Author Interview: June 2008

Every once in a while, I like to take the time to interview a fellow author. This month, I've talked with Jennifer Brown and here's what she had to say:



What are the titles of your books and where can we buy them?

Celebrity Secrets is available now, online and through bookstores. The second book in the Celebrity Secrets series, Secrets Unearthed will be available this summer and is currently available on www.lulu.com.

Where do you get your ideas?

Ideas come to me at very odd times and in strange places. I always try to think of twists on the same plot line you see over and over.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

Sometimes it takes me all day to write, and sometimes it takes only a few hours, it all depends on what kind of creative flow I am in that day and how busy I am with other things. I don't write everyday, due to other priorities and to give myself a break to reflect on what I have written and what I am going to write, but I am passionate about it enough that I find the time.

Why did you choose your current genre?

I chose suspense fiction because I like how broad I can make the material. With mystery, it's always the same thing... who shot who, who stole the jewels, and I just like to put spins on things. What I write can be put under mystery as well, but there are just components of it that to me fit better with suspense. If you want proof of this, just read Celebrity Secrets and it's ending.

What are you currently working on?

As well as the third installment of the Celebrity Secrets series, I am working on a novel, another series about a filmmaker that ends up involved in much more than making a film in each book, along with a few other books. I also have a short story that will be featured in the Word Weavers upcoming fiction anthology called "What the Past Hides"


Do you have any appearances planned?

At this time nothing is planned, but I am accepting questions on my myspace blog as a sort of interview/chat that I plan to post on my site at www.jenniferbrownauthor.weebly.com. I am also planning to pick one person with an original question, to give a full length interview on the blog of my site.


What advice would you like to give to other writers or anyone interested in becoming a writer?

Try not to let anyone get you down. Be careful in choosing a publisher. It's a real tough profession, but if you love it enough you will persevere. Write from the heart, and see where it takes you. And no matter what, there will always be someone out there that likes what you do. Don't give it up, until you have thought it through.


There you have it. Be sure to check out Jennifer's website and pick up a copy of Celebrity Secrets!

Until next time...
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Can we give Sharon Stone a break?

I was reading today about how Dr. Laura believes that Sharon Stone's remarks regarding China and bad karma were "blasphemous...phenomenally insensitive, and disgusting." After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that this is extremely unfair. Why are Sharon's opinions worth less than anyone else's? Just because what she said is upsetting, or not the popular school of thought, why is it that she has to be branded as a terrible person? I don't know her personally, but I do know that she has a right to her opinion just like anyone else. I am not sure how her opinion might wrongfully influence anyone with their own brain and free will, but jeez, someone out there sure seems to think it's just awful to say what's on your mind.

I'm usually worried about how the things I say will come across to the average reader. I generally curtail much of the sarcasm that I could unleash on any given day simply because I have this thing in me that doesn't want to be hated. Probably just a self-esteem issue, but nonetheless, I digress. My feeling on this issue, however, is that we should feel that we are able to express our opinions even if they are unpopular. Sometimes, our differing truths don't always rub others the right way. Does this mean we should feel the need to keep our opinions to ourselves unless everyone else is likely to agree? Nah. I don't think so. We all act as though we know what a person means to say whenever they say it. The truth is, we don't. The only person whose words we can most clearly interpret are our own. We don't know where someone else is coming from, even when we have been through similar situations and experiences in our own lives. For God's sake, to assume that we can pick up on every meaning implied in what a person says and does is to be, well, "blasphemous...phenomenally insensitive, and disgusting."

Although I do love Dr. Laura and I feel that she has often had wonderful insights into the human condition, I don't agree with her here. I may not even agree with Sharon Stone, but then, who am I to judge?

Until next time...


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Benston Blogs Lightens Up

You may have noticed that the atmosphere over here is a little "lighter." I decided it was time to ditch the dark background and opt for a more upbeat theme. I hope that you will like the changes.

There will also be changes in the type of content I write here. Since I pretty much write about whatever is on my mind, you may have noticed that I cover lots of topics in a given month. That was getting to be a little tiresome, so I'm going to try and hone down my range of topics so that it all begins to make a little more sense. Just one more thing I want to do for my readers. ;)

In addition to news about my mystery series, I'll be including some tidbits about my experiences with writing and how I've tried to overcome some of the obstacles that writers encounter. That's really the point of the blog, isn't it?

Until next time...



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A blast from my past that has most likely absolutely nothing to do with anything really...

President Bush has evidently signed a bill barring genetic discrimination in the workplace. What does this mean to the masses? Well, in short, it is now going to be illegal for your employer to discriminate, fire, refuse to hire, etc. based on your genetic predisposition to disease. So, if you mother and father were sickly, it will not be held against you any longer. Or so they say. This is one more bill to expand upon the other laws enacted to prevent employers from firing you without taking the time to develop their case against you. Why am I telling you this? Well, I used to work in Human Resource Management. It's what I did for years before deciding that I'd rather be here, doing this...speaking out and sharing ideas with the good people of our nation.


The good part is this, the passage of this bill also applies to health insurance companies and bans them from making eligibility determinations and adjusting premiums on the basis of your family health history. So, I'm guessing this will mean that they may do away with those lengthy health questionnaires that always make everyone so antsy. But will it work? At this point, what will be an effective way to cap the runaway premiums? They've been working toward this end for nearly ten years and finally, this bill has been passed. As someone who used to have to explain the reasons we needed the information, I breathe a sigh of relief for fellow HR managers everywhere. And, at the same time, thank God that I'm not one at the moment.

I just wanted to share this little tidbit with everyone in case you were fretting over it in some way. An interesting development in the HR world. For more information, go to http://www.workforce.com. There's a pretty good article over there that tells all about the bill.

Until next time...


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