Interview with Amber Benson with Brigita Pavshich
Amber Benson seems to be successful at every project she undertakes. A native of Alabama, Benson is an accomplished actress, screen writer, director, and a novelist. She is perhaps best known for her role of Tara in the cult series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also wrote several stage plays and scripts for independent movies. Her first novel, Death’s Daughter, was published in February 2009.
As a youngster you studied singing and acting. Has writing been only a more recent development or have you always known you would write too?
I have always written. Even when I was a little kid I would write little plays and short stories. It was only as an adult that I was confident enough to try my hand at long form prose.
In 2002, you wrote, directed and stared in your independent movie Chance. Which of the aspects was the hardest (writing, directing or acting)? If you only had to choose one career direction, which of the three would you choose and why?
I think doing all three at once was what was so difficult about doing CHANCE. In the future, I am definitely gonna stick to two out of three - trying to be everything and wear every hat is overwhelming. I guess if I had to choose between the three, I would probably pick directing. It’s so intoxicating to run a set.
Writing and acting are quite different. Do you think either of the disciplines can help you with the other? For example, does your acting experience help you write more well-rounded characters or help you with the pace of the plot? Or is it more the writing that helps you with the acting?
I think the acting has definitely helped the writing. I find that my ability to write characters and dialogue have been enhanced by all the years of reading and acting out other people’s words. It showed me what works and what doesn’t work - I would recommend that any writer and/or director take an acting class. It will open up a whole new world for them.
You also wrote comic books as part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book series. Was that very different from writing a novel? Which different skills did you have to use, if any?
Writing for comic books is much more like writing a screenplay and then story-boarding it. You’re directing the action of the comic book by deciding panel size and placement and you and the illustrator are working hand in hand to create the imagery of the world together - which again is much more like working in the film/tv world. Writing prose is a very solitary endeavor and I guess that’s the biggest difference - creating a comic book is not. It’s a collaborative medium.
Death’s Daughter is an urban fantasy. Is this your genre or would you consider writing novels with a different subject matter?
I like writing genre based stories, but I am definitely open to writing straight literature. For me, it’s all about what the story demands.
If I’m not mistaken, you have a contract for three novels. Will they be sequels to Death’s Daughter or are they separate stories? What are your other plans for the future?
Death’s Daughter is actually part of a trilogy. All of the books will deal with the same protagonist, Calliope Reaper-Jones. I am also working on a children’s book called, The New Newbridge Academy - which is in the vein of The Lemony Snicket Books.
You’re multitalented and you seem to constantly be working on one project or another. What do you do in your free time, to relax?
I like to read. I am a book whore. I also like to eat and to cook. I get a lot of enjoyment out of good food.
Which writers or books influenced you as a writer? What are you reading at the moment?
Definitely Neil Gaimen and Charlaine Harris were big influences for Death’s Daughter. I also love Russian literature - specifically, Dostoevsky is a favorite. At the moment, I am reading a Lee Child book called, The Enemy.
Brigita Pavshich lives in Slovenia where she works as a literary translator. Some of her recent and forthcoming publications include short stories and poems at All Things Girl, Autumn Sky Poetry, Static Movement, Your Messages, an anthology by Cinnamon Press and others. She is currently seeking representation for my YA novel. My blog is www.bsoulflowers.blogspot.com.
