Author interview with Cindy Bennett

Give us your elevator pitch:

Geek Girl is a contemporary young adult novel about a teen Goth girl who bets her friends she can turn a geek boy bad. She soon finds that hanging out with a geek isn’t such a bad thing.

Do you have a snack you eat while writing?

I always have ice water and I almost always have Hershey’s dark chocolate to munch on.

Do you have trouble with distractions while writing? What are they?

 Games on my phone. It’s terrible but as soon as I feel the slightest writers block I pull the ‘Droid out and start playing games.

How do you combat distractions?

I try to put the phone down (lol) and then close my eyes for a minute while I try to get back into my characters head. I picture what point I want to get them to in the scene then start writing them to that.

Do you eat or listen to music while writing?

I sometimes eat while writing if it’s lunchtime or something, but usually it’s hard to eat while typing. I only listen to music if I’m looking for a particular mood for a scene and am having a hard time getting there. I might put on a movie that conveys that mood. Honestly, I’m usually watching TV while writing. I need the background noise.

What would your character do if they spent the day together? (Star Trek marathon? :))

A Star Trek or Star Wars marathon would likely be included, or any number of geek movies. One would have to sneak in there somewhere. They might take Trevor’s brother bowling, or jump on the trampoline. They would definitely spend a lot of time talking, because they really enjoy talking to each other.

Are you a night owl or early bird?

Definite night owl. I do most of my writing between midnight and 4 a.m. I might go to bed anywhere between 4 and 6, and sleep until noon. Nighttime is my most creative time. I’m pretty useless in the mornings. Mornings and I don’t get along at all.

What was your favorite TV show as a child/teen?

Oh, man, this is going to totally date me, but as a kid I loved The Brady Bunch—probably because there was a character who shared my name. And Sesame Street, which I have to admit I still watch on occasion. As a young teen it was all about The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. What great concepts they were. One was about people on a cruise boat. Who wouldn’t want to be on a cruise all the time? How exotic that seemed. And the other, you went to this beautiful, tropical island and had your fantasy granted. I mean, wow. I’d take that any day—even if it meant listening to Tattoo yelling “De plane, de plane.”

Do you have a favorite comfort food?

Chocolate, as cliché as it is—dark chocolate, particularly. Almost any kind of junk food really—cookies, brownies, doughnuts, chips. I only wish I were comforted by carrots and celery.

Any other books in the works?

I’m nearly finished with my newest called Immortal Mine. It’s a little different than the others as it takes a dip into the paranormal pool, though at heart it’s all about the romance—small town girl whose life is disrupted by stranger moving into town, there’s something unusual about him, something she can’t begin to imagine (he’s immortal, but not a vamp or werewolf). And of course it wouldn’t be one of my characters if something tragic didn’t happen to the poor heroine.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring writers?

Let the negative stuff roll off. You’re going to get a lot of rejections, you’re going to get bad reviews. They’re heart breaking, but you have to let them go or you’ll get so bogged down by depression that you’ll never be able to succeed. But along with that, learn from the negative stuff. Sometimes bad reviews actually have something constructive within them (:o)).

Anything else you want to add?

I want to send a gigantic thank you out to all of my readers, and to all of the reviewers and book bloggers who have helped my books to have the success that they’ve had. I absolutely love writing; it’s a huge source of joy to me. But if there weren’t people willing to actually read what I write, then I’d be spending way too much time on a hobby (lol).

Thank you thank you Cindy! It was a pleasure having you here! Good luck on your book launch!