I’m Karen, a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ’80s music and way too many readings of “Forever” by Judy Blume. I spent my twenties working my way from intern to executive in the music industry. Somewhere in there, I married my real life Jake Ryan, had two amazing kids, and started getting up before dawn to write romance. With sparks.
It’s September, which means the end of summer (sad trombone), back-to-school (happy mom trombone), and for me, it means a brand new book in the world! That’s right. A Bet with Benefits is out! This is Book 3 in the Eden Empire series. If you’re just now getting caught up, Book 1 was A Christmas Temptation, and Book 2, A Cinderella Seduction. This series is about the Eden sisters, heiresses to a massive fortune, including Eden’s Department Store in NYC. These books have it all…drama (oh, the drama), intrigue, sexy times, and romance, all set against a very glamorous backdrop! I have to say that A Bet with Benefits might be my favorite of the three. (Shhh…don’t tell the others.) Mindy and Sam, my heroine and hero, were a difficult and uncooperative pair. Sam makes many appearances in the first two books and they’re not always good. It was fun to redeem him. As for Mindy, I relished the chance to show readers that she isn’t really a bitch, she just knows what she wants. She has a very tender side to her, as well. And honestly, she’s the glue that’s holding the Eden family together.
As for the final book in the series, A Christmas Rendezvous, I can’t really tell you who the heroine is since that will spoil one of the secrets in A Bet with Benefits. (Although you can probably maybe figure it out from the blurb…) All I can tell you is that it’s a wild ride and will wrap up the Eden family in a bright red Christmas bow! That one comes out November 1 and is available to preorder now. I hope you enjoy it as much as the first three books. This series has been a blast to write!