Local tour guide Noelle
Richards loves everything Backwards Christmas has to offer in South Pole,
Alaska. She gets wrapped up in the upside down trees, taking presents TO Santa
Clause and all the festivities. Sled dog trainer Chris Furst, on the other
hand, approaches the holiday with nothing but skepticism. When their history
bubbles into the present, their difference of opinion comes to a head. When
Chris gets himself into a dangerous situation in the snow, Noelle and the hope
of Christ are his only hope for redemption.
And she has another "Dandelion" book out now as well, full of fun and Brooke's marvelous sense of humor:
Dandelions on the Road
Twelve men…one woman…plenty of dandelions. Eva Merida has her life in order. She loves her job at the Furry Friends Rescue League and has a loving, supportive family. But she’s still missing that one special person to stand by her side. When she comes in third place on the local TV version of “The Bachelor,” entitled Accept this Dandelion, she nearly loses all hope for romance. Fortunately, the TV station decides to do a second season of the dating show…and they name Eva as the Bachelorette! With a plethora of dating mishaps recorded for TV, Eva finds herself falling for several men at once…including the show’s host. Will she find love at last or simply embarrass herself in front of the entire city?
Now that you've enjoyed a bit of a preview, let's move on to the interview! And don't forget to leave a comment for the chance to win a free copy of one of Brooke's books!!
Hi Brooke, and welcome back to The Diamond Mine. You’re a prolific writer, and a mother of small children. That’s quite a busy life! How do you manage?
One
day at a time! Sometimes one hour at a time! I have priorities and I stick to
them. When my daughters are awake and with me, they get my attention and that's
that. Though I have to admit, sometimes I think about my novels and do a little
plotting while I play. When my oldest is at school and my youngest is napping,
that's when I write. I type really fast and write about as quickly as I think.
I have 1-2 hours a day to get my writing in and I do my best in that amount of
time. That being said, I hardly ever clean or put away laundry. :)
Good for you! I think you've got a good balance of priorities there! Tell our readers a bit about your new stories coming out this
fall.
"Dandelions on the Road" is book two in the Dandelion
Series, but it can be read as a standalone as well. When I wrote "Accept
this Dandelion," a book about a local TV show version of The Bachelor, I
thought that was it. But some of the characters from that book kept bugging me
to continue the story, so I did! I also wrote a third book called "After
the Final Dandelion." It' involves a wedding and I hope to put it out this
spring.
"Backwards
Christmas" is a short, sweet, humorous Christmas-oriented tale. It takes
place in the town of South Pole, Alaska (get it? Rather backwards, right?) in
which they do the Christmas traditions backwards in order to draw tourists.
There's a romance involved, a little danger, and plenty of laughs. It's a fun
story and a quick, easy read.
They both sound delightful!
Do your main characters in these stories have anything in common with you?
If so, what?
Yes, they often
take traits or even stories from me. The women often don't care about hair and
makeup and clothes (you've seen my picture, right?) :) They're often clumsy and
don't always say the right things. Some of my background stories I get from my
own experiences and some of the professions. I was in radio for a decade (the
main character in Accept this Dandelion is in radio). I worked in TV news for a
few months at one time (the main character in Wrong Place, Right Time is in TV
news). As for what background stories are my own and what are made up, I'll let
you wonder on that one!
We writers have to keep some secrets to ourselves! I'm curious: What’s the first story you remember writing?
I actually have at least a dozen laminated, spiral bound books
that I wrote in elementary school. There was a writing center at school and you
could go there and "publish" your stories. The volunteers would type
out a sentence or two per page and then you could draw pictures under them.
They would help you pick a cover from magazine pictures and they'd laminate it
and bind it for you. A full fledged book! I LOVED making those books. One in
particular I remember is called "The Fuzzy Family." It's about a
family of these fuzzy little creatures who live in the town dump. And they use
people for chairs!? The fact that my parents weren't more worried about me as a
child is beyond me! :)
I think that's awesome, that you had an opportunity like that at such an early age. And look at the fruit it's brought forth!
I think that's awesome, that you had an opportunity like that at such an early age. And look at the fruit it's brought forth!
So, do you have a favorite character from your stories?
I really enjoy
Renee Lockhart from "Accept this Dandelion." She's also slightly in
"Dandelions on the Road" and will be in "After the Final
Dandelion." She's an everyday gal and she knows who she is and isn't
afraid to speak her mind. I could use a little of her confidence some days! And
because of the amount of terrible/funny things that happen to her, she's a hoot
to write!
Tell us how your ideas come to you, and which element is first. Plot,
characters, location, or dilemma?
They come from a
variety of places, but it's usually the main plot or general idea first. Then I
come up with a title and forming the characters and the dilemma comes as I
write. I don't plot in advance much. I simply sit down and see where the story
takes me. The characters have to lead me!
Do you work from outlines, or write as you go?
Ooh, I guess I
just answered that! I never outline. I recently wrote another novel and
actually TRIED to outline and miserably failed. Where the story goes depends on
what mood I'm in on the very day I'm writing that scene. I honestly don't know
exactly what will happen until it happens!
The same thing happens to me! The story and characters kind of take over. It's an interesting process.
How do you think your writing has changed over time?
I feel like it's
gotten better, in general. I've learned a lot about what not to do from working
with editors etc. And I've grown as a reader and that always helps writing as
well. It's also morphed into something much more humorous. My first novel,
"Someone Always Loved You" is a serious, family drama. I also have a
couple of Christian romance novels out there that are serious. But lately, I
just like looking at the light-hearted side of life. I hope my romantic
comedies give people a break from everyday life and stress. That's what they do
for me!
And it's a very needed break these days! Tell us what you love most about being a writer.
The actual work
of writing. Doctors tell you to exercise for your health and while I agree
that's important, I also feel like in order to maintain my health, I have to
write. It's that important. I don't feel as good on the days I don't write! The
act of writing is very important to my day. I love the way stories I dream up
come alive and take a direction of their own. I feel like the stories and
characters just use me to get out. I don't really have that much to do with it!
But you do! You enhance it with your personality and wit, and that makes your work special and unique. What are you working on now?
I've started
editing "After the Final Dandelion," the third book in the Dandelion
Series. And I just wrote a new novel called "The Leftover," which
actually has nothing to do with food. I don't know what I'll do with that one
yet. I need to let it sit for a bit before I revisit it!
I bet it will be wonderful, like all your other work. Thanks so much for sharing yourself with us today, Brooke!
Now here's a bit more about Brooke:
Brooke Williams is a sleep-deprived stay at home mom/freelance writer/author who has an unnatural interest in dandelions. She attributes her humor to her two young girls for keeping her in the lack of sleep state on a regular basis. She has been married to her husband Sean since 2002. Brooke has a background as a radio announcer and producer and also did a short stint as a TV traffic reporter. Brooke specializes as a freelance writer and creates blogs, articles, web content and more for clients all over the world. She has written a number of novels including: “Someone Always Loved You,” “Beyond the Bars,” “Wrong Place, Right Time,” “Accept this Dandelion,” and “Mamarazzi.”
And here are Brooke's social and purchase links:
And here are Brooke's social and purchase links:
Website: www.authorbrookewilliams.com
Dandelions on the Road
http://www.amazon.com/Dandelions-Road-Dandelion-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0143HSRYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447703145&sr=8-1&keywords=dandelions+on+the+road
http://www.amazon.com/Dandelions-Road-Dandelion-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0143HSRYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447703145&sr=8-1&keywords=dandelions+on+the+road
Backwards Christmas
http://www.amazon.com/Backwards-Christmas-Brooke-Williams-ebook/dp/B016VEMPHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447703165&sr=8-1&keywords=backwards+christmas
http://www.amazon.com/Backwards-Christmas-Brooke-Williams-ebook/dp/B016VEMPHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447703165&sr=8-1&keywords=backwards+christmas
3 comments:
Welcome to the Diamond Mine Brooke! It's great to meet a new author!
I have some of Brooke's books & would love to read her Christmas books too!
dkstevensneAT outlookD otCom
Enjoyed the interview. I would love to read her Christmas book. abilene_nana@yahoo.com
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