Author Sherry Gammon : Author Cindy C Bennett

For March Madness I've decided to focus on what's really important. No, not basketball--BOOKS! For the next two weeks I'll be spotlighting several authors. I've asked them 20 questions and posted the answers on my web site, along with their bios. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the real March Madness.

Day One: Cindy C Bennett

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I write YA, mainly contemporary, but also some fantasy, sci-fi, speculative, and paranormal. I also co-own Creative Prose Publishing along with the wonderful author of this blog you’re reading this on. J

2. What do you do when you are not writing? I spend a lot of time on reading, editing, and formatting for CPP authors, as well as marketing for them and myself. I also am attending college classes, working toward a degree in graphic design.

3. What is your favorite smell? Clean laundry.

4. When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book? I’ve been writing my whole life, and started more books than I’d care to count, but didn’t finish a book until about six or seven years ago.

5. If you had 24 hours to live, excluding spending time with your family, what would you do? Eat as much junk food as I could stomach and make videos to leave for my family and friends to tell them how much they mean to me.

6. Do you ever experience writer’s block? That’s like asking if I ever breathe.

7. Do you work with an outline, or just write? Just write. Outlines might sometimes make writing easier, but to me they’re constricting, and I’d probably spend more time rewriting the outline than actually writing.

8. What is your favorite kind of cheese? Swiss. Love the stuff.

9. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you growing up or as an adult? You know, I don’t know that there was any single author who I read religiously or who I would say influenced my writing, but I did love the grand sweeping romance and tragedy of Shakespeare’s works.

10. Would I find anything growing in your refrigerator right now? Um . . . probably. Do I have to admit that? It could be penicillin, you know, something for the good of mankind.

11. How would you describe yourself in three words? Introvert, smart, kind. (Or maybe those are just three things I’ve deluded myself about . . .)

12. Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? A little of both. Mostly imagination, of course, but I don’t know how you can write without some of you and your life experiences creeping in. Nothing autobiographical, though. Yet.

13. Who is your favorite author? Since most of you will probably say me ;) please tell me then, who is your second favorite author? If you’re my first, then I’d have to say: Me? (Haha)

14. What was your favorite part of writing and why? Coming up with the stories, and then writing “the end” when I’ve finished putting it to virtual paper.

15. Chocolate or Brussels sprouts? Oooh, tough one. Gosh, it’s a close call—not! Brussel sprouts, of course. (If I weren’t a normal human, anyway.)

16. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? Sheesh, there are so many to choose from. I guess probably: “boring”. I don’t find my stories boring so how can anyone else? (Haha)

17. What has been the best compliment given to you as an author? When anyone writes to say they like a book, no matter the reason or level of their gushing, to me that’s the highest compliment: that they took the time to write just to tell me that. It still awes me.

18. What is your least favorite smell? Tires in a store, when they have piles of them and there’s that overwhelmingly gagging rubber smell you can’t escape.

19. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? You should stop writing immediately and let me write all the books and make all the money. Just kidding! Keep writing and hone your craft with each piece of junk you’ll write the first 10 or 20 or 100 times. If it’s your passion, it’ll come eventually.

20. Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers? I love you. No seriously, you have no idea how much I love you. You allow me to do this thing that I adore doing with all my heart, and that has been my lifelong dream. So thank you. And I love you.

About Cindy: Cindy lives a most unglamorous life in the beautiful state of Utah. She is the author of several YA books in many subgenres. She's the mom of two daughters, two sons, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law not to mention her two adorable grandbabies. Sh has three dogs. She loves gooey cookies, dark chocolate, and cheesy popcorn. She hates housework and cooking, and has no plans to become a domestic goddess. Her favorite pastime--other than writing--is riding her Harley.

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