Author Cindy C Bennett: Blogger Book Fair Day 4

I'm very excited about todays guest for Blogger Book Fair because it's my very good friend and fellow geek Shannen Crane Camp. Shannen has authored some amazing books that you can read about below. Also, I'll be showing up on Shannen's blog today if you want to hop on over and give it a peek here.

Here's my fun Q&A with Shannen - with some photos!

Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.

Random, but I was technically born on two days because I was born on midnight of October 7th, so my mom got to decide if my birthday would be the 7th or the 8th. I’m a Midnighter! I love to surf and I love being in the water, but water is also one of my biggest fears… so I’m kind of a walking contradiction. And last but not least, I always have salt packets with me… I have an unhealthy salt addiction. Wow… these are more like weird facts than fun facts huh?

Hey, weird facts are always fun! I didn’t know about the birthday thing. That’s very cool. What book are you currently reading, and in what format?

I’m reading 3 books! I like to read multiple books at once. I’m reading “The Elite” by Kiera Cass in hardcover. I’m reading “Falling” by Jolene Perry on a Nook app on my phone. And I’m reading “The Rapunzel Gift” by Jackie Hicken printed out from the ARC I got from her J

Wow, I’m impressed that you’re reading three! I rarely have time to read one. Do you have a book that you read over and over?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld. It’s a little ridiculous how much I love those books!

Love those books. For some reason I’m now in the mood to re-read them. Is there a book you know you’ll never read?

Hmmmm that’s a hard one. I don’t think there’s a book I can say “Without a doubt I’ll never read this!” because I said that about “The Hunger Games” when I heard the premise of kids killing each other… and now I love those books. Books just always end up being so much deeper than their premise so I’ve learned the hard way a few times to just swallow my pre-conceived notions and read it anyway.

Good point. I like that answer. You’re deserted on an island. A genie appears and gives you six wishes. You can’t wish for more wishes, and you can’t wish to be home. You can only wish for three specific items and three people to have with you. What are your wishes?

The people are pretty easy. I’d wish for my husband, a doctor (Doctor Who!!! Okay… I know… real people…), and Lights to provide some musical entertainment J As for the items… I’d say food and water but that would be too obvious, so instead I’ll say one of those tents from Harry Potter that are bigger on the inside (this is, again, assuming I can have things that don’t exist), a never ending supply of Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers, because I get really grumpy when my lips are chapped! Annnnnd “Uglies” for some reading material… plus that book makes me want to be an epic survivalist so I’d actually have a chance on the island.

I think you should take Doctor Who. I mean, the guy has all kinds of cool gadgets in the Tardis that could come in handy, plus his amazing screwdriver. You recently filmed a part as a zombie bride (right?). What’s the title of the movie, and tell us a little about how you got the gig, and what the movie’s about.

I can’t believe you brought this up! You crack me up Cindy J The movie is called “The Headless Princess” and it’s pretty much about how the headless horseman became who he is and how I (as the headless princess) gave him a pumpkin for his head! Vanessa Winter is the ones who came up with and shot the whole thing. She and her husband Joseph make all sorts of epic movies and occasionally they let me in on the fun, for which I’m VERY grateful! We all majored in film at BYU together so that’s how I get to weasel my way into their movies. They said they still have about 40 days of post (because we shot the entire film against a green screen) but once it’s up you can find it on their YouTube channel and you can see other videos of theirs (that I may or may not be in) here . This is what I got to look like in the film. Gross, but so fun!

Ah, so not so much a zombie, but more a headless princess. Guess a headless princess can’t eat people due to the lack of mouth and all. And yep, found one of Shannen's movies. You're a great screamer, Shannen. Don't believe me? Watch this:

Are there any books-turned-movie that you prefer the movie version of?

I don’t think there’s a movie I prefer more than the book version… but that being said, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is like two completely different things between the books and the movie. They changed it so much that I almost feel like they’re unrelated but I LOVE IT! Because now I get to love those books for what they are, and I love the movie for what it is separate from the books.

Yeah, that’s like me with Stardust, amazing book, amazing movie, both completely different. If you could time travel, where would you go first and why?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, as much as it makes me sound like an airhead, I’d go to the 50’s and have a major shopping spree. Or maybe I’d have a shopping spree in the 20’s. The clothes are just so wonderful. Don’t judge my airhead response J Maybe I’d buy some stocks while I was there. That would be the smart thing to do.

I don’t think it’s airheaded at all—I think it’s rather smart. Do you know how envious everyone would be of your vintage clothing? When did you go from “writer” to “author” in your mind?

When my first book (The Breakup Artist) was officially published I think I made the change (That makes it sound like I turned into a werewolf or something). I don’t know if that’s really an official way to decide, but that’s kind of how it felt.

So not only a headless princess, but a werewolf as well, huh . . . Where do you write, and what do you have with you when you do?

I write at a desk surrounded by clay figures of my characters that my friend Jackie Hicken made. They guilt me into writing J I have to have complete silence when I write, though I’ve started writing while listening to the Portal 2 soundtrack since it’s not too distracting. And I have to have a huge glass of water with me. A bag of stroopwaffels is preferable but if I ate those every time I wrote I’d be in a sugar coma by now J

Love the clay figures. They’re awesome! What’s your latest release?

My latest release is called “Sugar Coated”. It’s the first in a dystopian (speculative?) YA trilogy and it comes out September 6th! So far I only have a link for the Goodreads page since it’s not on sale yet, but here’s that! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18054196-sugar-coated

And the synopsis:

An unhealthy addiction to sugar cubes, a deep-seated fear of water, and universal luxury—these are the simple things that make up 18-year-old Brynn's Utopian existence. Why, then, is her perfect life also plagued with unanswered questions?

Like every other resident of the planet Halcyon, Brynn's home provides everything she needs, money is unheard of, and life is perfect. But unlike the rest of Seaside's residents, Brynn has questions. Why can't people leave the city? Why does the ocean fill everyone with terror? Who are the Workers? Not only is Brynn curious where others are compliant, but she suffers from chronic nightmares of an angelic woman torturing her for information she doesn’t possess. But these are more than just figments of her imagination; they're memories of things that never happened.

When Brynn meets Jonah, a brilliant, library-dwelling boy who shares her questions and her curiosity, they formulate a plan to find answers. Somewhere, the perfect veneer of Halcyon's instant gratification hides a city that only Brynn knows about—a city she and Jonah are determined to find. But will finding the city give them answers, or simply uncover the horrific truth behind the perfection?

Wow, sounds intriguing! Look forward to that one. What are you currently working on, and when can we expect to see it for sale?

I just finished a new adult speculative fiction book called “Under Zenith” that I’m really excited about. I love the characters a lot! My main boy character Hayden is kind of a jerk, but in a way that you just love him anyway because you know he’s really a big softy, and my girl Isla is this stubborn Southern girl who won’t take any of his crap. Plus Hayden is British so… you know… sexy accent and all that. I had so much fun writing it! I’m not sure when this one will be out yet, but expect it pretty soon because I just love it way too much to keep it to myself.

Here’s a synopsis:

It was the most important day of her life, and for 21-year-old Isla Edison, graduating from college with a useless degree in vocal performance was all part of her master plan. Dying in a car accident only hours later wasn't part of that plan. Yet there she was, standing over her own lifeless body and panicking about ruining the truck her parents had bought as a graduation present. Talk about a bad way to repay them.

If coming to terms with the hereafter wasn’t enough to deal with, Isla suddenly finds herself stuck with Hayden, a gorgeous Brit with a bad attitude and a penchant for throwing her off cliffs to keep her in line. Worst of all, Hayden is her Guide, and until she completes six impossible and totally random tasks to reach her mysterious Destination, she's stuck with him. Isla's major problem, though, is that she doesn't know what reaching her Destination actually entails, and soon the mystery surrounding her new afterlife seems more ominous than any purgatory she could possibly imagine. Now Isla must decide if she'll trust her dark and brooding Guide despite his "bad boy" act, or if she'll risk failing her tasks and facing the unknown alone.

That sounds really good! You should definitely work on getting that one out there so I can get my hands on a copy. :o) Okay, so now some one word questions:

Favorite color? Green

Favorite food? Potatoes

Favorite drink? Water

Favorite movie? Today? “Bandits”

Favorite TV show? Corner Gas

Favorite animal? Hippo

Favorite season? Fall

Favorite Dr. Who? David Tennant FTW!!!

(Can’t argue with that! He’s my fave as well.)

Favorite online or video game? Online is Guild Wars 2 and non-online is Portal 2. (Lots of twos for some reason).

Favorite superhero?Dr . Jean Grey J I know she turns evil and everything… but she’s so awesome! (Great choice—a hero who’s also a villain. I knew you were a smart girl, Shannen!)

Thank you so much for stopping by and having this fun chat with us! Here are Shannen's books and where you can buy them now!

You can watch the trailer for her upcoming Sugar Coated here!