- What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
Off the top of my head…
Brandon Sanderson
Seanan McGuire
Patricia Briggs
Anne Bishop
Terry Pratchett
Piers Anthony
Dr. Suess
Terry Brooks
Brent Weeks
Kevin Hearne
- What book do you think everyone should read?
People are too different. A book that strikes a chord with
one person and really makes them think might seem trite and uninspired to
another. Don’t believe me? Just look at all the reviews of your favorite book.
I guarantee someone hated it.
- How long have you been writing?
I scribbled out stories as a child and teenager, but I never
finished any of them. It wasn’t until 2012 that I actually sat down with the
intention of writing a complete novel. Since then I’ve taken classes, read
books, and submitted to contests to get better. To date, I’ve written six
novels and seven short stories, and I have outlines for many many more that are
just waiting for me to get around to them.
- Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I start with a set of essential characters, but new
characters are popping up all the time. Sometimes they come completely out of
the blue, filling some hole I hadn’t even noticed in my story, and sometimes I
create a small character for a single roll, but that character morphs into
someone who gets fleshed out and integrated into the larger story.
- Do you see writing as a career?
More and more as time goes on. When I first started writing
it was just a hobby, and in some regards a test to see if I could do it. I
never wrote with the intention of becoming rich and famous (not that I’d
complain if that happened). Now that I’ve got contracts, deadlines, and people
asking me, “When will the next book be out?” writing feels much more like a
job. It’s a job I love, which is awesome, but I have to approach it with a
different attitude than I did in the beginning. I can’t just write “when I feel
like it.”
- Do you read yourself, and if so what is your favorite genre?
Absolutely! I’ve had to slow down now that so much of my time
is taken up with reading and revising my own work, but I still manage a few
books a month. I mostly read fantasy in all its sub-genres. I also like science
fiction and young adult, and I read lots and lots of children’s books with my
daughter. I’ll read any book so long as the story or topic holds my interest.
- Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
Silence, definitely. I’ve tried writing with music, but I
always end up singing along to the lyrics instead of focusing on my story. And
trying to write while people are talking is just impossible.
- Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
I’ve usually got one book in revision and editing at the same
time I’m writing the early drafts of another. I also work on the pre-writing
for future stories almost constantly, so even when I’m writing one story I’ll
be making notes for several others. I try never to work on more than one first
draft at a time.
- Pen or typewriter or computer?
I work on my laptop. I like the ease of moving whole chunks
of my story around, and having versioned drafts that I can pull up and look at
if I change my mind about major changes. Sometimes I also jot notes or phrases
on my phone when they come to me, which I can then easily paste into my story
files.
- Advice you would give new authors?
Becoming an author is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Pace
yourself and remember to take breaks when you need them, otherwise you won’t
reach the finish line.
- Describe your writing style.
I generally have an idea of what scene or scenes I hope to
write when I sit down at my computer. Then I just start typing and see where I
end up. Sometimes everything goes smoothly and I hammer out scene after scene
and I love them all. Sometimes I agonize over a single scene for hours and
never seem to make any progress. Either way, I let the story shift and change
as I write because sometimes things don’t come together until I’m mucking about
in the details.
- What makes a good story?
There are hundreds of books and courses trying to answer this
question, but in a nutshell I’d say: Compelling and believable characters faced
with interesting challenges, both inside and out.
- What are you currently reading?
I just got “Queen of Nothing” by Holly Black for Christmas
and I’m very excited to read it.
- What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?
Once I come up with the idea for a story,
I spend some time rolling it around in my head. If it sticks around, I jot down
notes of important factors, characters, plot events, etc. Since I’m usually in
the middle of another project, those notes often sit around for a long time
before I can get back to them. (For example: I’ve got lots of notes on a story
I want to write that I thought up about three years ago.)
When I’m ready to start working on
the project, I make an outline of where I think the story will go and major
landmarks along the way. Sometimes I mark where I think chapter or section
breaks will be, but those often move around after I’ve finished the first
draft. Then I flesh out the main characters and figure out how they fit
together and interact. I usually make files for each including backstory,
physical appearance, personality traits, etc.
By the time I actually start
writing, I’ve got many pages of notes. Then I sit down and write the first
draft, beginning to end. I can’t say I never
go back and edit a previous section, but I try not to. If I find something that
needs to be changed, I make a note about it and move on.
After the first draft is done, I go
back and address any major overhauls I made note of. Then I set it aside for a
bit so I can come at it again with fresh eyes (assuming I don’t have a deadline
looming over me). After that it’s all about revision and fine-tuning.
- What is your writing Kryptonite?
Family time. I will pretty much always choose doing something
with my family over sitting alone in my office, so I have to exercise a great
deal of self-control when my husband or daughter asks me to join them.
- Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I try my best to deliver a story readers will enjoy. If
people like a certain kind of story, they will read others like it, and every
story will have original aspects just because every writer is different.
- If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
“Don’t obsess.” But I wouldn’t listen.
- How long on average does it take you to write a book?
To actually “write” the book? About three months. But then I
have to revise the book. And edit the book. And then do it all over again. I
will say that from start to finish, my work time is getting shorter because I’m
making fewer mistakes in the early drafts. I’d say my current turnaround time
for a book is about six months of actual work (which doesn’t include taking
breaks to work on other projects or waiting for my editors and beta readers to
get back to me.)
- Do you believe in writer’s block?
Sometimes I don’t feel like writing, but sometimes I don’t
feel like doing anything. That’s just a natural part of being human. If I take
a day off to relax, sometimes a couple, I can get back to work once I feel
better. I’ve never not been able to come up with things to write.
Faerie Forged
The Magicsmith Book 3
by L.R. Braden
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
New world, new rules . . .
Alex is screwed. She’s due at the fae Court of Enchantment in less than twenty-four hours, but she’s not even close to being ready. Her job is hanging by a fraying thread. There’s a new vampire master in town. And several of her werewolf friends have been captured by the Paranatural Task Force.
She’s their best chance for release before the full moon reveals their secret, but the Lord of Enchantment is not someone you keep waiting—even when he happens to be your grandfather. All Alex can do is call in a favor, hope to hell she can survive the plots of the fae court, and hightail it home to salvage her life.
One mistake at court could change everything . . . .
“Original and riveting.”—Book Likes Blog on A Drop of Magic, Book One of The Magicsmith series
“Great plot. Lovable characters. Heart-pounding action.”—Lauren Davis, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic .
Courting Darkness
The Magicsmith Book 2
“A great story of murder, mystery . . . and well-developed characters.”—Margie Hager, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic
“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series
Deeper into the shadows. . .
The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she's got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect.
Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust.
She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend.
A Drop of Magic
The Magicsmith Book 1
The war isn’t over . . .
With the world clinging to a fragile peace forced on the Fae by humanity after the Faerie Wars, metalsmith Alex Blackwood is plunged into the world of the half-fae who traffick in illegal magical artifacts. Her best friend’s murder and his cryptic last message place her in the crosshairs of a scheme to reignite the decade-old war between humans and fae.
Worse, violent attacks against her and the arrival of a fae knight on a mission force Alex to face a devastating revelation of who and what she is. To catch a killer, retrieve a dangerous artifact, and stop a war, Alex will have to accept that she’s an unregistered fae “halfer” with a unique magical talent—a talent that would change everything she believes about her past, her art, and her future.
Her world is crumbling around her, and Alex will have to decide who to trust if she and the world are going to survive.
“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series
Born and raised in Colorado, L. R. BRADEN makes her home in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and psychotic cat. With degrees in both English literature and metalsmithing, she splits her time between writing and art.
$20 Discount code to L.R. Braden's Etsy Shop!!
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