Author Interview with Barri Bryan

I'd like to welcome Barri Bryan to the blog today. Barri has a March release, "Search for Paradise," and we're all very excited about it here at Desert Breeze. Now onto the questions:


#1 - Tell me what inspired the plot of your upcoming novel, "Search for Paradise?"

My grandmother Leila May is the inspiration for Search for Paradise. In 1923, shortly after the death of her husband, she moved with her four children -- ages fifteen, thirteen, eleven, and eight -- from her comfortable home and her friends and family in Central Texas, to a wind-blown thrown-away stretch of land in North Texas near the New Mexico border where she didn't know a living soul.
My heroine in Search for Paradise is very much like Grandmother Leila. Kate McClure is adventurous, daring and resourceful. She leaves the comforts of the city to brave starting a new life on a small ranch called Paradise where the living conditions are primitive to say the least.

STEPH: How inspirational, Barri, especially to take something from your family's past and give it life.

#2 - How long have you been writing?

I began writing poetry when I was a child. I began to seriously pursue writing novels in 1989. My first novel was a historical. I never found a publisher for it. Looking back now, I can say thank goodness. It was terrible. My first novel was published in 1998.


#3 - I see you like to write Westerns. What makes westerns special to you?

My dad was a Texas history buff. I grew up hearing stories about Texas Rangers, cattle drives, Indian raids, gun fighters -- in general the courageous daring-do of Texas heroes and the dastardly deeds of her villains. One of my undergraduate majors is in history. My field of concentration was --what else? Texas history.

#4 - Do you write other genres? If so, what?

I have written some contemporary romances. I've tried my hand at a few paranormals. Most of the historicals I've written are modern historicals that are set in the first half of the twentieth century. I also write poetry. I have written one non-fiction book. It's a curriculum for creative writing.

STEPH: I'd like to explore "modern" historicals, too. I have one that's in draft form that takes place in Canada in the 1930's.

#5 - I see you're a four time EPPIE winner! Congrats. What novels did you win the award for?

Thank you. I'm very proud of those EPPIES. I received three of them for poetry collections. The last one was for my how-to book about writing fiction.

STEPH: Congrats on the wins. That's great.

#6 - Who are your favorite authors?

That's a tough question to answer. I love Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I like Robyn Donald who is a New Zealand writer. I like Jane Toombs. I enjoy Mary Higgins Clark's mysteries. I have recently read books by Marion Kelley Bullock and Raine Falconer that I enjoyed very much. I love poetry. My favorite poets are Emily Dickenson, Wallace Stevens and Christina Rossetti.

STEPH: I love Jane Austen movies. To my shame, I have never read "Pride and Prejudice" but I do have it on my Kindle. I've always enjoyed Dickenson's poetry. I hope you got a chance to check out my post about Charles, the Duke of Orleans. He's my new favorite poet. **grin**

#7 - What's the last movie you saw.

I don't care much for today's movies. They are either too gory or too violent or too explicit for my tastes. I am a big fan of old movies like Harvey, Now, Voyager and Casablanca. The last movie I saw was Yankee Doodle Dandy.