Author Interview: Brittney L. Divine

About the author:
I grew up in rural North Carolina. After graduating from high school I went to North Carolina Central University. Due to my lack of discipline, I partied my way out of college and promptly went home and got pregnant with my daughter.
She died in a fire with my parents in 1998 and to deal with the grief I joined the Navy. Two years later I had a seizure when we were sailing near Turkey and was diagnosed with epilepsy which was aggravated by my job.
After leaving the Navy I simply couldn’t find a place to fit or anything that I wanted to do. About twelve years later I suffered a badly broken thigh-bone and had a lot of time to read. After having enough free time to read one book per day a friend said that I should write my own. My debut novel Web of Seduction is on sale February 10, 2019.

What inspires you to write romantic fiction?
I love the hope that resides in a romance of any kind. Whether it's real or fiction, it instills a hope within me that might otherwise be lacking. It helped me endure some hard times. I thought perhaps my books might give that to others.

Tell us about how you write.
I take a 'no holds barred' approach to writing. I don't believe in taboo subjects. There are only a couple of things that I won't write about, but I do prefer to write about things that happen in real life. My stories happen to have a paranormal twist.

Do you listen to or talk to to your characters?
I don't do either. Empathy is required to write and that means, I am my characters. When I'm writing a scene I change hats, just like actors. I'm playing multiple roles and pulling from my empathy to hone in on what the character should feel and how they would react to that scene.

What advice would you give other romance writers?
Everyone says, "Never give up." That's true but what almost held me back was believing that there is a strict set of rules to writing. There isn't. If you find it easier to write without an outline, then don't do one. Don't try and analyze why it doesn't work for you. Just accept that it doesn't and move on. Find what helps you write and don't stop.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I had a story to tell and I realized that my type of books might never be picked up by a traditional publisher. Dark romance can be hard to market. If I wanted my book published, I knew I would have to do it myself.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Truthfully I think that traditional publishing needs to broaden their scope and look closer at some of the indie authors out there. The publishing companies are missing out on a lot of good authors simply because they won't give unknowns much of a chance. They have to find a way to compete with Amazon instead of looking for the next J.K. Rowling. There is only one of her.

Which romance sub-genere(s) fit your stories best?
dark paranormal romance

My books are available in the following formats:
eBook, Print