Author Interview: Beth Fantaskey

Beth Fantaskey is the amazing debut author of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Read my reivew HERE). She is very sweet and funny...read her interview down below....

Wdebo: Can you describe a typical day?

Beth: I'm usually good for six snooze alarms, to start with – and that’s no exaggeration! When I DO wake up, if it's a workday, I try to put in a full day at my desk. I start by clicking on some free donation sites, like thehungersite.com, just to get the day going in the right direction. Then I pretty much get down to the business of writing, with either Pandora or the local college radio station playing in the background and a Diet Coke always on the desk. I am really a creature of habit!

W: Music always helps me too! How did you get the idea for "Jessica's Guide..."? Did you have to do any research for it?

My kids are adopted, and we sometimes wonder what their biological parents were like. I took that to the extreme with Jessica's Guide, by imagining Jess’s birth parents as incredibly different and unique. I had to research some of the math-related things, since math is NOT a good subject for me, and I looked up a lot of information on Romania, too. For example, I checked out a lot of recipes for the part where Jess tries to cook Lucius dinner. You really can substitute tarragon for 'minced levistan.'

W: Haha yep. Are any of your characters based on real people you know?

B: Nope... not in any conscious way. Although my sister is very rational, like Jess. I probably drew on that.

W: I hear you love to travel the world, but are fearful of flying how do you get over that? Do you travel on a plane often?

B: Flying is one of my gazillion phobias, and I’m definitely not over it. One of my friends refuses to fly with me, ever again, because I squeezed her leg so hard on an eight-hour flight to Italy that she could hardly walk the next day! I do fly pretty often, though, because it’s always worth it, to see a new place. (Well, maybe my friend wouldn’t agree that it’s worth it…)

W: What's your favorite color?

B: Peach - like that mix of pink and orange you see in great sunsets

W: Yeah! Did you notice to color scheme of the post? (It's peach-y) If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 5 items what would you bring?

B: I'm guessing I can't say "Manhattan" as one big item, so I'm going to say a rocking chair, a copy of The Pickwick Papers, my iPod (if we overlook the battery problem...), a picture of my family, and a Big Gulp cup with a long, long hose, hooked directly to the Diet Coke dispenser in a 7-Eleven back home.

W: Haha that would be SOO awesome to have! What authors do you look up to?

B: I am a big fan of the writers of the classics, especially Dickens, Dumas, Austen and Melville. Not only did they write amazing stories, but they did it with pens. And not even ballpoints! I’d still be on chapter five of my first book!

W: I probobly wouldn't even get through the first five pages :P Can you tell me more about your new book "Jekell Loves Hyde"?

B: It’s about two teenagers, Jill and Tristen, who gradually discover that they share a mysterious – and possibly dangerous – connection to the old novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As they work against the clock to unravel the mystery, they become more attracted – and dangerous – to one another… That’s the gist, without giving too much away!

Thanks so much Beth!

And don't forget to check out Beth's website HERE

Wdebo :)