**Read my review of Covering Kendall HERE!**
As you all know, I'm a football fan. Even more than that, I looooove, dare I say luuuurve, me some hometown football. When I was asked to read Covering Kendall, a tale containing two of my favorite things: hometown football and romance-- I jumped on the chance to review it.
And now, as a little bonus, take a gander at my interview with the master mind behind Covering Kendall, USA Best Selling Author Julie Brannagh!
Hi, Julie! Congrats on the release of Covering Kendall and thank you for taking the time to answer some questions! : )
Thank you for inviting me. I’m so excited to be here!
Kendall and Drew met in a bookstore, and both enjoy the occasional book versus what's on their e-readers. What is the last actual book you bought and read from a bookstore? Do you prefer the turning of pages to the swiping of a screen?
Believe it or not, I’m trying to remember the last actual book I bought from a bookstore. We gave our little cousin Leticia books for her first birthday last year – does that count? She loved Goodnight Moon and Pat the Bunny!
I got my first Kindle four years ago for Christmas. I LOVE IT. I upgraded to the Paperwhite a couple of years ago. I’m pretty much exclusive to the E-reader now. I still love print books, but the ability to bring an entire library with me wherever I go is wonderful.
I, like you, live in Washington and love football (Go Hawks!). I noticed that Drew and his teammates visit the local children’s hospital, much like real-life Seahawks player Russell Wilson. Do you draw a lot of what the Sharks do from the Seahawks? Are any of your characters loosely based of any Seahawks players? And… do we see another Super Bowl win in the Sharks future?
Go Hawks!
I read various sports websites and publications every day. The Sharks’ adventures spring from many, many sources. I know there are plenty of players around the league who visit children in the hospital, but sending my team to Children’s on their day off each week was pretty much irresistible due to Russell Wilson’s great example! Some characters stroll into my mind fully-formed. Others are a slow, painstaking process. All are imaginary.
The Sharks have already gone to the “big game” once. If I get the go-ahead to write more books in the Sharks series, I think there may be more playoffs in their future!
I’m always curious how authors see their characters. If Covering Kendall were made into a movie, which actor and actress would you like to see playing Drew and Kendall?
Hmmm. Drew: Long blond hair, piercing blue eyes, looks like a modern-day Viking? Chris Hemsworth would be perfect for the movie! ;-)
Kendall’s a little tougher. My publisher asks me to submit photos of people I think look like my characters so the art department can get a sense of what I was thinking about when I wrote them. I know what Kendall looks like, but the only actress I could think of that might come close to what was in my head is Amanda Peet.
Now about the writing process. Do you have any strange writing habits/traditions (like favorite writing pants, songs that inspire you, etc.)?
I have all kinds of strange writing habits and traditions. Here are a few examples.
I write at home in my office wearing a nightgown and big socks. One of the best gifts anyone ever gave me was a fleece ruana; I wrap up in it while I’m working, too. I know I have a new book to write when the characters start talking in my head. It’s even better when they start arguing with each other; I need to tell their story!
Other authors can do stuff like go to a coffee shop and write. I need to be by myself when I work. I also listen to a wide variety of music while I’m working. I’m the weirdo that listens to Christmas music year-round on Pandora. When I’m not listening to Silent Night in July, I’m listening to everything from C-89 in Seattle (KNHC-FM – dance music streamed worldwide!) to classical music to whatever I can find on YouTube that reflects my current mood. I listen to everything from dino rock to whatever’s most recent. And I turn it up!
I always pick at least one song to listen to while I’m writing because it reminds me of my characters and the story. While I was writing Drew and Kendall, I listened to John Legend’s “All of Me”. Oddly enough, I kept listening to it while I was writing HOLDING HOLLY. I listened to the Foo Fighters’ “The Best of You” when I wrote CHASING JILLIAN.
Some authors are very organized (plotters). Others are like me: Pantsers. We sit down at the desk each morning and just start writing. I have had to change my process over the past year because I have deadlines and need a plan, for instance. I have at least a working plot and know who my characters are when I’m writing now. I didn’t figure out how COVERING KENDALL was going to end until two days before I wrote, “The End”, however…
Finally, GoodReads and Amazon show that you have a book coming out in March—Chasing Jillian. Can you tell us a little bit about Chasing Jillian? This will be book 5 in the Love and Football series, do you have plans for more in this particular series, or have you thought about branching out? Possibly with other sports?
CHASING JILLIAN is probably the most difficult book I have written because of the subject matter. I wrote the book in a period of weeks – I couldn’t stop writing until I was done with the story. Jillian tugged at my heart. I thought she was the one who needed a happily ever after the most, but as I wrote, I realized that Seth needed a woman who would love him for who he is for the rest of her life. Seth and Jillian’s story is unlike any other book I have written so far. I hope readers will love it – and them!
I hope to write more Sharks books in the future. We’ll see! I do know that anything else I write will be based in Seattle. I love my hometown, and I hope my readers will fall in love with it, too!
Well, I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Sharks! Thanks again, Julie!
Thank YOU. If any of your readers would like to find out a bit more about me, I’m at www.juliebrannagh.com. I have an author Facebook page, and I’m on Twitter at @julieinduvall. I love to hear from readers!
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About Julie:
Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her favorite NFL team from the comfort of the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of contemporary sports romances.
