Meet B. L. Harris – On The Brink

On the BrinkAn outlaw on a Harley saves a hotter-than-hell blonde during a health crisis. Now he must save her from a stalker bent on revenge.
Dog, a sexy outlaw on a Harley, bare-knuckle brawls to earn money for his club and to unleash his emotions over the brutal death of his mother at his father’s hands. Convinced his father’s monster lives within him, he’ll do whatever it takes to remain detached from the women he takes to his bed.
Charley, a stressed-out tax CPA with a love for sexy lingerie, longs for more than numbers in her life, yet works day and night to fulfill a deathbed promise to her father. She’ll keep his accounting firm open, even if it kills her. And it very well might.
Their lives collide just outside Asheville when Charley collapses in Dog’s arms. A life-threatening illness puts Charley’s career on hold and raises Dog’s latent protective instincts, allowing their relationship to blossom. But Dog’s next opponent, who viciously raped a woman now under Dog’s protection, takes Charley hostage. Dog races to the rescue, desperate to save a love he’s only just embraced.

* You are going to be new to many of my readers. Tell us about yourself. I’m a native of North Carolina and live here now, but I left for about nine years to work for the Department of Defense as an Intelligence Analyst in Maryland. I met my husband who was retiring from the Air Force and convinced him NC was a great place to raise a family, and we’ve been here over 25 years. We have one son who just graduated college (during Covid so no ceremony for him). I’m not much of a hobby person, but I love to read and had an active social life pre-Covid. I hope to get that back soon.

* Tell us about the book that’s just come out. ON THE BRINK is a motorcycle club romance. For those unfamiliar, it means that one of the main characters is in a motorcycle club which is a world all it’s own. It has it’s own rules and traditions which make it fascinating to me. I fell in love with the genre before watching Sons of Anarchy which spawned it. Now everyone I know sends me pictures of bikers when they see them on the road. I’ve even talked with a few myself just to get a feel for the life. ON THE BRINK is an opposites attract trope. The female lead is an tax accountant with a secret love of motorcycles. When her health crisis brings them together, the attraction is almost instant.

* What started you on your love of writing? I used to do so much home improvement. I guess that was my hobby once upon a time. I taught myself how to tile, finish furniture, faux paint, carpentry, you name it. I was an HGTV and DIY Network graduate. Then one day I was in between projects and bored. Two characters popped into my mind and wouldn’t let me go. I mean really hung on for dear life. So instead of going back to my projects, I decided to try to write. My first draft was abysmal. But I read craft books and practiced, and finally after years in my personal cave, joined a writing group and got real feedback. Invaluable feedback that helped me grow as a writer. That story is still in digital form on my computer but may see the light of day soon.

* Do you write in more than one genre – tell us a little about each one and the books you’re working on in each? As mentioned, I’ve written a motorcycle club romance that is part of a five book series and a novella in the Hearts of Carolina Anthology. But my first manuscript was a young adult fantasy with romantic overtones. It’s the one in digital form on my computer. I still love the story and haven’t given up on it. But I can’t work on both genres at the same time. They’re too different, so I have to choose.

* Have you attended any writing conference or classes? Tell us about some that and some that have been especially helpful. My first conference experiences were with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators-Carolinas, and I went to their conferences in Charlotte for four years. When I changed to romance, I joined Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers (HCRW). I’ve been to two RWA national conferences and three HRCW regional conferences. I’ve taken so many classes offered by RWA chapters that I’ve lost count and had some really great teachers. One who still stands out for me is Laurie Sanders. She teaches many classes for RWA chapters on different topics and they’re all outstanding.

* Are you a member of any writing groups? I had a critique group which met bi-weekly and I attended a weekly writing class when I was working on the young adult fantasy. With HCRW, I have Writer 2 Writer, a critique and support group that meets once a month and without which this debut novel would just be a digital file on my computer.

* How attached do you get to your characters? Do you know what happens after the book ends? I get very attached to my characters. My YA characters are like my children. The motorcycle club character in my debut was my book boyfriend the entire time I was writing. I finally had to give him up because I felt guilty about him two-timing the female main character ?.

The YA is part of a trilogy with the same two main characters, so I definitely know what happens to them. The romance has a happily ever after. The main characters will get married in the near future and have babies. At least two.

* Describe your ‘perfect’ writing day. I like to have about four hours to concentrate. I’m not one of those lucky people who can write a book in fifteen minute spurts. It takes me time to get back into the story and start writing. So a perfect writing day is one where I have minimal interruptions, which has become more rare since my husband retired.

* Could you tell us the one question you wish people would ask about your writing… and don’t forget the answer. I don’t know that I have a specific question I wish people would ask. I kept my writing quiet from many of my friends until my debut came out, so I’m getting lots of questions from them about how the book came to be. One of my friends asked when I started ON THE BRINK. I said 2018. She said “You can really keep a secret!” Well, I was an Intelligence Analyst after all ?.

Since B. L. Harris was a small child, she’s told herself stories at night to slow her brain and allow sleep to come. So, when, later in adulthood, she started hearing voices in her head, she was aware that some would direct her to a psychiatrist, but she knew it was merely a character who wanted to be expressed. Putting fingers to keyboard, she wrote her first novel. She’s been writing ever since.

B. L. Harris lives in her beloved North Carolina with a husband, son, and two cats who hate each other. Feeding time is very special, with swats and hissing to accompany the kibbles.

Check out Hearts of Carolina as well – Her story in the anthology is Mirror Image

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