I’m happy to welcome back author Bentley Turner. Today, Bentley chats about his writing journey and shares his new release, The Prize Winners and Other Stories.

Q. Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

A. In The Prize Winners and Other Stories, there are a few characters in two or three stories that have been inspired by actual people. In other words, I pictured these individuals when I created the characters. However, their actions or thoughts were mine, not theirs.

Q. What is the best part of being an author?

A. The best part of being an author is having a reader tell me s/he enjoyed what I wrote.

Q. What is the worst part of being an author?

A. For me, the worst part of being an author is the time I’ve wasted trying to come up with a plot that will interest readers.

Q. Describe your writing space.

A. My writing space includes several desks, a computer or two, two or three lamps, one or two dictionaries, and other reference books.

Q. Which authors have inspired you?

A. The authors who have inspired me include John O’Hara, Ernest Hemingway, James M. Cain, and several other writers who are no longer living.

Q. Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

A. Some of my hobbies besides reading and writing include walking or hiking, traveling (by car, train, or ship), and sightseeing.

Q. Any advice for aspiring writers?

A. Although aspiring writers have been told this, I’ll repeat it: don’t give up trying to get a poem, short story, article, novel, or whatever published. You may get one rejection after another, but, if you’re serious about your writing, you’ll stick to it.

Q. What are you working on next?

A. I have just submitted two novels to the publisher that is publishing my collection of stories. One of the novels is a mystery, which is what my first novel, The File on Thomas Marks, was. It concerns the murder of a successful businessman and the investigation for the culprit by his son, who is not a trained detective. The novel includes the trial of the accused, too. The other novel concerns an agent with the Central Intelligence Agency that becomes the head of a small department that investigates UFOs. Although he learns about unidentified flying objects, he also learns about another agent who he thought he knew but didn’t.

Blurb

The unique stories in the collection feature young people who have to deal with intolerant teachers, fickle girlfriends, unusual pets, and the deaths of loved ones. Other stories concern adults who have to confront loneliness, mental illness, rejection, and even murder.

The Prize Winners and Other Stories literally has something for everyone and will be available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Ingram, Smashwords, and other retailers.

Author Bio

Bentley Turner is the author of The File on Thomas Marks, a mystery that was published by the Global Publishing Group in 2021.

Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/Bentley-Turner/e/B08WQ9HNQ3