SONG OF THE WEEK: “All the Time” by The Strokes

One thing us writers who are involved in writing groups do a lot is judge contests. About one out of every ten or so entries you judge grabs hold of you, and you are totally bummed at the end of the twenty or so pages you are given because you can’t read further! Kerri Carpenter’s The Best Kind of Love was that entry for me.

I reached out to Kerri to rave to her about her pages, and now, finally, her book has been released! Love it when that happens!

Please welcome Kerri Carpenter to the blog today!

Penelope Walker has returned to her hometown of Blue Lake, Virginia after her parents’ untimely deaths, and she’s shocked to find her high school boyfriend, Ethan Callahan, waiting for her. Ethan makes it clear he wants her back but she can’t forget that he left her brokenhearted when he didn’t show up for their secret elopement twelve years ago. Determined to unravel the mystery of their shared pasts, Penelope’s on a mission. A mission Ethan knows will devastate her when she learns what her parents asked him to do all those years ago. Can they learn to forgive and forget in order to remember that they had the best kind of love?

Tell us a little about yourself — who you are and what you write.

Hi everyone and thanks for having me here today, Melissa! My name is Kerri and I live in Northern Virginia with my adorable and amazing rescued poodle mix, Harry. (Yes, Harry and Kerri!) I’m originally from a small town outside of Pittsburgh and that may be why I love to write small town contemporary romance. When I’m not writing or working at my day job, I love to take Zumba classes and cook. And I adore anything that sparkles. *glitter toss*

The Best Kind of Love takes place in Blue Lake, Virginia. Is that an actual place?

Nope, Blue Lake is firmly located inside my head. Even though on the page it’s set in Virginia, it’s actually a bit of a nod to my hometown of Monessen, PA.

Does your dog, Harry, write with or near you?

Harry is very supportive of my writing. In fact, he likes to sleep in his bed right under my desk while I’m typing away. He also enjoys stealing my pens when I write long-hand (which I do from time-to-time to shake it up).

Is The Best Kind of Love a standalone novel, or can we expect a sequel?

I would love for there to be a sequel. The Best Kind of Love is not only the love story between Penelope and Ethan but also the story of four sisters reuniting in their hometown. So there is a possibility of three more stories. Fingers crossed.

Plotter or pantser?

Definite pantser, which makes zero sense! In every other aspect of my life I’m a total plotter, much like Penelope, the heroine of my story. I love color-coding, making lists, and being organized. But I sit down to write and I just let it all go. Even when I try to plot out a story, it just doesn’t work.

Who are some of your favorite authors, and what are you currently reading?

I love so many great authors – Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis, Jane Porter, Kristan Higgins, Carly Phillips, Addison Fox who I just started reading, and the list goes on. I’m currently reading another fav, Susan Mallery’s “A Fool’s Gold Christmas.” During December I read all Christmas stories all month long. (Along with watching the Hallmark channel nonstop.)

What’s your current work in progress?

I am working on a follow-up to my novella “Flirting with the Competition,” that was released in October. Two new characters, lots of sexual energy, plus they get locked together in a bar. Sound good

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about The Best Kind of Love?

The Best Kind of Love has been a total labor of love. It took me only two months to write the first draft but then I revised it somewhere around one million times. It was given bad contest scores, mediocre contest scores, a couple of really good contest scores, rewritten, rejected by dozens of agents and editors, rewritten yet again, accepted by a top editor at a huge publishing house who then left that house before I could sign a contract, and did I mention rewritten? During the writing and revisions and contests and rejections of this book, I lost five family members, found out my dad had cancer, bought my first condo, and adopted my dog. And finally, when I decided to put it away for a little bit, I got “the call.” Throughout it all, I always loved Penelope, Ethan, and Blue Lake, and no matter what, I kept going back to them. So don’t ever give up when you have a dream. Keep going, push through it, and work hard. Trust me, it’s worth it!

The Best Kind of Love is available on Amazon.

Kerri Carpenter began writing in her grandmother’s kitchen at the age of seven in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, PA. A life-long fan of reading, she got lost in the worlds of The Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. She also assumed that everyone had characters and plots forming in their heads at all times.

Once she turned to romance novels, she couldn’t get enough of books with happy endings, so she started writing her own. Now, Kerri writes contemporary romances, usually set in small towns. She enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, taking Zumba classes, rooting for Pittsburgh sports teams, and anything sparkly. Kerri lives in Northern Virginia with her adorable (and mischievous) poodle mix, Harry.

Follow Kerri on Facebook, Twitter, or visit her website.