If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you know I occasionally step away from the garden and the chickens to talk about books. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some wonderful authors on this page, and today’s guest is a little different, because I’ve known her for years. Brynne Briarwood writes small town romance, and her debut releases this May. I finally convinced her to sit down and answer a few questions. Grab your coffee.
— Rachel
Rachel: Brynne, welcome. Let’s start at the beginning: where did you come from?
Brynne: Honestly? I’ve been around longer than the name has. I’ve been writing stories in one form or another for years, but Brynne Briarwood is the version of me that finally decided to stop keeping them to herself. The name felt right, it sounds like a place. Somewhere small and a little overgrown and worth finding.
Rachel: That’s very on-brand for someone who writes small town romance. Tell readers what that actually means, because I think people have assumptions about the genre.
Brynne: They do, and some of those assumptions are earned. Yes, there are charming townsfolk. Yes, there may be front porches. But what I’m really interested in is people; specifically, people who are carrying something they haven’t told anyone about yet. Small towns just create the perfect pressure cooker for that. You can’t avoid anyone. You can’t outrun your past. You have to actually deal with things, which is my favorite kind of storytelling torture to put characters through.
Rachel: You write at different heat levels; can you explain how that works without making it awkward?
Brynne: (laughs) I’ll try. Some of my books are steamy. As in, explicit, adult content, not subtle. Some are low heat. This means lots of tension, lots of longing, a fade to black when things get physical. I alternate intentionally so readers know what they’re getting. The emotional core is the same either way. The characters are just as complicated. The difference is how much of the bedroom you see.
Rachel: Speaking of slow burn, that seems to be a signature for you.
Brynne: It’s the thing I love most to write and the thing that tests my patience the most to read, which probably says something about me. There’s something about that moment right before everything changes. When both people know and neither one has said it yet, that I find completely irresistible. I will spend forty thousand words getting to that moment and feel zero guilt about it.
Rachel: Let’s talk about May, because you have not one but two books coming out.
Brynne: I do, and I’m equal parts thrilled and terrified, which feels appropriate. The first is Between the Waves. This one’s steamy, it’s a why choose, small town setting, and it deals with a woman learning to let more than one person in after a long time of not letting anyone in at all. It releases May 1st.
Then The Wedding Arrangement comes out May 15th. This is low heat, slow burn, one bed, two people who absolutely did not plan for any of this. That one wrecked me a little while I was writing it, which I take as a good sign.
Rachel: Two very different books, two weeks apart. How are you still standing?
Brynne: Strong coffee and a complete inability to do things at a reasonable pace. It’s a gift, really. And to be fair, I have a LOT of started stories that just need to be finished and published.
Rachel: Last question, who are these books for?
Brynne: Readers who want to feel something. Not just be entertained, but actually moved. I write characters with real wounds and real reasons for being the way they are, and I want readers to finish a book and think about it the next morning in the shower. If that sounds like you, I think we’re going to get along just fine.
Brynne Briarwood’s debut novel, Between the Waves, releases May 1st, followed by The Wedding Arrangement on May 15th. Both are available on Amazon. You can find Brynne and learn more about her upcoming releases at https://linktr.ee/BrynneBriarwood.
— Rachel
