Fictitious Chronicles: Interview with Brandi Salazar

*taps mic*

Today I had the honor of interviewing a great author and also a close friend. Brandi Salazar is the author of several new books. If I had to describe her writing style I would say: creative, sometimes dark, humorous and original.

Brandi knows how to create a well developed world in her stories. She does an amazing job at creating frightening scenes as well as the lighter side of things. Brandi has a real knack for romance in her stories and the reader is always in store for a great relationship in Brandi's books. So please enjoy the interview. Take a moment to get to know this promising new indie author and check out her books. Thank you!

1.I know you very well, but the readers don't, so tell me a bit about yourself.

I am a mother of three lovely children and have been married for 11 years to a pretty great guy. Currently, I am earning a degree in business, but what I really want to do when all is said and done is book editing. I’m a pretty average girl. I enjoy photography, writing and I love reading to an almost unhealthy degree. Sweet tea is my vice of choice. I wear heels with my jeans and I wish on shooting stars often. My sense of humor is dark and sarcastic and I love to scare people at every opportunity—my husband will probably die of a heart attack one day.

2.When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Very recently, actually. I really started taking it seriously when a friend of mine started taking hers seriously, and I just rolled with it. When I think back on it, I have been writing since I was little, say five or six. I got really into it in junior high when my long time best friend and I would exchange short stories and whacky poems as we waited for the school doors to open each morning or throughout the day in class when we should have been listening to the teacher’s lecture. Summer school was totally worth the laughs we had.

3.I wonder who that friend was, anyways,what inspired you to write your first book?

A friend of mine started writing and as I read hers I thought, there’s no reason I can’t do this. I gave it a shot. It was rocky at first, but once I got into it, I became completely absorbed and ideas started rolling in one after the other. Basically, I got the bug.

4.The bug, its a hard thing to shake. What books have influenced your life most?

For me, it’s not so much the books, but the authors who wrote them. Richelle Mead, J.R. Ward, and especially L.A. Banks. They each are very powerful, successful businesswomen who are highly educated and they saw their dream, recognized it, and sought to make it a reality. I love to challenge myself, and I admire and respect those who do the same.

5. What a great answer.If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Well, that’s a tough one. Although the above mentioned women jump to the front of my mind, I think the one writer that I could truly consider a mentor is Holly Hood. Of course you all know she’s an indie author—a quite successful one at that—and part of this blog. But she is also the person who I look to for guidance in this crazy world of writing. She figures out all the ins and outs of the business and through her efforts I have learned a great deal. She is also my biggest champion. We all have our moments, and she is my go-to gal when I need inspiration or a quick pick me up.

6.I'm blushing over here. I will pay you later for the compliment. What book are you reading now?

Nothing at the moment, but I plan to start in T-minus one hour…give or take 60 seconds. I just finished the second book in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, so Fifty Shades of Freed is next on the chopping block.

7. I myself am reading those, Mrs. Salazar *inside joke* What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Reading is my go-to for entertainment. Nothing compares to getting lost in a world of fantasy. If for whatever reason I can’t pick up a book, I am generally spending time with my family. Currently, my husband and I are finishing up Gears of War and when we’re not doing that, we are taking in scary movies with our girls (our son HATES scary movies).

8.I can confirm this to be true. Some days she is nowhere to be found all day. The girl might be the fastest reader I know.Where do you get your ideas for your books?

Like the great Stephan King, I get my ideas from my dreams. Those come most easily for me to write because they have a tendency to burn themselves into my psyche.

9.That has yet to happen for me, but I think that is so cool. What new author has grasped your interest?

I usually come by my authors late in the game. Like a used car, new-to-me authors would include Claudia Grey, Jennifer Ashley, and Meagan Hatfield. But the person I am most impressed by is a fellow indie author I met on this writing website called Webook: Kimberly Reeves. She’s one of the most talented writers I have come across, and I have been rooting for her success since I picked up her first book and fell head over heels into it.

10.If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

As I mentioned before, I am going to school to become an editor. Since starting this whole writing thing I have noticed that I get the most enjoyment from editing. I like the organization and the detail work of it. So, yeah, that’s my ideal career.

11.What was your favorite chapter to write and why?

Put me on the spot why don’t ya! Scouring my brain, I would have to say my favorite chapter would be when Trent takes Jessica to his house for the first time in Addicted to Magic. They share some intimate moments that I find both raw and beautiful. It’s a moment when I really got to see Jessica’s vulnerability and Trent’s softer side.

12.I enjoyed that chapter too. Why do you feel you had to tell this story?

I have always been fascinated with witchy storylines, but the idea that witchcraft could be dangerous in more than a spell casting kind of way intrigued me. Honestly, it just kind of fell together. I didn’t go into it saying, yes, this is exactly what I want from this one, but more like it evolved from the opening page. I didn’t know what was going to happen until it happened.

13.Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

I have several, but the closest one is the second in my Brotherhood series, A Warrior’s Betrayal. It will pick up after the last where Erias is trapped in the underworld, a prisoner to Persephone while topside Cheyenne and Behr get a little cozier as they deal with her grief over losing him.

14. And I look forward to reading it.How do you market your book(s)?

I don’t do too much at the moment. I prefer to concentrate on writing them and making them available, and pretty much let the chips fall where they may. What I do involves a margin of plug-ins on Facebook, the blog, of course, and I seek out a few reviewers. That’s it! I know it sounds lazy, and it probably is, but I’m not seeking fame or fortune. I just want to write it, and if people like it and it sells, great! If not, well, it is what it is.

15.Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Don’t bother with the hype. You don’t need to watch the market for what is popular currently. Write what you know and love. That is where your inspiration will come from, and it will show in your writing. Develop a pattern and stick to it. Write a little every day, or on a designated day of the week, just so long as you are writing. Look for inspiration everywhere, especially in areas that evoke emotion. I like to watch the Discovery Channel. End of the world kind of stuff, angels and demons, that sort of thing.

16. Great advice.If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

That’s a tough one because it changes so frequently. If I had to choose, I think it would be Rose from Vampire Academy. Not only is she a kick ass vampire slayer, but she has a group of great and loyal friends, hotties galore who are all falling at her feet to be with her, and a no nonsense attitude that screams “Don’t mess with me!”

17. If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, what would you want?

Well, I would have to request presidency. Seriously, if I found myself on an alien planet; I want to be the one making the rules. You never know what those creatures have up their sleeves (probes anyone?).

18.If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Considering that people keep telling me that I look like Reese Witherspoon, I guess it would have to be her. I have the teeth part down to a science!

19. You so do.If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

The Eternal Procrastinator.