Authors have probably one of the coolest jobs in the world. They get to write about things they love, create worlds for people to escape to, and tell stories that people will be talking about for years to come. Every day, a new book is published, released, or bought to be read and loved.
This year, one of my favourite authors, a Canadian gal just like me, released her newest book A Shadow In The Reaping, a vampire book with more than one twist in it! I was super excited to sit down with her and talk about all things books, characters and just, life! It’s my absolute pleasure to introduce, Brynne Weaver, author of The Diviner, A Shadow In The Reaping, The Elysian, & The Resurrectionist.
A little background on Brynne: She is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures. She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!). Brynne has been everything from an archaeologist to a waitress, a deep-sea core analyst to an advertising account executive. For the last several years, she has been working in the field of neuroscience clinical research. Brynne has been writing since childhood and has published a non-fiction book under her real name, but she won’t tell you what it is unless you provide a live, fully trained velociraptor. When not busy at her day job or writing, Brynne can be found working with her husband and their son on their family farm in Nova Scotia, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses, reading, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine. The Diviner is her debut novel.
HCuOttawa: What is your personal favourite book?
Brynne: I have a few favourites, but Stephanie Fournet’s book Someone Like Me and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was a book I used to read every year in the mornings with my coffee.
HCuOttawa: Is there an author that inspired you to start writing?
Brynne: Stephanie Fournet was a big inspiration especially since she also started writing later in her life as well.
HCuOttawa: When did you fall in love with writing? How long have you been writing? (short stories, poems, books, articles, etc.)
Brynne: I’ve always loved writing! I remember being five years old and typing on a typewriter, just loving it. I wrote a lot in high school and took a break before coming back to it just recently.
HCuOttawa: Do you have a favourite genre to write?
Brynne: Romance, fiction – in fantasy and paranormal genres.
HCuOttawa: What is it like balancing life, work, parenting and writing? Do you have any tips on how to balance all of them?
Brynne: It’s hard! I would write whenever I could, which meant writing on my phone sometimes whenever I got a chance. It was hard to balance everything, so I had to prioritize the most urgent tasks and things in my life. Limiting distractions really helped me to balance and cutting out the unnecessary (like Netflix!).
HCuOttawa: What inspired The Diviner & A Shadow In The Reaping books?
Brynne: For The Diviner, I’d seen a random video about an animal communicator who was communicating with a black leopard. While I was watching it, I kep thinking about “what if she could weaponize the animal?” and that was how The Diviner started to take shape. For A Shadow In The Reaping, I was stuck on the fact that there wasn’t this great reputation of vampire books and I wanted to take a break from the heavy stuff in The Diviner. I just went for it with no plan except that I wanted to see an enemies to lovers trope & have some fun!
HCuOttawa: Which book of yours has been your favourite to write so far?
Brynne: A Shadow In The Reaping!
HCuOttawa: Is there a character from any of your books that you relate to the most?
Brynne: Lu! I think a lot like her and we share the same thoughts and humour!
HCuOttawa: Who was the hardest character to write/get into their headspace?
Brynne: Kiran, he was always so kind, thoughtful about the choices he makes (which are usually the right ones in the long run).
HCuOttawa: Are there songs that you associate with your book couples? Characters? Your books in general?
Brynne:
- ASITR Lu and Ashen – Come Back For Me by Jaymes Young. I definitely hear them in this one. For me, it spans both ASITR and the sequel so far. Also of course Let It All Go, since that’s in the book itself.
- The Diviner: I Found by Amber Run and Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex were on re-run for me for a while. I played them a lot.
- The Elysian: Amen by Natalie Taylor
- The Resurrectionist (book 3): Particles by Olafur Arnalds & Nanna Bryndis Hilmrsdottir. It’s so atmospheric and rich and sad.
HCuOttawa: How does one get into writing a book? Is there a specific way that one person might start?
Brynne: Read a lot, find a space that you want to fill. Let go on the “how” and just go for it. Just trust yourself and your gut
HCuOttawa: Do you have any advice for future writers on getting started?
Brynne: Keep reading and don’t question “how it should be”, but think about the “what ifs” and find “different ways to do something great”.
HCuOttawa: Are there any tools that new writers can use to start writing that you used/have heard about?
Brynne: I usually put any of the works I had on the go out there for people to read. This way I got opinions and feedback as soon as possible.
HCuOttawa: If/When you hit writer’s block, where do you look to find inspiration?
Brynne: I usually jump to a different scene in the book that I’ve figured out and can write. Then I go back to it once I’m inspired again. I also write summaries for each chapter to see what still needs to be tied up by the end of the book and find inspiration there.
HCuOttawa: Do you have any advice for people who are trying to figure out how to publish their work?
Brynne: Look at blogs who talk about the process, BookEnds, and Self-Publish: Amazon. Amazon has great tools and resources that cover how to publish on Kindle and their site. Find the best way to market your books (social media and Tik Tok are big ones!). There are so many online blogs with marketing tips to help you think out of the box.
HCuOttawa: If you could tell new authors anything, what might you say to them?
Brynne: Always persevere and keeping asking questions, for help. Build relationships with people and make sure to reciprocate the support that other people are giving you. Never be afraid to reach out and talk to people!
HCuOttawa: Is there anything you can tell us about the next projects you are working on?
Brynne: The Diviner series will be three books in total, the last one is currently titled The Resurrectionist As far as it goes for the ASITR series, it is looking like it could be a total of two books!
HCuOttawa: Will we get happy endings for some or all our fan favs?
Brynne: Maybe! *shrug* It’ll be interesting. Who knows! There’s lots of working things out together.
HCuOttawa: If you could fancast any of your characters, who do you see as Lu, Ashen, Kieran, Quinn, & others?
Brynne:
- Quinn – I see Bruna Marquezine as like Quinn. I think she can carry both the ferocity and vulnerability in balance.
- Kiran – this is tough. Looks-wise, probably Jon Kortajarena. No idea if he can act though LOL!
- Lu – a mix of Alicia Vikander in appearance (almost anyway) and JLaw in personality. She’s definitely got JLaw’s sharp, zany humour.
- Ashen – OMG this is even harder than Kiran. On appearance, probably someone like Alessandro Dellisola. He can pull off a good, demonic scowl. No idea if he can act though!
HCuOttawa: What are you most looking forward to when The Elysian is released?
Brynne: Getting to the next book after The Elysian is released, trying to tie all the ends together and move on to the final book. It’s also nerve-wracking to hear what people will think about it.
Have you fallen in love with how awesome Brynne is? Loving all the concepts of her books? Check her out on all platforms & find all her books HERE!
The Diviner
A Shadow In The Reaping
