I don’t know about you, but I love meeting new people and introducing them to the people in my world. Over the next several months, I will interview a group of talented indie writers who support their peers. Why? Because we all need a little help from our friends. Like TL (Tracy) Brown, one of my favorite indie authors—and not just because I love her Door to Door Mysteries and Bellerose Witchline series. But because she is an avid supporter of indie authors. And as a BONUS, she is a lovely gal and a really cool chick whose sense of humor is dark and inappropriate, like mine. 😏 Is it any wonder I call her friend?
Independent authors are a funny breed. Yes, we could opt to send our manuscripts out to agents and hope one will sign us and shop us out to publishing houses. Or, we can spend that time doing what we do best—writing. Either way, it’s a hard slog. Publishers aren’t what they used to be and the days of tidy advances and publishers marketing an author’s work are gone. Ask any indie author why they self-publish and you will get different answers. But having control of your book’s destiny is on the list for many, including TL (Tracy) Brown. Check out my interview with her below the flashy cover shots of her brilliant novels.
Interview with TL (Tracy) Brown
If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would it be?
TL Brown: Without a doubt: Mark Twain.
You are planning a dinner party. Which fictional characters would you invite?
TL Brown: This is so hard! I’m going to limit my answer to the awesome crew in the Marnie Reilly Mysteries and pretend I’m single: Marnie, Danny, Tom, and, ahem, Ransom. (Sorry, Danny … but you have Marnie…so… Hello, Ransom.) 😉 I’m also going to skip the dinner party and move it outside to a big bonfire at night.
Do you think you were born in the wrong era? Or are you exactly where you should be?
TL Brown: I would have loved to have been a teenager in the 1970s. The music, the clothes, the culture … I’m so there.
If you could physically travel into a fictional book world, where would you go and why?
TL Brown: The Empire in the Bellerose Witchline series.
Would you ever want to live in any of the fictional places you have created?
TL Brown: See the above. Lucie Bellerose lives in the brick townhouse I want (in the fictional city of Matar).
As a reader, do you prefer a series or stand-alone?
TL Brown: Honestly, I can go either way. I must prefer series, though, because I tend to read them more than standalone novels.
What do you love about self-publishing?
TL Brown: The control—at the end of the day, I decide everything.
What do you dislike about self-publishing?
TL Brown: It’s harder to be “found” by readers who would enjoy my work. Perhaps if I were independently wealthy and could sink tens of thousands of dollars in marketing, it would be different. 😉
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
TL Brown: When you are writing (typing) a scene, and you are so far into it, you are shocked when you look up and realize you are still in your world.
What is your least favorite part of the writing process?
TL Brown: When you must make a pivotal decision that will affect the future of your characters in a way that will be devastating—that’s the hardest. In all honesty, those decisions slow me down as a writer. The “kill your darlings” perspective some writers hold up as gospel isn’t always the way to go…and it hurts when you do.
What is your favorite reference book for writers?
TL Brown: You know, I haven’t used one in a while. There was a great one I used to recommend for writing opening chapters, but the author revealed himself as a bit of a tool, so I don’t mention it anymore. I will check some of my herbal reference books when writing certain scenes with my witch, Lucie Bellerose.
Are you a pantser or a plotter? Or a bit of both?
TL Brown: I’m definitely a plotter, but I leave room for “on-the-spot” character takeovers. When that happens, I think: Okay, so we’re doing this now…and follow one of my characters down a rabbit hole.
What’s your go-to beverage when writing?
TL Brown: Oh, it varies. Water, wine, coffee.
What’s your go-to snack when writing?
TL Brown: I don’t snack that much when writing.
What do you do when your characters stop speaking to you? Or when they won’t stop speaking to you?
TL Brown: Right now, almost all my characters are NOT speaking to me because they are not happy about the drama I’m writing in Walking a Fine Witchline. However, my half-demon, Sebastian St. Michel, is feeling pretty good. He also NEVER. SHUTS. UP. I just pretty much do whatever I can to appease him, so he’ll leave me alone. 😉
What’s an opinion that non-writers have about writers that is completely ridiculous?
TL Brown: That things happen FAST. No, they don’t. Books don’t appear out of thin air.
Do you have a word that you use too much in your writing?
TL Brown: At this point, I use an Excel spreadsheet with all those “overused” words (and variations of those same words) in writing that I run through when I’ve finished writing my first (or second) draft. I’m well over 100 entries, and now that I think about it…THAT might be my least favorite part of the writing process.
When or where do you come up with your best ideas?
TL Brown: Listening to music (I envision scenes matching the music) and when I’m showering.
Do you have a favorite character from your books?
TL Brown: This is so hard…I love so many of them! Perhaps Sebastian St. Michel (my half-demon in the Bellerose Witchline series) because he can be a real d*ck, and he’s fun to write. But I love my wayward witch, Lucie Bellerose. I *know* her.
How do you come up with cover concept(s)? And do you design yourself or do you have a designer?
TL Brown: I design them myself (concept, sometimes sketch), but I hire a professional artist to produce them. I’ve worked with two designers. The experience with designing my last book cover (Crossing the Witchline) was so much better than with my previous covers. I like the person I work with now.
What do you want readers to know about you?
TL Brown: I like to explore the gray area between black and white—the good and not-so-good—and the personalities (people) who live in between. If you are willing to suspend judgment, I invite you to join me. You never know who you might end up liking—in spite of yourself. 😉
What do you not want readers to know about?
TL Brown: While my tenacity is admirable, it’s driven by compulsion—which might be my Achilles heel. The jury is out on that.
Do you use a pen name?
TL Brown: I do! Readers can find my work under T.L. Brown (but you can call me Tracy).
Do you have a new book coming out? When? Title? Genre? Blurb?
TL Brown: This year, Walking a Fine Witchline, book 3 in the Bellerose Witchline series, should be released. The genre is adult dark fantasy. No blurb yet!
The Door to Door Paranormal Mystery Series
Door to Door, Paranormal Mystery
Seventeen years after Emily Swift’s father died, a door is opened to a new world, an Empire led by peculiar men and women called Salesmen—transporters of magical items. These Salesmen have the unique ability to travel from place to place, and even world to world, simply by stepping through the “right” door.
After an attack that leaves an innocent woman dead, a rare book containing clues to the whereabouts of the Crimson Stone is missing. As Emily races through the Empire, she pursues John Templeton, the mysterious Salesman with extraordinary abilities.
Find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LQWJSL3
Through the Door, Paranormal Mystery
Salesman Emily Swift is back—and so is Templeton! After learning about her supernatural abilities, 30-year-old Emily Swift returns home to Kincaid to rebuild a normal life with her boyfriend. As she struggles to get a handle on her “door traveling” energy, a strange warning squawks from her car radio: a terrorist group called the Fringe is still watching her.
Find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095L5F6NZ
Doors Wide Open, Paranormal Mystery
My name is Emily Swift, and I’m a Salesman—one who’s currently persona non grata with the Empire’s leadership. I’m technically grounded, but I can still travel from place to place simply by stepping through a door. Any door.
The Fringe—a rogue group of violent Salesmen—just murdered a friend and tampered with the North Door. I will do whatever it takes to bring them down, and I’m counting on my friends for help. I’m even taking a chance on Templeton…Because this time, I’m busting all the doors wide open.
Find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KB9VVTV
A Thin Witchline Between Love & Hate, Adult Dark Fantasy (For readers 18+ years)
Witch politics, maddening men, a desperate demon, and monsters from above blow Lucie’s world apart. Can she still save her thinning witchline?
Lucie Bellerose holds secrets in her heart, fear in her belly, and her Tarot cards close to her chest. She’s a witch among too many men, with too many problems, and one thinning witchline.
Find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09VVCLXPX
Crossing the Witchline, Adult Dark Fantasy (For readers 18+ years)
Would you give your light to the one who needs it the most and deserves it the least?
Ever since Lucie Bellerose returned to the Empire, she’s lived amid chaos. Now, three months after a devastating battle in the Walled Zone, she’s desperate to get into the Above to find her lost magic man. With her best friend still missing and her membership at the Congress of Empire Witches suspended, Lucie’s on her own.
Down to her last resort, Lucie seeks help from an unpredictable demon – a man from her past who is held captive in the Below. A deal is made, but can Lucie trust him to keep his end of the bargain? Will the darkness overshadow her light?
Find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BC4H4GRY
About TL Brown
Writer Tracy Brown lives in the beautiful Finger Lakes of New York State, dreaming up epic stories and quirky characters who definitely make her life much more interesting.
She believes magic still exists; you just need to look in the right places.
Tracy is the author of the Door to Door Paranormal Mystery Series, three lighthearted books penned under the name T.L. Brown. She’s also the author of the adult dark fantasy Bellerose Witchline books, where she explores the gray area between black and white—the good and not-so-good—and the characters who live in that space. Most recently, Tracy co-authored an emotional and sensual novella (for mature audiences only) with author and friend Rose J. Fairchild: Faerie Fire & Demon Desire, A Darkly Delicious Correspondence.
Tracy’s married to one damn amazing man. Together, they drink copious amounts of Finger Lakes Coffee, cook up fabulous meals, and talk about music for hours.
Where to Find TL Brown Online
Website: https://writertracybrown.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/T.L.-Brown/e/B08LR3T5KM
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writertracybrown/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TLBrown
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/tlbrown
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriterTracyBrown/
Sign up for Tracy’s newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/huAsfz
Thanks so much for spending this time with me. Until next time … 👋
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