Today I am pleased to welcome paranormal romance auhor, James
DiBenedetto to the blog. Hi, James. Please introduce yourself. Tell us a little
about the person behind the pen.
I’m a full-blooded Italian (3 of my 4 grandparents were born
there and came over in their youth) from a pretty big extended family (although
I’m actually an only child). I was born
in the Bronx, New York, and I ended up in the Washington, DC area 18 years ago,
got a job and I’ve been there ever since.
By day I do mail fundraising for nonprofit groups (please
don’t call it junk mail!), and at night I’m a writer. I’ve been writing since college, but it was
never serious. I have a hard drive full
of “page 1s” that never made it to page 2.
A year ago, a friend of mine sold her first novel, and it got me
thinking, “why can’t I do that, too?” So
I went back and dusted off the one thing I had managed to finish a draft of –
the first draft of the book that became “Dream
Student”.
Besides writing, I love the opera and go whenever I can; I’m
a big sports fan, a science fiction geek, and me and my wife are also the
property of a tortoiseshell cat that runs our household.
Why did you decide to write Paranormal Romance? What is the appeal?
I didn’t really “decide” to write in this genre. When I originally wrote the first draft, I
didn’t know there was such a genre! I
just followed the story – the first idea was simply the thought of seeing into
other people’s dreams. Right away, that
led me to wonder what a person would do if they saw something horrible, if
someone was dreaming or fantasizing about committing murder. The person who saw it would be the only
witness – but there’d be no proof. What
do you do then?
The story grew from there, and the romance quickly came into
it – at first it was just to give Sara’s character some moral support, but the
relationship quickly became as important as the dreaming aspect of the
story. And then the subsequent books
grew out of that.
How much research goes into your books, and how do you tackle that?
Quite a bit of research.
The first book didn’t require as much, because it’s set when and
more-or-less where I went to college, so a lot of it was just from memory. I mainly had to look up some specific details
for individual scenes, but it wasn’t too much.
The second book, when Sara goes to medical school, was a
different story. I knew nothing about
med school. I was lucky, though – I came
across a memoir about a woman’s experience in medical school in the late 1980s,
and that was a perfect fit. I got a lot
of the “feel” of the book from that memoir.
For Sara’s actual lessons, I used the “look inside the book” feature on
Amazon to go through the standard textbook used for the first-year anatomy
(dissection) class. And I visited med
student internet forums and the websites of several medical schools to get a
sense of what her day-to-day class schedule would be like.
The fourth book, when Sara is mistakenly arrested and is
booked into jail, I had to do some research there as well. That’s never happened to me, and I wanted
what happens to her to ring true, and I found quite a bit of material to help
with that.
There are also lots of small details – what movies and TV
shows were popular at the time each book is set, and so on. Google, Wikipedia and IMDB have been my
friends!
What is the best comment you ever received from a reader? The worst or
weirdest?
The best comment was from one beta reader who actually asked
if I was a doctor or had been to med school after reading “Dream Doctor”. I was thrilled
that (at least for one reader) I did a good job of making it feel true.
The worst comment was a review that said “the story lacks
conflict, interesting characters and a suspenseful plot.” It was just one review (the overwhelming
majority have been very positive), but that did hurt a bit to read.
Tell us a little about your writing style? Do you plan and plot your
stories, or do you just plow through them?
I plow through, more than plot in a detailed way. I know in general where the story is going, and
sometimes I have a very clear idea of exactly how the climax will play out long
before I get there, but I don’t outline or plot out every scene.
Can you tell us a little about your current work, “Waking Dream”? Is
there a story behind the story?
“Waking Dream” is
the fifth book in the series. We’re
almost 12 years on from the first book, and Sara encounters something that she
never expected – someone else (not in her own family) who can do what she do:
go into other people’s dreams. And
unfortunately, this other woman isn’t interested at all in helping people;
she’s using her gift for selfish and harmful ends. And she might be coming after Sara’s husband…
This was going to be the plot of the fourth book, “Dream
Family”, but that book changed dramatically as I was writing it, and it became
about Sara being completely traumatized after her arrest and brief time in
jail, and then her recovery from that.
But the idea was too good to put aside, and so it became the next book.
What sets Sara apart from all the other women in Brian’s
life (and vice-versa)? Why are they perfect for each other?
She’s really the only woman who’s ever been in his life; in
the first book when they meet, he’s only a freshman in college. And Brian is more kind and selfless than any
of Sara’s previous boyfriends.
But the real reason they’re perfect for each other is the
qualities they bring out in each other.
When they first meet, Sara’s trying to figure out what her strange
dreams mean, and she’s slowly losing her mind.
Brian’s pretty shy and nervous and hasn’t found his confidence yet.
Helping Sara cope with the dreams, and eventually hunt down
the killer who she’s seeing every night, forces Brian to find that confidence
and grow into the man he was meant to be; and taking the lead in a relationship
and guiding Brian into becoming that man is just what Sara needs to help her
focus on something besides her dreams – and also come out of her own shell.
Have you ever had writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
I’ve never had it for long enough to be a huge problem (yet,
anyway – knock on wood!). What I usually
do when I am stuck is to skip ahead in the story and write a scene to look
forward to. Even if I end up junking it
later, it gets me writing again.
Can you give us a little background on your Sara that’s only in your
author notes, and not found in your story? What inspired you to create this
character?
I’ve got tons of background on Sara. I know every class she took in college, and
who her grade-school friends were. I’ve
got a huge spreadsheet with all kinds of details about her.
One thing that’s not found in the first five books (although
it will show up in the next book, which I’m writing now), is that Sara is not
the most astute businesswoman, and she’s much too generous with her time and
money, sometimes to her own detriment.
The details don’t make it into the book, but I figured out exactly how
much money she’s making in her medical practice, for example, and how much she’s
costing herself due to poor (or overly charitable) decisions.
I honestly can’t name a specific inspiration for Sara – she
kind of came out fully formed, for the most part. She still surprises me now and then, but
she’s always been Sara.
Describe a favorite scene in your current novel?
In “Waking Dream”,
which comes out this month, Sara’s adopted daughter Grace, who’s eleven years
old going on thirty, has her first kiss, and Sara witnesses it, and then a
little later has to give Grace “the talk”.
We also get a flashback to Sara’s (very embarrassing) first kiss
herself.
What else do you have in store for your readers?
I’m working on the sixth book in the Dream Series, and I’m
also working on another book, tentatively called “Queen of the Idiots”. It’s more of an adventure in the tradition of
“Romancing the Stone” than a straight-out romance. The story follows Jane, an American graduate
student who’s studying at Oxford. Her professor
asks her to drive his brand new car from England over to his research site in
Spain. Unknown to Jane, there’s a sealed
box containing priceless archaeological relics in the trunk, which various
people are willing to kill over, and the simple drive becomes a dangerous chase
across three countries…
Here’s my bio:
J.J. (James)
DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve
University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very
little has changed since then.
He currently
lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has
thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct
marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among
other interests.
The
"Dreams" series is James' first published work.
Links:
Amazon Author Page
Facebook:
Website:
Twitter:
Book links:
Book blurbs (all 5 books)
Dream Student
What would you do if
you could see other people’s dreams? If you could watch their hidden
fantasies and uncover their deepest, darkest secrets…without them ever knowing?
Sara Barnes is about to find out. She
thought that all she had to worry about was final exams, Christmas shopping and
deciding whether she likes the cute freshman in the next dorm who’s got a crush
on her.
But when she starts seeing dreams that aren’t
hers, she learns more than she ever wanted to know about her friends, her
classmates…and a strange, terrifying man whose dreams could get Sara killed.
“Dream Student” is the thrilling first installment of the Dreams
series.
***
Dream Doctor
“I didn’t expect to be
woken up by someone I don’t know dreaming about killing somebody. I
thought I was done with that once and for all…”
But Sara’s not done with it. As if
adjusting to life as a newlywed and starting medical school weren’t difficult
enough, she’s started seeing the dreams of everyone around her, again.
Before everything is said and done, those dreams might destroy Sara’s hopes of
becoming a doctor, wreck her marriage and even end her life…
“Dream Doctor” is the thrilling second novel in the Dreams series.
***
Dream Child
"I would give anything
to take this away from her. I would gladly go back to having the
nightmares myself – the very worst ones, the ones that had me waking up
screaming in a pool of my own vomit – rather than see Lizzie go through this..."
As a resident at Children's Hospital, Sara can
handle ninety hour workweeks, fighting to save her young patients from deadly
childhood diseases. But she's about to be faced with a challenge that all
her training and experience haven't prepared her for: her four-year-old
daughter has inherited her ability to see other people's dreams...
"Dream Child" is the suspenseful third novel in the
"Dreams" series.
***
Dream Family
"Why is this so
hard for me? Why am I having so much trouble? Why do I feel so
helpless, so hopeless? What the hell is wrong with me?"
After tangling with murders and mobsters, not
to mention medical school and three years of residency, Sara thought she could
handle anything. And then the police show up without warning at her new
office and arrest her for a crime she can't possibly have committed.
Sara's confidence, and her grip on reality, is shattered during one
terrifying night in jail.
Now, the very dreams that have endangered her
life and driven her to the edge of madness may be the only thing that can help
Sara find herself again...
"Dream Family" is the powerful fourth novel in the
"Dreams" series.
***
Waking Dream
“Oh, God! We can hurt each other. Whatever we do to each other in the dream,
we’ll do it to ourselves for real…”
When her own dreams are visited by a mysterious woman in a
red dress, Sara realizes she has something she never expected: a counterpart,
someone outside her family who shares her talent to see other people’s dreams.
When the woman in red keeps showing up in other dreams as
well, leaving ruined lives in her wake, Sara knows she has something she never
imagined: a nemesis.
Now, Sara must track the woman in red down in the waking
world, before she’s forced to fight for her life in her dreams…
“Waking Dream” is the
exciting fifth novel in the “Dreams” series.
Excerpt, from book 5 (Waking Dream) – this is part of the
scene mentioned in the interview:
I decide that I need some water before I can properly fall
asleep. I get up, open the door and
tiptoe out, down the hall, to the stairs.
But there’s already someone downstairs, and – I don’t know why – I stand
perfectly still and silent on the top step.
It’s Grace, pacing back and forth near the front door,
looking quite impatient. I don’t know
why I don’t call out to her, but some instinct is telling me not to. A moment later, there’s a hand on my
shoulder, and I look up into Maggie’s tired and windblown face. They must only have gotten back from
nighttime skiing a few minutes ago.
“I was looking for David,” she whispers into my ear. “He’s been in the bathroom downstairs for a
while now.” And now I think I know why
Grace is pacing, and why in that particular spot. I put a finger to Maggie’s lips. We both hear a door open, and then David
comes into view. He’s heading straight
for Grace. Of course he is.
He stops about six inches away from her, right under the
mistletoe. They stare at each other for
a minute or two; it’s too far away to judge the expressions on their
faces. Finally, in response to some
unspoken signal, they come closer – closer – then their lips meet. The kiss lasts for just a second, and they
spring apart like a pair of repelling magnets.
But then, after another minute or so, they come closer again. This time, Grace puts her arms around him,
pulls him tightly to her. Then she grabs
his hand and places it – oh, God, I can’t believe she’s doing this! – on the
back of her neck. She holds it there,
exactly in the spot that Brian always touches me. The spot that makes me swoon when it’s
touched just the right way. And now
she’s running her hand through his hair; again, just the way I do with Brian. They do say that children copy their parents.
She tilts her head slightly to the side and goes in for
another kiss. This time it’s much more
serious, and it lasts a lot longer.
They break apart again, more slowly this time, and it’s hard
to be sure with the distance and the dim light, but I think they look more
confused than anything else. I turn away
to look up at Maggie, and her face is unreadable too. “Go back to your room,” I whisper
fiercely. “Don’t let them see us!” I follow my own advice and scamper back to my
bedroom, closing the door softly behind me.
Brian’s looking confused.
“Where’s your water?”
“I got distracted,” I say
