Penelope Ward is a USA Today Bestselling author and an Amazon #1 Bestselling author in Romance. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family friendly career. Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 9-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 7-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.
Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island. She is the author of My Skylar, Jake Undone, Gemini and the upcoming Jake Understood due out in early 2015.
Loren Kleinman (LK): How would your friends describe you in 20 words or less?
Penelope Ward (PW): I’m a worrier and a home body. I’m not very adventerous. At the same time, I love attention and am outgoing and friendly.
LK: Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?
PW: Without a doubt…New York City
LK: What’s your current guilty pleasure?
PW: Getting up before anyone in the morning and Facebooking with my coffee.
LK: Do you read reviews written about your book?
PW: Every single one.
LK: You are the mother of a 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini). Can you talk about how your daughter inspires you? How do you give back and how can the public give back to children with autism?
PW: Writing about autism is easy for me because it’s a huge part of my life. My daughter is pretty severely impacted and having her as a child has been a learning experience that makes me a stronger, more empathetic person. Incorporating autistic side characters into my books has been an opportunity to educate the public about the disorder in a roundabout way. I have heard from dozens of parents of autistic kids who were thankful for my inclusion of those characters and for the accuracy of the portrayal. I think the best way the public can give back to children with autism is to make an attempt to understand them and also not stereotype them, since it’s a broad spectrum. I have tried to help with that.
LK: Who is your favorite character in your new release?
PW: Mitch from My Skylar. He is loyal, sexy, sensitive yet alpha and says things that melt your heart. He would move mountains for Skylar and is everything a woman could want.
Want more Penelope? Check out her sister interview tomorrow at IRPS.