Interview: Brenda Pandos

Today I have an interview with Brenda Pandos, author of Everblue and the Talisman Series. Thanks for stopping by!



Thank you so much for the interview, Audris. 

1. I know you said writing the first book was more difficult than you ever expected. How long did it take you to write The Emerald Talisman? I started in September of 2008 and finished in January. I wrote whatever came to mind without knowing any of the “rules” of writing and focused on just getting as many words as I could a day. My final count was over 100K when I finished. Editing was another story. I had a friend help me fine tune the story down to 80K and that part was painful. But since there wasn’t a sense of urgency (and no fun) we’d only do a chapter a month. In December of 2009, I heard about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. So, for the next 6 weeks we pounded out the rest of the chapters. I entered and made it through three rounds of cuts, ending up placing as a quarterfinalist (top 250 out of 5,000 entries). Before that I had absolutely no faith in my novel whatsoever and this contest gave me the courage I actually had a decent story.  
   
2. What made you decide to make your next series about mermaids? Ever since Splash, all I wanted to be was a mermaid. I watched The Little Mermaid every day for an entire summer in ’87 and even made myself my own mermaid fin from a coral colored nightgown with a pleaded bottom. If there were neoprene fins available at that time, I would have used my paper route money to purchase one instead of spending it on clothes and other silly stuff. So, it would seem natural that I’d fall into writing about mermaids as well. And my mer story began to marinate right after I finished Sapphire Talisman and DEMANDED to be written, so I wrote it. 

3. Do you listen to any music as you write or do you need total silence? I like to listen to fast paced wordless trance music when I edit, but honestly quiet is my preferred environment. I don’t get quiet often with a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old underfoot. I take whatever uninterrupted time I can get.

4. What scene in Everblue was your favorite to write? *SPOIL ALERT* I’d say the moment Fin see’s Ash with Callahan on her porch and he realizes he’s loved her all along and swims away upset was so awesome to write. I remember as a teen just wondering if the guy I liked actually care enough to know what I was doing when he wasn’t around or if he’d want to protect me if the opportunity presented itself. This fulfills that secret desire.

5. Your book titles all have names of colors on them, what is your favorite color? This is a very observant question. I’m actually quite fond the titles to my books have evolved into color themes since I’m such a visual person. I’m guessing the next book will have a color within the title as well… My favorite color is blue.

6. What is your favorite vampire movie? I used to say Interview with a Vampire, but the last time I watched it, I wondered why I so enamored with it in my twenties. Maybe because of Brad Pitt’s amazing pouty lips I didn’t notice the darkness of the rest of the storyline, who knows. I’d say now it’s a cross between Blade and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 




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