Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?
Grace: My name is Grace Brennan, and I’m 36.
Fiona: Where are you from?
Grace: I currently live in Texas, but I’m from Indiana. And I miss it! Texas is too hot for me lol.
Fiona: A little about your self (ie, your education, family life, etc.).
Grace: I went to Indiana University, where I majored in secondary education and minored in English. I have an adorable little boy—he’s six, and the absolute best—and three dogs. I’m a full-time author and editor, and between that, my son, and my animals, I keep pretty busy. And I have addictions to coffee, tattoos, and Gilmore Girls!
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
Grace: I just recently began a shared world, based on my shifter world. My release, Colton: Rogue Beginnings, kicked it off in May. There are eleven other amazing, talented authors writing in this world, and each month, a new book will be releasing. And I just started my second mermaid book, Kiss the Girl, set in the shared Mountain Mermaids world!
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Grace: I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember, and the passion to write followed soon after. I wrote my first short story when I was in fourth grade, and my first full length book when I was 14—and the rest is history.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Grace: When I held my first published paperback in my hands, probably, and even then, it was hard to believe. That was over two years ago and it sometimes still feels surreal. I’m living my dream, and it’s crazy and unbelievable to me!
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Grace: My first published book? It was just a story in my head that wouldn’t shut up. I’ve been writing for most of my life, but I kind of slacked off a bit after I had my son. Then that story came to me, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Once I decided that I was going to sit down and write it, I made up my mind that this time, I was going to do it right and publish it. It was one of the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life, but incredibly rewarding!
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Grace: I had a vision of how it ended, and it was at night under a blanket of stars—so the title Starry Night Sky seemed appropriate. It’s one of my favorite titles. I love all of them for that series, actually—Starry Night Sky, One Sunny Day, and Misty Autumn Morning.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
Grace: I guess my style is that once I sit down to write a new book, I feel like Ihave to keep at it until it’s finished—so I end up having very long working days, sometimes ten to twelve hours. That can be a challenge in itself, because I end up exhausted once I’ve finished, but it’s an amazing feeling.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Grace: Each book has a piece of me in it—whether it’s a situation I’ve experienced, or a feeling I’ve felt. My books are paranormal, and so much of them are pure fantasy, but I want my characters to be as realistic as they can possibly be. I want them to be real—even though they just happen to shift into an animal whenever they feel like it lol.
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
Grace: The only time I travel is when I do signings, and I do quite a few each year. But sometimes those travels do spark story ideas. I drove through Kansas last weekend for a signing, and it sparked a story idea that won’t die down. I’m trying to make time to write it as we speak! And it’ll be contemporary, something I’ve only done under the pen name Khloe Thomas, so it’s kind of nerve wracking lol.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Grace: Tracie Douglas of Dark Water Covers. She’s a cover genius!
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Grace: Each book has a different message, but I never try to push them on the readers, or feel like I’ve failed if they don’t see it. If they find it and it speaks to them or they can apply it to their own situations, that’s an amazing feeling.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
Grace: I’ve recently started reading Carian Cole’s books, and I love them! I don’t have much time to read these days, but I’m trying to make room for her books. I’ve devoured the few I’ve found time for so far! I’m not really sure I can answer the second part of that—I have so many favorite authors, if I tried to list them all and explain why I love them, we’d be here for days lol.
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
Grace: My author bestie, Samantha McCoy. We’ve been friends in the book world for years now, and we both started publishing at the same time. She never once made me feel like I couldn’t do this or like I wasn’t good enough. She’s been my sounding board, my proof-reader, my support system, and I couldn’t imagine doing this without her.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Grace: Absolutely, and it’s one I’ll continue as long as my readers still want books!
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Grace: The only thing I’d maybe change is the length, but it wasn’t feasible—since it’s a shared world, I couldn’t make it my typical 70k word count. Still, I absolutely love the way it turned out, so maybe I wouldn’t change that after all lol.
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
Grace: That I don’t handle the pressure of a hard deadline well! Lol. Generally, if I have a deadline, it’s one I set down, and it hurts no one except myself if I don’t meet it. This time, I had eleven authors following me in my shared world, and if I didn’t hit my deadline, I’d screw everyone else up.The pressure I felt was unreal lol.
Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Grace: Oh, boy. I’m not sure. I have twenty-one published books out, and it would be a different set for each book!
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
Grace: Never give up. There will be more times than you can count that you want to—but don’t. Keep at it. Amazing things can happen when you keep chipping away at achieving your dream. Research. Learn everything you can about the process, soak up the editing notes, and keep growing.
Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Grace: I love you all, and you’re the reason I do this. Thank you so much for letting me continue to follow my dreams.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Grace: I literally just finished doing edits on another author’s book—Maxwell by Livell James, the second book my shared world, Rogue Enforcers. As a pleasure read, I’m reading Torn by Carian Cole. So. Good!
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Grace: I’ve been reading since I was two, just like my son, so not really lol. I do remember the first book I wanted to read over and over. It was called Oompah and I found it in the fifth grade. It was at my school’s library and I must have checked it out and reread it at least a hundred times.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
Grace: My son and my dogs are always doing something that cracks me up. As far as crying—well, I’m pretty sensitive. Sometimes a commercial can make me tear up lol.
Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
Grace: Like the favorite author question, that list would take far too long to complete—and quite a few authors would make the list!
Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?
Grace: Reading is my main hobby, but like I said above, I rarely have time to do it anymore. And I love to watch reaction videos on YouTube. It’s one of my favorite ways to decompress after I finish a book or finish editing someone else’s book.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Grace: Gilmore Girls is my all-time favorite show! I’ve been a fan since it first came on the air forever ago, and I’ve probably watched the full seven seasons at least a hundred times, if not more. I watch an episode every night before bed, because it relaxes me. You can find mention of a character watching it in quite a few of my books, too, or sometimes a random quote from the show. And I’m basically a slave to Hallmark’s Christmas movies. Good luck getting a hold of me when they’re airing!
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
Grace: I love Italian food, and lasagne is my favorite. My favoritecolor is green—which is why my logo and nearly all my swag is green—with purple a close second. My playlist is pretty eclectic—everything from The Monkees, Eminem, Nickelback, a cappella, Metallica, to a heavy dose of country sprinkled in.
Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?
Grace: I can’t really imagine that lol, but I’d probably go back to being a florist. That was the best job I ever had, until I published.
Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?
Grace: With my son, soaking in every single second.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?
Grace: “Here lies the underdog who never lost hope.” When I mentioned that quote—from Joyner Lucas on Eminem’s song, Lucky You, which is actually “When I die, I’m going out as the underdog who never lost hope”—and said I wanted to get it as a tattoo, someone told me that they don’t see me as an underdog at all. But I don’t think I’ll ever feel like that’s not who I am, no matter how successful I may get in my life.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?
Grace: No website, but I do have a newsletter that’s great for updates and exclusive giveaways. This is it—and I never spam. It’s all just info on my books. http://eepurl.com/dvH545
And this is my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gracebrennanauthor
Amazon Authors page USA
https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Brennan/e/B071G6GTX2?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1561885228&sr=1-1
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grace-Brennan/e/B071G6GTX2?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1561885245&sr=1-1