Interview with Sara Brookes

Hi Sara, thanks for being here with us!!! Congratulations on the new release.

Thanks, Rebecca and thanks for having me here!

Let’s get started.

Tell me about your new release, Flash of Dark, available now from Liquid Silver Books.

Flash of Dark is an erotic paranormal romance/urban fantasy set in Cincinnati, Ohio and deals with the beginnings of something happening between the Tuatha Dé Danann, or the Fae, and vampires. Plus, there’s one stubborn human in the mix that just won’t leave Ana, the lead character – and a Fae – alone. There’s even a bit of a murder mystery in this one and, of course, a love story with some wonderfully hot sex scenes.

Here’s the blurb to tell you a bit more:

Remember when you were little and your parents warned you to stay away from certain things and told you that there were no creatures that hid in your closet? Guess what? They weren’t telling the truth. My name is Ana Sullivan and I’m one of those things that go bump in the night…

As a member of the immortal Tuatha Dé Danann, Ana was sent to the human realm three hundred and fifty years ago by the Fae council to keep tabs on the self-banished High King. Once a Celtic god with a talent for stealing souls, she does her best to keep her life on as even of a keel as possible, despite the fact that her best friend, Lucas Edwards, is a vampire. Keep as low a profile as you can, that’s Ana’s motto while she’s here. After all, she can live vicariously though Lucas.

Her tranquil life is thrown into a tailspin when an incident outside of her club points to her as the prime suspect in a high profile murder. As if that wasn’t enough trouble, handsome, rich and a media darling, Stark Grantham walks into her life she can see her peace and calm being chipped away one precious chunk at a time. Not to mention, Stark’s very, very human, as high profile as they come and everything Ana’s spent her life trying to avoid.

Given Ana’s Fae ability, a toxic touch that can be lethal to mortals, will his choice to be with Ana cost Stark his life?

I see that this book is called Rebirth Series I. Does that mean there will be more? Will it be the same characters?

Yes, I’m currently finishing up the second book in the series. I actually have one more chapter to write and it’ll go off to my critique partner for a bit. This is probably the sixth or seventh draft of it, so I’m hoping everything fell into place this time. While Flash of Dark deals with the Fae side of this fight, the next book will deal with the vampire side. It will be characters you’re familiar with from the first book, but not told from the same perspective.

Do you prefer to write series or stand alone books?

Actually, series are harder. Though stand alone stories are their own beasts as well. With a series, you have to really pay attention to timelimes and histories of the characters – especially when you’re working with characters several hundred years old. I actually have notebooks and scribbles on sticky notes to try to keep track of everything. With a stand alone, I always find I want to know more about characters and situations beyond just the book itself. That’s what makes series an attractive draw, you’re not just seeing this one small slice of time in the characters life and get to see a bigger picture.

What led you to the paranormal? Do you read a lot of it?

I’ve always been fascinated with paranormal, since I was a kid. I remember reading Christopher Pike and L J Smith’s Vampire Diaries and getting sucked into the stories almost immediately. I just read a lot period, but if the story has a paranormal element – all the better.

Do you have a favorite holiday?

Not anymore, it used to be St. Patrick’s Day, but my daughter’s dancing takes over that entire week. Because she’s an Irish dancer, St Patrick’s Day is probably a week long for us and there’s just a limit to how much green beer you can see.

Flash of Dark is a first person point of view book. Do you usually write in first person?

I’d say I balance between the two. Whichever way the story happens to come out, whichever character feels they need to tell it, that’s how the story gets told. I actually have a fantasy I’m working on that’s in its beginning stages and its third person POV from the male lead.

I always ask everyone to tell me about their muse, what is yours like?

I don’t have ONE muse, per say. It’s more a collection and it’s really the characters themselves. Which is helpful as it lets me learn their moods and personalities better but on the other hand, it lets me learn their moods and personalities better, if you know what I mean. It’s both good and bad and sometimes, those muses just have to be beat into submission.

What advice could you give new authors just starting out?

The same piece of advice I was given: write what you’d want to read. First and foremost, I write a story I would want to curl up with and read myself.

What do you do to combat writers block?

I work on several stories at once. If I get stuck with one story, I will move on to something else and work on it for a while. It usually it gives my brain a chance to focus on something else and not thinking about one for a while can get me un-stuck. It took me years to figure out that was what worked for me though and it was a frustrating – and long road – to get to that point.

Thanks for being with us today!!!

Thanks for having me, I had a great time!

Best,

RR