RAYMOND BENSON is the internationally-acclaimed author of thirty published titles. The third book in his most recent thriller series—THE BLACK STILETTO: SECRETS and LIES— was released today. He took out time to interview with me and generously talked at length about his writing process and world.
Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?
A. I have an office at home, and it’s exclusively used for that purpose. It’s full of books and filing cabinets, artwork, trinkets, a CD player, and of course, my desk and computer. There’s even a lava lamp, although I don’t use it as much as I should! On my desk is a photo of my wife, an “action figure” replica of the black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a pebble from the beach at Goldeneye, in Jamaica, the home where Ian Fleming wrote all the Bond novels. And a slinky, to play with during the times when I have to sit there and ponder.
Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas?)
A. Not really. On a normal day, often I’m in my sleepwear in the mornings up until the lunch hour. The morning is when I catch up on e-mail, do all the promotional and marketing stuff we have to do as writers–website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+… it’s a wonder we get any actual writing done. I like to break up my day by going out at lunchtime; that’s when I’ll shower and dress and hit the road. I’ll have a nice lunch and do whatever errands I need to do (post office, bank, library, groceries), then work on the real stuff in the afternoon. I sometimes play music, depending on my mood. I don’t have any trouble concentrating on the writing when music is playing, even vocal songs.
Q. What is your mode of writing?
A. Definitely computer. Even I have trouble reading my own penmanship.
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
A. It depends upon what phase of the book I’m in. The normal day I described above is pretty typical. If I’m in the Conceptual phase, it might look like
I’m doing nothing. I daydream a lot and jot ideas down to try and come up with the premise. Then comes whatever research I need to do, followed by the Outline phase, the hardest part. I try to adhere to a normal day for that. When I start the Writing phase, I follow a rule—write a complete scene per day. That might be an entire chapter. If it’s a long scene, I’m at my computer until that night, with a break for dinner. If it’s a short one, and I finish it in an hour, I go to a movie matinee. 🙂 Of course, life always interrupts “normal days,” so I have to be prepared to improvise.
Don’t Miss Part 2 with this fascinating author January 9th
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
In addition to my twice weekly blog I will also feature an interview with another author once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Janet Evanovich, Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Tasha Alexander, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Walter Mosley, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Patrick Taylor joined us in November. Heidi Jon Schmidt will be under your Christmas tree. Raymond Benson will be my January author. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Janet Evanovich and Loretta Chase will be featured . Sherryl Woods is our Valentine author.
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