Today I have author Brynn Stein as my guest!
What is your favorite genre to
write?
So
far, contemporary. With fan fiction, I liked science fiction the best, but it’s
just not speaking to me yet for original fiction. I have dabbled with the
supernatural a bit. My first published book was about a ghost, called
“Haunted”. And I had a book submitted, but haven’t heard about a contract yet,
about a young empath. But, other than those, all the stories have been
contemporary. They all contain a good
bit of angst. I love angst. Life and love often come with pain, and I think I
write that well. There have been a couple of comments about there being too
much angst in my last book, “Living Again” but in my world, there’s no such
thing as too much angst. I do tend to shoot for the happy ending though, after
all that angst. “Through the Years” is different in that regard. There’s not
the traditional happily ever after ending…though the ending is at least
hopeful.
Sunrise or Sunset?
Sunset.
Sunrise comes what the heck too early for me. I’m not a morning person by
nature. My profession forces me to be (I’m a teacher) but I much prefer
evening. I do love watching the sunset. Of course, I’ve been known to catch a
sunrise or two. When my eldest daughter was three, she came barreling into my
room at literally the crack of dawn, saying, “Mommy, mommy, you’re missing it!”
“Missing
what?” I responded sleepily.
“The
sunrise!”
She
was so excited, I couldn’t just dismiss it. I got up, on a Saturday no less,
and cuddled with her on the couch and watched the sunrise. It’s one of my
fondest memories.
Another
famous, for me, sunrise was more recent when my mother, two daughters, and I
went to the beach on the east coast. We got up early to go enjoy the sunrise
over the ocean. It turned out to be the last vacation I took with my mother
while she was still lucid. She’s in an assisted living facility now and not
doing well. Both daughters have moved away from home now, even though I still
see them often.
That’s
another sunrise I’ll remember forever.
Through the Years is historical --
how does writing a historical differ from writing a contemporary?
This
particular historical wasn’t all that much different than contemporary…at least
not most of it…because I actually lived through a good bit of it. The early parts of it though I had to
research and draw from experiences of older friends to make sure I was getting
the colloquial language correct, and put all the historic events in correct
order at the correct times.
I
worked very hard for authenticity and to avoid anachronisms. There was one that
almost made it into the book. I had the characters use the word ‘frag’
(referring to the military usage) a year before it actually started being used.
My wonderful editors from Dreamspinner caught that one. But I think we
successfully avoided any others.
Long or thick?
Um….<sputter>…both???
Who was easier to write -- Edward or
Gene?
The
book was written in first person from Gene’s point of view, so I’d have to say
Gene. Edward is actually written more as Gene sees him than from Edward’s own
perspective at all. Gene tends to forgive Edward of a good bit, probably more
than he should. He loves him after all. And I think that comes across.
How many daddies does it take to
change a light bulb?
LOL.
I don’t know. I never actually address it in the book. Isn’t it funny how a lot
of books don’t address common everyday things? Characters don’t tend to go to
the bathroom, unless it drives the story somehow. We don’t see them brush their
teeth unless something is going to happen while they do that that will be
important to the story. So, no changing light bulbs in “Through the Years”.
Although,
now that you mention it, a character could be trying to change a light bulb,
fall off the ladder and hit his head. Maybe even get amnesia or something.
Hmmm…I might have to think of that for future books. <G>
What is your favorite time waster?
Facebook.
I spend entirely too much time there. Not only to I spend hours reading others’
posts and commenting, I tend to get sucked into the various games there.
Currently I’m on a Kitchen Scramble kick.
Black and white, or all the colors
of the rainbow?
Depends.
In my free time (when such an animal exists) I draw, and for that I usually
stick to black and white. I’ve experimented with colors, but I do better with
black and white.
But for
everything else, definitely colors. The more the better. The brighter the
better. Unless you’re talking about wall paint, then it needs to be a little
more subdued. We painted our living room recently in what was supposed to be a
pale mauve. It turned out to be more like “Little Girl’s Room” pink. It took
some getting used to, but I like it now.
Do you procrastinate more at the beginning, middle, end of a
story, or not at all?
Again, it
depends.
For “Through
the Years” I didn’t procrastinate at all. It came flowing out from start to
finish and it was all I could do to keep up.
For “Living
Again”, it was in the middle. It was getting pretty heavy and I think
subconsciously I needed a break. That’s what’s happening with the one I’m
writing now, also. It’s getting dark, so my subconscious says, “Are you sure
you don’t want to play just one more game of Kitchen Scramble”?
Hard or soft?
Depends. Clothing, bedding, furniture? Soft. Men? …well, you can probably guess. <G>
What's the sexiest food/meal?
Crab
legs. Especially the long, thick part. Dip that sucker in butter, then suck on
it suggestively…some of the best evenings with then-hubby came after a dinner
of crab legs. <G>
Abs or glutes?
Glutes,
definitely. Just something about a guy with a nice, tight, a$$....mmm.
<G>
Can you share a few sexy lines from
Through the Years?
Here’s the start of
one scene, but you’ll have to read the book for the rest of it. This is actually
one of the first scenes I didn’t fade to black for, so there is more of it in the book. A lot more.
I
unbuttoned his shirt and pulled the shirttail out of his jeans. He lifted
himself up a bit onto his elbows, so I could get the shirt out from under his
back. He was surprised when I didn’t unbutton the cuffs. I pulled the shirt—and
his arms—over his head and tied the shirttails to the slats of the headboard.
He made a play of struggling, but I tied the shirt into a knot, as best as it
would go, and trailed my fingers down his arms.
I kissed his forehead, his nose, his
cheek, and started in on his neck. He wiggled in earnest then. He always liked
to pet my hair when I did that, and now he couldn’t. I peppered kisses down his
chest and belly and licked under his waistband. I thought he was going to give
me a bloody nose from how hard his hips surged up against it. I unbuttoned his
jeans and undid the zipper, then slowly pulled the waistband down.
“Hey, that’s no fair!” He
practically moaned as he lifted his hips to help me get rid of the jeans. “It’s
my birthday. I should be doing the unwrapping.”
“Too bad,” I mumbled as I nibbled at
the elastic of his boxers. “I won the race, old man.” I pulled at the elastic
with my teeth while keeping my hands busy pulling the jeans ever lower.
“God, Gene.” He did groan that time.
“You’re going to kill me.”
Comment below to be entered into the
raffle I’m conducting during my blog tour.
Here’s
how the raffle works:
I’ve listed the tour stops below and have
given either the link to the blog in general or to my post specifically. Feel
free to stop by as many as you want. For each stop that you comment on, you
will receive one entry to the giveaway. I’ll check all the stops numerous times
throughout the tour and will draw five winners on Thanksgiving Day, so even if
you come in late to the tour, you can go back through the list and comment on
past stops.
I’m giving away five prizes. 1) a signed
paperback copy of Through the Years;
2 and 3) electronic copies of Through the
Years, 4) your choice of either a
signed paperback copy or an audiobook of Living
Again (the audiobook won’t be available until December), and 5) an electronic copy of Haunted.
Blog
Tour Stops for Through the Years
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Date
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Blog Owner
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Blog Address
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1
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October 6
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Anne Barwell
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2
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October 7
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Grace Duncan
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3
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October 8
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Jessica Skye Davies
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4
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October 9
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Shira Anthony
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5
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October 10
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Emma Tett
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6
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October 11
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Kim Fieldings
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7
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October 12
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Bike Books Reviews
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8
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October 13
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Tempest O’Riley
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9
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October 14
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Sean Michael
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10
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October 15
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Allison Cassatta
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11
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October 16
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Jana Denardo
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12
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October 17
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Louise Lyons
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13
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October 18
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PD Singer
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14
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October 20
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Shae Connor
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15
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October 21
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Suki Fleet
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16
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October 27
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Charlie Cochet
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17
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October 28
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Elizabeth Noble
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18
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October 29
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Tara Lain
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19
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October 31
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Sophie Bonaste
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20
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November 4
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Kit Moss
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21
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November 10
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Lane Hayes
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22
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November 13
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Mike Rupured
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Brynn Stein has always loved to
write. Fan fiction, original fiction, whatever. While Brynn wrote in numerous
genres – everything from mystery, to contemporary, to supernatural – she had
always tended toward strong male characters. And then she discovered ‘slash’,
male/male romance, and all those strong male characters were finally allowed to
express their love for one another. It seems that there are always at least two
characters clamoring to tell Brynn their story.
Brynn
lives in Virginia near her two two-legged children, and with one four-legged
one. Her supportive family encourages her writing and provides a sounding board
for fledgling stories. When she isn’t writing, Brynn teaches children with
special needs. In free time, when such a thing exists, she reads anything she
can get her hands on, and haunts bookstores. She draws and paints, and enjoys
the outdoors—especially if she can get to the beach—and is always thinking
about her next story.
Please feel free to contact Brynn at
any of the following:
or
