Today we'd like to welcome the lovely Breanna Te
intze to Operation Awesome. Breanna writes fantasy novels (well) and gardens (badly). She lives in
Idaho with her husband, where she homeschools her three kids, polishes swords, and perfects her eyeliner. She is sarcastic when she’s nervous. Her series,
The Empty Gods, is published by Jo Fletcher Books.
Breanna was kind enough to take the time to chat to me (Kate) about herself and her books. Thanks, Breanna!
Tell us something we’d be surprised to know about you.I’m a walking bag of various anxieties, but I actually really like most spiders, especially jumping spiders. I just think they’re neat.
In what category/genre do you write? Why? Adult fantasy. I have always enjoyed thinking through what would happen if normal people had to navigate ridiculous circumstances like meeting an undead deity or being invisible. (I don’t write science fiction very often because I’d rather invent my own laws of physics than obey the ones in the real world.)
What part of one of your stories was the most fun to write? The most challenging? (And which book/s are those in?) I had a lot of fun writing the disastrous flying scene in
Lord of Secrets. I had always wanted a “hey, I’m using magic to fly!” scene that was terrifying rather than mystical, because I’m afraid of heights and I know that if I was suddenly able to levitate I’d be panicky the entire time. And probably the most challenging scenes to write so far included the set pieces toward the end of
Lady of Shadows, where I had to take a fight scene up two flights of stairs to a roof, and then back down to a hidden basement without losing track of any characters or what they were carrying.
Would you please, in 160 characters (not words) or less, give a #WriteTip ?
Don’t get hung up on rules like “write every day” or a particular method of drafting. Experiment. Find your own rhythm and write the way that works for you.
What interests do you have outside of writing?
I love to read, I love Olympic-style weightlifting, and I’ve recently started collecting weird vinyl albums. My most recent find was “Roller Fink” by the Surfrajettes, which includes an amazing surf-guitar cover of Heart of Glass. Also, the vinyl is pink.
What do you love and hate most about being a published author?
The best thing about being a published author is hearing about people who were having a bad day—sometimes the kind of bad day that comes with a hospital waiting room—and were able to escape from it for a little while reading your book. I don’t know that I *hate* anything about being published, exactly, but I do dislike the feeling that authors have to try to go viral on every social media site. It gets tiring and makes it hard to have time to do the writing.
Do you publish traditional, self, hybrid, other? Why?
I am traditionally published, because I’m lazy. I tried once to self-publish a short story collection and realized very quickly that I don’t want to be solely in charge of the distribution and marketing end of publishing.
What question are you dying to answer (about your writing, life, or even a fun fact)? What's the question and then answer.
Question: what is a good way to regain your focus after you’ve been drafting or editing for a long time and you’re starting to glaze over?
Answer: physical activity of some kind, ideally something that absorbs your attention without stressing you out. For me, Olympic-style weightlifting. You just can’t stay hung up on a writing problem when you’re trying to heave a barbell around unless you want to hit yourself in the face.
Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?
Are there books that have a soundtrack, a smell, or a taste to you? Which books? Which sounds, smells, or tastes?
Which of your books would you suggest readers start with?
If you like snarky, anxious, outlaw protagonists who are Doing Their Best—or sneering glamorous villains who are doing the opposite—I suggest you start with my first novel, Lord of Secrets.
Breanna has kindly offered signed copies of the books that make up the Empty Gods series to one lucky reader. Just answer Breanna's question (above) to go in the draw! If you want to answer the question, but don't want to win the books, please indicate that in your answer.
Outlaw wizard Corcoran Gray has enough problems. He’s friendless, penniless and on the run from the tyrannical Mages’ Guild – and with the search for his imprisoned grandfather looking hopeless, his situation can’t get much worse.
So when a fugitive drops into his lap – literally – and gets them both arrested, it’s the last straw – until Gray realises that runaway slave Brix could be the key to his grandfather’s release. All he has to do is break out of prison, break into an ancient underground temple and avoid killing himself with his own magic in the process.
In theory, it’s simple enough. But as secrets unfold and loyalties shift, Gray discovers something with the power to change the nature of life and death itself.
Now Gray must find a way to protect the people he loves, but it could cost him everything, even his soul . . .
Lady of Shadows
Outlaw wizard Corcoran Gray expected death to be final, but life, and his loved ones, had other plans. A year after being resurrected and flung into a new body, he’s still trying to come to terms with his situation – and his self – when the all-powerful Mages’ Guild demands his help to stop a deadly plague.
He’s inclined to refuse the organisation that still wants him dead, until his partner Brix starts showing symptoms – to save her, Gray will do anything, even if it means working with his greatest enemies.
But it quickly becomes clear that this is no normal plague. The situation is more complicated, and more lethal, than anyone has realised. Ancient dangers are stirring, and thousands of lives are at stake.
