TBR: TBR welcomes Barbara Ann Wright

Monday, September 24, 2012

TBR welcomes Barbara Ann Wright

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Barbara Ann. Will you share a little bit about yourself?
Barbara Ann: Hi, everyone! I write fantasy and science fiction novels and short stories when not adding to my enormous book collection or ranting on my blog. My short fiction has appeared twice in Crossed Genres Magazine and once made Tangent Online's recommended reading list. I am a member of Broad Universe and the Outer Alliance and helped create Writer's Ink in Houston. I currently live in Austin, and The Pyramid Waltz is my debut novel.

TBR: Tell us about The Pyramid Waltz and where it's available.
Barbara Ann: It's a traditional fantasy novel about two women in love: a skirt-chasing princess and courtier unhappy in her role. It's available in print or ebook form from Amazon, boldstrokes.com, or you can order it at your local bookstore.

TBR: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Barbara Ann: To most, Princess Katya Nar Umbriel is a rogue and a layabout; she parties, she hunts and she breaks women's hearts. But when the festival lights go down and the palace slumbers, Katya chases traitors to the crown and protects the kingdom's greatest secret: the royal Umbriels are part Fiend. When Katya thwarts an attempt to expose the king's monstrous side, she uncovers a plot to let the Fiends out to play.

Starbride has no interest in being a courtier. Ignoring her mother's order to snare an influential spouse, she comes to court only to study law. But a flirtatious rake of a princess proves hard to resist, and Starbride is pulled into a world of secrets that leaves little room for honesty or love, a world neither woman may survive.

TBR: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Barbara Ann: Even though The Pyramid Waltz is billed as a lesbian fantasy romance, the word lesbian is never used in the book. In my made-up universe, no one cares about sexuality. When consenting adults have sex, no one is keeping track of which genitals touch. I wanted to show that this is completely possible, that everyone can be "normal" when it comes to sexuality, and that lesbian love can be just as complete and beautiful as any other kind of love.

TBR: Do you have a favorite quote you’d like to share?
Barbara Ann: This is from one of Starbride's chapters, when she comes to court in a foreign land and finds that neither the attitudes or the fashions are to her liking: "The thought of using another person for her own gain turned Starbride's stomach as much as the current fashion—layers of petal-like, pastel, gossamer fabric, a trend credited to the current Farradain queen. Petite, thin women carried it off. Tall, slender women could wear it well. Even tall and curvy could manage, but the layers turned short curvy women like Starbride into special-occasion cakes. She fought not to cross her arms over one of her mother's custom-designed dresses. At least there wasn't a mirror handy; she didn't have to see how much like a cupcake she looked. She blamed her mother's sweet tooth as much as her mother's fashion sense."

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist?
Barbara Ann: I listened to a lot of love songs while I wrote this book, particularly "Meet Me Halfway" by The Black-Eyed Peas. For my action scenes, I love to listen to techno and more industrial music. KMFDM is perfect. For my emotional scenes, I always go to Adele first. Her music is just so beautiful that I can't resist her.

TBR: While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?
Barbara Ann: I'm always amazed by how close-knit the online writing community is and how they're so willing to share information. Through blogs, Facebook author pages and sites like Goodreads and Amazon, we can all stay so connected. The writing community is one of the reasons I'm so thankful to be a writer.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Barbara Ann: Some of my characters, like Princess Katya, carry monsters inside of them that come out when they're enraged. Since Katya and her family are royalty, rage isn't hard to find. I like to pile on the conflict for my characters, so I'm hoping this extra trial makes them that much more interesting. Not only does Katya have to worry about leading a secret organization, she also has to carry around the knowledge that at any time, she could turn into a monster and attack her friends.

TBR: What's next for you?
Barbara Ann: Sequels! I hope to keep writing stories about these characters and this world. I plan to keep writing until I drop. After I finish their current adventures, I'd like to write some stories from earlier in the history of my fantasy universe, maybe some origin stories for the secondary characters.

TBR: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?
Barbara Ann: The most challenging aspect of writing is definitely actually doing the writing: Marking off the time, putting my butt in the chair, and getting it done. I think this is true for many people. What's wonderful is that overcoming this challenge is also the most rewarding aspect of writing, a feeling that snowballs when I actually finish something! That's a moment every writer should celebrate, no matter how long they've been writing.