Interview with Cindy

Welcome to Jagged Edge!

Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?

I’m the mom of four great kids, with one daughter-in-law added to the mix, and a second daughter-in-law-to-be. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but never found the genre I was passionate enough about to actually finish a manuscript, until I discovered YA. I love to read and wish I had more time to do it. I’m a big fan of riding my Harley Davidson Fatboy through the canyons near my home. I’m a complete tech-junkie, particularly with computers.

What inspired you to write?

In high school I had an amazing English teacher who inspired in me a love of literature, and an even greater love of writing. I already had the desire and inclination to write, but he took it to a new level, made me believe it was something I could accomplish, made me want it more than ever.

What authors influenced you as a writer?

I’ve read a wide variety of authors in a variety of genres. I don’t know that there are specific writers who influenced me, other than that I wanted to be like the ones who continuously put out a good story—not a story that immediately jumps to the tops of the charts, but one that is well written. I don’t want to be the kind of writer who gets lazy and just churns them out in order to get sales without caring about my readers.

What is your favorite Quote? Why is it your favorite?

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” Anonymous

It’s my favorite because I absolutely believe it. To me, books are an escape from the world, a way to be transported into an alternate universe where you don’t have to make decisions, or stress about paying bills, or whatever. You just get to sit back and enjoy the ride.

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be?

Probably the Maximum Ride world. Things are tough there, but you get to fly. How great would that be?

What is at least one thing that every writer needs to have or do?

Every writer needs to have passion for writing and storytelling. You can learn grammar, spelling, punctuation, even how to put a story together. But if you don’t have passion for what you’re writing, it will come across, and your books will be dull and lifeless.

Are your books different to your personal favorite books by other authors?

Yes, they are. Currently, I’m loving dystopian novels. I find them so fascinating. I don’t know that I could ever create the types of worlds that other authors do in these books, let alone the intense stories. And I’m a sucker for historical romance novels if they are well done, and are about the love story and not the sex story. I’m also a fan of the horror genre, which I would never even attempt to write.

What lead you to writing in this genre?

I think it was not only discovering how many great YA books there are (which were not available in nearly the abundance they are now when I was a teen myself), but also I felt that there could be YA books that are edgy, exciting, interesting, and clean. In a Utopian Society, as a mom, I’d like to think that my teen could pick up a YA book, and I wouldn’t have to worry about them reading adult content. Of course, that isn’t always so, so I wanted to provide books that could be picked up by teens and not be an adult book disguised as YA. Not to say that my characters don’t have to deal with some very adult, hard issues, because they do. But hopefully I present them in a way that won’t have mom’s cringing at their daughters reading my work, but will still feel realistic.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

That’s a tossup between imagining the story before I even begin to write, and writing the pivotal scenes of the book. Those are always the most fun to write. That, and hearing from my readers. That’s probably the best part, actually.

Least favorite part of the writing process?

Again, a tossup, this time between editing and formatting. Those are both time consuming, monotonous, and drain the creativity out of me.

What are you currently working on?

I’m just finishing up a book called Immortal Mine, which should hopefully be published by the time this interview is posted. It’s a bit out of my comfort zone, with some paranormal thrown in, as the title indicates. Hopefully, it will be decent when I’m finished. The hero may be immortal, but at heart it’s still a contemporary love story as are Geek Girl and Heart on a Chain.

Where readers can find you?

www.cindycbennett.com is the best place to find me, with links to all of the other places you can find me as well, such as FB, Twitter, Goodreads, etc.

LAST QUESTION:

Was there a question you wish I would have asked but didn't?

I wish you would have asked where I get my covers from, just so I can show off my beautiful models a little. The original cover of Geek Girl featured my fifteen-year-old daughter, though Cedar Fort gave it a make-over and it now has the stunning red and black cover you can see. Heart on a Chain features my other daughter, who really was seventeen when the photo was taken (many people thought she was older). The cover of Immortal Mine is actually the hand of my friend’s daughter, who is a college student who reads my work and helps me find the missing commas—among other things. (The male hand is one of her friends who volunteered his time, and hand, for the shoot). I like to have something personal about the covers, whether it be someone I know on the front cover, or an inside joke planted somewhere on the cover.