17-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmates taunts and bullying. That is, until Henry returns. Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Kate can't figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her? Kate finally decides to trust Henry's intentions, opening her heart to him. Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever?
1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself?
a. I really love vegetables, and don’t care much for fruit. There are exceptions to both, of course, but I prefer veggies over almost anything (except chocolate and vine fresh tomatoes – my favorite fruit).
b. Taking a long (3-4 hour) bath with a book, candles, and chocolate is one of my favorite luxuries.
c. I’m a huge Disney fan—Disneyland(!), movies, characters, cartoons, decorations, anything Disney is pretty thrilling to me.
2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?
My whole life, really, ever since I was about 12 or 13. I’ve always loved to create, and to make up stories. In high school, I had an amazing English teacher who really made it clear that writing was what I wanted to do. But I always felt unprepared or unworthy even, to be a writer, even though I believed I had the talent for it. It took a long time for me to get enough courage to give it a try. Now I wish I had started sooner!
3. Tell me about your current project?
I’m currently writing a book that is really far outside my usual writing area. It’s still YA, but has an edge of paranormal to it. It’s about a small town girl, Niahm Parker, seemingly content with her life, until Sam Coleman moves into town. She finds herself drawn to him, even though he irritates her. As they grow closer, she begins to suspect there is something a little unusual about him—and she’s right, of course. I promise, though, that he isn’t a vampire!
4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?
Different places. It can be an overheard snippet of a conversation, or a line from a song, or a dream, or just looking at someone, wondering what their story is, then imagining it from there. Sometimes I’ll just hear the story of an incident from someone’s childhood, and a story is born in my head. I have many, many stories in there just waiting to be set free. :o)
5. Why did you choose to self-publish? Or go with the publisher you are with?
I can answer this question both ways. I originally chose to self-publish because I had queried countless agents, and had received countless rejections. Those are painful! I was introduced to the idea of self-publishing by a fellow author, and it just felt right. I’ve always been a do-it-myselfer anyway. After I self-published Geek Girl, it just kind of sat. And sat. I had no idea how to market. So I began looking for publishers who would accept previously published works without an agent. That meant going with a small press. In the meantime, I self-published Heart on a Chain, which also didn’t move much. Cedar Fort was the first to respond to my queries for Geek Girl, so I signed. The weird thing is, as soon as I signed and took it off sale, sales for Heart on a Chain really took off. Had I received the query for them a month—or even two weeks—later, I likely wouldn’t have signed. I’m glad I did though. I’ve been able to work with some great editors, and I’m excited to see what happens once they release the book. Egotistically, it will be cool to see it on a bookstore shelf.
6. How often do you write?
I write something every day. It can either be something on one of my books (which is what I try for!) or something for my blog, something on a website somewhere answering questions, posing questions, or answering interview questions. :o) I need to write every day. If I can’t for some reason, I feel a little stir crazy.
7. Tell us about some of your future projects?
I have several ideas, so I usually start the one that seems most exciting to me at the time I’m ready to begin. I think my next project is going to be a series of short stories, published as ebooks one at a time, and when they are all finished, I’ll publish them together as one book, available both in print and ebook form. I can’t really tell you what it’s about just yet, but will once I begin. (How’s that for cryptic?)
8. What are some of your favorite books?
Sheesh, the list is long. I’ll try to condense to some of my very most favorites. My number one all-time favorite book and guilty pleasure is Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale. I read that a few times a year. I go into withdrawals if t’s been too long. Don’t you love books like that? I also love the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, the Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel, Edge of Escape by Debra Chapoton, The Bounds series by Jeffery Moore, Hidden Heart by Camelia Miron Skiba, Unloveable by Sherry Gammon, Dragon Eyes by Stephen King, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz, the Miss Mary Pennynickle series by James DeSalvo, Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare. . . I could go on, but I’ll stop.
9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?
Oddly enough, Stephen King would be my choice. I think he’s intelligent, interesting, fascinating, has a good grasp on how the art of writing, and I would really love to see how he creates, the process behind his warped mind.
10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?
If you have a passion for it, then go for it. Write what you find interesting, write characters that you love (even if it’s the villain), make sure you edit, edit, edit, and take advice from others on how to improve your writing. Make sure before you begin that you have a basic understanding of grammar and punctuation.
These are all the places you can find Cindy, or purchase one of her books:
Website: http://www.cindycbennett.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/
BookBlogs: http://bookblogs.ning.com/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/
Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/
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