Here's a bit about Spring Cleaning:
Sometimes, relationships can be deadly.
Terri thought she was marrying a strong, loving man, only to find that beneath that handsome face lies something cold, brutal, and dangerous. After years of abuse, Randy takes things a little too far, and Terri finally summons the courage to take matters into her own hands and make her escape. But freedom comes at a price.
Forging a new life, Terri tries to forget her past, but she can't help looking over her shoulder at every turn. When prison bars can no longer hold Randy, and her past comes knocking, Terri finds that the strength to trust again may be her only salvation.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14920365-spring-cleaning
Sounds wickedly great, right? Right.
So, on to the hot seat!
Dale: Tell us a little about Terri.
Brandi: Terri is the type of person who is strong inwardly, but
doesn’t realize it. She has been suppressed and beaten down since childhood,
she doesn’t value herself nearly enough, and can often be blind to peoples’
true nature.
Dale: OK, now tell us something about Terri that we *don't* know...something that's not in the book.
Dale: OK, now tell us something about Terri that we *don't* know...something that's not in the book.
Brandi: Despite the conditions Terri has found herself in, she is in
love with two men, though I’m not sure either of them is right for her. A small
detail that reader’s might get lost on surrounding what I said previously—and
without giving too much away—is that Terri doesn’t make the best judgements,
and, like real people, it’s a cycle that is tough to break.
Dale: Where do you get your inspiration to write?
Dale: Where do you get your inspiration to write?
Brandi: Inspiration
comes from everywhere. I like to learn new things, so some of what I draw from
is history shows, like Ancient Aliens and The Fall of Rome, that type of stuff.
Mainly, though, I dream up this craziness, and if I jump out of bed fast
enough, I usually can make something of it.
Dale: What's the first book you read that made you catch your breath?
Brandi: There are a
handful of those, but the one that really stands out and has earned a spot on
my list of favorites would be Acheron, but Sherrilyn Kenyon. It was one of
those books about abuse and redemption that ultimately brought me to tears. It
was gut-wrenching, to say the least.
Dale: If you were an animal, what would it be...and why?
Dale: If you were an animal, what would it be...and why?
Brandi: I guess I
would be a hermit crab. Glamorous, I know, but I am quiet, shy, and generally
like to keep to myself, so it suits.
Dale: If your book was to become a movie...
Brandi: I
am so terrible at these things.
a. What would the theme song be?
Brandi: Well, I am a
bit of a metal head, so consider yourself warned. While I find most music to
suit the mood of a particular scene, I would have to say that I am torn between
Black Veil Brides’ God Bless You and Avenged Sevenfold’s Buried
Alive as an overall theme for the book.
(Dale's doing the rockin' head bob in agreement)
b. Who would play Terri?
Brandi: Rachel Weisz
c. Who would play Randy?
Brandi: Chris
Hemsworth
d. Who would play Luke?
David
Boreanaz
(Dale: I *love* this guy!)
Dale: When you write, are you a plotter or a pantser?
Brandi: I have
always been a bit of a pantser, but I am trying to become a plotter. I find it
keeps away the dreaded writer’s block. I just don’t do well working within a
framework. I like to break the rules a little, so it proves difficult a lot of
the time.
Dale: When did you first realize that you wanted to become a writer?
Dale: When did you first realize that you wanted to become a writer?
Brandi: I don’t have any times or dates that
I can point to, I just know that I have always played with it. Since I was a
child, I crafted little stories. By the time I was in junior high, I was having
fun with it, creating little poems and shorts to pass the morning hours and get
through boring lectures that I would share with my friends for a good laugh.
Only in the last couple of years have I taken a serious look at writing. I
still keep it as fun as possible, and I don’t try too hard to hold myself to it
in a serious this-is-what-I-am-going-to-be-doing-for-the-rest-of-my-life kind
of way. I am just taking it day by day, and if there is a voice in my head that
wants to be heard, I try to breathe life into it.
Dale: Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what music do you listen to?
Dale: Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what music do you listen to?
Brandi: Oh, yes. I
have several playlists jam packed with the stuff, and I write by it always
because I find that it helps influence my moods and I am better able to bring
that across in my stories. I listen to just about everything, but I lean more
toward heavy metal than anything. Some say its angry music, but I find it
soothing and uplifting in a weird way. My personal favorite right now, if you
don’t mind me sharing, is Porcelain Black. Now there’s music designed to
empower and entertain.
Dale: Is there a little of yourself in any of your characters? If so, who?
Dale: Is there a little of yourself in any of your characters? If so, who?
Brandi: Yes. I
think, no matter how hard I try to separate myself from the characters, every
one of them shares something of me. Whether it is sensitivity, shyness,
awkwardness, wit, crassness, or just something that I would want to see in
another person, they come from me, and so I don’t think it is possible to
completely separate them from myself. An example would be Randy. He represents
the darker side of things, which I am totally into. I won’t say that I am
crazy, as he so obviously is, but warped may be a better word!
Dale: If you could be any character, from any book, who would it be? Why?
Dale: If you could be any character, from any book, who would it be? Why?
Brandi: That’s a
tough one. I’m going to go with Dr. Jane Whitcomb in J.R. Ward’s Lover
Unbound. Mainly, it’s because Jane is tough as nails,
intelligent, hardworking, and loyal, but also because she catches the attention
of a beastly womanizer with a hellacious past and is able to not just patch him
up, but heal his wounds.
Dale: What do you do to relax?
Dale: What do you do to relax?
I hop into a
comfy piece of furniture and crack open a (hopefully) good book or I watch an
episode or two of Married With Children with my husband.
Dale: Do you have a book-boyfriend? Who is it?
Dale: Do you have a book-boyfriend? Who is it?
Brandi: Goodness.
Trying to get me in trouble with the hubby, I see. Yes, I have many. The
numbers are now triple digits, which probably make me a bit of a hussy, but I
make no apologies. My top ranking “boyfriend” is currently Wraith from Passion
Unleashed.
(Dale: Sorry, hubby!)
Dale: Hot seat questions:
Dale: Hot seat questions:
a. Beach or mountains? Beach
b. Summer or winter? Winter
c. White or dark chocolate? Dark chocolate
d. Coffee or tea? Tea
e. Favorite TV show? Archer
f. Favorite color? Black
g. Favorite food? Chinese
h. Cats or dogs? Both? Cats
i. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken fried rice
j. Morning person or night owl? Definitely a morning person
Thank you Brandi for jumping in the hot seat today! I've enjoyed getting to know more about you and your new book, Spring Cleaning.
If you want to stalk Brandi, please do!
No comments:
Post a Comment