HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Irene L. Pynn

Irene L. Pynn

HEIDI'S PICK SIX

1. Which of your characters is your favorite?
Everyone is always surprised to hear that, in From Light to Dark, Balor is my favorite character. He's technically the antagonist, but I just love the guy. Come on, world. Give him a chance. :)

2. Tell me about your travels.
3. Coffee, tea, or milk?

4.What else can you do besides write?
Let's see... I can't juggle. Math is out. My cooking's a bit like poison. Um... O.O

5. Who are you reading right now?
6. Pop culture or academia?

7. What is the toughest scene you ever wrote?
There's a fight scene in From Light to Dark that was not only emotionally-charged, but also confusing for me to write, since I have never actually been in a fight myself. I had to call several friends who had been in more unfortunate situations than I and conduct interviews with them about what exactly a punch to the nose feels like. After that, I resolved to never be punched in the nose.

8. Where do you find your inspirations to write?
Anywhere. One of my short stories, "God Corp.," came to me after several people tried to kill off my (obsessive) love of Shakespeare by pointing out that he might not have written the plays himself at all. Inspiration for another short story, "Mind Reader," came when I was surfing the web and found colorful images of brain scans online. Don't ask me how I found that, because I haven't a clue. In any case, it led to something fun!

9. Food you could eat everyday.
10. Are you into sports or other physical activities?
11. What kind of music speaks to you?

12. Do you outline your stories or do they just take you along for the ride?
Honestly, my stories wouldn't make it without outlines. There's nothing wrong with taking detours when something interesting in the distance catches my eye, but without a general guidemap, I would get lost in a dark forest somewhere and end up stuck in a ditch. And there'd probably be no cell reception, and I'd start getting hungry...

13. Celebrity crush.
14. Who are the biggest influences on your work?

15. Do you still watch cartoons?
Compulsively. Noggin is one of my favorite television channels, and that's a station only for preschoolers or hard-core cartoon lovers. I also love tons of anime and watch Cartoon Network (both daytime and Adult Swim) whenever I have a chance. Simply put: yes, I do still watch cartoons. And, yes. I am comfortable with that fact. :)


Irene L. Pynn has been a writer her whole life. Coming from a family of writers, it was inevitable!

She has taught everything from Creative Writing to English Literature at both the high school and college levels, but before becoming a teacher, Irene worked as a reporter at a small newspaper while she finished her Master's degree in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University. Her thesis novels there were a work of speculative fiction for children about time travel, and a strange little thing about a hedgehog.

When she isn't writing or teaching, Irene loves to spend time with her supportive parents, her talented brother, her incredible fiancé, and Othello, Sprocket, and Coretta (cat, dog, and cat, respectively).

The theatre is another of Irene's great loves, and she has worked in almost all areas – on stage, back stage, writing for the stage… or just sitting in the audience, she's always at home in a play. One of the geekiest things about Irene is her deep affection for Shakespeare since elementary school, but she has come to terms with that by now and sees no reason to hide it. ("Hamlet FTW!")

Irene is also an avid reader. It doesn't matter whether she's reading a novel, a short story, or a comic book, Irene enjoys the same genres that she writes: speculative fiction, magical realism, or just good, old-fashioned fantasy and science fiction.

Every November, Irene can be found red-eyed in front of her computer, trying to meet the challenge of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Through this experience, she has stretched her writing muscles and made some wonderful friends who inspire her every day. Her NaNo for 2007 is currently in the revision process.

More than anything, Irene likes to believe in magic.


HEIDI'S PICK SIX, Heidi Ruby Miller, Irene L. Pynn, From Light to Dark, Wild Child Publishing, young adult fantasy, writing, author interviews, Seton Hill Writers