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Nadine & Books: an interview w/ Nadine Brandes

Hey everyone,

I’ve very excited to have with me today Nadine Brandes; Carol award winning author of A Time to Die and soon to be released A Time to Speak. Today we are discussing all things books: So put on your Geek Cap and join the conversation in the comments below.

So Nadine, let’s start off with a few of your favorites. I’m always interested to hear what other writers both like to read and hate…

What were some of your favorite books you read while growing up…?

I loved Narnia and Nancy Drew. Those were my main reads for a long time until Harry Potter came out. Then I became the kid who stalked J K Rowling’s writing updates, waiting for her to publish the next book. Even though they can be controversial in Christian circles, God used them to inspire me to see the power of good versus evil. He used it to awaken a love for fantasy in me.

Do you ever find yourself re-reading, or planning to re-read any particular book or series…?

I try to re-read Lord of the Rings every January as well as Francine Rivers’ The Mark of the Lion Series. Obviously, I re-read Harry Potter, but I don’t plan it out. I read it when I’m in the mood and also read them aloud to hubby. J

What genres do you like best or see yourself gravitating towards more…?

I used to think I was a fantasy girl, but then when I made a list of all my favorite movies and books…I realized I liked sci-fi much more than I thought. Besides, my books are technically sci fi. But when I’m picking up a book from the library or bookstore, it’s usually YA fantasy or YA sci-fi.

Any particular genres you dislike…?

Romance. *hides* Okay, it’s not awful. Actually the Christian romance has gotten much better these days. But when I was growing up it was all far too cheesy, unrealistic, and cliché. I grew very disenchanted and frustrated with the genre and I guess that carried over into my adult years. I still get irritated with unrealistic romance in YA novels.

So, hopefully I didn’t just make a bunch of enemies since Romance is the top genre in the CBA.

What about Covers, you have incredible covers; any particular covers stand out for you…?

I can take no credit for Kirk Douponce’s brilliance, but I’m sure glad he was assigned to my books! I’m a picky reader when it comes to covers (and I totally judge books by them) so I’m glad I ended up with covers to my own books that I ADORE.

Some of my favorite covers are:

Curio, by Evangeline Denmark (also by Kirk DouPonce)

Plenilune, by Jennifer Freitag

Throne of Glass, by Sara J Maas

Walk on Earth a Stranger, by Rae Carson

Those are the books that I pick up just for the covers. I haven’t actually read any of them yet, but I hope they match the awesomeness of their covers! 😀

Let’s talk Characters a moment- Who are some of your favorite fictional characters…?

I love Merlin, from BBC’s TV show Merlin, Hadassah from Mark of the Lion, Harry Potter (duh), Achan from Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings Series, and Francis from the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played.

These are all characters who had to overcome overwhelming odds. Some of them were born with talents, some weren’t. But they’re all courageous and brave, pushing forward through the toughest adversity. I love them all dearly.

I love anti heroes or the ones you’re just not sure you can trust but end up being good. (Snape is one of my favorites.) What about you, any particular anti-heroes you just love…?

You took my favorite. 😛 SNAPE! By the way, before the last book came out, I always believed he’d be good. Just saying.

Edmund from Narnia. While I hated him in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I love how passionate he becomes for following Aslan.

Atretes from The Mark of the Lion Series.

What about villains. What stands out as a great villain..? Is there one that has ever just kind of frightened you…?

Maleficent! Maleficent has always been, in my opinion, right up there next to Voldemort. She’s scary and horrible (until Disney released a new version of her and now this example will simply never work.)

I get angry with Characters sometimes. There have been a few I find myself wanting to slap upside the head and knock some sense into. You ever come across a character you just want to say: “Why are you doing that…?” If so, who would that be…?

Any character who’s making a stupid decision. You know the ones: “So-and-so just told you not to trust that evil villain…and now you’re trusting him?!” Or if they have a secret that will save the world, but decide not to tell anyone.

To name a few: Tris Prior from Divergent, Thomas from The Maze Runner, Bella during all the Twilight books, Vrell from From Darkness Won (though I still loved her. :D)

I hate a bad ending to a book. And I have read several. What makes you unhappy about endings…? What do not want to see at the end of a book…?

Hopelessness! (*Curse you, Mockingjay*) There always needs to be a nugget of hope. Because in life, there’s always a nugget of hope. And the moment we lose that in our fiction is when we start feeding our readers lies about life and present them only with darkness.

I also hate endings that don’t fit the story or seem to random to bring in the “shock factor” (*Curse you, Merlin.*)

Okay, your series “The Out of Time Series” is Dystopian. I love dystopian fiction and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is one of my Favorites. What about you, do you have any particular favorite…?

Despite the hopeless ending and the horridness of Mockingjay, I still cling to The Hunger Games. That was one of the first books that really helped me get the dystopian genre. And I chose to set the Out of Time Series in a dystopian world because of those books.

I also love Ready Player One, which is a virtual reality dystopian. Despite the profanity (you’ve been warned) the story is brilliant.

Let’s take fictional worlds for a moment… If you could step into a book and be a part of a fictional world which one would it be, and why…?

Hogwarts. Obviously, I’d hope to have magical abilities, but even if I was a Squib, I’d want to wander Diagon Alley for a while. It’s always been the most magical world in my mind, probably because I grew up with the books and with Harry Potter. After that, I’d want to go to Hobbiton.

Is there any particular book, or series that influenced your writing…?

I’m pretty sure I answered this amidst some of my other answers, but to give a good list:

– Harry Potter, by J K Rowling

– Mark of the Lion Series, by Francine Rivers

– Love Does, by Bob Goff

– The Blood of Kings Trilogy, by Jill Williamson

A Time to Die was you first published Novel. It was nominated for a Christy and won the Carol award at ACFW this year. Did you expect this book to ever be a success like that in terms of recognition and reception…?

At the risk of sounding prideful…sort of.

Don’t get me wrong. I was still scraping my jaw off the floor and crying a lot, but here’s why I say “sort of”:

From the moment I was given the idea for the book, I knew it wasn’t mine. When I started writing, my writing came out in a “voice” (that writing professionals are calling a “natural talent”) that I’d never seen myself use before. I can’t think of it as natural talent. It came out of nowhere! When I wrote the first chapter of A Time to Die at midnight on a school night in grad school, I re-read it the next day and the whole time, I thought, “I didn’t write this. I don’t write like this.” It was like reading someone else’s work.

I feel like I’ve been along for the ride this entire time and that none of it is actually me. God’s just using my fingers. Seriously. So because it was such a bizarre U-turn from how I used to write/think/dream, I knew that God had a purpose for the book and my constant prayer was that He’d grow it so it would touch more lives.

To me…these awards and nominations are simply giving God the glory that I knew He deserved from the very start with this book. So I hope that people see it that way – it has nothing to do with me. God could snap His fingers and I’d return to my old drab way of writing and that’s okay. Because it’s always been Him.

Is there anything that you hope readers will take away from this series…?

That we are created for something mighty and powerful! We are meant to be bringers of shalom and no matter if we have a 9-5 desk job or we’re world travelers, God will use us in world-changing ways. It’s just our job to say, “Here I am.” 🙂

Thanks for stopping by Nadine. Let Nadine and I know what some of your favorites are in the comments below. And check out Nadine’s new release “A Time to Speak” this Friday.

Be Sure to Attend the Book Launch Party on October 20th

(Click on the Pic Below for more Details)

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A Pleasure to Burn…

Ray Bradbury and Dystopian

This month I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of book 2 in the : “Out of Time Series” by Carol award winning author Nadine Brandes. (More to come on that later) I absolutely love Dystopian / Post-Apocalyptic stories. From Mad Max, to The Postman, to Hunger Games, The Stand, this Genre just never seems to die. In fact- Just when some publishing-expert declares it’s on its way out, another hit pops up on the shelf.

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But that got me thinking about my favorite book of all time by no less than my favorite author. It’s the one Dystopian story that has withstood the test of time over and over and over again.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 was first published in 1953, and remains a classic. Bradbury wrote it in nine days on a typewriter in a library at the University of California Los Angeles.

There has been much discussion that has taken place over the years as to its meaning – was it a response to Nazi book burning?  An allegory of the McCarthy era and political censorship in the USA? A forewarning of the excesses of “political correctness”?  A story about television’s (or how about iPads) increasing omnipresence and the accompanying erosion of critical thinking? I’m not even sure Bradbury himself fully knew the meaning (as he wasn’t ever entirely forthcoming about why he wrote it.)

But what is it about this short little novel that seems to be able to stand the test of time? I think Neil Gaiman did an amazing job of summoning it up:

“Sometimes writers write about a world that does not yet exist,” Neil Gaiman begins his Introduction to the 60th Anniversary Edition of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451:

 This is a book of warning. It is a reminder that what we have is valuable, and that sometimes we take what we value for granted….

 People think—wrongly—that speculative fiction is about predicting the future, but it isn’t; or if it is, it tends to do a rotten job of it….

 What speculative fiction is really good at is not the future but the present—taking an aspect of it that troubles or is dangerous, and extending and extrapolating that aspect into something that allows the people of that time to see what they are doing from a different angle and from a different place. It’s cautionary.

 Fahrenheit 451 is speculative fiction. It’s an “If this goes on…” story. Ray Bradbury was writing about his present, which is our past.

In our life we are faced with the same day to day challenges that Bradbury faced. At times we shake our heads at the constant polarization around us, the constant bickering, the push – pull within society and we stop and ask the same question- “If this goes on…”

It is difficult to look around society and think will it ever get better than this. Most of us would go so far as to say no. But I have a feeling that it’s quite possible we can move beyond the hopeless and see some light ahead to pave our way forward.

Bradbury ends Fahrenheit 451 with hope & faith in a better future. There are many that would disagree with me. And they have every right to think I am wrong. The town has been flattened by bombs, but the books of history, faith, fantasy, and all genres live in the “Book People.”

“They plan to pass this knowledge onto their children and wait until society needs that knowledge again. They don’t have long to wait because several bombs hit the city while they are hiking that day. After weathering the shock waves from the blast, they turn back; civilization needs them. On the way, Montag begins to remember Ecclesiastes.”

By ending this novel with the destruction of the city and the world as they knew it, Bradbury gives the idea that changes are coming and this civilization will change and grow, and rebuild (like the mythical phoenix to which Granger refers in the end.)

“A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak,” Montag thinks as the book people move up the river at the end of the story.

I’m very passionate about my beliefs. I find myself on most days biting my tongue. I’ve learned I’m normally stuck in the middle like a small child in a divorce. But there comes a time when I have step out and voice what I feel is injustice.

That’s why I love Dystopian Fiction: It makes us say “I wish I had this courage…”

What about you dear reader- Is there something in life you should have spoken up about but never did…? If so, why not…?

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START BY BEING YOU!!!

I by no means claim to be a Marketing Expert. However, I have worked in the field for over ten years. And if those ten year of experience have taught me anything it’s this:

Comparisons Marketing is an alienation of the Brand You Should be building…

Tweet: Comparisons Marketing is an alienation of the Brand You Should be building. @jjjohnsonwriter #AuthorMarketing #Engagement

What do I mean by Comparison Marketing…? Well it’s quite simple really. It’s marketing yourself in a way that compares you to a product within the audience you are targeting.

Now don’t get me wrong. Comparison Marketing works so long as you aren’t the one marketing it that way. An endorsement from someone comparing you or your product to a similar individual or product is something entirely different. In fact that’s what you hope to achieve in some aspects of Endorsement Marketing.

But when someone seeks out to create an ad, tweet, FB Post personally Comparing their work to someone else- I want to shake my fist and scream at them!!!!

 Recently I came across several different ads on Social Media by authors where the title was:

“As Good as Ted Dekker…?”

“As Good as the Wheel of Time…?”

“As Magical as Brandon Sanderson…?”

Every time I see these I have to resit the urge to message the person and say: “Stop!!! You’re doing it all wrong!!!”

In Marketing you want to find ways to be Remarkable, Unique, Different… Basically You want to be remembered. Not Compared.  

I work in a Direct Marketing Firm. Every year we send out over 170 Million Pieces of Mail marketing our various forms of Life Insurance. Some will say:

“Now wait J.J. Direct Mail is like Junk mail. It’s almost like spam. You’re against the ‘Buy my book Spam post.” 

You’re right. I don’t like the Buy my book tweets and Facebook post. I like engagement tweets and Facebook post. But what we do in our company is simple. Most Spam tweets, emails, post etc. along with junk mail have one purpose and one purpose only. Flood the masses.

But does flooding the masses work? Maybe at one time it did. But my philosophy is that it doesn’t anymore.

What we try to do in our company is go beyond the idea of hitting the mail box with an envelope. Our goal is to engage you enough, without deception or trickery, into opening the envelope.

My advice. In your marketing. Go beyond comparing yourself. Go beyond just creating a simple tweet. Be creative. Be you. Be engaging.

Then you’ll be remembered.

What about you? As a reader. What makes you want to stop and look at a tweet, Facebook Post, or Ad online…? What makes you want to engage with the writer? And possibly- Buy their book…? 

 

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Realm Makers

Where on Earth Did I Go?

To Battle A Monster!!!!

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the Realm Makers Writers Conference. The premiere writers Conf for Christian Speculative Fiction. Now before I go on I must confess- I had a lot of reservation about attending. I mean when I’m around new people I’m somewhat of an introvert. It’s just the way I’m wired. I knew absolutely nobody. And those I did know (Like my roommates) I knew only through the magic that is Social Media. So attending was somewhat of a big step for me. But when it was all said and done- I left with a hundred new friends.

 

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I wore my pen out trying desperately to scribble down every word David Farland spoke. I listened intently trying to soak up his years of wisdom. I found myself fascinated listening to Suzanne and Shawn as they made Marketing less intimidating, enjoyable, and simple. I fumbled over my words and forgot everything about a book I spent months writing as I pitched a an endless nonsense of words. And I listened as Robert Liparulo spoke two simple words to us:

 STOP and GO!!!

There are so many times I have faced the monster that is doubt in my writing. So many pages of been ripped and tossed away as I have sat utterly defeated. So many times my wife has listened to me vent out of a lack of progress. So many times I’ve wanted to just Quit.

I think at times we are all that way. We seem to see ourselves as the worst there is. We lose sleep over a bad review, critique, or horrible pitch. But this weekend taught me two things.

1) Stop being self defeating

2) Go write and be creative

If I do those two things- Results will come.

As an Indie Author sometimes I get down on myself- Asking the question “Am I real Writer?” Not thinking I have any reason for validation. That’s my struggle. That’s my fault. That’s the monster I fight daily.

I think if Realm Makers taught me anything it’s this- I’m the one that feeds my Monster of Self Doubt!!!!

So what about you fellow Alumni? What did you conquer this weekend?

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Why I Almost Quit Writing

4 Reason I Almost Quit

Being a writer is difficult. Heck- Being in any sort of creative work is tough. Most days we walk around with so many ideas fighting to get out of our heads we can’t hardly find the time or energy to sit down and get them on the page.

Not long ago I listened as someone in one of my Facebook groups said they were ready to give up. They had just gotten their sixth rejection on their fourth book. As of this date none of their works had been picked up by a small press or large publisher. Frustrated, tired, burned out, they were ready to throw in the towel. Heck, not even a relaxing cup of coffee could bring them to their senses and relax their mind…

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I felt for them- I really did. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to fail- In fact- I still fail. The truth is I have even quit before. I’ve quit a lot of things. And afterwards, I feel more substandard then I did before.

Now don’t get me wrong- Quitting sometimes is healthy and good. I stopped drinking soda. Some stop smoking, and yes- Maybe quitting for a time will renew your passion. But that isn’t what we are talking about here. Where talking about quitting because you feel inferior.

The truth is- Quitting doesn’t bring closure or satisfaction, or even less stress. It doesn’t make you forget the pain of rejection- it only brings insult to your soul.

There was a time I just about quit writing. I sit on my patio and made list of four primary reasons I needed to give up. I’m sure there are a hundred other excuses as well, you may even have some yourself. But I have found that quite often the four below are pretty common…

Number One- Time:

Let’s face it. I have a busy life. I work full time, I’m active in my church, my wife and I have two children (Miles who is 2 ½ years old and Bennett who is 9 months) Finding time to write is very challenging. Luckily for me I have a very supportive wife who understands my need to get words on the page. There are nights where she tells me to just go, get out, and write. But let’s face it- I can’t do that every night. I mean I would be a massive jerk to leave her at home alone with those two. So what that means is cutting out the distractions (Netflix) and powering through from 9:30 to 11:00 until I get my words on the page.

If I can have a family, work full time, work out every day, eat healthy, spend time in God’s word, and still find time to write- So can you. So Don’t quit!!!

Number Two- Perfection:

The thing I wished someone would have told me when I first started is that it didn’t need to be perfect the first time. I have written some horrible first drafts before- Some that felt so bad I walked away from them. Don’t quit because of a bad first draft. Structure and grammar can all be fixed during re-writes. Let’s face it- Editing is a separate process for a reason.

Number Three- No Money to Invest:

I find a lot of people who think they have to go traditional because the publisher will pay an advance, take care of editing, and take care of cover design. It seems that most when faced with rejection from a publisher use money as the number one excuse for not going indie. As of right now I have a full length novel, two short stories completed, and a novella I’m currently working on. Now it’s true I can’t afford to send them to my editor all at once. But I don’t intend to start publishing these until next year (2016) anyway. My goal is to have four books in the queue ready to go up in Jan, April July, and October of 2016. Releasing those 90 days apart and putting out good content.

Why you ask- Because I can’t afford to edit them all right now, nor can I afford to pay for cover design for four books all at the same time. This is my approach to getting around the money issue, write, prepare over time, and publish throughout the course of next year. Technically I could even wait up to a month before to get the cover design ready. The point is find a strategy and go with what works best for you. Writing isn’t cheap, and sometimes if the finances aren’t there it may take some time to get them out. Don’t rush- And don’t quit.

Number Four- Lack of Forward Progress:

This is one I understand all too well. It’s also something I think people use as the number one excuse for giving up. Because this is a universal excuse. Why do most people give up on diets or healthy lifestyle changes? Simple- The scale never moves. Why do people stop blogging? No one visits their site. Michael Hyatt made a great quote on his podcast not too long ago. He said “Most people quite right before the inflection point.”

I’m glad I didn’t give up and quit, and so is my wife who would otherwise have to listen to all my crazy insane ideas. Now don’t get me wrong- I love seeing people quit for the right reasons. Stress, poor lifestyles, there are a number of reasons to let go of something and move on. But don’t let a list of reasons (like above) stop you when you feel like nothing is happening.

What about you? Have you ever felt like quitting at the beginning…? If so what did you do to overcome that feeling of inferiority?