matters. Just as he preferred it. But lately, he was finding her boring. Even borderline annoying. Constantly going on about things with the church or at work, rattling on about all the tedious things having to do with the kids. Doctor’s appointments, grades, play dates, parent-teacher conferences. She could, and sometimes seemed to, go on for days about those boys.

His sons-and thank God they’d had boys-would just watch him in wide-eyed silence when he got home. While he appreciated this (children should be seen and not heard, after all), he was starting to find them soft and weak. Probably due to spending much of their time in the company of their mother. She doted on them, allowed them to do things that caused their brains and bodies to become less than what they should be. Instead of putting them into sports, she encouraged things like art and books. And while he approved of educating them, he felt the boys needed to do the things that boys do. Tackling on the football field or battling it on the basketball court. At the ages of six and eight, they should be well on their way to becoming top athletes.

He knew he'd have to take things in hand, toughen those young male bodies up to be strong men. Otherwise, they were going to grow up to be pathetic, inadequate adults.

He reached the treeline, saw his house off in the distance. The lights were glowing in the kitchen where he knew his wife would be at work cooking dinner at the stove so it would be ready, or nearly so, when he got there. The boys would be sitting at the kitchen table, their owlish eyes darting from the homework they were completing to the door as he crossed the threshold. None of them would say a word until they gauged his mood and, even then, they were more than likely to say nothing.

As he walked, he planned his evening. A quick shower to wash off the sweat and dirt from the latest phase of his mission, followed by the cursory dinner with his family. After all, it was important to spend time with them even when their company annoyed him. Once the meal was over, he’d leave the cleanup to his wife as, to his mind, it was her job. As was the routine of getting the children bathed and ready for bed. While she did what she was supposed to, he’d retire to his study to finish some work before deciding on his next target and planning the next phase.

After all, the mission was never done. And wouldn’t be, until they all learned what he was trying to teach them. No matter how long it took.

She's trying to make me the crazy cat lady.

Yes, you read the subject line right. My neighbor is set on making me the crazy cat lady. Here's why...

I have two cats, Lucy and Bandit (in a rare photo of them together below). They were both adoptions/rescues and are strictly indoor felines (feel free to read that as spoiled). However, my neighbor has a slew of outdoor cats. The last count was eight adults, and at least three of them have had babies. One of these baby mamas has decided we're her people. If we take them back, she returns them. If the other neighbor gathers them up and settles them in a safe place, mama brings her kittens back to our door. Literally. All five of them. Right there by the door.

Don't get me wrong, they're SUPER cute and cuddly. But it makes getting out the door in the mornings a challenge, as we try not to step on them. And pulling into the driveway difficult at times, as mama likes to lay in the middle of it to feed them. And she has this 'come at me, bro' look until the very last moment as the car approaches.

But, seriously, are these babies not the cutest?!? You want to adopt one, right? RIGHT? lol

In book news, today's the cover reveal for Mississippi Heat! :D I'm pretty excited about this book and I can't wait to start sharing excerpts and teasers with you!

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Cover Reveal for Mississippi Heat!

Teenage girls are disappearing around Tatesville, Mississippi. Among them is Lacey Fuller. But unlike her friends, Claire and Jo, Lacey managed to escape.​Lacey left for college not long after her ordeal, leaving behind her family and friends. And Brooks, Jo's older brother. When Lacey comes home after a decade away, she and Brooks decide to act on their years-long mutual crush. And to team up against a killer when he starts hunting again.​Mississippi Heat, a small-town romantic suspense, coming October 2022.

Coming Soon!

Still the One is in line with the editor and should be ready for you by the next edition of this newsletter! This will be a freebie that will only be available to my subscribers, so stay tuned for the release announcement!

Want to get the full newsletter (as well things just for subscribers like excerpts and bonus content)? Be sure to sign up here .

Small Town Hearts Box Set

Surprise! I now have a box set together for my Small Town Hearts series! *happy dance*

You can find the links for the select retailers here: http://www.hcbentleybooks.com/small-town-hearts

Still the One

Get ready to catch up with the characters of my Small Town Hearts series! Find out what's happening with Lynn, Kari, Beth, and all of their men in Still The One. This freebie will be available exclusively via my website June 2022!