Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .

Why do you write the genre that you write?
I write, or have written, in practically every genre there is, from mystery to romance to science fiction. I read almost everything, so I get story ideas for almost everything, too, and I haven’t always been good about resisting the temptation to dive into them. But I keep coming back to mysteries because it’s where I started –with Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden as a child and then Agatha Christie and Quentin Patrick is a teen – and where I have also spent most of my career. It’s in my blood, I think, and it’s also what most readers expect from me.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
I’m honestly not sure any of them have any particularly interesting quirks. Pippa Darling, the narrator of my new historical mystery series, has a tendency to become sarcastic if things get too emotional. Savannah Martin, the POV character in the series by the same name, had a tell where she’d twist her hair around her finger when she was lying. None of that is particularly interesting, though.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
My first book contract was with Berkley Prime Crime, for the DIY home renovation mysteries. They asked me to use a pseudonym. We – the agent I had at the time and I, with some help from my husband and kids – came up with a handful of names I thought I wouldn’t mind using, and submitted them for consideration to the editor. She picked Jennie Bentley, because she thought it sounded nice and friendly and like a real person. (Charisma Crafton did not make the cut, for either of us.) Then, when I started self-publishing, I needed a different pseudonym for that, and picked one that was as close to Jennie Bentley as I could get without infringing, and that’s when I became Jenna Bennett. If I ever need to go again, I guess it’ll be Jennifer Benton.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I’ve always written, but I didn’t think it was something I could do for a living. Only special people get to be authors, and I wasn’t special enough. But in 2005 I met Tasha Alexander, just a few months before her first book was released (great book if you haven’t read it; And Only To Deceive, historical mystery) and she was the one who told me, “If I can do it, you can do it.” And while she’s pretty damn special, it turned out she was a whole lot like me, too, so I believed her. And did it.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
I’ve had a lot. I’ve been in retail. I’ve worked in a bakery, a deli counter, and for restaurants. I’ve had several jobs within the banking industry. I’ve been a tour guide, a travel agent, and I’ve worked for a B&B reservation service, Scandinavian Airlines, and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Just before I got my first publishing contract, I studied for a real estate license and sold a few houses. I got my first book contract in 2007 and retired the real estate license in 2008. Apart from writing, I’ve never kept a job for more than two years.

How many books do you have published?
It’s not quite 50, but getting there. I’ve written 50, if you include the four novellas, but not all of them are published yet/anymore.

Where do you write?
Anywhere I can or have to, but right now it’s a desk in the den. My husband got the spare bedroom to use for his office, since he makes more money than I do. 😊

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Not sure I have a specific deadline snack. I subsist on a daily diet of Diet Dr. Pepper – had to give up the high octane Coke when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and Diet Coke just isn’t the same– and peanut M&Ms. I’m not supposed to have the chocolate, but at least there are nuts, right?

Who is an author you admire?
Quite a few, but I have to say J.D. Robb is quite impressive. The In Death series must be coming up on almost 60 books now, and it’s still going strong, and the plots are not really suffering for the longevity of the series. Some of the books are better than others, of course, but that’s been the case all along. There’s no noticeable lessening of quality as the series goes on, the way you see in some long-running series.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’ll read almost anything as long as it’s well-written. Depends on my mood. I care less about genre than I do the quality of the writing and whether the story is interesting. So I have favorite authors, and I’d rather reread something I know is good than spend the time slogging through something new that’s not great. There are a lot of mysteries/suspense, of course, but I’ll also read romance (of various subgenres), women’s fiction, fantasy, SF, etc. Anything but horror and erotica, basically.

What are you reading now?
I’m in the middle of Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, not for the first time. It’s the first of the Discworld Watch books – crazy police procedurals – and I’m enjoying it just as much as the first (and every other) time I’ve read it. The only problem is that he doesn’t use chapters, so it’s quite hard to put down.

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
I actually end the day with water for dinner. Not just water, of course, but water with food. If it wasn’t for the diabetes, a nice cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream would be lovely, but for the moment, it’s water with dinner.

What is next for you?
I’m three books into a new Golden Age historical mystery series called the Pippa Darling mysteries, in which Pippa, her best friend Christopher, and his cousin, Lord St George, solve murders and sniff out family secrets in 1926 England. Secrets at Sutherland Hall and Death at the Dower House were released in 2023. Murder in a Mayfair Flat came just recently, on March 5th, and book 4, Blackmail at Beckwith Place, comes in June. I’ve just started working on book 5, Evil at the Essex House, which will be forthcoming in September. After that it’s on to book 6 and so forth. I have plot ideas at least through 9, so I know there’ll be at least that many.

Where can we find you?
On my website at jennabennett.com, Shopify, Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.

Now to have some fun . . .

Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
Either, but Mint Chocolate Chip if I can.

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream all the way. Although I’ll take cake. But not first.

Fruits or vegetables
Either, I’m not picky. Just no celery.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Either, I just like food.

Dining in or dining out
Out; any food I don’t have to make…

City life or country living
I’ve always been a city girl, as long as the city isn’t too big or I can stay on the outskirts of it. I just like to know that it’s nearby.

Beach or mountain
Beach in winter, mountain in summer.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Extrovert or introvert
Introverted introvert

Early bird or night owl
Neither. I like my sleep.

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
Who can choose? It might be The Goonies, but I also love Casablanca, The Princess Bride, The Pirate (an old movie musical with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie, not TV series), The Producers (the musical version with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick; not the Gene Wilder movie), The Mummy (Brendan Fraser, not Tom Cruise) and a lot of other things.

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
I don’t suppose an eReader, an internet connection, and enough food to last is any fun? Sounds like a nice getaway, though, doesn’t it?

My bio:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jenna Bennett (Jennie Bentley) has written more than fifty books, most of them in the genres of mystery and suspense. For more information, please visit her website, jennabennett.com.