Where do you hail from and what do you love most about your hometown?
I live in southern Indiana in the country. My favorite thing about living so far from any towns is the uninterrupted views of the sky on clear nights.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon from the time I was eight until I had kids. After having children, hundred hour work weeks and over a decade of school lost its appeal for me.
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest short story is in Bella Morte, A Beautiful Death Anthology. Bella Morte is a book of erotic short stories that tend to lean toward the shadier side of sex. My story, Adrienne’s Corruption, centers around two female vampires from my novel, Birth of the Nyxian. There are a lot of great authors who wrote for this book, and I know it will be setting ereaders aflame!
My first full length novel is Birth of the Nyxian, a paranormal romance with much more than romance. The main characters, Harlow and Aiden, have to fight for their change to be together as they are being pursued by Hades himself.
Do you have anything new in the works and can you tell us a bit about it?
I am currently working on an erotic novel that will features bondage and werewolves. I have several short stories I’m working on and I’m also writing the sequel to Birth of the Nyxian.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?
Finding the time to do it. I am a stay at home mother and usually, my kids refuse to behave so I can work. I end up writing late at night when everyone is asleep.
What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
Find someone you trust to talk through story problems with you and brainstorm ideas. I have a couple of people I can trust to help me past roadblocks in my writing, and it has undoubtedly made my stories better. That and edit, edit, edit. I hate seeing a great story get bad reviews because of poor editing.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
I have occasional bouts with writer’s block and have developed a few different things to get past it. The most common answer is to get up and go do something else for a bit. My kids provide a great distraction and give me a chance to get outside and get some exercise. If I’m not inspired after that, I will read, watch a movie, or check out the fantasy art pages on facebook. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
Who is your favorite author and why?
That is like asking me to pick my favorite child. I have way too many authors that I love to pick a favorite. If pressed, I may be able to narrow it down to five.
What books have most influenced your life?
Desperation & The Regulators by Stephen King, Intensity by Dean Koontz, The Vampire Chronicles by Dean Koontz, and The Eternal Gift by Candy Crum. These authors opened my imagination and inspire me with their words. Reading The Eternal Gift is what led me to start writing my own stories.
How did you deal with rejection letters?
I’m lucky because I haven’t gotten any rejection letters yet. But I haven’t sent queries to agents or big publishers either. But when I get a bad review, I deal with it professionally. It is impossible to please everyone, so I try to take criticism and learn from it. I want to know what I’m doing wrong, so I don’t look at bad reviews as bad things unless the reviewer gives no reasons for disliking the book.
What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?
Music, beta readers, and a good editor are essentials for an author. I use the music to help me focus on the mood of a scene and I almost always have it playing while I write. Beta readers are priceless because they can give you a reader’s point of view before the book is released, when you still have time to change things. And a good editor is a must have because there are so many people who will dislike a book for bad editing alone and I hate that.
Where do you as an author draw the line on gory descriptions and/or erotic content?
It depends entirely on the target audience for whatever I’m writing. I write everything from YA to erotica, so I try to stick within the usual ranges for whatever genre I’m writing. I try not to be excessive with my descriptions, but I want the scene to be clear to the reader. With my erotic stories, I want a lot of detail to pull the reader in, but not so much that they are distracted from the story by the scene.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
I’ve spent hours on a number of questionable websites researching. A word of advice to the new author, learn keywords for google. Especially if you are researching methods for an erotic story. The off topic results that show up can just ruin your whole day.
Don’t forget to give us links to your website etc.
Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/AmandaRBrowningAuthor
Facebook series page: http://www.facebook.com/theimmortalchoiceseries
Twitter: @ImmortalChoice
Email: theimmortalchoiceseries@yahoo.com
Website: www.theimmortalchoiceseries.weebly.com
