Tuesday 6 November 2012

Interview with Angela Brown

Today we're talking with author Angela Brown about her novel, NEVERLOVE.

Welcome, Angela! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm an author, a single mom to a rambunctious little girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk and an addict of Wild Cherry Pepsi and chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

How long have you been writing?

I've been writing in journals and short poems since elementary but did not start taking my writing seriously until nearly a decade ago. Having my daughter really inspired me to go for my dream of sharing a few of my stories, rattling around in my head, with the world.

Tell us about NEVERLOVE. What’s the story about?

Neverlove centers upon two young people who endured tragic or heartbreaking love at the hands of their parents and crossed paths to find true love in each other. Only their timing was terrible. Both were set on new journeys in their lives and love was a forbidden luxury. Will they find a way to love or will duty be chosen and both fated to never love?

How did the idea of the story come to you?

Neverlove is the unexpected novel. I had no plans of writing this story. This started as an idea for the theme of my 2012 A to Z blogging challenge that turned into the Abby and Basil blog opera. I ended the blog opera on an open frame that sort of needed closure, hence, Neverlove was written and completed. And is now available :-)

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I do some self-editing. But I definitely reach out to have critique partners and beta readers give my work a good bleeding out. Although I did not get a chance to pull him in on this project, Reece Hanzon is a free lance editor that has helped with previous works and I've gained a lot from what he shared.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

Guess I'm a plotser...or is it a plantser? Either way, I like to set up a skeleton outline giving myself a general idea of point A to point Z. When I get started on the first draft, I accept the detours my muse takes me on. Tends to add interesting tidbits not limiting myself to one specific path.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Making the time for it. Having a youngster and a full time gig can be time consuming. But I try to make time for writing, just as I've learned that I have to make time for the things that matter to me.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Paper and a pen. I might be typing away on something but if a thought flashes through my wild hive of busy-ness, I can write it down and come back to it later to dig into some more. Could be something cool to add in to the current WiP or a new shiny idea I can slowly cultivate.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Shadow clone jitsu (Okay, so I've watched Naruto a few times too many lol!)

My son loves Naruto. Pretty cool, I agree. What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Okay, this weird one came from a discussion at the paying gig. Somehow, the topic came up of a show that talked about people with odd fetishes. One of them was a serious fetish for balloons. So yeah, googling that was a bit odd lol!

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: endlessly, catapult, and finesse.

Amber could endlessly finesse the most handsome of men to catapult their hearts into the love zone with just a wink from her long-lashed hazel eyes and a curl of her pouty lips.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

Reading or chilling with my Chipmunk.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Gwen Gardner, my Partner in ParanormYA. Loves ya! Heather McCorkle, my go-to guru of self-publishing knowledge and getting things done, Maria Zaninni for sharp eyes that captured so much my closeness missed and to Raelyn Barclay who encouraged me from the start to give Abby and Basil a life beyond my blog. I have to give a shout out to the writing community in general. I've grown in a positive way because of my interactions all around. Big shouts to the readers purchasing and reading the book. Thank you so much!

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

They can find Neverlove here:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15843604-neverlove
Buy links: Amazon.com, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, B&N

They can find me here:
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6476148.Angela_Brown
Angela Brown in the Pursuit of Publishness blog: http://publishness.blogspot.com/
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Brown/e/B009JJEX60
Partners in ParanormYA (with Gwen Gardner): http://partnersinparanormya.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/neostateofmind
PIP Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Partners-in-ParanormYA/462052430493091

Here's Neverlove's book trailer:

13 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

Aw, thanks for the mention. I'm glad my 'red pen of death' was useful, but it all starts with a brainchild, and that you have in spades, my friend.

Congrats!

Angela Brown said...

@ Maria - you know I heart you on so many levels!!

Dorothy,
Thank you so much for having me here today. I'm grateful for the chance to share about my book but also to share the spotlight with some of the folks I mentioned. Again, My Writing Community, you ALL Rock!

NeilmcPherson@live.com said...

Lovely video for your book. Lot of work put into that and good work, generally. But.. were I to review it what did it say? Have I missed something? Seriously.
Cheers and good sales!

Unknown said...

Balloon fetish? Heading off to Google ... just kidding. :-)

Shadow clone jitsu ftw! Just makes you sound fierce. lol

Talli Roland said...

I'm with EJ... a balloon fetish?! Yikes!

Great interview.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Just balloon or do they need to be in an animal shape?
Amazing how your A to Z project evolved into something big!

Susan Oloier said...

Dorothy, that was an awesome interview! Angela is amazing. Her book is amazing! I wish her so much success going forward.

Gwen Gardner said...

Excellent interview, Angela. I admire your dedication and work ethic so much. Now if I could just keep up with you for our next tour...thanks for all the love - I <3 you too!

Carol Kilgore said...

Fun interview! Good luck with your book, Angela.

Nice to meet you, Dorothy.

Jess said...

Yay! Great interview~ Angela's awesome and I'm glad to see her book getting more exposure! I really need to try Wild Cherry Pepsi... :)

Anonymous said...

I can relates about your book being an unexpected novel. Mine was too. Sometimes we have something inside of us just waiting to get out and we don;t even know it.

Shelley Munro said...

Fun interview. I'm so glad you took the A-Z story to the next level. :)

Dorothy Dreyer said...

Thanks for stopping by the blog, everyone! :)