What's this? Another Author Introduction? Well, don't you all just think you're special. *grin*
Say hello to wonderful writer and spectacular friend (bwain-fwiend) and drinking buddy Patricia Bray (
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pbray). And her little friend, too!
"Thanks to Joshua for inviting me to post an author introduction on his blog. Joshua and I know each other quite well, but for those readers who haven't met me before, here's a little about myself and my writing.
I met Joshua Palmatier in the summer of 2001, when he was a PhD student at the University of Binghamton, moonlighting at the local bookstore to support his habit. At the time I was an established Regency romance author, who'd just sold her first fantasy trilogy to Bantam. A mutual friend introduced us, and we began getting together regularly to talk about writing.
I think that part of the reason why Joshua and I get along so well is that while our writing styles are dramatically different, we both have similar ideas about genre and what it means to be a writer. I had no intention of constraining my creativity to a single genre, and was as thrilled by my first Regency romance as I was with my first fantasy novel. Joshua has also dabbled in other genres, having penned a horror novel in addition to his fantasy works.
For us the adage isn't "Write what you know"-- it's "Write what you love." If I'm not passionate about the story, then why should anyone else care? I'm fundamentally attracted to strong characters and great stories, regardless of genre, and find myself equally enchanted by
Pride and Prejudice and
The Replacement Killers. Thus it's not surprising that I'm driven by these same inspirations in my writing--strong, memorable characters, and storylines that are worthy of my creations.
Strong characters were at the heart of my latest series, as Brother Josan, Emperor Lucius and Lady Ysobel each fought to determine their own destiny. Underlying everything else--the political scheming, magic spells, and a conflict that pits two rival empires against each other, these books are ultimately about the search for identity. Each character must answer for themselves the questions Who am I? And, more importantly, Who do I want to be?
This month marks the release of
THE FINAL SACRIFICE [
Amazon
,
Mysterious Galaxy], the concluding volume of
The Chronicles of Josan. It was a difficult book to write, because both Josan and Lucius were such strong characters, and yet it's clear that only one of them can emerge triumphant. I had to come up with a resolution that was both suitably dramatic, and in keeping with their individual natures. If I've done my job as a writer well, the ending will be seen as not only logical but inevitable--because of who these people are, they could have made no other choices.
As for what I'm writing next? Expect something completely different--and yet very much the same.
Info for links here:
My website:
http://www.patriciabray.com"
( Patricia Bray's Fantasy Books )Tags: author introduction
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