Ask the Author: Laura Browning
Answered Questions (8)
Laura Browning
You're out of coffee. Starbucks is closed.
Laura Browning
Most of us wonder what happened to people from our past. Social media has allowed us to reconnect sometimes with people we haven't seen in years. I know I've reconnected with several friends from high school--some who were really close for those years, and some who were simply classmates I shared a few subjects with.
In particular, I think about a guy I loosely called my boyfriend. We hung out together, went on some dinner/movie dates, but were mainly just friends. When I look at photo albums from that time, I often wonder where he is today. Would I even know him if I ran into him on the street?
I think that idea has the potential to develop itself into a story plot that could go in any number of directions from a romance to a murder mystery.
In particular, I think about a guy I loosely called my boyfriend. We hung out together, went on some dinner/movie dates, but were mainly just friends. When I look at photo albums from that time, I often wonder where he is today. Would I even know him if I ran into him on the street?
I think that idea has the potential to develop itself into a story plot that could go in any number of directions from a romance to a murder mystery.
Laura Browning
This is tough. Because I read multiple genres, there are usually couples who stand out in their fictional milieu. I would narrow this to two. Rhage and Mary from J.R. Ward's Blackdagger Brotherhood and Wulfric, Duke of Bewcastle and his bride, Christine, from Mary Balogh's Slightly Dangerous.
Rhage and Mary stand out because they help to balance each other so perfectly. Rhage's total devotion helps Mary to recognize just how strong she truly is, and her lack of fear of him helps Rhage to let go of the shame he feels about his curse. On top of that, they are a couple always focused on creating the possible in spite of impossible odds. Love that.
Christine and Wulfric appeal to me because of their seeming total incompatability. I know some people find Wulfric to be a stiff, pompous character, but I have always seen him as lonely and locked behind the rigid bars of his ducal/family duties. Christine is the key that unlocks that cell, and in unlocking his emotions, she finds someone strong and confident enough to support her beyond the shadow of a doubt.
I guess the key to both of these couples, for me, is their devotion to that sense of being a team--that together they are a stronger whole.
Rhage and Mary stand out because they help to balance each other so perfectly. Rhage's total devotion helps Mary to recognize just how strong she truly is, and her lack of fear of him helps Rhage to let go of the shame he feels about his curse. On top of that, they are a couple always focused on creating the possible in spite of impossible odds. Love that.
Christine and Wulfric appeal to me because of their seeming total incompatability. I know some people find Wulfric to be a stiff, pompous character, but I have always seen him as lonely and locked behind the rigid bars of his ducal/family duties. Christine is the key that unlocks that cell, and in unlocking his emotions, she finds someone strong and confident enough to support her beyond the shadow of a doubt.
I guess the key to both of these couples, for me, is their devotion to that sense of being a team--that together they are a stronger whole.
Laura Browning
I am currently finishing up pre-edits on the second book in a new series with Kensington's Lyrical imprint. The first book, Special Delivery will release on May 12, 2015. The series, Mountain Meadow Homecomings, is set in a fictional town in southwest Virginia. I am super excited about this series and the characters. I really hope readers will share that enthusiasm.
Laura Browning
Write. Does a professional athlete become the best at her game by talking about what she's going to do or by actually doing it? Of course the answer is by actually doing something. You improve your craft by writing. You assess your success by submitting your writing to editors and publishers. Then you repeat the process by using their advice, rejection, etc. to improve your craft. If you look at the earlier works of almost any writer and compare them to later writings, you will see there is a metamorphosis in everyone's writing.
I wrote for a long time without submitting anything. My husband compared me to a woodcutter who carefully cut and stacked the trees he chopped down but then simply left the wood to rot where it was. It was his observation that finally spurred me to submit to a publisher.
I wrote for a long time without submitting anything. My husband compared me to a woodcutter who carefully cut and stacked the trees he chopped down but then simply left the wood to rot where it was. It was his observation that finally spurred me to submit to a publisher.
Laura Browning
Independence of thought. Notice I say of thought, because as of yet, I can't say financial independence, although I'm working in that direction. Having the freedom to write what I want and when I want is amazing. When I worked as a journalist, much of my writing was targeted either by story selection of the day or a specific assignment or project, normally not of my choosing. As a fiction writer, I have the freedom to shape my own stories and experiment more with style.
Laura Browning
I often have multiple works in progress, so if I am blocked on a story, I switch to something else to give my mind a break. If that doesn't work, I simply let things "stew" while I do non-writing tasks. The inspiration I need usually comes to me then. If all else fails, I call on my background as a television journalist. Writer's block is simply not an option when you're facing the deadline of an upcoming newscast. What I write in that mode might not be my best work, but it does give me a basis from which to revise and improve.
Laura Browning
Broken Heart is the continuation of a series about a powerful newspaper family. I had already told the stories of three of the siblings--Anna, Seth, and Brandon. Stacey had brief appearances in two of those stories, and she always seemed to me to be unhappy, though she appeared to be the perfect daughter who had done everything exactly as her family would have wished (as opposed to her sister and brothers), so I began to think about why she might not really be happy. What I figured out was Stacey was a people-pleaser, always doing what was expected, even at the expense of what she really wanted. That's where Mason, the hero, entered the picture. He was a secondary character in Brandon's story who threatened to steal the show, so naturally he needed his own story. Giving Mason and Stacey a history made it all come together.
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