Pollygraph (interviews with romance and new adult authors): Andra Brynn
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If you had to sum up your new novel, Where I End and You Begin, in a single tweet of 140 characters, what would it be?
Bad girl + good boy = unlikely friendship, but forbidden attraction and the ghosts of the past threaten to destroy their fragile connection.
Sounds intriguing - why not take some more space and tell me more?
WELL. Where I End and You Beginrevolves around a young woman named Bianca, who drinks too much and sleeps with too many guys in an effort to avoid the extreme feelings that stem from a deeply traumatic event in her past. Her coping mechanisms--such as they are--cause her to get in deep trouble in school, and she has to accept help from a very unlikely place, namely a straight-laced Nice Boy, in an attempt to haul herself out of the hole she's dug. They become tenuous friends, though she's not used to being friends with guys without trying to get in bed with them, so when she finds out that her Nice Boy is an aspiring priest going through a crisis of faith, things get intense.
Where I End and You Begin has been described as New Adult: what does that label mean to you?
It's all about becoming a new person, which is essentially the point of any novel, but since the stories take place during the time that we are inundated by firsts, the emotional intensity is off the charts because everything is so new, and sometimes scary, and definitely out of our comfort zone. And, unfortunately for many people, the lessons learned in childhood are inadequate at best, and downright harmful at worst, so to me, New Adult is all about relearning to become a person. Take my heroine, Bianca. Her maladaptive behaviors, learned in response to her past grief, are self-sabotaging. She is stuck in an in-between state, with a twisted and painful childhood on one side, and a future full of possibilities on the other. Whether that future will be good or bad depends on whether or not she can unlearn the harmful lessons and replace them with better ones, essentially becoming a new person. I mean, it's right there in the name! New Adult.
It's New Adult with a dark edge, though, isn't it: the story of a young woman who has made a mess of her life. Did you find it difficult to write about her traumas?
Sometimes. Having to recall and relive some of those feelings so I can accurately put them down on paper is definitely a challenge in that recalling those feelings also recalls the bad behaviors I've grown out of, and I grew out of those behaviors for a reason! I don't want to go back to them. Luckily I wrote the book in 12 days, so I didn't have to linger long in those dark places.
In the book you tell us that in Japan, they say there's a red thread of fate that binds people who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. It may tangle, it may knot, it may stretch or fray, but it will never break. It is a future as indelible as the past. Do you believe in fate?
In a way. There are things happening right now that will converge at some point in the future, altering our lives forever, but what we learn and how we respond is up to us. The challenges happening to us right now are always in flux, but it was, perhaps, inevitable that we would have to face them.
What makes a good romance novel for you?
A slooooooow burn. Lots of sexual tension. High stakes. And denial to the very end! Also I hate it when characters confess their love. I always roll my eyes, because I'm a jerk like that. Love is in actions, not words. It should be obvious without saying it. But those books are pretty rare.
Where I End and You Begin has been released as part of the Insatiable Reads Summer Tour. Which other IR authors should we look out for?
Oh, all of them? Haha, no, but seriously, I've had the privilege of reading quite a few of the books pre-release. Helena Newbury, Nadia Simonenko, Tabi Wollstonecraft, and M.G. Morgan have some great dark NA coming out. Look forward to all of those!
What's your ideal writing day?
70 degrees, rainy, and no one to bother me.
And finally, a variant on that opening question: in no more than 140 characters, tell readers why they should buy your book.
To relive your broken hearts, and, maybe, your mendings, too. <3
If you had to sum up your new novel, Where I End and You Begin, in a single tweet of 140 characters, what would it be?Bad girl + good boy = unlikely friendship, but forbidden attraction and the ghosts of the past threaten to destroy their fragile connection.
Sounds intriguing - why not take some more space and tell me more?
WELL. Where I End and You Beginrevolves around a young woman named Bianca, who drinks too much and sleeps with too many guys in an effort to avoid the extreme feelings that stem from a deeply traumatic event in her past. Her coping mechanisms--such as they are--cause her to get in deep trouble in school, and she has to accept help from a very unlikely place, namely a straight-laced Nice Boy, in an attempt to haul herself out of the hole she's dug. They become tenuous friends, though she's not used to being friends with guys without trying to get in bed with them, so when she finds out that her Nice Boy is an aspiring priest going through a crisis of faith, things get intense.
Where I End and You Begin has been described as New Adult: what does that label mean to you?
It's all about becoming a new person, which is essentially the point of any novel, but since the stories take place during the time that we are inundated by firsts, the emotional intensity is off the charts because everything is so new, and sometimes scary, and definitely out of our comfort zone. And, unfortunately for many people, the lessons learned in childhood are inadequate at best, and downright harmful at worst, so to me, New Adult is all about relearning to become a person. Take my heroine, Bianca. Her maladaptive behaviors, learned in response to her past grief, are self-sabotaging. She is stuck in an in-between state, with a twisted and painful childhood on one side, and a future full of possibilities on the other. Whether that future will be good or bad depends on whether or not she can unlearn the harmful lessons and replace them with better ones, essentially becoming a new person. I mean, it's right there in the name! New Adult.
It's New Adult with a dark edge, though, isn't it: the story of a young woman who has made a mess of her life. Did you find it difficult to write about her traumas?
Sometimes. Having to recall and relive some of those feelings so I can accurately put them down on paper is definitely a challenge in that recalling those feelings also recalls the bad behaviors I've grown out of, and I grew out of those behaviors for a reason! I don't want to go back to them. Luckily I wrote the book in 12 days, so I didn't have to linger long in those dark places.
In the book you tell us that in Japan, they say there's a red thread of fate that binds people who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. It may tangle, it may knot, it may stretch or fray, but it will never break. It is a future as indelible as the past. Do you believe in fate?
In a way. There are things happening right now that will converge at some point in the future, altering our lives forever, but what we learn and how we respond is up to us. The challenges happening to us right now are always in flux, but it was, perhaps, inevitable that we would have to face them.
What makes a good romance novel for you?
A slooooooow burn. Lots of sexual tension. High stakes. And denial to the very end! Also I hate it when characters confess their love. I always roll my eyes, because I'm a jerk like that. Love is in actions, not words. It should be obvious without saying it. But those books are pretty rare.
Where I End and You Begin has been released as part of the Insatiable Reads Summer Tour. Which other IR authors should we look out for?
Oh, all of them? Haha, no, but seriously, I've had the privilege of reading quite a few of the books pre-release. Helena Newbury, Nadia Simonenko, Tabi Wollstonecraft, and M.G. Morgan have some great dark NA coming out. Look forward to all of those!
What's your ideal writing day?
70 degrees, rainy, and no one to bother me.
And finally, a variant on that opening question: in no more than 140 characters, tell readers why they should buy your book.
To relive your broken hearts, and, maybe, your mendings, too. <3
Where I End and You Begin
by Andra Brynn
In Japan, they say there’s a red thread of fate that binds people who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. It may tangle, it may knot, it may stretch or fray, but it will never break. It is a future as indelible as the past. I hope that isn't true. I pity anyone destined to meet me.
For Bianca Ray, the past is always catching up, one way or another. Now in her third semester at college, it's doing it again. Too much drinking has led to plummeting grades and rising absences, putting her scholarships in peril. When she makes it clear that she needs help—all over the floor of her history class—she’s given one last chance to shape up: seek therapy and bring her grades up by the end of the semester, or she’s out.
Enter Catholic seminarian Daniel McGuire. The last thing Bianca wants is an aspiring priest to counsel her on how to live her life, but the handsome graduate student is different from the holy rollers she fled from at home. Gentle and unobtrusive, he helps her pick up the pieces and find a new way to live: not running from the past, but facing it head on.
But opening up her heart to release the pain means that something else can come in. As Bianca and Daniel grow closer, their relationship moves onto dangerous ground. When they finally cross the line, the fragile courage Bianca has built up threatens to fail her. Can she exorcise the ghosts of her past, or will they catch hold and drag her down where not even Daniel can reach her?
Purchase links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Kobo
Barnes and Noble
Apple iTunes
Social Media Links
Blog: http://andrabrynn.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrabrynn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndraBrynn
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7084288.Andra_Brynn
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/103444267372033736602
Tumblr: http://andrabrynn.tumblr.com/
Andra Brynn's Where I End and You Begin is part of the Insatiable Reads Summer Tour:
What happens when you bring today’s hottest adult romance authors together for one month to celebrate readers, romance, strong heroines, kissable heroes, sassy sidekicks, and terrible villains?
You end up with 27 sizzling hot novels and one hell of a party!
Each novel debuting in July is a steamy romance in various subgenres – paranormal, thriller, suspense, contemporary, and new adult. Some popular adult themes include BBW, light BDSM, billionaire, and ménage.
Website: http://www.insatiablereads.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insatiable.booksTwitter: https://twitter.com/insatiablereads/Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100902224798608127488/postsPinterest: http://pinterst.com/selenakitt/insatiable-reads/a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaways and PrizesInsatiable Reads will run one large giveaway during the month of July. The grand prize is a Kindle Fire. Second and third prizes consist of 40 Amazon.com gift cards for either $10 or $5. Individual authors will have copies of their books to give away and may offer additional prizes at their discretion.
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