Author Interview - Rachael Brownell

Happy, happy Monday, everyone! Today I have another unofficial utopYA Con 2015 author interview for you. This time, we're meeting author Rachael Brownell. I think you'll love this little lady! She's got a lot going on, and has a ton of cool information for you. If you're new to the blog and wondering what utopYA Con is, click here to find out and get your tickets at the early-bird price! You only have a couple weeks left. Don't be the sad girl (or guy) left out in the cold! Okay, I'll shut up and get to the interview now. Grab a cup of coffee and let's get going!

Jo: Hiya, Rachael! Welcome to the blog. So good to have you here! Any friend of Casey L. Bond is a friend of mine. I hope you’re ready for all the junk I managed to dig up. Got your fingers ready and your nerves steeled? *grin*

Rachael: Thanks so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here!

Jo: You say that now... *wags eyebrows* So, I know you’re an author who writes for the love of the craft and the readers. Tell me, at what point did you decide not to go with the traditional publisher that picked up the first two books in the Holding On series? Do you look back and wish you had?

Rachael: Actually I have never looked back since leaving my publisher. There was so much that I didn’t agree with and had no control over that I will never go back unless I have more control.


Jo: I hear that from a lot of authors. Excitement that fades to black after just a few weeks or months. I may go digging around on that topic. *grin* Okay, I have to ask you if you still have a snip of something you wrote in high school. Would you share it with us? If not, tell me what writing did for you (on a personal level) back then.

Rachael: Writing was my outlet back then. I would love to share a snippet of that with everyone but the only thing left I’ve already shared. Holding On is the product of the one very long, not so great, book that I wrote when I was 17. I put my heart and soul into that book to make it what it is today.

Jo: I understand. I lost most of my early writings, too. So, what made you decide to change your book covers for the Holding On series? How many options did you go through?

Rachael: I wasn’t considering changing the cover, really. I liked the covers that I had but I was browsing Marisa’s website after looking at one of her posts and fell in love with a pre-made set that she had. It just felt right. I knew the second I saw them that I wanted them to represent the series. The rest is history.

Jo: Well, they certainly are beautiful. During my stalking research, I found another author with your name. Are you ever confused with that Rachael Brownell? Has it ever made for a super awkward situation?

Rachael: Ummm... yeah. About her. Let me just say for the record that I don’t know her, I’m not related to her and no, I didn’t write a book about getting sober. When I realized that someone else was already published under my real name, spelled the same and everything, I contemplated using a pen name but decided against it.

Jo: I can't imagine the comments. *face/palm* Time for rapid fire questions! Yellow or blue?

Rachael: blue

Jo: Niiiiice! Over the roll or under the roll (this is referring to the way the toilet paper comes off the roll on the holder)?

Rachael: under

Jo: B.J. Sheldon, did you hear that? *giggles* Fantasy or fact?

Rachael: fantasy


Jo: Great answer! Not that I expected anything less. Now I get to ask a cool question! *grin* Since the theme of utopYA Con 2015 is time travel, I’m going bananas with these little inserts. In the future, how many books do you think you’ll have published total, and what kind of impact do you see your stories having on the world?

Rachael: I hope to have at least 3 more out this year. The rest is yet to be determined. I try not to look too far into the future, I don’t want to let myself or anyone else down. As far as an impact on readers, if I am able to make one person love one of my books, one of my characters, or just one cover, it will all be worth it.

Jo: Well, one baby step at a time! *grin* I know you’re embroiled in a super-secret project with author Casey L. Bond—and it’s super-duper secret—but would you share a tiny tidbit (like a genre) with my readers? What made you two decide to write together?

Rachael: We’ve been talking about writing something together for a while. We’ve only shared a few fun facts with our street teams so I’ll share those with all of you as well…

1. It's a serial series.
2. It's dark, twisted and unlike anything we've ever written as individuals.
3. It's very unique--in a good way!
4. Here's the tag line of book one: HE'S NEVER LOST A GAME...

Jo: Eep! Sounds like it'll be amazing. I can't wait to read it! Do you see your writing career as something you’d like to eventually do full time, or do you think you’ll always be an off-time keybanger? Why/why not?

Rachael: I would love to do this all day every day but I also have a passion for my day job that will probably always keep me from giving it up.

Jo: Isn't it nice to love what you do? A huge thumbs-up for you, lady! Is there anything I didn’t ask that you wish I had? Any little secrets hiding in your repertoire you’d like to share? *grin*

Rachael: If I gave away all my secrets there would be no mystery :)

Jo: True! Thought I had you for a second there. LOL! *wiggles brows* Sadly, that’s all the time I have for today. Thanks so much for being an awesome guest, Rachael! I’m looking forward to meeting you at utopYA in June!

Now, it’s time to tell you all about the featured book of the week!

Title: Holding On
Author: Rachael Brownell
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Length (print): 235 Pages
Buy links: Amazon Kindle FREE  ~  Kobo FREE  ~  iBooks FREE  ~  B&N FREE



Synopsis:
For five years Becca has been struggling to hide her feelings for her best friend, Brad. Now she finally has a chance to move on. She’s in a new city, she’s attending a new school, and she’s met the first guy besides Brad who’s held her attention in a long time. Not only is Ethan attractive, he’s an amazing tennis player, and he might just be Becca’s match on and off the courts.

Brad has loved Becca for as long as he can remember. Now that Becca’s family has moved two thousand miles away, Brad may finally be ready to lay his heart on the line and do whatever it takes to hold on to Becca.

But is Brad too late? Or will Ethan’s secret drive Becca back into Brad’s arms? Torn between her love for Brad and the promise of something new and exciting with Ethan, Becca has an almost impossible choice to make, the choice between letting go or holding on.

While your fingers are in the clicking mode, why not give this lovely lady a follow on every social media platform I could think of when writing up the template for these interviews (plus some)?

Facebook: Author Rachael Brownell
Twitter: @HoldingOn2013
Goodreads: Rachael Brownell
Website: Author Rachael Brownell
Amazon Author Page: Rachael Brownell on Amazon

Rachael has honored us with a giveaway! Get your clickin' fingers goin!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you have any questions, pop them into the comments below. Rachael will be around to answer and/or respond!

Well, that’s all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo