It's Monday! And as has been the case for several weeks, it's time for my mini-review and author interview. I've been very impressed with the wide variety of answers I've received for my interview questions. My guest today is Janice Bennett and her answers reflect a career that has been long and varied. So let's go find out just who Janice Bennett is...
1. IF YOU COULD START OVER WITH YOUR WRITING CAREER, WHAT IF ANYTHING WOULD YOU CHANGE? Well, my name, for one thing. I always thought Janet Evonovich or Agatha Christie would make a great pseudonym. Plus I'd have had home computers developed earlier. I wrote my first several books on typewriters. But seriously? I would have written in all the different genres like I wanted to instead of listening to the editors who told me I had to stick to just one type of book. I had to really stretch the boundaries of the regency to make each of my books different and to allow myself a taste of writing mysteries, fantasies, adventure, paranormal, all the genres I really wanted to explore.
2. WHAT WAS THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU RECEIVED REGARDING THE LIFE OF A WRITER? Don't do it! That was the advice. I didn't take it needless to say. After that? To take vacations from writing. Nothing stifles creativity like stress and too many deadlines. I never seem to have the time to take that piece of advice, either.
3. IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE? The person who first decided to turn chocolate into a solid, edible, melt-in-the-mouth form. Now there was a true humanitarian. Other than her (it HAD to have been a woman.)? There are so many people of wisdom and humor and compassion and creativity, not only those who are famous but some of whom we might never have heard, all of whom would be so worth knowing. I'd like a chance to learn from all of them.
4. IF YOU COULD MEET ANY FICTIONAL CHARACTER, WHO WOULD IT BE? Again, there are too many. Terry Pratchett's Death (No, I'm not being morbid). Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax. Tolkien's Sam Gamgee in his later years. Patricia Wrede's Morwen. P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves. All people (and anthropomorphic beings) with good hearts, a strong sense of purpose and great wisdom.
5. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? I may have to get older but I refuse to grow up. But what would I want to be? Wise, serene, centered, complete. All the things I'm not now.
6. IN THE NEXT CENTURY, WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER YOU FOR? I'd like to be remembered for being wise and funny and caring and a great writer. In all honesty? It would be an incredible honor to be remembered at all.
Cold Turkey by Janice Bennett from Cerridwen Press
I confess that I love a good mystery. Even better I love a good amusing mystery. I cut my mystery teeth on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, moved on to Dorothy L. Sayers’ Peter Wimsey books with a dash of Mary Stewart and John D. MacDonald. After a while, you judge the new against the old. So I was very pleased to find a new Sherlock to add to my collection.
Cold Turkey is a cozy, amusing murder mystery with wonderful characters. The heroine, Annike is an unemployed accountant who returns to her home town and Aunt Gerda to regroup over the Thanksgiving holidays. The hero, Owen, is the new sheriff, a non-native who is faced with the most difficult job a sheriff can face. No, not solving the murder. That’s easy by comparison. No, the sheriff has to find a way to live up to the memory of the previous sheriff, who just incidentally happened to be Annike’s deceased husband.
With a wild cast of characters, a busy collection of cats, Vilhelm the parakeet, and the star of the show, That Damned Bird, the turkey, the story moves along at breakneck pace, leading the reader down blind alleys, with the occasional stop for murder lightly seasoned with a pumpkin pie fight in the rain. I heartily recommend Cold Turkey for an absorbing read any time of day, but be prepared to stay up late if you start it right before bedtime.
My paycheck came today and Bunny Hop, the next in the series is at the top of my TBB list. Trot on out and pick up your own copy of Cold Turkey from Cerridwen Press.
Don't forget to check in at Kelly's Blog for episode twelve of the Crazy Blog Serial with the zucchinis and the peeler! http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/
anny
Yes! Someone else who loves Death and Granny Weatherwax. And Susan. You CAN'T forget Susan (Death's granddaughter.)
ReplyDeleteI have decided she is an absolute genius. Sigh. Anny, if there's a day you get around to me and my book, I'm going to invent clever answers. I don't think I can hack it on my own.
ReplyDeleteI liked the answers from the start - made me laugh....well done both of you
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