I was raised and still live in rural Pennsylvania, a place that features prominently in my books. (There's nothing unusual about getting stuck in Amish buggy "traffic" where I live.)
I've been a burger-slinger at a diner called "Diffy's," a teenage tax collector, a journalist, and now a part-time professor at Susquehanna University. But my most fun job is "YA author," because I get to interact with so many interesting readers.
LINKS:
Website: bethfantaskey.com
Facebook: facebook.com/beth.fantaskey
Twitter: twitter.com/bethfantaskey
INTERVIEW:
If you were a superhero what would your name be?
The Worrier. I am probably the best worrier on planet Earth. I would fret my enemies into baffled submission when we fought. “Be careful! You’re going to trip! Is your shoe untied?”
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
I dislike almost all breakfast food and generally subsist on coffee until noon. Eggs... ughs.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
I’ve had a lot of girls tell me that my “imperfect” heroines – i.e. they are average weight, shy, maybe not “book smart,” etc. – give them confidence to be themselves, rather than conform to some arbitrary standard for the “perfect” weight or personality. I love that. It means a lot to me.
If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world which would it be?
“The Mists of Avalon.” I was spellbound by the whole mystical, regal, romantic world when I was a kid.
If a movie was made about your life, who would you want to play the lead role and why?
Joan Cusack. She’s different looking – that’s a compliment, Joan! – and lispy and quirky, and I get the sense that she genuinely loves to laugh. I think we’re sisters in some parallel universe.
Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
I’m incredibly shy, like Jill Jekel in my book Jekel Loves Hyde. We don’t share any other characteristics, but we do have that in common.
What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?
One day, when I was stressing over a manuscript, my husband noted, “This is supposed to be fun, right?” And I immediately realized I was way too tense. Now it’s my mantra for life – something I repeat every day to keep those worries at bay.
Nickname?
“One-er.” My dad bestowed it upon me, because he considers me one of a kind.
How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
I didn’t! I never even told my family and friends that I’d sold a manuscript until the book was actually hitting stores. I like to play things close to the vest.
What is your guilty pleasure?
On Friday nights, I like to put my kids to bed, then simultaneously read tabloid magazines, watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – and eat a Big Mac and large order of fries. It’s so pathetic – and makes me so happy.
It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?
Giveaway Details
1 copy of Jessica Rules the Dark Side
Open to US only
Ends 2/26/12
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also by Beth Fantaskey:
