Author Interview & Giveaway! Tara Brown Discusses The Lonely

by Letitia on Monday, March 11, 2013

Today we are beyond thrilled to have Tara Brown with us, author of the dark contemporary new release The Lonely—a powerful and provocative story that is, at times, delightfully depraved!

For more of my thoughts on all things Lonely, check out my review.

Miz Brown is also giving away one ebook copy of The Lonely to one random (and lucky) reader!

I’ve got questions and she’s got answers! Let’s chat!

Who is Tara Brown? Who is the woman behind the words?

Tara: This is one of those questions that you could end up sorry you asked Hahahaha. I'm a mom firstly. My girls are so cool and awesome. Watching people grow up has to be one of the neater aspects of being human.

I'm a product of my environment for certain. I grew up in a rural logging town in BC and had a great life. The safety and security of my childhood gave me the confidence to do the bizarre and wonderful. Most of the things in my books are based on my own experiences. Some of them are even in the lonely. Lets leave it at that Hahahaha.

I'm married to an amazing person. He's a police officer and definitely my hero. He's able to stay calm and relaxed when I'm spazzing about everything and being crazy. I'm a spazz. I'm Italian and Scottish and Norwegian. It's a crazy combo.

I am a lucky person, I do my dream job and am surrounded by amazing people. I have incredible friends and family. My sister is my BFF and Willow from Light of the World is completely based on my mom. My dad is the strongest person I know. He's like Daryl Dixon.

The Lonely hit shelves February 2nd. Please tell us a little about it.

Tara: Oh The Lonely. This book and I have a relationship let me tell you. I wrote it for a pair of sisters I have as betas. They wanted a naughty romance. So I sat down and a week and a half later I surfaced and the lonely existed. It crawled out like a horror movie. I gave it to the betas and said I wasn't going to publish it but there it was. Apparently I can't write normal naughty romance.

They said oh yes you are. So I rewrote and bumped it up on the editors list and got Steph to haul butt on a cover and voila, the whole world now sees how disturbed I am.

It's funny tho, I've written a lot of books and The Lonely is the most popular...that and Born which has breeder farms. We are an interesting world and I am happy to not be alone in my weirdness.

I can't even tell you about the lonely. It'll give too much away. The book was written splintered and fragmented and fractured. I wrote the book like it has a mental disorder. Like the book itself is bipolar. Some people get it and others just hate the jerky way it was written. It's one of those books, it's either genius or terrible.

I have tried to warn people off of it.  It's not a romance. It's the story of two girls, who love two different boys and are both very damaged and strange. I've heard it's V is for Vendetta meets Girl Interrupted and I couldn't be happier with the comparison. I agree whole heartedly. 

How hard was it to write such complex and dark characters?

Tara: Soooooooo hard. It made me sick an nervous. I'm the mother of two daughters and this book broke my heart and made me want to vomit. I wanted to make the book be warm and fuzzy or naughty like fifty shades and I couldn't. It's more like real life pain and horror.

What was it like to be inside of Emalyn's head?

Tara: Disturbing. She made twitch and itch and cry and stop trusting the world. I feel like I hurt and healed with her. It was a journey. I'm still hung up on the book.

Did you have to do any research on obsessive compulsive disorder to get Emalyn's behavior just right?

Tara: I did but at the same time my husband has OCD. So he proofed the book and told me the spots that she would have behaved differently or obsessed about other things. The book connected with him.

If you could cast the movie version of The Lonely, who would play Emalyn? Michelle? Sebastian? Eli?

Tara: Eli is easy, he is Stephen Amell from Arrow. Always has been.

Sebastian is Jared Padalecki aka Sam Winchester

Shell had always been a younger version of Busy Philips, Laurie Keller on Cougar Town

Emalyn I see as more of an unknown. She is like an Imogen Poots from 28 weeks later.

The Lost Boy releases on August 21. What can you share with us about it?

Tara: It's the opposite of The Lonely. It's Eli's perspective and the darkness and depravity will be worse. More about Stuart and The Spicers and the good doctor. The things revealed will compliment the lonely quite well I think. Again I will try to keep the fractured and splintered feel to the book. Bipolar writing lol.

Do you plan to release more books set in this world?

Tara: Yes!! Shell and Stuart are getting a book and Sebastian is as well. His HEA is very important to people.

What is the most unusual resource you have ever used while writing?

Tara: A pillow that massages and warms my butt. It gets sore from the writing. Next in line is google earth. What a horrible and fantastic tool. It's creepy the way you can ponder something personal about a stranger's land. Like is there a pool in the yard of the house at the end of the road? lets pry...

And, lastly, what are some of your favorite books or authors that you’ve read?

Tara: Cell by Stephen King, I think I'm the only person in the world who loved that one

The Taking by Dean Koontz

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice 

Thanks for having me !!!!

Giveaway!

One randomly drawn reader will win a digital copy of Tara Brown’s The Lonely! Open Internationally. Please follow the Rafflecopter widget directions and terms and conditions. Giveaway ends at 12:01am on 3/15/13.

Please leave us a comment telling us what you enjoy most about darker romances!

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LABELS: author interview, Contemporary, giveaway, Tara Brown

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