Novels (my writing updates)
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How I became a novelist in twelve (easy) steps
There are steps for everything these days, so I reverse-engineered what I did to become a novelist and put the process into 12 steps. The steps were easy sometimes, and other times, they caused some tears. The end result was worth all the effort. Step 1: I read a lot Without reading, what’s the point of writing? Reading everything I could get my hands on when I was a kid developed my love of reading and also made me think about some things I would like to read that were not available. I didn’t just read fiction. I read about the art of writing to learn everything I could, and…
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Two Years of Updates: Reading, Writing, and other creative outlets
I feel like this is a confession. My name is Brandi. I’m a writer, and it’s been two months since I last published a blog post. It’s my longest gap since launching this site two years ago. Has it really been that long? Lately, I’ve been reflecting on where I was in life two years ago. I was just starting to write again because of a burning desire inside I could no longer ignore. I was haunted by past heartache from which I’d never properly healed. I was depressed, anxious, restless and an insomniac. I was also exhausted from the “perfect” facade I’d been presenting that was finally crushing me.
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Music in Jordan’s Sister
While music is an important element in each of my novels, this is especially true for Jordan’s Sister. Taylor and Layne are singer-songwriters. Their entire lives are filled with music. I’m a writer who can barely carry a tune, and music is such an integral part of my life that I’d be lost without it. To me, music is a doorway straight to the soul, and lyrics are poetry expressed with more feeling than what can be conveyed by words merely spoken. There are 23 songs referenced in the novel. Four songs are featured in their entirety (because I wrote them) and the others are referenced by title only with or…
