Thursday, January 15, 2009

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Irene L. Pynn

Irene L. Pynn_Heidi's Pick SixIrene 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.


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Sunday, December 23, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - LAST WEEK

Here's the line up for the last official week of HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Deidre Knight / Romance

Wednesday - Jeri Smith-Ready / Dark Fantasy


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Thursday, December 20, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - RhondaMason

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill alum Rhonda Mason is up at ambasadora.

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 42

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Tim Powers - Speculative Fiction

Wednesday - Matthew Cook - Urban Fantasy

Thursday - Seton Hill alum Rhonda Mason - Fantasy and Romance

Friday - Joel A. Sutherland - Speculative Fiction


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Monday, December 10, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Christopher Paul Carey

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Christopher Paul Carey is up at ambasadora.

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Sunday, December 09, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 41

This week on HEIDI'S PICKS SIX:

Monday - Seton Hill alum Christopher Paul Carey / Science Fiction Writer and Editor

Wednesday - Elizabeth Coley / Science Fiction and Young Adult

Friday - James T. Durkin / Mainstream Fiction


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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Jason Schmetzer

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill alum Jason Schmetzer is up at ambasadora.

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Sunday, December 02, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 40

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Michael Swanwick / Science Fiction and Fantasy

Wednesday - Seton Hill alum Jason Schmetzer / Science Fiction and Game Writing

Friday - Michelle Klein / Speculative Fiction



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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 39

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Tuesday - Paul Melko / Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy

Wednesday - Mark Deniz - Horror

Friday - Susan Sullivan - Speculative Fiction


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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Johanna L. Gribble

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill alum Johann L. Gribble is up at ambasadora.

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Monday, November 19, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Tim Waggoner

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill mentor Tim Waggoner is up now at ambasadora.

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 38

This week I'll have just two authors on HEIDI'S PICK SIX because of Thanksgiving. Both of them are from Seton Hill.

Monday - Tim Waggoner / Fantasy, Young Adult, and Horror

Wednesday - Johanna L. Gribble / Urban Fantasy


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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Sally Bosco

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill Alum Sally Bosco is up at ambasadora.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 37

This week at HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Tuesday - Fran Friel / Horror

Wednesday - Sally Bosco / Horror

Friday - Gerald Ryan / Crime


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Monday, November 05, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 36

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX:

Monday - Brian Keene - Horror

Wednesday - K. D. Wentworth - Science Fiction

Friday - Ben Rome - Gaming


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Monday, October 29, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 35

HEIDI'S PICK SIX is back this week with:

Monday - Daryl Gregory - Fantasy and Science Fiction

Wednesday - Jonathan Maberry - Horror

Friday - Geoffrey Girard - Horror


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Friday, October 12, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - K. Ceres Wright

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Seton Hill Alum K. Ceres Wright is up at ambasadora.

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Monday, October 08, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - WEEK 34

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX I interview:

Monday - Win Scott Eckert / Editor and Science Fiction Writer

Wednesday - Amy Grech / Horror

Friday - K. Ceres Wright / Science Fiction and Technical Writer and Editor


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Wednesday, October 03, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Bruce Hale

HEIDI'S PICK SIX with Bruce Hale, who was the guest author at Seton Hill's January 2007 residency, is up at ambasadora.

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Monday, October 01, 2007

HEIDI'S PICK SIX - Week 33

This week on HEIDI'S PICK SIX, I'm interviewing:

WEDNESDAY - Bruce Hale / Middle Grade and Young Adult Mystery

FRIDAY - CJ West / Thriller


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