Where are you from?
I was born on Long Island, NY in Bay Shore, but moved to a tiny town called Mattituck (we were the first class to have 100 in the graduating class! But only because several juniors graduated early.).
When and why did you begin writing?
When I was six or seven or eight, we were at a drive n theater (waaaay back when). My dad told me to close the car door before someone took it off. Why would they take our door off just because I didn't close it? What he meant was that another car trying to park next to ours would run into the door and rip it off. I realized he didn't use the right words, and I was fascinated ever since.
What books have most influenced your life most?
The first book I truly loved also influenced me. It was "Beautiful Joe" by Marshall Saunders, told from the point of view of an abused dog. It showed me his life and thoughts. It touched every emotion and I always wanted to write something that affected someone as deeply as I was by that book.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a
mentor?
I'd have to say Julie Garwood, the NYT bestselling romance writer. I had problems writing dialogue- it sounded stiff and choppy. I loved her style and followed it to teach myself how to write dialogue.
What book are you reading now?
I'm in the middle of several (I always do that)- "The Flame In The Mist" by my friend Kit Grindstaff, "Spook" by Mary Roach, and "Caught" by Harlan Coben
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
So many! I have lists on my desk and in my purse (some well known to the public that I just wish I had time to read) but the one that really shook me up was Barry Lyga and his "I Hunt Killers."
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Fave author is Sherrilyn Kenyon. What I love about her work is that she takes a myth like Atlantis and mixes it up with Greek mythology and vampires and shape shifters--and it works. I find myself actually thinking that the world she has created could exist. And more important, I want to live there!
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Revisions. I don't mind once or twice, but when it has to be revised several times, I get bored. I like the shiny new ideas, even with all the flaws.
Have you been an avid reader your entire life? (since you could read)
I was not much of a reader when I was young. I started kindergarten at four and wasn't quite ready. It took me years to catch up, and then I wasn't close to a library. I think I became a voracious reader when I started in seventh grade and could haunt the school library.
What character in your books do you relate to most?
Hmmmm. "Sirenz" and "Sirenz Back In Fashion" were co-written with Natalie Zaman, so the characters have a little bit of both of us. I'm like Sharrise (the character I mostly wrote) in that I'm snarky, tall, blonde, and love color. But I'm not like Sharisse because I don't do the spa-manicures-shopping obsession thing. I'm not like Meg (who Natalie mostly wrote) because I don't like old clothes or am shy, but I am like her because I am the green-recycle queen who believes in causes. I'm a bit like Hades in that I have no patience for annoying people but not like him in that I don't play with people's emotions. In the new book, "Blonde Ops," also written with Natalie, there's one major character that has a lot of both of us. Bec Jackson is like me in that she's a bit klutzy, not all of her things work out like she plans, and she has a joie de vivre; we're different in that I'm no computer whiz, and technology sometimes makes me swearing-like-a-sailor
crazy.
Ok now some fun questions:
What is your favorite sport to watch and or play?
My favorite sport to watch is the Olympics (it has everything! But I really do detest curling). To play, I'm a swimmer. I joke with the hubs that I'd trade him in before my pool. I swim year round; home in summer, at the Y in winter.
Favorite Movie?
Oooh, toughie. So many... I'd have to say "The Lord of The Rings" because it has everything- love, war, good, evil, magic, humor, death, life,memorable characters.
Chocolate or Vanilla?
Def chocolate!
Puppys or kittens?
Kittens! (I have 2)
Beach or Mountains?
Beach!
If you could be a color, what color would you be?
Emerald green.
Favorite Dessert?
Raspberry cheesecake.
If you could be a book character, what character would you be?
I'd love to be Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau. (Who?) She's a college girl in Kenyon's "Unleash The Night" who falls in love with a shape shifter and after a series of near-deaths, fights, and scares, is given the gift of shape shifting to keep him company for the next several hundred years. Had a taste of regular life, then almost immortality and some cool magical gifts. Yeah, I could do that.
Sirenz (Sirenz #1)
Bickering frenemies Meg and Shar are doing some serious damage at a midnight sample sale when the fashionistas find themselves arguing over a pair of shoes-with fatal consequences. One innocent bystander later, the girls are suddenly at the mercy of Hades, Lord of the Underworld himself. To make them atone for what they've done, Hades forces the teens to become special-assignment Sirens, luring to the Underworld an individual whose unholy contract is up.
Finding that delicate balance between their fashion addiction and their new part-time job in the eternal hellfire biz turns out to be harder than Meg and Shar expected, especially when an entire pantheon of Greek deities decides to get involved. Then there's the matter of the fine print in their own contracts...
Charlotte is offering up a giveaway! Enter below. There will be two winners, the first will win one copy each of "Sirenz" and "Sirenz Back In Fashion". And one winner will receive the audio book of "Sirenz".
To enter----------> go over there-------------> and click the giveaway page.
*Giveaway is offered by author Charlotte Bennardo, I am not in charge of delivering prize.*
