GREETINGS, BOOKWORMS! I’m Aisha Kandisha, Head Librarian at Kandisha Press. Join me in the dusty stacks of the library I will never leave again as I chat with some of my favorite Women in Horror. Today we feature author Charlene Benoit!
What made you want to become an author? Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you knew you were born to write? Or perhaps a beloved book inspired you?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember, I think it all started when I was incredibly young. My mother would spend hours upon hours reading to me and eventually, I started wanting to make up my own stories. She’d write down the words for me because I was still too young to spell and I’d draw and colour pictures to go with them. It was probably in 4th grade that I knew for certain that poetry and storytelling were both a deep-rooted part of my identity. It’s never been something I just do… I think it’s who I am.
What do you believe are your strengths in writing? And when you feel you need to improve on a particular writing skill, how do you go about it?
I think I have a variety of strengths when it comes to writing. I am in constant supply of ideas, my imagination never wants to turn off. I feel incredibly confident in my use of dialogue between characters. I pay close attention to how people interact, and I do my best to ensure that my characters can mimic real-life behavior. I think one of the things I strive for most in my writing is to convey as much truth as possible even in the most fictional of pieces.
I always feel like I need to improve on every aspect of writing. I am a real-life cliché in the respect that I am my own worst critic. Even when I finish a piece, whether it’s a poem or a story, it never feels like it’s as good as it could potentially be. So, I keep pushing myself to improve by reading as many books as I can from a variety of genres, by authors who hold my admiration and respect. I also re-read The Little Brown Handbook from time to time and will delve into books like On Writing, by Stephen King, or Story Genius, by Lisa Cron. I think that being a writer is an endless journey of learning and striving to be better. I don’t think it’s an art form that many (if any) people truly master, but rather one we keep chasing for the rest of our lives.
What are your thoughts on the book industry today, or more importantly, about the book community? Do you feel it is getting harder or easier to make it as an independent author these days?
Sometimes I find myself incredibly hopeful about the book industry, other times I am incredibly disappointed. I don’t think, at any point in history, has it ever been so easy for people to market themselves as writers and release a book, I know this first-hand because many of my works have been self-published. It allows an author to make their work available directly to the public, but so many important things get lost in the process, which often can reduce the quality of the material to readers. I also feel, that despite being happy that so many are chasing their dreams, the market has become oversaturated with people who want their 15 minutes of fame by releasing copious amounts of cookie-cutter books. The over-saturated market causes a lot of low-quality books to often overshadow the ones that are worth reading. We could very well have the next Hemmingway or Austen living amongst us, but we would never know. I feel that the struggles to be seen and differentiated from the masses were incredibly difficult under the best of circumstances 20 years ago… now, it’s incredibly dependent on networking and creating a recognizable brand.
Tell us about your work. What story are you most proud of?
I write a lot of different things, I guess primarily I started publicly sharing poetry and have released over half a dozen collections, then a novella, and some short stories. It’s hard to pinpoint which one I am most proud of, they all have their importance. They all signify goals met or obstacles I have overcome. Currently, my first novel, which I wrote almost twenty years ago is under revision to be released, however, it’s my current work in progress that I am probably the proudest of. It’s nearing completion and will be released later this year.
What are your upcoming works and plans for the future?
Oh my, that is quite a long list. I have several projects currently in the works. I am nearing the end of my current work in progress, The Skeptic, which in all honesty, should have been finished about two years ago, but I took time away to study marketing and start laying the groundwork for a small publishing company. Upon completion of my novel, I will be working on a novella called The Phoenix and The Dragon, a children’s series, and collaborating with a novelist I greatly respect on a series of vampire novels. I have several other novels started, but they are on hold until I finish these.
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