Laura Benedict's Blog, page 36

In Which I Take Charlotte to Cincinnati and the Books by the Banks Festival

If you know me, you know I tend to fudge a bit when someone asks me where I’m from: “Well, I was born in Cincinnati, and I grew up in Louisville.” But I was, indeed, born in Cincinnati, and it is the place of my earliest memories. Among my favorites are of going downtown with my grandfather, a retired city worker (a bureaucrat, at least part of his job was to name streets), voracious reader, and stamp collector. As soon as I was old enough to be buckled (or not) in the front seat of the car,...

This Is Charlotte’s Story

When I write a novel or story, it doesn’t really belong to me. It belongs to the characters telling the story. Sure, I often write in the third person so that I seem to be observing. But I’m just the spokesperson for the vast array of characters that live–okay, I’m busted. I create them all inmy head. Every single one.

How weird is that? That our brains can contain not just people, but entire universes that never exist until we start talking about them or writing about them. I would suggestth...

Eight Years and Several Books Ago (Or, How I Learned to Love My Unexpected Career)

It wasn’t until we were cleaning up the dinner dishes lastThursdaynight, and my husband mentioned that there were only three months left untilChristmas, that I remembered that September 25th was a special anniversary for me. On September 25th, 2007, Isabella Moon, my debutnovel, was published in hardcover.

I took me eight years to write my very first novel–a novel that lives a lonely life in a box somewhere. And then another four to write my second (also a box-dweller).Yet, I spent only a...

Cold Alone

Cold Alone (Download FREE from iBooks for a limited time!)

“Murder, sexual obsession, and misogyny explode in the final scenes, bringing all the simmering evil to the surface in a shocking finale that, like in all good horror stories, is probably not really the end. You just can’t look away from this bombsite — nor forget it.” —Booklist, starred review

Nicole Martin needed a job, and she certainly wasn’t daunted by the notion of working at Bliss House, an inn that has a reputation for being...

Strangers On A Train

In October, I’ll be at the Bouchercon mystery convention. I attended my first one in 2006, just after I’d soldIsabella Moon to Ballantine, and loved every minute of it. It was so fun to go as a fan and just watch the panels and ask questions. Because, as a writer, I’m first and foremost a reader.

In anticipation of the panel I’ll be on in October–Maintaining Pace in Mystery–I’ve written about the Patricia Highsmith suspensenovel/Hitchcock film Strangers On A Train, over at Monette Michaels’...

Strangers On A Train

In October, I’ll be at the Bouchercon mystery convention. I attended my first one in 2006, just after I’d soldIsabella Moon to Ballantine, and loved every minute of it. It was so fun to go as a fan and just watch the panels and ask questions. Because, as a writer, I’m first and foremost a reader.

In anticipation of the panel I’ll be on in October–Maintaining Pace in Mystery–I’ve written about the Patricia Highsmith suspensenovel/Hitchcock film Strangers On A Train, over at Monette Michaels...

A Little Good News and the Star-Belly Sneetches

I got some really good news this week. The American Library Association’sBooklist publication, which goes out to libraries, reviewed my latest novel,Charlotte’s Story, and gave it a star.

Now, if you’re a Dr. Seuss fan, as I am, you might not think much of stars.The Sneetches is a book devoted to the debunking of the notion thatone thing (or Sneetch) issuperior to another thing (another Sneetch), and I think it’s a pretty good story. Some Sneetches start to put stars on their bellies, and get...

A Brand New Bliss House Story: Cold Alone

You know I can’t stay out of Bliss House for long, right? Even as I work on the 2016 Bliss House novel–THE ABANDONED HEART–and get ready for the release of CHARLOTTE’S STORY in October, I’m dreaming up more stories. So I took some time this summer to write you a short story. A really long, deliciousshort story called Cold Alone.

If you’ve read BLISS HOUSE, you know how it changes hands, out of the family. It’s sold first to a doctor, and then to Peter and Mim Brodsky, who turn it into the...

Resistance, Housekeeping, Writing, and Me

When I think oftopics for this blog, I type them onto a green digital sticky note on my desktop. (Spoiler alert: Look for blogs on Perry Mason, portals, terra preta, copperhead snakes climbing trees, and the (puzzling) topic loosely known as “I’m going to make everything all right.” Whatever that means.) This topicwas listed as “the middle class artist.” It’s been knocking around a long time, and around 10 p.m. I started thinking it was about time I drafted it.

Of courseI didn’t sit right dow...

Happy Paperback Birthday to Bliss House!

Today BLISS HOUSE is officially one year old, and is now available in paperback!

I dreamed a long time about writing this book–specifically ever since I read my first grown-up haunted house novel, THE SENTINEL, by Jeffrey Konvitz. Of course, I’d read JANE EYRE long before that, and the two together early solidified my love of the gothic.

BLISS HOUSE is the first installment in a series of three novels about the100-something year-oldVirginia house. While most book series star human characte...