Who doesn't love it when Carolyn Hennesy graces the screen as her General Hospital alter ego, Diane Miller? The character may only be recurring, but Hennesy brings her to life so well, her very essence lingers in the air long after her appearances, meaning she's always on-screen, visible or not.
Interestingly enough, Hennesy possesses the same talent when it comes to her writing. The actress is the author of a successful young adult book series called Mythic Misadventures, which follows a girl named Pandora, who is looking for something to bring to school for a special project and stumbles upon a simple box, said to contain something so terrifying and horrible that no one must ever, ever touch it for fear of inflicting all of mankind with the wrath of the gods and goddesses. Pandora takes the box to school, but when it's accidentally opened, all kinds of evil and misery are unleashed into the world. Hauled before Zeus, Hera and the rest of the immortals, Pandora is given the task of collecting all the evils within a year's time.
In an interview with Soap Central, Hennesy shares that she had no intention of writing a book series for children, which was sort of a happy accident stemming from a writing course that she enrolled in.
"I was writing a series of very short stories that were based on misunderstood women in fiction, and one of them was Pandora," the actress shares. "A visiting author to this particular writing group that I was in was like, 'No, no, no, that can be a novel for young adults. And actually, that could be a series of novels for young adults.' And I went, 'Okay,' -- never knowing what I was getting myself into, because I had no idea about the publishing world or that I could ever write anything that could be published!"
Fortunately, the Pandora idea turned into a major success -- so much so, the powers that be at General Hospital decided to approach Hennesy about writing a special project for the show.
"I had two books on the shelves, the third was in progress, and [the show's former head writer and executive producer] Bob Guza Jr. and Jill Phelps said, 'Okay, you can write something that people will read. Your books sell, so, we're going to tap you to do this,'" the actress recalls, referencing the 2011 GH novel The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli.
"I said, 'Okay!' without any hesitation, and I actually just re-read The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli, and it is so much fun!" Hennesy enthuses. "It's really fun, and it landed at number ten on the New York Times bestseller list, so, I can put that on my chin!"
As for whether or not the actress will write more books in her future, it sort of depends on her schedule. After all, she keeps herself pretty busy with her role on GH, advocating for animals, raising monarch butterflies, teaching comedy courses, and flying trapeze -- all of which you can read about here.
And for more information about Hennesy's writing career or to order one of her books, check out the actress' author page on Amazon.
What do you think about Carolyn Hennesy's career as a novelist? Have you read any of her work? Which of her books is your favorite? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
