• Home
  • About Me
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Me
No Result
View All Result
Rachel Poli - Official Author Website
No Result
View All Result

Meet Jen Benjamin, Author

12 April 2023

It’s my pleasure to welcome Jen Benjamin to my blog.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello and thanks for having me! I’m Jen Benjamin and I write romantic comedy/chick lit. It’s basically light reading that’s fun to write and (I hope!) fun to read.

How long have you been writing for?

Writing has been one of my favorite pastimes since I was pretty young. When I was really little, like ages 6 through 10, I used to write stories and try to get my friends to act them out. The pre-teen and early teen years were mostly spent writing lame poetry. (Poetry itself isn’t lame, but mine was!) I returned to stories in seventh or eighth grade and have been writing stories ever since.

What is your writing process like?

I don’t outline or anything like that. Basically, I make myself sit down. Sometimes I have to bribe myself. You think I’m kidding, don’t you? Well, I’m not. If I can just talk myself into turning on the computer or opening the notebook, I can get going. But it seems very daunting until I start. When I do start, I just go where the story takes me.

Do you have a writing routine? If so, what’s a typical day like for you?

I don’t really have a routine. I usually write at night when everyone else is sleeping and I almost always have a sitcom playing in the background. And I usually write from beginning to end but every once in a while, I’ll have a scene that I have to get down while it’s still fresh in my mind. That’s rare and is the only time I write out of sequence.

What motivates you to write?

That is the hardest part of writing! Just getting motivated to DO IT. It feels impossible sometimes. There are times when I have to just force myself to start and I know that once I do, the words will flow. But sometimes I’ll have a story bouncing around in my head until it starts to drive me crazy and I simply MUST get it out of my head by putting it down on paper or screen.

What was the first thing you did when you found out your book was being published?

You know, I honestly don’t remember but, knowing myself as I do, I’ll bet I read through the whole manuscript again to try to catch anything that might be outrageously stupid.

Are you currently working on anything new?

I have another book coming out in April. It’s about Annie Gallagher, a small-town museum curator who believes that if she’s patient, Fate will bring love to her doorstep.

I do have some other stories and fragments bouncing around but I’m not sure which of those will come to fruition first.

If you weren’t a writer, what would your career be?

Oh, I have no idea. I used to want to be a history teacher. But I ended up making a career as a newspaper journalist before I decided to stay home with my kids.

What is the easiest part of writing for you? What is the hardest part?

I think, for me, the easiest part is getting the story out. The hardest part, aside from, you know, actually turning on the computer, is tying the end up so that readers will be happy. I’m a person who is content with ambiguous endings when I’m reading, but I know that most readers want closure. I try to be true to the story and give the readers what they need. For me, it’s a fine line.

What’s one thing you learned through writing that you wish you knew before you started?

An author will never make everyone happy. I cannot write a book that will appeal to everyone and trying to do that is a waste of time.

What is your favorite book or genre? Is there a special book that made you realize you wanted to write?

I really read just about everything. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a long, wordy classic. Sometimes in the mood for something that requires zero thought. I can’t think of any one book that made me want to write. I have my head in the clouds a lot and sometimes those daydreams turn into a good plot and I want to write it down.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

I have no clever advice. Just write. Just do it. You can’t just wait around for someday. But when you do have to wait, read, read, read!

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’d just like to tell you how grateful I am for this interview and how grateful I am to anyone who gives my stories a chance! I hope they make you smile. That’s really all I’m after.

About Jen

Jen Benjamin is a newspaper writer who enjoys fiction when she gets time away from writing facts. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, daughter and various furry creatures. When she isn’t writing, Jen enjoys photography, reading, catching re-runs of Frasier and playing the violin. She used to play the violin for church and various other events, but now just plays for herself (and still has nightmares about her one gig as a strolling violinist!).

You can email Jen at [email protected], or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorjenbenjamin or on Twitter, @jenbenjam.

Jen’s Books

Buy Links

Amazon

Share120Tweet75
admin

admin

Related Posts

Uncategorised

Sunday Morning

12 April 2023

An abandoned house. A heist. A new puppy. Lost Love. From unbelievable to true-to-life, this flash fiction collection will take you to many places and get to know various characters. With no two stories alike each is thought-provoking, emotional,...

Uncategorised

Time To Write: Set The Scene 2

12 April 2023

Set the scene using this prompt. Why are your characters at the police station? Are they inside the station or outside of it? Do they work there? Happy Writing! Twitter | Bookstagram | Pinterest | GoodReads | Double Jump

Uncategorised

The Aqueous Transmission by Mike Eye

12 April 2023

Title: The Aqueous Transmission Author: Mike Eye Published: December 2016 by Fastpencil Publishing Genre: Science-fiction (visionary and metaphysical fiction) How I got the book: I received a free digital copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Summary:...

Uncategorised

Editing Goals

12 April 2023

I’ve been editing my novel, George Florence, since the beginning of January. I’ve been doing really well keeping up with my routine. I’ve been editing every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning. Saturdays I’m able to edit more and I go...

Categories

  • Blogging (11)
  • Book Review (31)
  • Creative Writing (83)
  • Mental Health (15)
  • Mystery Month (10)
  • NONFICTION (8)
  • Podcast (42)
  • READING (28)
  • SCIENCE FICTION (5)
  • Short Story Sunday (34)
  • SOCIAL MEDIA (8)
  • SUPERHEROES (7)
  • Uncategorised (2,027)

Popular

  • Privacy Policy Updates

    304 shares
    Share 122 Tweet 76
  • Behind the Scenes by Joseph J. Allen [Book Review]

    303 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • February 2021 Check-In [Mental Health Monday]

    303 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Which Social Media Platform is the Best for Writers?

    303 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Short Story Sunday: “Fork” [327]

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

 

This blog contains affiliate links. This means should you purchase anything from these links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep the website up and running. I will never link to something I haven’t personally used or disliked. Thank you for your support!

All content on this website is copyrighted to Rachel Poli. All rights reserved. No part of this website including images and text may be copied or reproduced anywhere without the written content of the owner/creator, Rachel Poli.

© Copyright 2023 - Rachel Poli

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Me