Breanne Braddy’s Son of Ereubus Interview
http://www.guardiansoflegend.com
http://www.jschancellor.com
http://www.welcometotheasylum.net
1. What do you think most characterizes your writing?
**My writing style is elemental. Meaning, I don’t use a lot of complex
sentence structures. I would rather a reader remember the story I’ve
told, than the words I chose to tell it with. It reminds me of the
first time I was taught to apply makeup: It needs to blend and look
natural, so that people see you and not just the blush, lipstick or
eyeshadow.
2. What was the hardest part of writing this book?
**Edits and revisions–killing my darlings. There were more than a few
scenes that were ultimately cut for the good of the novel.
3. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
**The drafting stage, where the story flowed without any consideration
of audience or publication or future edits. I’ll never have that
experience with a novel again and this series will always be special
to me because it was the first one I wrote without having gone through
the process of submitting to agents and publishers, etc.
4. What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your
subject/genre, that isn’t so?
**Epic fantasy can have just as much depth as literary fiction. There
has been a shadow over genre fiction for years that unfairly labels
anything beyond the literary category as being two-dimensional and
bereft of complex themes. Nothing could be further from the truth.
5. Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were
influential in your work? What impact have they had on your writing?
**Believe it or not, Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. That sounds
ridiculous, but when I first learned to love reading, I read YA
thrillers: R.L. Stine’s Fear Street Series and just about everything
of Christopher Pike’s. Those novels, read when I was 11, 12, 13 years
old, taught me cadence and the importance of when to conceal and when
to reveal.
6. What are some day jobs that you have held?
**I worked in property management before I left gainful employment to
write full time. But, I’ve also worked in retail, a doctor’s office
and a long, long time ago I was a barista at a coffee stand.
7. Who is your least favorite character in Son of Ereubus?
**Aiden. He represents so many things, but the bottom line is that
he’s a selfish, egotistical, bastard. He does some really repulsive
things in book one and I struggled with how to portray one scene in
particular without going overboard or giving undue attention to the
act.
8. How does your family feel about your writing?
**I am incredibly blessed. I have fantastic parents and in-laws.
Really. I’ve had an overwhelming amount of support from all sides of
my family–far more than I ever expected or hoped for.
9. Is there more beyond the Guardians of Legend trilogy? For these characters?
**Oh yes. This is a nine book series. The first trilogy stands alone,
but you have to have read it in order to follow the second and third
trilogies. The second one goes back in time to the beginning, and the
third one jumps ahead to 25 years after the end of the first trilogy.
10. What is the most important thing to look for in signing with a
small publisher?
**Distribution. Distribution. Distribution. I can’t say that enough.
Rhemalda recently signed with a full service distributor, Atlas Books,
and that’s huge for us. Communication is also pivotal. You need to
make sure you are signing with someone who will keep in touch with you
and let you know what’s going on with your work and who will keep you
involved in decisions.
October 20, 2010
Julie Achterhoff
Julie Achterhoff
Julie Achterhoff's Eclectical Blog 