Amber Benson, 2009 Edition

Amber Benson, 2009 Edition

Aug 19

Earlier this week, we hopped in the trusty Alert Nerd time machine and revisited a vintage Amber Benson interview from (dramatic voice) the year 2000. Today, we’re catching up with Amber Benson, 2009 Edition: filmmaker, Buffy alum, and newly-minted urban fantasy novelist.

Amber’s book, Death’s Daughter, is the first in a trilogy about grim reaper spawn Calliope Reaper-Jones. When Dad goes missing, Callie is forced to leave behind her normal girl life and venture into a fantastical world of vengeful deities, high stakes questing, and ridiculously cute hellhound puppies. There are off-kilter versions of familiar mythological figures, like Kali and Persephone. There is a prissy sidekick faun who isn’t exactly the epitome of helpfulness. There is a brain-scorchingly hot guy named Daniel who may have his own supernatural thing going on.

Why are you still reading this? You could be reading this book.

Anyway, Death’s Daughter is just the tip of the Amber Benson, 2009 Edition iceberg. She’s got both the second Callie tome and a middle-grade book, The New Newbridge Academy, coming out next year. On the film front, she and actor-musician boyfriend Adam Busch (Warren on Buffy) recently co-directed a feature called Drones, which she describes as “an office comedy with alien undertones.” And she Twitters a lot.

Somehow, in the midst of all these goings-on, she had time to chat with me over waffles. Here’s what transpired.

Sarah Kuhn: One thing I really loved about this book was the Callie voice — she has this endearing motormouth thing that draws you in completely. How much of that is your voice?

Amber Benson: There’s definitely part of her that’s me. Adam read it and he was like, “Oh, she’s like a 12-year-old boy! Every time there’s a man, she’s like, ‘Ooh, look, there’s a boy, there’s a boy!’ That’s like you — you’re like a 12-year-old boy!” So that sort of immature sensibility is definitely mine. She’s a lot snarkier than I am. I might think it, but I don’t say it out loud and she says it out loud. She doesn’t seem to have, like, a filter. [laughs] What I really wanted to do with Callie is, I wanted her to be fallible. I wanted her to be more of a real person who’s not just imbued with these special talents immediately and knows how to use them and goes off on this big adventure to kill bad things and has no arc. I wanted her to be insecure, I wanted people to relate to her. And as she goes on this character journey over the next two books, you see her grow and change and learn compassion for other people and not be so self-involved.

Sarah: Well, she’s definitely like someone you know — a real girl.

Amber: Yeah, she’s kooky. And she does stupid stuff and she makes mistakes. I’m so tired of reading genre books where the characters never make mistakes. They always know the right answer to everything.

Sarah: And were you able to keep her on track or would she take you in unexpected directions?

Amber: No, she always told me what to do. [laughs] She’s bossy. They’re all bossy. I will do a plot outline — I know exactly where I’m going. And then something will change. I’ll be writing and [the characters] will be like, “We don’t wanna do that.” “What do you mean you don’t want to do that?!” “We don’t feel like that’s appropriate for us. We want to go do that instead.” So all of a sudden, I’m futzing around with the plot: now I’ve gotta fix this so we can still get to here, but this way instead of that way. But yeah, they’re definitely vocal.

Sarah: Oh, yeah, Kali, for instance, is very vocal. And she likes to use the word dipwad — which I hadn’t heard in ages, but am now trying to work into my regular vocabulary.

Amber: I say it, is that not sad? [laughs] Dipwad! Like, not to the people that I’m thinking about, but to other people: “They’re such a dipwad!” I try not to curse as much, so I’m trying to find other words that will be placeholders. I love the story about David Lynch: when he’s talking about Blue Velvet, he’s like, “Okay, when you say this word” — and he points to the dirty word. I love that. I want to incorporate that into my life. But I really wanted to take mythological characters and weave them into the story. I was highly influenced by American Gods, the Neil Gaiman book. I like to think that this book is a cross between that and The Devil Wears Prada — like, if the two mated, it would be Death’s Daughter. But I wanted to put my spin on the mythological characters, cause that’s what I really enjoyed about American Gods. Those characters had personalities outside of just what you knew from mythology. And I wanted to create a world in which all the different mythologies could co-exist. I’ve always hated the idea that one reigns supreme over all the others. I love Joseph Campbell, love The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and I really feel like there’s an inter-connectedness to mythology and to religion, and if you can have them all co-exist together, isn’t that nicer than just one being the end-all, be-all?

Sarah: About the Joseph Campbell influence, I know you’ve said you wanted to have a female protagonist who goes on the hero’s journey. Do you think there’s a lack of that in the urban fantasy genre?

Amber: I feel like, many times, characters don’t say no to the quest. They’re immediately on the quest. There’s no back and forth, hemming and hawing. Cause that’s the standard of the hero’s quest: the hero is asked to go on this quest that they’re probably not going to survive, and the hero’s like, “No.” If you don’t think about things, if you just immediately say yes, if you’re not tempted, if you’re not insecure, then I don’t feel like you ever learn anything. And I feel like sometimes with urban fantasy especially, the women just accept it: “I am an elf, I am a witch, I am a vampire.” I’m like, okay, great, you’re all those things, but there’s no conflict about it. I feel like Kim Harrison, her characters are flawed and they go back and forth between what they are and what they want to be. That was inspirational with Callie. But yeah, I feel like the hero’s journey is missing a little bit and I wanted to create this character that went on that journey in a very literal way.

Sarah: Speaking of the whole urban fantasy-paranormal romance super-genre, it seems like that whole thing has really exploded in the last year, especially among female readers. What do you think is behind that?

Amber: I think firstly, we’ve been in a very conservative cycle politically. I think people have felt beaten down and this genre is an escape — a fantastical, fun escape where women are in charge, women are making the rules. That’s a big reason why this genre has blown up. And I think women are the audience. They go out and buy stuff. They go see Titanic ten times. They go buy every book in a series. Charlaine Harris is doing these amazing Sookie Stackhouse books and you don’t just buy one and read it, you read the whole series and you watch the show. That’s women. Men aren’t as obsessive. Women are serially obsessive. [laughs]

Sarah: I feel like a lot of mainstream press puts it on the Twilight thing. Do you think that’s a factor at all?

Amber: I think Twilight was impetus for people getting excited about this genre, but I think Harry Potter started the fantasy thing. It kicked the ball and started the whole movement rolling. When that went away, people found Twilight. So I think Twilight is an extension of that; I don’t think it started that. But I think you have a lot of women reading Harlequin romance kind of books and then you have a lot of women wanting to escape, so you put those two ideas together, and all of a sudden you have urban fantasy.

Sarah: You’ve mentioned Charlaine Harris and Kim Harrison. What are some other authors and books within this genre you’ve found yourself enjoying?

Amber: You know, I enjoyed the first Twilight book. I was a little sad that Bella was so weak, that she let a man kind of dictate how she was going to do things. But I didn’t think it was a bad book — I thought it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Anton Strout’s doing a series that’s a male protagonist in this urban fantasy world and I really enjoy that series: his guy is awesome. I read Marjorie Liu‘s series and I thought that was really, really well-done. I really like Patricia Briggs. I think there are a lot of really good people writing in genre right now. And it’s a shame that it is sort of pushed into the genre thing — it’s not literature, it’s genre fiction. I think there are some really good writers that are doing things that are better than just genre.

Sarah: Well, it’s sort of like the chick lit thing: you’ve also called your book chick lit, and I think sometimes people use that term negatively — but there’s such a wide variety of writing that gets the “chick lit” label.

Amber: Yeah, I mean, I would classify Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters as writing chick lit. I remember reading Jane Eyre the first time and not wanting to do it. “I don’t wanna read literature, I wanna read my little dinky fantasy books, my little teenybopper books!” And then I read Jane Eyre, and I was like, “Oh my God, it’s like a Harlequin romance! I get this.” It just happens to be in a different time period, it’s a writer from a different time period. It’s a classic because of the ability to maintain, but it definitely hits on all those points: love, star-crossed lovers…

Sarah: Cute boys…

Amber: Cute boys! They fill everything, don’t they? Every book.

Sarah: Okay, so let’s cast the movie of Death’s Daughter. Who’s Callie? Who’s Kali? And most importantly, who’s Daniel?

Amber: [laughs] It’s funny, I see the women so much more clearly than I do the men. I forget the actor’s name, but she was in Mississippi Masala [Sarita Choudhury] — she’s kinda tough and she’s got these great, thick, lovely eyebrows. She’s who I always saw as Kali. Callie, I always saw as a Zooey Deschanel kind of character. Cute and pixie-looking. For the men…I don’t know who I would cast as Daniel. Who would you cast?

Sarah: I was thinking maybe a James Marsden…

Amber: [through mouthful of waffle] Mmmm! Mmm-hmmm…

Sarah: Or maybe an older Ed Westwick. Someone dark and handsome…

Amber: Yes, dark and handsome!

Sarah: But there’s something a little…off. In a good way.

Amber: Yeah! I’m not opposed to your casting choices. I like those. Those aren’t bad at all! [laughs]

Sarah: Yes! [makes triumphant gesture] Now, I know you’ve always written, but was being a novelist ever part of your big game plan?

Amber: I was frightened of being a novelist. I blame Christopher Golden for all of it. Literally, I went to Chris Golden U and learned how to write. I’d written a little bit of short fiction, but mostly it was plays and screenplays. I love reading, but I was daunted by sitting down and writing 100,000 words. Then Chris and I got approached to novelize this animated thing we did for the BBC called Ghosts of Albion and I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this.” He basically walked me through the whole process. He was as much a teacher as a co-writer. And I feel like having gone through that process with him prepared me to write on my own.

Sarah: And then, does being known as an actor help or hurt as far as breaking into publishing? Like, was there a preconceived notion of, “Oh, it’s that girl from Buffy…”?

Amber: It’s both. I know Death’s Daughter would never have happened if I had not done Buffy. I never would’ve attempted it, first of all, and second of all, I wouldn’t have known any of the people in the publishing world via Chris Golden to talk to when I was actually writing. But when we were writing the first Ghosts of Albion book, we had to sit down with the editor, and I basically had to tell him to his face that I was going to be writing half of the book. Our editor was like, “Okay, I know this is terrible, but I need to know: are you really writing this book?” Yes, yes, I am really writing this book. So it’s both. But I feel like I paid my dues as an actor for so long. Other people pay their dues when they’re trying to be a writer, I feel like I did that. I don’t feel like I didn’t earn it. I worked hard for it in lots of different ways. You know, sexual favors…

Sarah: Right, the usual.

Amber: The usual! No, just kidding. [laughs]

Sarah: How would you describe your ideal writing environment?

Amber: I like to sit in coffee houses. There’s one in particular that has really good pumpkin tarts. So literally, I would go through five cups of coffee and two pumpkin tarts in a day and get really fat while I’m writing. It was awesome. I like being within a big, moving world rather than in my house, because if I’m out, I feel like it’s a job and I’m like, “Okay, I have the next four hours, I need to write 2000 words” and I treat it like it’s a business. Whereas when I’m home, I’m like, “Ohhh, okay, I’m gonna go make something in the kitchen. Oh, What Not to Wear‘s on, I’ll go watch that.” It’s bad. So I like being in a big group of people at a coffee shop, doing my work. I like to giggle to myself out loud, have everybody look at me like I’m fuh-reaky.

Sarah: And how do you get into the writing mindset when you don’t have that ideal coffee shop atmosphere?

Amber: I spent a lot of Death’s Daughter in a trailer in Canada working on a movie of the week. So I would sit in my trailer and write. And I would just blare music and try to decompress as much as possible to get this thing done, cause I was on a timeline. It’s sheer will. You have to force yourself. Like, okay, I know that I’m in a weird outfit, I’m gonna go any second to go be stupid and silly in a movie of the week. I was working with Julia Duffy from Newhart, and Julia was like, “I didn’t really believe you were writing a book in your trailer. I thought you were full of it.” And then I invited her to hang out and I gave her the book and she was like, “Oh my God, you were writing. Wow, okay.” [Laughs]

Sarah: I don’t think people realize that there are a lot of non-writing elements that go into a novel as well…

Amber: Oh, yeah.

Sarah: You’ve done a lot of meet-and-greets, a lot of signings. How did you come up with a plan for promoting your book?

Amber: Well, Chris and I had relied on the publicist doing the work for the Ghosts of Albion books, so I just assumed that’s all I you did — you let the book publicist do the work. But then I realized, they have so many books they’re trying to get out, you get attention, but once the first big push is done, you’re sort of left to your own devices. So I discovered that if I really wanted to push the book, I needed to really get involved in the social networking world. A friend of mine set me up with Twitter and Facebook and a blog and all this great stuff and I started pushing the book and I really feel like I connected to my audience in a way that I wouldn’t have connected otherwise. But I think you have to do it for yourself in any creative medium that you’re involved in. You have to learn to push yourself.

Sarah: And how did you come up with “If I get 100 Amazon reviews, I’ll do the Macarena on YouTube?”

Amber: Well, people kept emailing me, and they’re like, “Oh my God, I love the book” or “I didn’t like the book” or whatever their thing was. And I was like, “Okay, I know you guys are reading the book cause you’re sending me your reviews, why don’t you put them up on Amazon?” But trying to get anybody to do that was like pulling teeth. So I said, “Well, I’m gonna have to bet. I’m betting myself.” I put it out on my blog and on Twitter: “If you guys will give me a certain amount of reviews, I will do the Macarena.” And I honestly didn’t think I’d get that many. I honestly thought I was gonna slide out from underneath this. [laughs] But all of a sudden, we just got slammed. And then, I was talking to Adam, and he was like, “Um, you can’t just do the Macarena. You gotta do the Macarena.” So he put together the band and we did the Macarena. It was really, really fun and really, really embarrassing. But it was worth it. Because I got to learn more about what people liked about the book or what they didn’t like about the book.

Sarah: I have to say, one thing I’ve always admired about your career is your very DIY spirit. If you want to make a movie, you make a movie…

Amber: Ah, yes, you came and painted for Chance! [laughs] Little did you know what you’d be getting yourself into — the annals of Chance history!

Sarah: I’m proud to be a part of it! But has that DIY thing been sort of the guiding force of your career?

Amber: I knew I just didn’t want to be an actor only. I knew that I did not want to sit around waiting for the phone to ring for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to be 50 years old, looking back, going, “Well, I kinda had a career, sort of.” I’ve always been of the idea that if you have a brain, especially if you’re a woman, you’ve got to do other things than just wait for the phone to ring. So I guess it has guided me to where I am right now. My life is insane! I mean, I’m writing chick lit supernatural books. And I feel like I’ve done it all myself. People in my life have helped me — Joss and Chris Golden. There’s a plethora of people out there that have been inspirational in my life. But I think if I didn’t push myself, I would never have met those people in the first place. People wait for other people to do it for them, and I think that’s why a lot of people are miserable. Like you’re waiting for your husband to make you happy or you’re waiting for your parents to make you happy or your friends to make you happy. As Joseph Campbell said, you have to follow your own bliss. And I think that is inherent in having a happy, functioning existence.