B.J. Bentley's Blog
November 12, 2021
Verve Romance Article
I wrote a short article for Verve Romance (formerly Book + Main Bites) that went live today!
Reading romance is the best self-care...
https://ververomance.com/app/article/...
December 15, 2018
Taking Shelter ARC Giveaway!
Taking Shelter, book 2 in the Medicine Wheel series, is coming on January 8th!
Here's your chance to win an ARC!
Make sure you've added Taking Shelter to your TBR, and comment on this post when you're done! Easy peasy!
I'll select one random winner to receive an eARC! (eARCS will be distributed on January 1st.)
Just click this link to add!
Taking Shelter
April 16, 2018
ARC Sign-Up is Open!
https://goo.gl/forms/FIIvW1DILM9PNTY13
Once you've completed the form, make sure you hop on Facebook and request to join my ARC group: BJ's ARC Angels. This is my primary means of communication with the team, so if you aren't in the group, you're going to miss all the updates, and you will NOT receive an ARC.
*Sleight of Hand is the upcoming book in my Syndicate series. The books in this series are interconnected standalones, so it isn't necessary to have read Finders Keepers first. It is, of course, encouraged. ;)
April 13, 2018
Charlotte Benson is My Spirit Animal
Any time an author publishes a new book, we never really know how it's going to be received. Will readers love it? Will they hate it? Will they rate it as just 'okay?' Will it be split down the middle?
Regardless of the genre or sub-genre, no book, or any work of art for that matter, is going to appeal to everybody. If it's not your cup of tea, it's just not your cup of tea. And that's okay. I can't even tell you how many times I've picked up a book or series that was highly recommended to me only to wind up feeling disappointed. That's not to say that they were bad books, it's just to say that they didn't possess those elements that I love in a story. My preferences.
I love getting feedback from my readers. Obviously, I prefer the positive feedback, but constructive criticism has its value, too. I may not implement each and every piece of advice given to me because at the end of the day I owe it to the characters to tell their story the way they want it told. But that doesn't mean that I don't seriously consider making adjustments or doing something differently the next go 'round.
But the point I want to make here isn't about receiving and responding to criticism. And it isn't really about receiving praise either. It's about when something you write resonates with someone. I've had a couple people tell me that they didn't necessarily agree with the way I wrote Charlotte in Finders Keepers, and they each had their own reasons. They weren't being negative or harshly critical, it was just the way they perceived her, and that was due in part to the way I wrote her and the way I intended her to be perceived. There have also been a few who voiced the opinion that certain scenes didn't need to be included because they didn't feel that they added anything to the story. (I respectfully disagree. Those scenes were written for a specific reason.)
But then... Then today I had someone tell me that they loved Charlotte. Someone who has experienced similar trauma saw something in Charlotte that resonated with them, despite the fact that those particular scenes were difficult for her to read through. And that right there told me that I had done something right. So, while I can absolutely understand why some might think that a character would've/could've/should've behaved in a certain way, or that the story could have progressed differently, there are others who think the opposite. And that doesn't just apply to this specific example; this applies across the extremely wide board of the fiction world.
I certainly don't begrudge anyone their opinions or their preferences. To each their own! But it's really nice to know that something I've written has made a positive impact on someone. Even if it's only that one person.
THANK YOU to all the readers who have provided me with feedback. Please know that I DO take your suggestions, comments, and critiques seriously as well as with a grain of salt when I have to. ;) Finders Keepers
April 4, 2018
NEW RELEASE - Finders Keepers
It's here!
Finders Keepers is now available at Amazon and FREE with Kindle Unlimited! This is a dark romance with trigger warnings for graphic violence and non-consensual situations. Please read at your own risk!
http://bit.ly/JensenCharlotte
Finders Keepers
February 21, 2018
Writing Process
It's funny being an intuitive and a Virgo. The intuitive in me is very feelings-based. Go with the flow. Be open to ideas. Think outside the box. Be a feeler rather than a thinker. But the Virgo aspect of my personality is very logical and rational. I guess you could say I'm well balanced. ;) Both sides influence my writing style.
When I wrote my first novella, it poured out of me. I was just the channel for the story, and not one lick of my own thought process was involved. When I sat down to write my second novella, I approached it as though the story was on a timeline. The beginning is point A, which leads to point B, which then leads to point C, and so on. Because that's where my brain wanted it to go. Very linear.
Now, I'm learning to start with whatever scene or scenario comes to me and then spread the story outward. From that scene, how did we get here (work my way back to the beginning) and where do we go from here (work my way toward a resolution.) So, now, I'm letting the story flow in whatever organic way that needs to happen, rather than trying to force events to happen in a pre-determined order. Sometimes my right brain needs to remind my left brain that writing is a creative process, not a scientific one. It definitely has been, and continues to be, a learning process for me. I'm still having fun with it, though, and that's all that matters.
February 14, 2018
Late Night Ideas
Writer's block is the worst during the day. At night, when I'm lying in bed, and all my defenses are down, that's when inspiration strikes and the ideas start flowing like water. Then I have to scramble to write them all down before I forget. So, aside from the last two books in my Intuitive series, here's what I'm tentatively planning.
1. I've started writing the first in a series about former military heroes and their lady loves, set in coastal North Carolina. The first story centers around Breck, a former Army Ranger struggling with PTSD and Amelia, a family doctor trying to escape an abusive relationship. I plan for 3 books, and while the other two have basic premises, they are not plotted out yet.
2. I've also started plotting a dark/erotica series based on 3 wealthy heroes (who may or may not be on the up and up) and their lady loves who all happen to be criminals: an antiquities thief, a pickpocket, and a con artist.
3. Lastly, I'm tinkering with the idea of an MC series. I have vague ideas for characters and plots, but nothing fleshed out yet.
And, who knows? Maybe I'll throw in a surprise standalone or short story while I'm at it.
February 2, 2018
Keep Me - a short
Standing so close, he could feel her sweat on his skin. He knew there was a chance he'd never feel this alive again. This burn. This fire. She fed his soul with her sharp wit and her passion for all of life's pleasures. He wasn't going to let her get away. He decided, right then and there, that she would forever be his. Not his to control, for she was uncontrollable. But his to possess, for he could not survive without her.
"I have you," he said. "You're mine." And in saying those words, he suddenly realized that he was hers as well. The stamp she put on his soul was her name in big, bold letters. He might possess her, but she owned him. His body, his mind, and his heart were hers now. There was no going back.
As his hands glided over her satiny skin, he felt as though he'd come home. For she was his balm as well as his spark. Her shallow breaths pushed her breasts into his chest as his grip tightened on the curve of her hip. Contemplating the passion they just shared, he knew he'd never get enough. A hundred lifetimes with her would never satisfy this aching need.
"Keep me," was the only thing she said, because while he was deciding that he'd never let her go, she was deciding that she never wanted to be set free.
