With tomorrow a special day for love
and some extra love, I have romance author Brandi Salazar visiting my
blog. Brandi thanks for spending some time with us today. Tell us a
little about yourself and why you love to write.
Brandi: Hi there. Thanks for
having me on today. I am married to my high school sweetheart.
Together we have three adorable little hellions and a few too many
animals. I was a kid when I first started writing. I used to trade
material with a friend with the goal of making each other laugh. It
was a means of passing time and relieving stress. The reason I write
today is for much the same reason. I love creating new worlds and
breathing life into characters. What I love the most is the
connection, and I love sharing that with others.
Date: Tell us about your books.
Brandi: My first book, Marked,
was a paranormal romance, but as with all firsts, it was heinous and
needed so much work I shoved it into a vault. Since then I wrote
Faerie Tales: Misfortune of
a Teenage Socialite and
Addicted to Magic, which are young
adult paranormal romances. Keeping with the theme, I wrote my first
adult paranormal romance Darkness & Lies
followed by A Warrior’s
Betrayal. The series centers on Greek mythology and is
what some have likened to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series.
Personally, although I love Kenyon, the only thing I see that
resembles it is the Greek influence. Since I write what moves me, I
also wrote my first women’s fiction over the summer, Spring
Cleaning, which deals with abuse, self-discovery, and,
yes, romance. Overall, Buried Secrets is my
favorite. It’s my first mystery geared toward adults but it is also
suitable for the under 18 crowd.
Date: Why do you like the
romance genre?
Brandi: I have always been
fascinated by the connection between two people. That, and since I
was a young girl I spent a lot of time on the lookout for my
fairytale prince. I found him, but that doesn’t mean I have lost
interest in the subject matter. Now, though, I just feast on the
chase, and I absolutely love the angst-y feelings I get when two
characters who absolutely adore one another finally come together.
Date: What is your all-time
romance favorite?
Brandi: If we are talking
paranormal romance, I have I have to go with the entire BDB
collection. Unfortunately, I think you want me to be more specific;
sooo….I was completely swept away by Crash by Nicole
Williams. Jude is definitely a bad boy that makes my heart race!
Date: Where do you get your
ideas for your stories?
Brandi: My ideas come
from just about anywhere. Sometimes they can be from something as
innocuous as idle conversation. Other times, I might be watching a
movie or television show and someone says something and a light bulb
goes off and I have to scramble for a piece of paper and pen so I
don’t forget. More often than not, though, I get ideas from my
dreams or while doing something incredibly mundane, like sweeping the
kitchen floor. There really is no rhyme or reason for where my ideas
come from, they just are.
Date: Where do you get your
ideas for your heroes and heroines?
Brandi: I usually get a
vague image of my characters at the onset of an idea, but then I sit
down to write. I usually start by writing down the new idea and as it
develops, so do the rest of the story and the characters along with
it. It is after that initial writing frenzy that I am able to build
the entire story.
Date: You also write as
J.C. Valentine a special series for, as stated on your website,
“those of you who love some extra spice in their bedroom romance”.
Why did you choose to write an erotica type novel/series?
Brandi: Since I can remember,
even as a young girl, I have always leaned toward the romantic aspect
of a story. As I have grown older and my interests have matured, so
has my writing style. I actually found that it was harder NOT to
write the spice. It was then I decided that maybe I needed to have an
outlet for that voice too.
Date: Do you think you will have
more or less obstacles with this type of book(s)?
Brandi: I honestly think that I
am better off in the erotic genre than out. The only obstacles I
foresee are the larger portion of my family finding out what I do and
giving me that wide-eyed look of surprise and disbelief. Truly, I
have generous support from my friends and husband and that is all
that I need to help shield me from whatever obstacles that may come
my way.
Date: What advice do you have to
aspiring writers?
Brandi: There is so much advice
out there, but the main advice I have for those who feel that writing
is in their future is to do what you love. Trends come and go so
write what is in your heart. If you love it, then someone out there
is bound to love it too.
Date: One last fun question,
chocolate with chews or nuts?
Brandi: Hmmm…depends, are we
talking caramel chews, because that would be heaven. Then again,
chocolate covered cashews are really tasty….Chews it is!
Thanks for taking some time and answering some questions. Brandi has also included a excerpt to her book The Stranded. Read for further info and check out her book as well.
Here is a small excerpt from Stranded
for you to enjoy:
Anger
flashed in those dark depths as Felix studied her, his jaw ticking
wildly. She thought he was going to yell at her, but instead he bent
down, until they were nose to nose and looked her straight in the
eyes.
“Do
I frighten you, Poppy?”
He
did. He so did. But not in the creepy, chop you into bits way. He
scared her because he was so completely male, and every cell in her
body was on fire for him. She couldn’t recall a time in her life
that she felt anything so intensely, not even for her own husband,
and it was terrifying to consider the implications of that.
She
nodded slowly, swallowing tightly.
“If
I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already,” Felix said as
he drew his nose across her cheek to her hair and breathed in deeply.
Did
that mean he wasn’t going to hurt her then?
Poppy
felt the hold he had on her arm loosen and his hand slip down to mold
her hip. The fingers on his other hand, the one wrapped around her
waist, moved slowly up and down the small of her back. Shivers dances
down her spine in response, and Poppy welcomed the sensation.
Brandi Salazar started
writing poetry, short stories, and novels at a very young age, weaving
tales to share with her friends that were geared toward making them
laugh. Today her writing habits reflect that, ranging from
mystery/suspense/thriller to paranormal and YA romance, and no matter
how different her works may be, you can always find a healthy dose of
action, romance, and humor.
A longtime resident of Ohio, Brandi lives with her husband, three children, a dog and five cats that keep her very busy. She holds a degree in Business and has plans to continue her education so she can one day become an editor to authors everywhere. When she isn’t crafting her next novel, toiling away at schoolwork, or hanging out with family, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair with her nose buried in a book.
Thanks to our readers who stopped by as well. Hope you have a great Valentine's Day tomorrow.
A longtime resident of Ohio, Brandi lives with her husband, three children, a dog and five cats that keep her very busy. She holds a degree in Business and has plans to continue her education so she can one day become an editor to authors everywhere. When she isn’t crafting her next novel, toiling away at schoolwork, or hanging out with family, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair with her nose buried in a book.
You can find all of Brandi's stories on Amazon.com.
Thanks to our readers who stopped by as well. Hope you have a great Valentine's Day tomorrow.
Great interview!
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