Saturday, August 18, 2012

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. 

20 comments:

  1. Great interview! Those are perfect days. Though they rarely happen. LOL

    All the best!
    Jess

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  2. Heather, you are my most wonderful editor-in-chief and I love you. Great, great interview.

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  3. Wonderful interview! All my days are like that. NOT!

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  4. That was a great interview! Wish my days were like that!

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  5. Really enjoyed the interview. Fascinating hearing about some of Decadent's highlights. Can't speak to the Ireland side of your "wish" trip but Scotland is a fantastic country to visit. The people are wonderful, the historical sites are fascinating and the scenery is breathtaking. Not enough men in kilts though. I would love to go back again but I guess for now I will content myself with attending the Highland Games event near where I live next month.

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  6. Great advise! I also have a mom purse or Mary Poppin's purse as my sister likes to say. I haven't been to Scotland or Ireland yet but I plan on going :P I also like to hear others say writing is a continual growth process. I love finding and taking courses. I've had authors ask me why and I say well think of it this way. I'm a Respiratory Therapist and I have to take 48 Cont Ed Classes every two years, why would any other job or craft be any different?

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  7. Great interview, ladies! Heather, it's great to get to know more about you!

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  8. My bucket list: to read at least one book from every author at Decadent Publishing, because they are a fabulous bunch of peoples!

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  9. Thanks, everyone, and thanks to the beautiful Brenna Zinn for hosting!
    @Jessica--Thanks for coming by, I agree--those days are too rare indeed!
    @Desiree--Big kisses, can't wait to hang out with you in February!!
    @Taryn--LOL! Sort of like,"Oh, I love Housework! Not!"
    @Susan--thanks for stopping!
    @Margie--Sounds like a great time to me! I may have to go during the Edinburgh Tattoo to see a lot of kilts, and we have a LOT of fabulous Highland Games here in Cali. NICE scenery there. :)
    @Hales--AGREED!!
    @Alexa--Thank you.
    Nishi--that's a lovely bucket list, and an enjoyable one. :)

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  10. Really enjoyed learning a little about you. Really love the books here. Thanks for introducing me to some great authors. Marie Lisk melisk1966@yahoo.com

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  11. Great Interview! Red Riding Hood was the first Decadent Publishing book I bought...and my favorite!

    Thanks for the awesome books and for the giveaway!
    ehaney578 at AOL dot com

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  12. Wonderful interview..Love your perfect day...Also wonderful advice. We do always learn and never stop. We grow as we learn and it makes us better.

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  13. The tips were great. I've picked up a book in the middle of a series, liked it and gone back to find the first one and realized, had I read it first, I would never have made it to where I actually started.

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  14. Heather...Great interview!! I need some of the purse contents! :D

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  15. Love the interview. And it gave me some more books to add to my list!!! Now if I can just take a year off and read them all!!!

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  16. That was a great interview. Learning the little things about a person makes them real. I love your attitude. Great job. And never give up your mom bag. You always have what you need and a lot of stuff you may not use. But its like the condom theory, better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. :)

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  17. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. I'll ask Heather to choose a winner this evening and will post the name as soon as I have it.

    Tune in Tuesday, August 21 for my interview with Heather Kuehl.

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  18. Heather, take me with you if you go to Alaska. I want to visit it before it melts and all the polar bears breed with grizzlies, leaving us with nothing but Pizzly bears. (white, pissed off, hungry man-eaters)

    No one said I had to leave a 'sane' comment to get a book... Brenna just said to leave a comment.

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  19. @Marie--we're so happy you continue to enjoy Decadent books. Thanks for stopping.
    @Elizabeth--REALLY?! That's fabulous! Have you read Deanna Wadsworth's take on the North Pole? Oh, my goodness.... :)
    @Savannah--thanks for stopping and commenting. :-)
    @Caster--I agree. It's happened a few times to me, too.
    @Ditter--MUAH! Come and share a margarita with me and you can take a peek in the side pockets (where all the good stuff lurks)!
    @LAtochia--If you ever need suggestions, find me on Twitter or Facebook. LOL Thanks!
    @Vamp--Thank you!
    @Denise--I think I've carried a few things around for years, almost ditched them, and then BAM! I needed that hair pin, or the bottle opener on the Swiss Army knife, or the crayons for bored kids, etc. LOL!
    @Liza--I don't know if there are polar bears where Lisa lives. I know she sees whales swim by from her porch. How awesome is that?!?

    Brenna, thanks for having me over! We closed eyes and pointed and the winner is Elizabeth. Thanks everyone for stopping by!

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