Author Interview: Brian Collier

What is your name and where do you live now?
Hi there!  My name is Brian Collier and I live in the southern part of the United States.


First off, how has your week been?
Oh, you know, my week has been full of adventures!  Ok, maybe not so much but that’s fine.  I enjoy life and if it includes work and mundane home errands, such is the way of things.  I’ve been able to get some writing done and also do some other creative stuff too so I can’t complain.  


Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?
Oh, this is where I get to have a little creative fun and make up all sorts of things about myself!  What?  Oh, I can’t do that?  Well, darn.  In that case, I suppose you’ll get the mundane details of my life :)  For starters, I have a wonderful family that fills my days with memories. When I’m not spending time with them, I’m usually writing, losing myself in all sorts of different worlds and stories. I focus on multiple genres so I never get bored. As much as I enjoy filling my days with tales though, I also like to get away from the keyboard from time to time and when I do, I can usually be found reading, doing something outdoors, or being creative in other ways.  I’ve been writing most of my life, starting with scribbles in grade school and working my way to more cohesive stories, but I didn’t start getting really serious about it until a couple of years ago.  


Please tell us about your current release.
My latest release is an erotic romance novella released by Pink Petal Books in October 2012 called “An Enchanting Surprise”.  It was part of the Boys of Summer erotic romance anthology that was first released in July 2012.  This novella is a heated romantic tale involving a gardener and an Olympic athlete.  Here’s a little teaser about the story:
Skie Wilson is a simple girl with simple tastes. Give her the job at the Cambridge Inn, her outrageous best friend, some puzzles, and a beer, and she's good to go. Of course, the one thing missing from that mix is passion and heat—the kind that makes her heart race, her toes curl, and her body tingle.

Jaded by a cheating fiancé, Skie has avoided commitment ever since. No man has caught her eye enough to make her change her mind, at least not until the Spanish Olympic team arrives for a summer of training before the event. The scorching hot athletes offer quite the temptation, with their sweat-glistened muscles and taut bodies, but one sinfully sexy triathlete captures Skie’s attention the most. Will she hide behind the safety of the inn’s “no fraternization” rule, or will she let her hair down and have a little fun?  You’ll have to read the story to find out ;)


Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
Oh yes, absolutely.  Skie was a great character to write because she was strong but vulnerable, shy yet willing to experience life more.   I’d love to take her romantic story further.   Also, I absolutely adored her best friend.  When I chose that character, I wanted someone different from Skie and I fell in love with her personality.  One day I know I will write her love story also.  


What genre would you place your books into?
An Enchanting Surprise falls under the erotic romance genre but I don’t limit myself to only that one.  I also have a dragon story that falls in the fantasy genre – it was released in October 2012.  I tend to concentrate on the genres of fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, erotic romance, and young adult.  


How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
This is always one of the hardest parts of writing for me.  I never start out with character names because I hope that as their personalities flesh out, they will choose them for me.  Of course, that doesn’t always happen and when that’s the case, I start bouncing a bunch of names around in my head until I settle on one.  Even then, they sometimes get changed during the editing stage.  Places I just sort of jot down, playing with word and letter combinations, until I find something I like.


Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
When I first start a new story, I do sketch out in my mind the character traits envision my characters having but often times the characters themselves adjust that image or I decide to adjust it myself based on how the story is flowing.


Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
I have suffered from “writer’s block” and it is a frustrating thing to experience, especially if the story was flowing really well up to that point.  Since I work with multiple genres, I always have more than one story in-progress at any given time so when writer’s block sets in on one, I just switch to another.  If that doesn’t work, I may pull myself away from my writing for a bit and work on marketing or administrative tasks.  If worse comes to worse, I pull away from all aspects of writing for a bit and concentrate on something else creative.   Usually my blocks don’t last long as a result.


What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
The first piece of advice I would give a new writer is to have lots and lots of patience.  Once a story is completed and you submit it for publication, every else that happens after that moves slowly.  First it’s waiting to hear back, then it’s the editing process, and then publication process.  All in all, it takes a lot longer than one would initially think.  The second piece of advice would be to have an open mind.  As writers, we fall in love with what we create but sometimes there is still room for improvement.  The editing process will often flesh that out but it can be a painful process sometimes.  You have to trust that your editor(s) know what they are doing and be open minded enough to consider their suggestions.  I often say that the hardest part of writing is the editing process and I think it’s true.  The last piece of advice would be to write what you like.  If you do that, your work will often reflect the passion you felt about it and that can often improve your voice and style.  

Find out more about Brian and his books on his blog or Facebook page.

You can buy his anthology and novella from Pink Petal Books, ARe and Amazon.