Please welcome Brenna Lyons to the blog, author of the Xxan, Kegin, Night Warriors, Renegades, and many more. Brenna has been published more than 80 times in the last seven years, more than two dozen of them novel-length. Thank you for agreeing to answer my nosy questions and share them with everyone visiting today.
A: Thanks for having me!
Q: To begin, please share which genre(s) you write in…
A: I write in many genres but mainly spec fic (fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, and horror), with or without romance or erotic content involved. My style is milieu-heavy and fairly dark.
Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: I’ve been writing poetry seriously since I was 7 and competing in various writing contests since I was 11. I was first published in a local newspaper (journalism) when I was 13. I won a place in the Young Poet’s Symposium at the University of Pittsburgh at 15, won a four-year college scholarship with a timed essay when I was 17, did my first public reading of my poetry when I was 19, and wrote my first novel when I was 32 (actually a two-book serial novel titled PROPHECY). That novel was signed a little more than a year after I started writing it and nine months after I finished writing it. So, depending on how you want to count that…I signed my first contract either 26 years after I started writing seriously or nine months after I finished writing my first novel.
Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A: That depends on my mood. If you asked me today, I’d probably say my newest Wolkin story, another of my Kegin series spin-offs. But I’d only say that, because I’m working on it right now, so I’m particularly attached to the story right now. On other days, I might name one of my other worlds and books.
I re-read my work a lot, depending on my mood. When I’m in a down mood, it might be Night Warriors or my straight-genre horror stuff. In an up mood, it might be my Born Investigators, Grellan War, or Kegin and Kegin spin-offs (Kielan and Wolkin worlds). In an intense mood, it might be my Xxan or Renegades worlds. Since I write in 20 series worlds and stand-alones, I have too many choices to concrete it to just one favorite.
Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: The better question would be, “Do you have to be in a specific place to stop the flow?” Unless someone is hovering over me, trying to engage me in conversation and/or being loud and disruptive, the words are going to flow. My muse is something of a leather-clad, whip-wielding taskmaster. Or is that taskmistress? She reminds me a lot of a nun I had as a teacher in first grade. And she never sleeps. Is it any surprise I rarely sleep, either?
Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story? Read the rest of this entry »
January 28th, 2010 by 
Amanda Young
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