Interview with Angie M Brashears, BECOMING BLUE

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

It is a series. I usually describe it as a Fat girl’s fantasy. But it’s more than that. Every girl should have an opportunity to feel sexy, wanted, pampered. Blue, is a lonely lady, making therapist’s appointments, and attending Weight Watcher’s meetings just to be around people. All she has is her cat and a crummy apartment. Why shouldn’t great things happen to her for a change? Friends, a stalkery love interest, great house, high paying job, a clothier and a beauty parlor in the basement. Every woman’s dream right? But as you see, not every tasty treat is for eating.

Book 2 in The Chubby Chasers, Inc. Series, Blue, Light and Dark, is about independence, choosing your own path in life. There are two endings, a HEA and a DEA, so you can choose the ending, reading one or the other, or both. I’m very proud of the series, I’ve never read anything like it. Not every leading lady in romance needs to be a waif. I’m giving love to the big girls.

Do you have a favorite character?

It’s gotta be Javi. He’s a mix of sexy and crazy that’s challenging to write. Readers reacted to him like I did. With a mix of love and hate. I ended up changing Book 2 of The Chubby Chasers, Inc. Series, Blue, Light and Dark, to give his point of view, as well as Blue’s. Something I didn’t see coming when I first started on this journey.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?

Yes, Sasha was going to be a bit part. But I really enjoyed writing her character. The sass, the one-liners, just everything about her is so amplified that I found myself writing her into scenes with the main character Blue. At first, Sasha was going to be the bait to “get” Blue, but she evolved into more of a friend, with her own life, opinions and love interest.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?

I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I’ve got a touch of OCD and wanted to be involved in the entire process from start to finish. I thought why not? And wrote my story. I did a lot of research about editing, formatting, promoting and cover design and hired the best team to give my story the very best chance at being successful. When I first started, I thought you write a good story, put in on Amazon KDP, and presto! Everyone reads it, lol, I’ve learned a lot. I’m still learning.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

Not so much a critique group, but my teenaged daughter is my toughest critic. She doesn’t pull any punches, and being her mom doesn’t count for anything when she’s going through my books. I find that I write to please myself, so I take any critiques with a grain of salt.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

When I write, I do so in a continuous flow, not stopping to go back and fix anything. It helps me write faster, and I feel like it gives the story better flow. During the first phase, I wear my headphones to block out noise, but write in silence. When I’m done, and go back through to edit, I do listen to mood setting music. It’s edited a bunch by me, before I even let anyone read it.

I like to write outside unless it’s raining. I have my own writing spot in my backyard that helps get me going. I know when I’m in this space, writing’s taking place.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

Of course. My story is very important to me, and I wanted to give my book the best possible chance at success. I went through a few of my favorite books, that I thought were well written and read the credits in the back. That’s how I chose my editor, Aquila Editing, and my formatter, Tugboat Design. Working with these professionals was the best money I spent. They knew I had training wheels on, and helped avoid a few pitfalls along the way. Their help was invaluable.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I’m kind of a Renaissance woman. I’m an ER nurse, in a busy Los Angeles Trauma Center, and do a lot of different things to decompress after work. I build furniture, out of wood. I built my writing table. One thing about me is that if I can make it, instead of buying it, that’s what I do. I also make really cute scrub tops for work, with matching scrunchies. I’ve got Walking Dead scrubs, Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, and even Keep Calm and Eat Bacon scrub tops. So I guess my passion is bringing a smile to my patient’s faces, when they’re having a very bad day. 

I love to cook, swim, hike, and feed my giant koi fish.

I’m passionate about books, I’m a voracious reader, and will read anything, from Stephen King to Pepper Winters.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?

Dogs for sure…

With my hiking/swimming buddy, Chewy. He’s always up for any of my shenanigans.

Anything chocolate, at any time of the day, I can never have enough chocolate in my life.

I’m a big coffee drinker, a fun fact, I work 7p-7a, so I’m one of those people that drink coffee before going to sleep.

I love to talk, especially when my friends and I get to laughing, there’s nothing like making your friends laugh so hard they cry. You don’t get that in a text.

I’m a night owl. I prefer the night shift, and even when I’m not working at the hospital, I’m up late. People say they don’t know how I work the night shift, well, I don’t know how they get up at the crack of dawn! My husband is a morning person, and we get along just fine, as long as he keeps his happy thoughts to himself until I’ve had a chance to wake up.

What’s next for you?

The Chubby Chasers, Inc. Series continues! I’m working on Book 3, about halfway through now. I’ve got a short story, that I’m transitioning into a standalone book, Love Box. That should keep me busy for a while. I’ve got a signing in June, in Rancho Cucamonga, CA so I now they’ll both be done by then…hopefully!

Just enjoying life, family, working, writing, and reading.

Book & Author Details:

Becoming Blue by Angie M. Brashears
Publication date: January 15th 2016
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance

Synopsis:

Every single thing I’ve been taught not to do…I just did.

Talk to a stranger? Check

Get in a car with a stranger? Check

Go to a second location? Check

Go into a stranger’s house? Check

Take candy from a stranger? Check

If this is a kidnapping, it’s the kindest one I’ve ever heard of.

I’m living a fat girl fantasy. Snatched from a Weight Watcher meeting by a powdered-donut eating stranger, was by far the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. Who knew I didn’t need to make appointments or attend meetings to have someone to talk to. A Friend. Two Friends. A dark, intense stranger. Secrets.

Everything I ever wanted, and something’s I didn’t. Not every tasty treat is for eating.

To each his own….right?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28214000-becoming-blue

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Blue-Chubby-Chasers-Inc-ebook/dp/B019EN7KY2

AUTHOR BIO:

Angie M Brashears is a lover of everything books.  When not writing, she's reading anything she can get her hands on. She grew up in Southern California, and loves the mountains, hiking with her dogs, the beach, and of course, Disneyland! She loves music, and loves singing along to the radio, loud and off-key, performing for anyone unlucky enough to be in the passenger seat.

 Angie loves dark and twisted, which she refers to as Dark Ever After books, but is known to read an occasional HEA story as well. When she's not writing, she working, saving lives.  A busy Trauma ER nurse for over twenty years, she gets enough reality in her life, and is always looking for a story to take her away from the harsh reality of Emergency Nursing.

If there's football on, she sure to have a huge party going on to cheer her team on...Go Patriots!

As a new author, she'd love to hear from you!

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