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Lisette Brodey
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Q: Lisette's Writers' Chateau is a wonderful blog. I've checked out your posts and found them to be both interesting and helpful. You also host guest bloggers and interview fellow authors. Do you think blogging helps you creatively? Would you encourage a new author to have a blog? Is it difficult coming up with new posts to share?
Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog, Jan. It's an absolute pleasure being here. It's an honor to interview and promote my fellow authors and to host their guest blogs.
You asked if blogging helps me creatively. Well, before I published my romantic comedy, Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!, I blogged weekly for eight months as Molly on a website solely dedicated to that novel (mollyhacker.com). It was not easy. Not only did I have to stay within character, but everything had to align with the story in my novel. I didn't really do it to help myself creatively, though. I did it to introduce the character to the public before the novel came out.
At my author website, yes, I find it incredibly difficult to find topics to blog about. I have lots to say, but I don't always want to do so publicly. I do think having a blog is great for authors because it's a way to connect with other authors and with readers. I am often asked to write guest posts but coming up with topics is a challenge for me.
Q: You write in multi-genres -- general fiction, women's fiction, YA/general fiction, and YA/paranormal. Which of these genres do you find the most challenging?
YA is most challenging in that I can't use all of the vocabulary that I want to use because what I write has to work for both young adults and adults.
Q: When you're writing in the YA genre, do the dialogue and settings come naturally? As a woman in my (ahem) fifties, I find the YA genre fascinating. It's easy to assume writing in that genre would be easy, but realistically I think it would be difficult. Can you share some thoughts?
In terms of teen angst, I have an excellent memory and recall my own. As for dialogue, I'm always listening to how everyone talks, both in the real world, online, and in TV shows/movies. Whether I'm writing YA at the time or not, I still keep my ears open for new slang. Several years ago, I spent some time over at Yahoo! Answers. There are so many teens on that site asking questions about all kinds of things. I picked up a lot just from reading their posts. I have also spoken to teens and their parents.
Q: What is your current project?
I'm currently writing a YA paranormal trilogy, The Desert Series. The series takes place in a fictional desert town in southern California. Each book will work as a standalone novel. However, like most series, each is enhanced if you've read the preceding one. The first book in the series, Mystical High, was published in November 2013.
I often describe this series as "realistic paranormal". There are no vampires or werewolves. They all escaped and ended up in other authors' books.
Q: Have you ever worked on two books at once?
Yes and no. I've worked on two books at a time, but not writing them. When I sent Mystical High to my editor, I began writing Desert Star, which is Book 2 in the series. I wrote about 27K words of that and stopped when I got back the edits for Mystical High. I'll start working on Book 3 while Desert Star is being edited.
I also have 27K words written of what will be my seventh novel. I began writing it after I finished Mystical High but before I decided to do a series.
But no, I don't write two at the same time in terms of going back and forth between WIPs. I totally immerse myself in whatever I'm doing, so that wouldn't work well for me.
Q: You recently edited and published a book of your mother's poetry. Can you tell us about this incredible project?
Thanks for asking, Jan. My mother, Dr. Jean Lisette Brodey, wrote hundreds of poems in her 20's and early 30's. She was very good at them, and some of her poems were published in national and international publications. In her late 30's, she returned to the work world, got her master's, then her doctorate, and became a professor of journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia.
She is now suffering from Parkinson's disease and reading and writing have become impossible for her, sadly. She had feared that her poetry was lost, but I knew exactly where it was hiding in her house. While there on a visit, I found it. I asked my mother to go through her poems, select her favorites, and send them to me. With the help of her amazing caregiver, Trish, she sent me hundreds to choose from.
From those poems, I chose my favorites and ones that I felt were the best representation of her work. We called the collection My Way to Anywhere, which is taken from a line in one of her poems. It was published in both paperback and ebook (Kindle and Nook) in 2013.
I wrote an extensive blog post (with an interview) about my mother called: "A Poet is Published: A Mere 50+ Years Later." Here's the link for anyone who'd like to read more of her story: http://bit.ly/Xh1KTX
Q: You've told us about your creative/business side. Can you share a few tidbits about your personal side? What do you like to do when you're not writing? Since you live in the Los Angeles area, have you bumped into any celebrities? What human-interest stories catch your attention? If you could fix one thing that would affect everyone, what would it be?
When I'm not writing, I'm probably communicating with my friends, out walking with my dog, or going to see a movie. I love to read, also, but I've been so busy that it takes me a while to finish a book.
Yes, I do run into celebrities all the time. The main reason is because I'm a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) background actor, so, I'm often lingering in the background of feature films or popular TV shows. That kind of ups my odds of seeing famous people. Depending on the scene being shot, I can be standing next to principal actors, sitting across a room, at the next booth in a restaurant, walking by them on the street, and on and on.
Living in Los Angeles, and having lived in New York, it's not really that uncommon to see celebrities pretty much anywhere. I've had celebrity friends. Many years ago, I worked at two different movie studios. It's not a big deal to me, but it's most interesting to get a glimpse of what someone is really like. People fascinate me. I suppose that's why I'm an author.
Let's see: what human-interest stories catch my attention? I love reunion stories, happy lost pet/rescue stories, and stories about surviving incredible odds.
If I could fix one thing in the world that would affect everyone, right now, I think I'd want to protect the earth from any more drastic climate change and ask everyone to take care of our planet. I know you're a big fan of recycling, Jan. So am I.
Every day when I go out walking, my heart breaks at all of the litter I see. People from all walks of life are the culprits, people who are too lazy to throw out their trash or hold onto it until they find a trash can. I pick up trash from other people every day. Some days, I even take out a full-size garbage bag and collect the trash. I'll keep doing it, but I hate it. It's beyond selfish to litter.
Thanks so much for this terrific interview. I've really had a great time being here.
Connect with Lisette:
www.lisettebrodey.com
www.twitter.com/lisettebrodey
www.facebook.com/BrodeyAuthor
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2774659.Lisette_Brodey
https://www.amazon.com/author/lisettebrodey
www.mollyhacker.com
Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog, Jan. It's an absolute pleasure being here. It's an honor to interview and promote my fellow authors and to host their guest blogs.
You asked if blogging helps me creatively. Well, before I published my romantic comedy, Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!, I blogged weekly for eight months as Molly on a website solely dedicated to that novel (mollyhacker.com). It was not easy. Not only did I have to stay within character, but everything had to align with the story in my novel. I didn't really do it to help myself creatively, though. I did it to introduce the character to the public before the novel came out.
At my author website, yes, I find it incredibly difficult to find topics to blog about. I have lots to say, but I don't always want to do so publicly. I do think having a blog is great for authors because it's a way to connect with other authors and with readers. I am often asked to write guest posts but coming up with topics is a challenge for me.
Q: You write in multi-genres -- general fiction, women's fiction, YA/general fiction, and YA/paranormal. Which of these genres do you find the most challenging?
YA is most challenging in that I can't use all of the vocabulary that I want to use because what I write has to work for both young adults and adults.
Q: When you're writing in the YA genre, do the dialogue and settings come naturally? As a woman in my (ahem) fifties, I find the YA genre fascinating. It's easy to assume writing in that genre would be easy, but realistically I think it would be difficult. Can you share some thoughts?
In terms of teen angst, I have an excellent memory and recall my own. As for dialogue, I'm always listening to how everyone talks, both in the real world, online, and in TV shows/movies. Whether I'm writing YA at the time or not, I still keep my ears open for new slang. Several years ago, I spent some time over at Yahoo! Answers. There are so many teens on that site asking questions about all kinds of things. I picked up a lot just from reading their posts. I have also spoken to teens and their parents.
Q: What is your current project?
I'm currently writing a YA paranormal trilogy, The Desert Series. The series takes place in a fictional desert town in southern California. Each book will work as a standalone novel. However, like most series, each is enhanced if you've read the preceding one. The first book in the series, Mystical High, was published in November 2013.
I often describe this series as "realistic paranormal". There are no vampires or werewolves. They all escaped and ended up in other authors' books.
Q: Have you ever worked on two books at once?
Yes and no. I've worked on two books at a time, but not writing them. When I sent Mystical High to my editor, I began writing Desert Star, which is Book 2 in the series. I wrote about 27K words of that and stopped when I got back the edits for Mystical High. I'll start working on Book 3 while Desert Star is being edited.
I also have 27K words written of what will be my seventh novel. I began writing it after I finished Mystical High but before I decided to do a series.
But no, I don't write two at the same time in terms of going back and forth between WIPs. I totally immerse myself in whatever I'm doing, so that wouldn't work well for me.
Q: You recently edited and published a book of your mother's poetry. Can you tell us about this incredible project?
Thanks for asking, Jan. My mother, Dr. Jean Lisette Brodey, wrote hundreds of poems in her 20's and early 30's. She was very good at them, and some of her poems were published in national and international publications. In her late 30's, she returned to the work world, got her master's, then her doctorate, and became a professor of journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia.
She is now suffering from Parkinson's disease and reading and writing have become impossible for her, sadly. She had feared that her poetry was lost, but I knew exactly where it was hiding in her house. While there on a visit, I found it. I asked my mother to go through her poems, select her favorites, and send them to me. With the help of her amazing caregiver, Trish, she sent me hundreds to choose from.
From those poems, I chose my favorites and ones that I felt were the best representation of her work. We called the collection My Way to Anywhere, which is taken from a line in one of her poems. It was published in both paperback and ebook (Kindle and Nook) in 2013.
I wrote an extensive blog post (with an interview) about my mother called: "A Poet is Published: A Mere 50+ Years Later." Here's the link for anyone who'd like to read more of her story: http://bit.ly/Xh1KTX
Q: You've told us about your creative/business side. Can you share a few tidbits about your personal side? What do you like to do when you're not writing? Since you live in the Los Angeles area, have you bumped into any celebrities? What human-interest stories catch your attention? If you could fix one thing that would affect everyone, what would it be?
When I'm not writing, I'm probably communicating with my friends, out walking with my dog, or going to see a movie. I love to read, also, but I've been so busy that it takes me a while to finish a book.
Yes, I do run into celebrities all the time. The main reason is because I'm a SAG (Screen Actors Guild) background actor, so, I'm often lingering in the background of feature films or popular TV shows. That kind of ups my odds of seeing famous people. Depending on the scene being shot, I can be standing next to principal actors, sitting across a room, at the next booth in a restaurant, walking by them on the street, and on and on.
Living in Los Angeles, and having lived in New York, it's not really that uncommon to see celebrities pretty much anywhere. I've had celebrity friends. Many years ago, I worked at two different movie studios. It's not a big deal to me, but it's most interesting to get a glimpse of what someone is really like. People fascinate me. I suppose that's why I'm an author.
Let's see: what human-interest stories catch my attention? I love reunion stories, happy lost pet/rescue stories, and stories about surviving incredible odds.
If I could fix one thing in the world that would affect everyone, right now, I think I'd want to protect the earth from any more drastic climate change and ask everyone to take care of our planet. I know you're a big fan of recycling, Jan. So am I.
Every day when I go out walking, my heart breaks at all of the litter I see. People from all walks of life are the culprits, people who are too lazy to throw out their trash or hold onto it until they find a trash can. I pick up trash from other people every day. Some days, I even take out a full-size garbage bag and collect the trash. I'll keep doing it, but I hate it. It's beyond selfish to litter.
Thanks so much for this terrific interview. I've really had a great time being here.
Connect with Lisette:
www.lisettebrodey.com
www.twitter.com/lisettebrodey
www.facebook.com/BrodeyAuthor
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2774659.Lisette_Brodey
https://www.amazon.com/author/lisettebrodey
www.mollyhacker.com
