My name is Nikki Bennett. I was born in Arlington, Virginia, United
States. Currently, I live in Japan--a
very beautiful country.
Did you always want to be a writer? If
not what did you want to be?
I started writing when I started reading
- around five - so I always had it in me.
I wrote quite a bit in high school, but then decided I wanted to become
a biologist. So I got a degree in
Biology and went on to work in the Environmental field. I wrote stories when the mood struck, which
meant I rarely finished writing the stories.
Then we moved to Japan, and for some reason that got me out of my
writer's slump. I've completed a few
books in the last couple of years, and I also write articles for our military
newspaper. I write something new every
day.
When did you first consider yourself as
a "writer"?
Probably when I was six and started my
first "novel." I wrote it on
kid-paper, you know-the paper with the thick lines with dashes running through
the middle, but it had chapters and everything!
Do you work another job as well as your
writing work?
I work for the US Marine Corps in
Iwakuni Japan. I'm the Air and Water
Program Manager here, which means I make sure nobody's polluting the sea or the
air.
What is the name of your latest book,
and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Four Fiends is my current book. Four
very different kids join together to fight and defeat for very evil monsters.
Who is your publisher? or do you self
publish?
I decided to self-publish this book.
How long does it usually take you to
write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
Four Fiends took two years, but that was because I only worked on it when the
mood hit me. Now that I've gotten myself
in a good writing-every-day routine, it took me only three months to finish my
latest novel, Mukade Island, including editing and rewrites.
Which of your books were easier/harder
to write than the others?
Four Fiends was hardest because it's really four different stories in one
book. So every time I finished with one
story, I had to think about how the next story would go. Sometimes a month or two would go by before
I'd start writing again, just because I was trying to figure out how the new
chapter would go.
What can we expect from you in the
future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
Mukade Island, my next book, is another fantasy geared towards the teen/young
adult market. It's about kids trying to
escape a killer-insect infested island on another planet.
I'm also starting the sequel to Four
Fiends, and I'm working on an adult novel called Night at the Basking
Iguana, a story about three women searching the globe for a restaurant that
only opens up one day a year, and always in a different place. Kind of a weird concept, but I get to write a
lot about my travels in this novel.
Do you have plans for a new book? Is
this book part of a series?
Four Fiends is the first book in The Countdown to Dammerung series. The next book will be called Three
Delusions. I've got the first couple
of chapters written (you can read an excerpt at the end of the Four Fiends
e-book or paperback) and plan to finish it this summer.
What genre would you place your books
into?
Mostly fantasy and mostly geared towards
kids.
What made you decide to write that genre
of book?
I love reading fantasy. And if you love reading something you're
going to want to write about it too!
Do you have a favourite out of the books
you have written? If so why is it your favourite?
I'm very proud of Four Fiends. But it seems the book I'm working on is
always my favorite because it's new and I'm not as tired of looking at it
:D Right now, I'm busy promoting Four
Fiends, but I'm also very excited about Mukade Island. Kids will love it and I can't wait to get it
out for them to read.
Do you have a favourite character from
your books? and why are they your favourite?
I like Kate from Four Fiends. She's spunky, sassy, and doesn't take any
guff. She's also a little full of
herself and thinks she's better than anyone, but she finally realizes her
mistakes, although she still stays sassy.
If you had to choose to be one of your
characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?
Steffi, a character in Mukade Island. She's tough as nails, and most certainly the
bravest kid on the island.
Where do you get your book plot ideas
from?What/Who is your inspiration?
I get my ideas in different places. Mukade Island came to me in a dream
(at least the idea--the story I ended up with doesn't have much to do with the
dream at all.) With Four Fiends,
my husband and I were exploring Hong Kong and we came upon a garden surrounding
a storm water tunnel that looked like a cave. I stared up the tunnel and wondered what might
live up there. The idea for Four Fiends
came from that.
I got the title for Night at the
Basking Iguana when we were in the Caribbean last fall, and I saw an iguana
basking on a rock. For some reason, I
thought, "Hey wouldn't that be a cool name for a restaurant? The Basking Iguana? And the story took off from there.
Do you have a certain routine you have
for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
I get up around 5:30 every morning and
put in an hour's writing before I go to work.
I write at least 2,000 words a day (most days) and if I don't get that
done before I leave for work, I make myself finish up when I get home. I usually sit in our tatami room--that's a
Japanese room with sliding paper doors and rice straw mat floors--while I'm
writing. It's very peaceful in here!
Do you have anybody read your books and
give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children,
friends, reviewers you know?
I usually get a couple of beta readers
and I also, of course, send the book to my editor. I've also recently discovered youwriteon.com,
where you can post an excerpt and have people review. I'm liking that site so far, but you can only
post the first couple of chapters. And
my nieces and nephews help out too!
Do you gift books to readers to do
reviews?
I do indeed!
Do you read all the reviews of your
book/books?
Absolutely. I always want to know what people think. So far the Four Fiends reviews have
all been very positive, which is great.
The beta readings for Mukade Island are also very encouraging.
What was the toughest/best review you
have ever had?
The toughest (and the best) was a review
I got for a book I entered in a contest.
It was still a good review actually, but the reviewer pointed out some
things I had done, like not enough character development, and using too many
adverbs. That advice really helped me
grow as a writer. So far, I haven't
gotten a scathing review from anybody, although I'm sure I will sooner or later
:D
Would you ever ask a reviewer to change
their review if it was not all positive about your book/books?
Nope.
It's their opinion. I don't have
to agree with it, but I should review their critiques and try to take something
out of it.
How do you come up with the Title and
Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?
Titles are really hard for me. Four Fiends came about because, well,
the book is about the Four Fiends of ancient Chinese mythology. Easy enough.
My husband, luckily, is a graphic artist specializing in Japanese
anime. So he designed the cover and
artwork in the book.
Do you choose a title first, or write
the book then choose the title?
Usually book first, and I put off naming
it until I absolutely have to because I stink at titles. The exception is Night at the Basking
Iguana, the title came first and the story built up around it.
How do you come up with characters names
and place names in your books?
Most place names are real. In Four Fiends, the action takes place
in real places (although the Golden Dragon's island and the island in the South
Pacific are made up.) I named one
character after my brother, one after my dog (Saburo, the Japanese character. Saburo is really a boy's name in Japan, it means
"second son." When we moved to
Japan and my mother-in-law--who is Japanese--adopted my dog Bo from me, she
renamed him "Saburo" since he was her second dog.) I named Kate after the main character in the
TV show "Lost" because I happened to be watching it at the time, and
for Jinjing, the Chinese girl, I looked up on-line for a good Chinese name.
I have a book making the agent rounds
called Once Upon a House, In that
book, I named all the characters after the cousins on my Mom's side. And the characters in Basking Iguana
are named after all my cousins on my Dad's side. Now that I'm out of family members and
cousins, I'm going to have to think up some new names.
Are character names and place names
decided after their creation? or do you pick a character/place name and then
invent them?
Definitely after. And I usually change everybody's name once or
twice while I'm writing, until I like what I have.
Do you decide on character traits (ie
shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I make it up as I go. And sometimes I go back and totally change
the character, if I think it will add to the story. Sometimes I eliminate characters too, if they
aren't helping the story move along.
Do you basic plot/plan for your book,
before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and
see where it takes the story?
I just start writing. I write the 2,000 words each day and don't
analyze it too much while I'm writing. I
write until the book is done, in whatever form it is, just so I can get to the
ending. Then, in a few weeks, I go back,
re-read the story, and work on getting it to gel. I'll add new sections, take away other
sections, cut characters, add characters, whatever, but when I first write, the
most important thing is to get from the beginning of the story to the end. Polishing it up comes later. And usually, the idea I start out with has
morphed into an entirely different story by the end.
Have you ever suffered from a
"writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
I've gone entire years where I haven't
written a thing. Now, I've started (and
finished!) three books in six months, and I'm 40,000 words into the
fourth. Why? I write every day, no matter what, whether
I'm inspired to or am just going through the motions. If you have to write 2,000 words a day,
you're going to write something decent in those 2,000 words, even if
it's only a couple of sentences. I wake
up every morning raring to go, because I've thought or dreamt all night of what
I'm going to write next.
What do you do to unwind and relax? Do
you have a hobby?
I travel! And I read every day. I knit, go to the beach, hike, eat sushi
:D I love to ride horses also, but I
don't have much opportunity for that
here in Japan.
Have you ever based characters on people
you know or based events on things that have happened to you?
A lot of events have happened to
me. Especially in Once Upon a House,
which is really about the house I grew up in and all the goofy things we did as
kids. But even in Four Fiends and
Mukade Island, I base a lot of what the kids are doing on what I've
done, or places I've been. I don't base
characters on people I know though, although I do use names of people I
know.
Are there any hidden messages or morals
contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The
moral of this story is..")
Four Fiends has some lessons learned. I
wouldn't call them morals, but the kids learn something about themselves and
how to become better, stronger people.
Is there a certain Author that
influenced you in writing?
Most definitely C.S. Lewis.
Which format of book do you prefer,
ebook,hardback, or paperback?
I'm all for e-books. Especially since I travel. I don't want to lug huge books around when I
can put a zillion of them on my kindle.
What is your favourite book and Why?
Have you read it more than once?
After all these years, I still love and
re-read The Chronicles of Narnia.
Do you think books transfer to movies
well? Which is you favourite/worst book to movie transfer?
Some do.
Even though they were vastly different in places than the books, I loved
the Harry Potter movies. I liked the
first two Narnia movies too, but they butchered the third one.
What are you currently reading? Are you
enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback)
I do book reviews on my website, so I
read a lot of indie books. The book I
just finished is called I Wish I May by David Stohler, Jr. and it is a
GREAT middle grade fantasy. At least I
thought it was.
Do you think ebooks will ever totally
replace printed books?
There are always going to be die-hards
who want a printed read, but for me, I think it's a waste of paper (no matter
how good that paper smells!) I'm all for
e-books.
Do you think children at schools these
days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?
I think so, and I think e-books and the
accessibility of e-books helps.
Did you read a lot at school and write
lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
I was a total introvert reader and
writer as a kid!
Did you have a favourite author as a
child?
C.S. Lewis, of course! And Walter Farley.
Do you have a treasured book from your
childhood? If yes, what is it?
I loved Where the Red Fern Grows by
Wilson Rawls.
Is there anything in your book/books you
would change now if you could and what would it be?
We're always developing our writing
style. So it's easy to want to go back
and change things, but maybe that's not a good idea. I had a book, THE LOST KINGDOM that I self
published a few years ago. Then I
started rewriting it. By the ed of my
"rewrite", I had ripped that book into a million different pieces and
I still haven't figured how to put them all back together. So it's off the market right now, although I'm
thinking of just restoring it to the original and putting it back out
there. Sometimes you shouldn't fiddle
with what you've finished.
What do you think about book trailers?
I so want to learn how to make a book
trailer! Just haven't had the time yet!
What piece of advice would you give to a
new writer?
I'll regurgitate what Stephen King said
in his amazing book On Writing: In order to be a good writer, you have
to write a lot. And read a lot. You have to do both. Every day.
Do you or would you ever use a pen name?
No.
I like my name!
If you could invite three favourite
writers to dinner, who would you invite and enjoy chatting with?
C.S. Lewis, Rudyard Kipling and J.K.
Rowling. All initialed writers and all
English. Hmmm….
Where can readers follow you?
www.nikki-bennett.com You can access my travel blog and book review blog from that site!
www.nikki-bennett.com You can access my travel blog and book review blog from that site!
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nikki-Bennett-Writer/285562074341
Twitter: @NikkiBennett12
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13649352-nikki-bennett
No comments:
Post a Comment