Brooklyn Ann

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I was an artist before I was a writer. And although I did start writing short stories in elementary school and a novel in high school, I tried to be everything BUT a writer. A paleontologist, a painter, a heavy metal singer, a mechanic... I'm still an artist, and my other hobbies include collecting limited-edition books, reading in almost every genre, cooking, watching horror movies, fishing, and working on classic cars.

When and why did you start writing books?

I started writing the novel that would eventually become Conjuring Destiny when I was 15 based on a dream I had. Aside from a few details, none of that awful first draft remains in the version that's published.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

I toyed with the idea a bit after I had a completed manuscript at 19. It was resoundingly rejected. Then, at 25, while working as an auto mechanic, I wrote another book and tried again. After my mom passed away the following year, I wrote another book as a means to escape my grief. That novel was Bite Me, Your Grace, which landed me my first publishing contract.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

That's like asking me to pick a favorite child! I'll pick one favorite book from each series I have. First is One Bite Per Night from my Scandals With Bite series because I'd secretly based the hero on this sweet guy I was crushing on from afar. From my Hearts of Metal series, With Vengeance is most special to me because some of it is based on my real-life experience of finding a romance hero after escaping a bad relationship. In my Brides of Prophecy series, Conjuring Destiny because I managed to make something out of that juvenile handwritten manuscript eventually. ...It only took about 7 rewrites! And out of my B Mine series, His Scream Queen is my favorite because I think I did the best job out of the four in balancing the romance and the horror.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

I hate to sound like a broken record, but Conjuring Destiny. The original draft took me three years to write. Then, after having enough books under my belt, I had to go back and tear it to pieces because there WAS something there, it was just too ambitious for my capabilities at that time. The world-building, the pacing, and the romance were all huge challenges to write in a cohesive way that won't bore a reader. Aside from that, my entire B Mine series stretched me as a writer because it was difficult (but SO rewarding!) to combine my two favorite genres: horror and romance.

Who is your favourite author and book?

It's a 3-way tie between IT by Stephen King, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.

What book are you reading right now?

Unnatural Creatures: A novel of the Frankenstein Women, by Kris Waldherr.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

Songs, dreams, and the rare time when I read a book that did something so against my preferences that I get a crystal clear idea of what I would have done with that premise.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I love to read books of almost any genre and I'm also a huge movie buff. I also love to go up in the mountains for morel mushrooms in the spring and huckleberries in the summer.

Do you have any new books in the works?

I'm working on a coming-of-age horror novel with the working title: The Graveyard Girls. I'm also working on the next Brides of Prophecy book, along with a screenplay adaptation of my summer camp slasher romance: His Final Girl.