Welcome Heather Bennett, Co-Owner of Decadent Publishing

    It's always a pleasure to have a publisher on my blog and today's publisher, Heather Bennett, co-owner of Decadent Publishing is no exception.  Not only is she sharing with us some personal thoughts and insites, she's also giving away 2 ebooks of winner's choice from Decadent's Sci-fi 'Elatia' series or Western Escape series.  How generous, but how very typical of Heather.  To be considered for this prize, just leave a comment.  We'll post the winner by Monday night.   

So Heather, which of your books is your personal favorite and why?

Picking a favorite Decadent book is like choosing which of your kids you like best—can’t happen. BUT I do have a few I’ve a special affinity to for a variety of reasons. Red Riding Hood by Deanna Wadsworth because it was our first contracted book and did very well in sales; the Run Devil Run Anthology because it was an idea I had that ended up producing some REALLY good novellas and we had a ball with it;  Joy Ride because Desiree Holt was inspired by the concert we sponsored at The Viper Room during RT11 and wrote a Holt Medallion Award-winning novel--which, in turn, got us some other fabulous stories from the Sassy 7; The Wayward Child because it hit #1 in Australian Biographies on Amazon and is a wonderful non-fiction piece; My Boogie Woogie Bugle Guy because it was an idea the author and I casually tossed around and Dawn Jackson wrote a touching and wonderful 1Night Stand series story from it;  Oh, man, I could go on and on….

Describe your perfect day.

Work Day: I’d wake up NOT to an alarm, kiss everyone goodbye as they go to school/work, and have a quiet day to burn through my ‘to-do’ list until everyone comes home and the nice crockpot dinner I made is done. 

Fun day: I’d wake up NOT to an alarm and spend the day at the beach or doing something interesting with my family away from the house; no cooking or cleaning or inbox to worry about, just joy. 

Your bucket list.  What have you done and what’s left to do?

I’ve been to Europe twice, but I wish to go back with my husband and this time do Scotland and Ireland. I’d also like to visit many of the places in the US I’ve not made it to, like the SE historical sites and Alaska where my business partner lives. 

I’d also like to meet a very good friend of mine IN PERSON. We’ve been friends for 15yrs, been through a ton of ‘life’ together, but never shared a pitcher of margaritas.

Your tip(s) to new authors.

Find someone to read your stories and critique them before you send them to a publisher. Not your mom or your best friend, unless your best friend is an author/editor who can tell you the truth easily. 

Realize a good writer is ALWAYS learning and seeking to improve their craft. I can read early works by some favorite authors and think,”WHO wrote this?! It is not the same writer that wrote the books 3 or 4 down the line.” And it’s not. The writer has continued to learn and apply the lessons they’ve acquired, like a mechanic or school teacher does for their trade. 

What are the contents of your purse?

I have a mom-purse, albeit a fabulous one—I’m a bag addict. I have everything from band-aids and Advil to Bed Bath and BEYOND coupons, probably 8 or 10 pens and swag notebooks, those tiny boxes of crayons they give you at Red Robin (HEY! They come in handy!). Always—ALWAYS—Wet Ones and Lip Balm, most likely a reusable shopping bag that folds up into a tiny strawberry, and a Swiss Army Knife.