Monday, June 3, 2013

Meet the author: Brandy L Rivers

Author Biography - Brandy L Rivers

 I was born and raised in Washington State. I love the rain, my husband and my three kids. My seven year old wants to write and illustrate her own story. I'm trying to motivate her to actually do it. My mom is my hero, she helped keep me going with writing. Hell, she even helps in the editing process. What can I say, other than Mom rocks.


1) Tell me about yourself. 
 I'm a happily married stay at home mom with three awesome kids. They are 5, 7 and 8, so they curb my natural potty mouth. At least when I write, my characters can swear all they want. Seriously though, I love the little diva, princess, and my little bookworm.

 2) When did you first consider yourself a writer? 
 Always. At least I've been writing forever. I didn't manage to finish a full story until 2008 and I have a ton of stuff I have written, but not ready for public consumption yet. I finished this story a year ago, and put it aside for awhile, then came back to it after starting the next two in the series. And now I'm finishing up the prequel. Yeah, I totally did things backwards but Fallon was front and center and who I had to write about first and foremost.

 3) What Inspired you to write your first book?
 The first one I managed to write beginning to end was in 2008, but it has some serious flaws, and I need to figure out what to do with it.

 4) What books have influenced your life the most?
 Honestly, not sure. I read a little of everything but I don't relate it to life. I just like the stories.

 5) If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? 
 Man, that's tough. There are so many things I like about so many different authors, I'm just not sure. Just one, maybe HP Mallory for the simple fact she was probably the first indie author that I read and realized she was an indie author. After finding that out, and looking a little deeper into her story I decided to give self-publishing a go.

 6) What book are you reading now? 
 The Boomerang Effect by Lindy Spencer, and one that isn't published yet but will be soon.

 7) What do you like to do when you're not writing? 
 Taking the kids to the park, swimming, or whatever just to get the kids out and playing. Read a good book. Have stimulating conversation.

 8) Where do you get your ideas for books?
A very overactive imagination and music.

 9) What new author has grasped your interest? 
 I can't pick one. There's Lindy Spencer who weaves a good mystery. LJ Baker who I can honestly say wrote a YA that kept my interest with Save Me. And Melanie Codina who wrote Love Realized which is a very heartfelt tale you can easily relate too.

 10) If you couldn't be an author, what would your ideal career be?
 I'd probably run a cafe somewhere.

 11) What was your favorite chapter to write and why?
 Oh man, wow. Probably one, because so much is happening right off the bat in In Too Deep, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book.

 12) Why do you feel you had to tell this story? 
 Fallon, what else can I say? Oh and Brody, because once I had the idea for Fallon, Brody wouldn't go away. I wanted to tell the story my way with my characters. Fallon is a ballsy, independent tattoo artist and druid. She's done with men and drove away from her old life. Brody is a werewolf with a sexy southern drawl and looks a little like a surfer with his shaggy blonde hair. The best thing about him, he knows what he wants and he's perfectly fine with his woman kicking more ass than he does, and he can kick ass.

 13) Can you tell us about your upcoming book? 
 So I did things backwards. I wrote In Too Deep, but the further I got into it, the more her best friend developed. I always knew Jess was a werewolf and psychic, but as the blanks were filled in, she sort of earned her own story. And well, Slater too. New Beginnings takes place two years before In Too Deep and you get to know why Jess moved up in the first place, and how she wound up with the Alpha. I haven't set a firm date, but I will have it ready in July, probably late July. It won't be as long as the first book, but it's not as short as I expected either. I already have the next two half written, but I won't say more than Hayden is the next book.

 14) How do you market your book?
 I didn't do much at first. I'm trying more now. I hit publish on April 15th, but was sort of chicken to start sending it to the reviewers. Around the April 29th, I started contacting reviewers and sending them the book. I tweet it once or twice a week. I do keep my website and my facebook updated. That's really about it so far. I'm not a best seller or anything, but I'm gaining a few fans. I'm still new at this and figuring it all out.

 15) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
 Just do it. Seriously, sit down and write. Then get a few friends or even strangers through various sites to read your book and give you feedback so you can more effectively edit. Then edit until you can't stand it, put the book down for a week, then do it again before publishing.

 Synopsis - Fallon is a brilliant tattoo artist with inherent magic. Tired of men and their games, she climbs onto her Harley and leaves her old life behind. Brody is a talented motorcycle mechanic and werewolf stuck in his painful past. It’s just another depressing night until he’s attacked by vampires. Thinking he killed them, he runs into the night and crashes into Fallon. Unwilling to walk away from anyone in need, she heals Brody and then takes out the vampires who aren’t as dead as he thought. Her past collides with the present, and she finds herself stranded in Edenton, Washington where an old friend lives. With no ride and no real plan, she winds up staying in Brody’s empty apartment. Feeling alive for the first time in years, Brody is determined to claim Fallon’s heart and keep her safe from the shadows in her past. However, she prides herself on her independence and would rather keep him safe, even from herself. With the impending danger from the group of vampires and dark images  they will have to work together. The closer they get, the harder it is for her to fight her attraction. Be prepared for monsters, magic and lots of ink.

 Excerpt - A breeze stirred Brody out of his slumber. The pain was gone, the burning gone, and he was buck-ass naked on the pavement. What the hell? Then he remembered crashing into her bike, the angel who healed his wounds and gave him peace he hadn’t felt in years. The vampires. Shit. Brody slammed back into awareness and bolted upright as he searched for her. He had been outside the bar getting ready to run when he was attacked by a male and female. He hoped he killed them because he didn't want them going after his savior. His gaze locked on her. Angel? Make that fallen angel because her motorcycle leathers fit her like a second skin. Her long red hair blew in the wind and she looked wicked pissed as she glared into the tree line. He couldn’t hear or smell anything out of place, but she sure as hell sensed something coming and she looked determined to tear whatever it was apart. A raven haired vampire streaked out of the woods and ran straight for the woman with a blood curdling screech. Brody had twisted her head completely around. He couldn’t figure out how the hell she was up and moving. He roared and ran for the vampire, but slammed into a wall of nothing as he promptly slid to his knees. Desperate to stop the vampire, he threw all of his strength into beating his way through the barrier, and got nowhere. The redhead didn’t even spare him a glance. She just dropped to her knees and brought her hands up over head as a wall of earth rose around her to form a dome. The vampire ran straight into the earthen wall and fell back in convulsions as if struck by lightning. Brody saw the crack in the wall the same time the vampire rolled to her hands and knees. She must have seen the weakness because she shot up from the ground and blurred straight for the crack. Feeling useless, Brody shouted. “Watch out, she’s going to bust through.” The dome shattered, but his angel was incredibly fast with a glowing blade, slicing straight through the vampire’s neck, sending the head rolling his way. He couldn’t figure out where the dagger had come from. There was no room to fit the blade under her leathers. The severed head hit the invisible barrier with a wet thunk, and he glanced down to see smoke rising from the smoldering neck. When he looked up, the rest of the body disintegrated into ash, blowing away on the wind as the empty clothes fell to the ground. Then he really looked at the redhead and his heart slammed against his ribs. Even covered in blood and ash, she was breathtaking. The light of the moon caught in her brilliant red hair when she tossed it over her shoulder. Her pale skin glowed and her vibrant green eyes sparked as her gaze locked with his.

 Links - 

Diesel Ebook 

 Amazon

Amazon UK 

 B&N


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