Nancy Brandt is an Army veteran, kidney transplant recipient and thyroid cancer survivor. She has been married to her real life here for 25 years and has lived in four states and two countries. Nancy is a proud mother of two, Juliette who is a recent LSU graduate in English literature and a Noah who will start fourth grade in the fall. This avid writer is a stay-at-home mom and a 20 year member of Romance Writers of America.
Recently MTAR was thrilled with an opportunity to ask Nancy a few questions that we could share with her readers about herself, her writing, and her future projects.
MTAR: What inspired you to write your first book?
Nancy: My first book? Oh, that was in middle school or something like that. At some point, sixth grade, maybe, our English teacher gave us the assignment of writing a descriptive essay. I wrote something childish about a magical cave filled with precious gems. Completing that assignment taught me three things:
- I love writing and went into every English class after that hoping we’d have to write something
- The difference between stalagmite and stalactite.
- And I probably should write fantasy.
MTAR: What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?
Nancy: Family is my favorite theme. Due to our family situation (our son was adopted when he was 8 weeks old), I am very sensitive to things like blended and non-traditional families.
MTAR: How did you choose the genre you write in?
Nancy: I read How to Write a Romance and Get it Published by Katharine Falk after college and determined that since it required less research, contemporary romance was the way to go. After a while, I realized that a role playing game my husband and I played when we were first married would make a great fantasy romance. I wrote that one, which is now out of print, but I loved writing fantasy, so eventually, I “rebooted” that universe and we wrote Sword & Illusion. I still have a few contemporary romances in my computer which I’m polishing.
MTAR: Through your research do you typically learn something new from each book you write and what was it?
Nancy: Since this is a fantasy and I created the world, the biggest surprises come when I realize that something I just threw in actually ends up being crucial to the story.
MTAR: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Nancy: Keeping all the story balls in the air and knowing how to put in everything that needs to be in there. The logistics of the story and the world became so complex that I struggle with keeping the word count down to something manageable. I’m getting better at description, which used to be a major problem.
MTAR: Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Nancy: Yep, but to me it just means I’ve lost my excitement for a project and I work harder to rediscover it.
MTAR: Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Nancy: I have to outline. I am typically a panster but when I work like that, I can never get out of the corners I write myself into.
MTAR: How did you come up with the title for Sword & Illusion?
Nancy: To be honest, I was looking at a random generator site and for fun I clicked on “Random Fantasy Novel Titles”. I saw something that said, “Something and Illusion”. I put Sword in there and thought that was perfect for the book.
MTAR: What was your favorite chapter (or scene) to write and why?
Nancy: I loved working on Moonrazer’s wedding night scene and the final dramatic scenes.
MTAR: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme idea you’d love to work with?
Nancy: I love Moonrazer and do plan to include her in the next book. Someday, I want to make her the heroine of another Sword Saga book.
MTAR: What was the hardest part of writing Sword & Illusion?
Nancy: Declaring it finished. Steve can find things to change and/or tweak every time he reads it. Sword & Illusion took several years to write due to procrastination on my part and perfectionism on his.
MTAR: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Nancy: I think the message of Sword and Illusion is that the family you choose is often more authentic than the family you were born into.
For MTAR readers, our time with Nancy is not over. In our next blog we will discuss her current projects, plans for future projects, her advice to new writers and the bumpy road that got her to where she’s at now. Additionally, (sshhh, it’s supposed to be a secret) we will get the opportunity to share an excerpt from her book in a future post.
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