Brenda Bengtson Interview Published on: 30, Jun 2022
Where did you grow up? Do you think your background has colored your writing in any way?
I grew up in a small town in West Virginia. My father wrote in a notebook at the kitchen table almost daily—stories for children. I admired him for his tenacity to get the story completed. He was proud of his accomplished work even when a publisher rejected it. He continued to write stories for his own enjoyment. That’s how I feel when I write.
What developed your interest in the suspense genre?I’m curious when it comes to paranormal events. They fascinate me—spirits, odd sounds, strange things happening all around. I want to find out—is it real or just someone’s wild imagination?
What was that one moment in your life when you realized you wanted to write?My English classes in junior high and high school gave me the opportunity to write a few paragraphs on a topic chosen for class—even a haiku. The same occurred in nursing school writing a care-plan summary on a patient in Med-Surg class. Each of these instructors took my paper and shared it with other students as an example. It was a proud moment in my life.
Where do you often go for dinner with your husband?My husband and I typically go out to dinner wherever there is pizza—mainly for me, not him.
