5 Minutes Alone… With Natasha Bennett
Natasha Bennett is a short story author and novelist based in Victoria, British Columbia. Her debut novel, War of the Soulites (Lyrical Press), is slated for release in May.
AuthorScoop would like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.
AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?
Natasha: I submitted a flash fiction story to the website MicroHorror.com, who accepted it right away. I didn’t get any money out of it, but I was thrilled. A few months later I earned my first five dollars submitting a story to Fear and Trembling. I still have that framed somewhere.
AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.
Natasha: War of the Soulites is a dark science fiction novel and the first in a trilogy. In my novel, Earth is unified under a corrupt government, and shortly afterwards the planet is almost destroyed by a race of mysterious aliens called the Soulites. The main focus of the novel is on a ship named the Vigilant, which is crippled during the attack and lost in hostile territory. What makes the book unique is that some members of the Vigilant are corrupt, some try to murder each other, and others are slaves. Somehow, the crew have to work together against impossible odds.
AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?
Natasha: There are a lot of people I have to thank. My mom edited my book from start to finish. My brother Campbell pointed out a few technical flaws, and my fiancee James was my sounding board for ideas. The good people of Lyrical Press took a chance on me and published my book. When I told about a hundred people I planned to write a book, not one of them said it was a stupid idea. Instead I got a lot of encouragement. There’s too many people for me to thank.
AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?
Natasha: It’s difficult to say, because I’m always on the move. A typical day for me will be jotting some notes on the bus while going to work. Later at night I’ll move those notes to my laptop. The weekends are usually spent promoting my book, so I try to fit time in whenever I can.
AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?
Natasha: A lot of writers say to never give up, and that is certainly the best advice I can think of. It took me five years to bring War of the Soulites from concept to publication. Along the way I met many writers who were too eager to sell their work, and ended up being involved in contracts they hated. So my advice is, research your publisher. Make sure the genre is right for them, and that the people you are working for have a good reputation. Otherwise you might regret it.
AuthorScoop
