Welcome Author
Linzé Brandon
Author bio:
Teaching herself to read before she went
to school, it was the start of her life long love affair with books. Trained as
an engineer, Linzé has worked as an export consultant and is presently a
project manager at a company that designs and manufactures products for the
military industry. Although she still loves to read, she also enjoys counted
stitch embroidery, archery, fly fishing, painting abstracts, her husband's
medal winning photographs and watching Manchester United play.
She is one of the moderators of the
Google+ group, Writer's Rabbit Hole, and leads the Pretoria Writers' Group,
consisting of ten members, seven of which are published authors in various
genres.
Linzé Brandon lives in Pretoria, South Africa, with her engineer husband
and German Shepherds who are convinced that the world revolves only around
them.
Brief synopsis of
your book:
Michael is the most experienced investigator for the Lords
of the High Council, the overseers of all magical and shape-shifting beings and
sentient dragons. When he is called upon to investigate the reason behind the
killings that threatened the life of the Dragon Master, he needs the help of
Andesine.
Andesine is not like the other magicians on Kryane, and
has worked hard to hide her true abilities. Since she had lodged the complaint
that triggered the Lords to investigate, she had no choice but to help Michael
in his quest to bring the murderer to justice.
He knew she was hiding something. What he didn't know was
that secret was the key to the mystery of how the magicians had been murdered
and keeping it safe was essential at all cost.
When she was called upon to risk exposing the secret, a
more powerful force found them. The Lords themselves had to get involved, this
time to fight of their betrayer who wanted Andesine for those exact abilities
that she had been hiding.
As they fought to stay alive, their mutual attraction grew
and Andesine had to face the painful choice: reveal all her secrets and risk
her heart or will she choose with her heart and risk falling into the hands of
the rogue High Lord?
Book title:
Michael's Mystery - The Grandmasters
Current book or
project you’re working on:
Michael's Mystery - The Grandmasters. It is
Book 3 in The Nations of Peace Series, and the second of the Grandmaster
novels.
The Nations of Peace consists of six
sub-series: The Grandmasters, The Dragon Masters, The Future Masters, The
Strike Masters, The Protectors and the Lords of the High Council.
Books 1 & 2 from the series:
Book 2 in The Nations of Peace Series
What was the
inspiration for your novel?
The story follows the second novel in the
series, Keeper of the Dragon Sword. In Keeper of the Dragon Sword, Elizabeth
L'Emery's life is threatened such that she had to go into protective custody.
She meets the love of her life and while they
sought their own destiny, they had to fight several Kryane magicians to
survive. The murder victims and Kryane magicians that die in these battles, did
not get involved by their own choice.
Michael's Mystery reveals the truth about
these deaths and exposes the greed of the one man who seeks power above all.
Power to destroy the most powerful beings in the known universe: the Lords of
the High Council.
The book also introduces the Lords of the High
Council to the reader.
Please share
three interesting facts about your book which are not covered in the synopsis.
1) Andesine
is named after the stone of the same colour as her eyes.
2) Michael
is not human.
3) The Lords of the High
Council have seven members: Ciarran (Guardian of Time, and leader of the
Council), Anoré (Guardian of Dreams), Rhemus (Guardian of Nature), D'Ar
(Guardian of Energy) and M'X-Ar (Guardian of Space). Two more members complete
the Council: Shitana (Guardian of Dragons) and Alu"Adr'Erinia (Guardian of
the Future).
Who is the most
complex character from your current novel?
Andesine Cle'era
Are there any
characters in your book that remind you of yourself?
Not in Michael's Mystery. Elizabeth from Keeper of the
Dragon Sword, is probably the character who is the most like myself.
If you could pick
any well known or famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?
Nalini Singh - she is my favourite author and I love the
way she weaves new worlds and characters into her stories. A review from her
would mean the world to me.
Genre/Author/Reader:
What genre does
your book fall into? Adult Fantasy Romance
What is the first
book you remember reading, that affected how you thought or felt about
something?
My parents owned a collection of ten books (I cannot
remember the details) of which one had a common English version (as opposed to
the Elizabethan version) of Shakespeare’s stories. Since I could read from a
very young age, I had read this book several times by the time I went to high
school.
Which three
authors have inspired you the most, and why?
1)
Nalini Singh - her world building and intricate characters. She remains my
favourite author in the paranormal romance genre.
2) Maya
Banks writes erotic romance stories. I love the way she weaves the plots around
her characters' feelings and actions. The beautifully written sex scenes forms
such an intricate part of the story, that you tend to forget about
"sex" part of the scenes.
3) I love
murder mysteries too, and here there are several authors that are on my reading
list. I read these for the pure pleasure of it, since I don't write in this
genre.
Have you ever
read a book you couldn’t finish reading?
Unfortunately, yes. Fortunately there were not too many of
them.
Do you read a
book, while you are writing a book?
I am a voracious reader. I have a time slot each day that
I use to write my own books. Any other free time, I will choose to read before
doing any of my other hobbies, like cross stitch or painting.
The process:
How many books
have you written? Which book is your favourite and why?
I have nine published books. Last time I
counted I had written about thirty seven books - most of them in The Nations of
Peace Series.
My favourite published book so far is Keeper
of the Dragon Sword. Michael's Mystery will be published later in the year.
My favourite of all written so far (and yet to
be published) is The Prime Pledge in The Protectors sub-series. But is it hard
to distinguish between all of them.
My favourite always seem to be the last one
that was published :)
Is there anything
that helps get you in the mood to write?
Nothing specific. Once I am into a story, I
want to see if it turns out the way I had envisioned it in my head. So once I
start, I have to get it done.
What were three
challenges you faced when writing your book?
1) Time.
I have a full-time job, that sometimes requires me to be away from home. My
husband often travels too, and then I have to take care of the dogs and the
other chores that he is responsible for.
2) I like
to push my own boundaries as an author and I find that to be emotionally
draining in certain genres. I have recently completed the first draft on a
literary story, but found the content so difficult to deal with, that I am not
certain whether it will ever be published.
3) I am a pantser and
find myself frustrated at the things my characters do that I did not foresee
happening. That said, it is also the most fun to see if they manage to dig
themselves out of those holes again.
What lessons have
you learned as an aspiring writer?
Since I am published I can relate what I have learned for
any aspiring writers. Write. Don't delay and think you will eventually get
around to do it. If you want to write - start right now!
Join a writers' group. It makes all the difference for
feedback and support. Since I have started the Pretoria Writers' Group, I have
written more words and published more stories than I have ever thought I would.
Do you ever
experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to ‘overcome’?
No, I can't say that I have. When I don't write I can only
ascribe it to being too tired, or just being lazy. I have never not known what
to write.
What is the most
important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional
publisher, route?
Since I am self-published the most important thing I have
learned is to get other people to read my manuscripts and give me feedback. I
am fortunate that a very good friend of
mine, fellow author Vanessa Wright, is a terrific beta-reader and editor.
Editing by a professional is essential. If Vanessa is not
available, I have used two other editors in the past from whom I have also had
invaluable feedback.
How long does it
usually take for you to complete a book?
A novel (in the order of about 100k to 150k on the first
draft) takes about ten months to write
under normal circumstances. Now I take part in NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo at
every opportunity and that helps to cut the time to the first drafts, to about
four to six months.
From the first draft to publication, it will take me
another four to five months depending on my work schedule.
Do you have any
ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music.
To be honest I don't think my books can be filmed. Not
because Hollywood don't have the technology for the fantasy of sci-fi genres,
but some of the scenes would need to be "faked" and that would
detract from the story. However, I would never underestimate the writers of
screen plays to get even past that.
Which book to
movie conversion is your favourite?
If I have read the book, I don't watch the movie and vice
versa. So I cannot tell you.
Do you watch a
lot of science fiction or fantasy movies?
I don't watch TV, movies or dramas, except for the odd
soccer game in the English Premier League or World Cup. I cannot remember the
last time I saw a movie, even in a theatre.
Do you study
science, the planets, history or anything special to help you with your
writing?
I am an engineer by training, so there is a lot of science
already in my head (how much I still remember, is a completely different
situation). But for my sci-fi romance series, I had to do some research and
loved reading up about genetics, genetic engineering and DNA coding.
What, who, and
when were you first inspired you to write?
I wrote my first story in 2001, although only managed to
find the courage to start publishing in 2012. I was self-employed at the time,
and had better control over how I spent my hours each day.
What the exact moment or thing was, I don't recall, only
that I liked it so much that rejections my South African publishers did not
prevent me from continuing to write. Today I am glad that I was either arrogant
or ignorant enough, not to stop doing what I love: write!
Personal favs:
Drink – black
espresso
Food – it is
a toss up between chocolate and biltong (the South African version of dried raw
meat, usually beef)
Vacation – anywhere
where I can take my laptop to write
TV show – I
don't watch TV, except the odd game played by Manchester United
Movie – I have
every movie/series made of Jane Austen's books. I love the stories, but don't
watch anything on TV or the theatre.
Animal – our
German Shepherd dogs. But if I have to choose a wild animal it would be the
leopard.
Sport – Soccer.
Book – Nalini
Singh's Archangel Series.
How can people
connect with you?
Where can readers
find your book?
You can find all my books on Smashwords at this link
