Friday 18 May 2012

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & INTERVIEW - JOANNE BROTHWELL





Author Bio

Joanne Brothwell is the author Stealing Breath, a paranormal romance from Crescent Moon Press, who has also published Vicarious, the prequel to Stealing Breath. Joanne lives in the country with her family where her stories are inspired by the dead things that appear at her doorstep on a daily basis. You can find her online at www.joannebrothwell.com

So now for a few of my Interview Questions.......

What genre are your books?
Stealing Breath is a paranormal romance, but the sequel, Silencing Breath, seems more like an urban fantasy to me, because the romantic elements are less of a focus compared to the first book.

My current WIP, titled The Fifth Daughter of Eve, is Science Fiction Romance. I guess I find it hard to stick to any one genre!


Do you have a favourite character?
My favourite character is the hero from Stealing Breath, Evan Valente. He is gorgeous, with thick black hair, dazzling blue eyes and a chiselled jaw. Not to mention his 6’1” from of hard, contoured muscle! Evan is the epitome of male beauty, Guess model hot. But that’s not all. He is smart, loyal, loving and funny, and best of all; he is absolutely smitten with my heroine, Sarah!

How do you come up with place names and character names in your books?
This is super difficult with male names. My male lead, Evan, had many different names during the writing process: Mahlon, Mark, Malec. I tried baby name books, ethnic name sites, phone books, etc. Then I had to see the names typed into the manuscript. Sometimes, it just didn’t look right, like the name Malec. In the end, Evan stuck.

Girls names are easier for me, I just find I like a wider variety of feminine names. Sarah was the first name I came up with and I stuck with it all the way along. Her last name went through a few variations, through: Goodspeed and Fairchild are the two I remember. I ended up settling on Ross, because it was simple and didn’t leave me with any pre-conceived impression.

If you could invite three favourite writers to diner, who would they be?
I would invite Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins and Cassandra Clare. I would love to pick their brains about their literary success. What are the necessary ingredients required in a book for it to be super-successful? What do their readers tell them they love about their books? What do the critics say and do they even listen to the critics? Basically, I would just love to pepper them with questions!

How did you come up with the title for your book?
It was really hard. I’m a little superstitious, and I find that I get “clues” from things in my environment, almost like my intuition is telling me to notice things that will lead me to answers. One day, the lyrics of a Duran Duran song stuck in my head, playing over and over, like it was on repeat. The lyrics said, “Mine, immaculate dream
made breath and skin I've been waiting for you.” Isn’t it sexy? I felt like that one line summed up the feel of my book – kind of creepy and sexy all at once.

I kept the word “Breath” and then needed something to highlight other aspects of the book. Like the fact that the heroine’s soul was at risk of being devoured. Then something else weird happened, the movie Stealing Beauty kept popping into my head. I started to look at it, thinking about the way the two words looked so oddly enticing together.

And that’s when it hit me: Stealing Breath!

How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book?
The cover art was designed by Liliana Sanches. I had some input into the cover art, basically offering ideas and suggestions for things I’d hoped for. I wanted it to have an eerie feel, with a moody forest to highlight the paranormal elements. I’m absolutely thrilled with the cover, it’s so beautiful!

Where can your fans follow you?

Blog:

YouTube:

Twitter:
@JoanneBrothwell

Facebook:
Author Joanne Brothwell

Joanne Brothwell

Goodreads:







1 comment: