Scribe's Hollow Author Interviews

BOTM Interview: Dani Brown-Safe Place

This interview was conducted on February 13th, 2024 with the author DaniBrown82 for the February 2024 Book of the Month contest. Congratulations to DaniBrown82 and their book: Safe Place.

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Scribe's Hollow: When did you first start writing and what inspired you to start?

Dani Brown, Author: If I really think about it, I've been writing for a very long time. I think I started back somewhere in the 6th or 7th grade with anime fan-fiction and just went from there. Those stories were so baaaad! Very Mary Sue/self-insert type stories where the character was just a bore and I would want to hit them now. As far as what inspired me? I've always been a avid reader and lover of literature. Books were my escape--comics, fantasy novels, horror--didn't matter, I was reading it.

SH:  Who are some authors that inspire you?

D: Hands down, Anne Rice first and foremost. I've read ALL of her works. I grew up reading epic stories; Frank Herbert, JRR Tolkien, Raymond E. Feist, Anne McCaffery, Marrion Zimmer Bradley, Stephen King, and Christopher Pike just to name a few. And like I mentioned earlier, I was also a huge comic book nerd, so I loved comic storylines too! Jim Lee( X-Men) Kevin Smith(Daredevil and Batman), Mark Silverstri(The Darkness/Witchblade), Brian Augustyn (Crimson), Michael Turner (Fathom/Soulfire), and Stjepan Sejic(Witchblade/Sunstone/Fine Print/Death Vigil/WoodBorne) were some of the G.O.A.Ts, and I still read their works today.

SH: What is your favorite childhood book?

D: East of the Sun, and West of the Moon was probably one of my favorite stories. It's a Norwegian fairy tale of a maiden who goes to the ends of the earth to find her love after making a mistake. It was one of those epic tales of romance and love. Also one of my favorite book SERIES was Goosebumps/Fear Street. I think I had most of those series growing up. Probably couldn't tell you any of the stories now, but I remember loving the hell out of them all.

SH: What is your book about?

D: Short answer? Guy meets girl, girl meets guy. Guy happens to be a 500yr old vampire on the run from his psychotic ex, and gets the new girl involved with his interesting life and turns her life completely upside down! Bloody shennanigans, tender moments, and quippy humor ensues.

SH: What motivated you to write your current book?

D: I remember starting to think of this book one day back in 2008-09 when I was laying up at home after knee surgery. A friend had brought me some books to read, and after going through some of them, I was just irritated at the storylines. I felt like there was just so much that could've been done with it, but it was just NOT there. So, I started thinking up some random idea of a pair of characters (Vanessa and Rainer) who I tinkered with on a short story way back when in high school. Started writing notes on just the vampire mythos in the world, revolving around those two. Then I remember waking up one morning and the idea for Gabe and Jess came along, and things just steamrolled from there. I actually started writing it back then and posting the chapters as soon as I wrote them. It was VERY rough version from what I've been releasing now, but the foundation is still the same.

SH: What themes do you want to convey with your book?

D: Jeeze, this is gonna be kinda long. There's just so many themes within my book that I convey and want to pay proper homage to. I try not to pull my punches, hence why my book is far larger than most typical romance books. I discuss themes of loneliness/isolation, atypical strong female characters (both protagonist and antagonists) who can do bad all by themselves, but are still feminine enough to walk beside their partner. I also try to convey healthy relationship dynamics that I feel aren't showcased enough in most modern day romances. I understand word constraints, but so many romance books out there rely solely on the sexual attraction and just gloss over the connections. And not just romantic love, I showcase different types of love, for good and bad.

SH: Do you have a favorite character in your book?

D: Aaaagh! You can't make me choose! Okay, fine--it's Gabe and Jess. Those two live rent free in my head for obvious reasons. I know the nuances of all the characters, and love them all (even Selene), but those two are special to me. Close second is Rainer and Vanessa since they were the spark that created the whole book universe (I still need to come up with a name for the universe, lol).

SH: What is your go-to snack/drink when writing?

D: I kinda turn into a gremlin when I'm writing, and forget to eat. Or I just snack on whatever I can get my hands onto. One thing I love eating is a flaxseed wrap, slathered in Jif Natural Peanut Butter with Honey and a bit of red plum jam. Just roll it up and eat it like a poor-man's burrito. My go-to drink is this weird combo of pink lemonade Crystal Lite and BCAA's (usually something tart flavored). I'll drink it by the quarts while I'm writing.

SH: What do you consider the hardest part of writing?

D: Properly conveying emotions during fight and spicy/intimate scenes. It always irritated me when those scenes just seemed FLAT. So I try to ensure I convey during those type of scenes. Just having the cute/casual scenes are easy for me, but to really get in depth with those scenes? Yeah, I have to throw on some music and get into a groove.

SH: What do you consider the best part of writing?

D: Honestly? When I go back to read a really emotionally heavy scene, and I get choked up even when editing it? That right there is one of the best feelings. Because when I see it, I know I put all the cards out on the table and left nothing out. I just hope when others read it, they can feel those same emotions I poured into them too.

SH: What is a book you think is underrated?

D: Old school Grimm's Fairy Tales. You'd be surprised at how many people haven't read it!

SH: How many books do you currently have in progress?

D: Safe Place has been done for awhile and I've just been hammering out the edits. I have one of the future novellas that bridge the gap between Safe Place and the untitled Book Two that I've been working on, but put on pause while I've been working on editing. When I get the last chapter of SP up, I'm switching gears and getting back to the novella cuz there's just soo many scenes that just float in my head and are BEGGING to be written! After that, I'm gonna take a good break before I start releasing the novellas for readers, but I want to get more of those little slice of life stories written well before that.

SH: How do you overcome writer's block?

D: Well don't take a 10-year hiatus like I did! Now, I get over it just by taking breaks from it. I have "modes" that I get into (writer, reader, editor/proofreader), and when I'm in it, I stay on that path and try not to cross over into the other ones cuz it can just bogs down my brain. It's why I put writing the novellas on hold until after Safe Place is done and done.

SH: Thank you for your time! Do you have anything else you'd like to say?

D: To all my fellow romance writers--write your story YOUR way. Don't pull your punches, and if it gets you excited, you're on the right track!