Dirty Dozen - Brandon Witt

Hello, lovely readers. Thank you for stopping by for this special post from Brandon Witt, who is part of the "Dirt Dozen." Each year, the Dirty Dozen gears up for GRL with a blog tour. 12 authors, 12 days, 12 posts. This year the authors include: Brandon Witt, TM Smith, Jordan L. Hawk, Alexa Land, Jeff Adams, LE Franks, Morticia Knight, Jake C Wallace, K-lee Klein, Tempe O'Riley, AE Via, and myself. Each author can up with a question for this interview style post, and the author of the day answers the questions. It's fun! So let's get started.

I've met Brandon and I can tell you he is a warm and wonderful person.

Thank you, Brandon, for joining me. One for Brandon's novels is titled The the Stars Fall. I am currently listening to the audio and I think it's wonderful. It is a very warm and sweet romance. For those readers who like books without graphic sex, this one is for you! It's all about the relationships! I liked it so much, I have another of his audio books when I'm finished this one.

On with the questions....

Tams asked – If you could spend the day with one of your characters, which one would it be, and why?

Donnie Durke, from The Shattered Door.  The idea of this book came to me on the way home from my cousin Gabe’s funeral.  He was twenty-five or twenty-six, I was twenty-four or twenty-five (I think, time does funny stuff to one’s memory).  Donnie was based off of my cousin Gabe—beautiful, kind, funny, charming, too good to be with us on earth for very long. I still miss him.

Jeff asked - What are you working on currently and what's its inspiration?

I’m working on four novellas in a series called Mary’s Boys.  All four of them will be out in ebook by GRL 2017 (and will be combined in a paperback edition at the same time as the 4^th one is published).  They are all set in Denver at Hamburger Mary’s, which is a gay restaurant chain.  This is my first time doing novellas, and they are a little more traditionally romance focuses than my normal.  If you read Under a Sky of Ash, and enjoyed the drag queen ManDonna, you’ll be thrilled to know she shows up in all four stories.

Wade asked - If the lead character in your current novel were to read your other books, which one would be his/her favorite and why?

The first book of my Rocky Mountain Boys series will be on pre-order by GRL Kansas City.  One of the lead characters in that book is Luis Martinez who moves to Estes Park, Colorado from California in a spur of the moment leap in order to re-start his life.  I think he’d most appreciate The Imperfection of Swans, as Kevin does something similar.  He doesn’t move away from home, but abandons his high-paying corporate job to open his dream wedding dress shop.

Jake asked - If all of your MCs were thrown into a strange and dangerous world where survival relies on ingenuity, creativity, common sense who would come out on top?

I think Brett Wright, from my Men of Myth series.  His combination of demon, mermaid, and human ancestry would aid him well.  Not to mention the fact that he’s immortal.  At least, as far as he knows….

Brandon asked (yes, I guess that means he's talking to himself. lol) - What musician or album do you think people should listen to as they read your work because it fits the soul of your words (either a specific title or your writing in general)?

I have to go with Joy Williams’s Venus album if you’re reading The Imperfection of Swans.  It was on constant replay as I wrote the last of that book.  And the title came from her song, You Loved Me, even though it doesn’t mention anything about swans.  

In general, if you play Joy Williams, Amy Grant, The Civil Wars, Adele, Faith Hill, Natalie Cole, Erin McCarthy, Sara Bareilles, John Mayer, Mills Brothers, Pasty Cline, Leighton Meester, and Matt Alber, I think you’ll have a pretty perfect back drop for my contemporary novels.  My Men of Myth series would need a different playlist.

Morticia asked – If you could be one of your characters and live their life, who would it be and why?

I can’t say I’d want to face all that Brett Wright had to face in my Men of Myth series, but I’d still like to be him.  To live under the ocean with the mermaids and mermen???  Yes, please!

Tempeste asked–  If you could be a fruit, any fruit, which would you be and why?

I think a fig.  They always get put on charcuterie boards with all the best cheeses.  That would be heaven.

Jordan asked –  What is the thing you enjoy most about gatherings like GRL?

Seeing friends that understand me in a way that no other people in my life can understand me.   We all have a shared, geeky bond of writing and/or reading.  It’s wonderful. And relaxing.

LE Franks asked –  What is the most vivid romantic moment from any film that has lingered the longest and meant the most to you…. and why?

In The Last Unicorn, which you must see, the prince refused to be responsible for the Amalphia remaining human when she should be a unicorn.  He put his love for her above his desire.  As a result, she is the only unicorn in existence that can experience regret and truly know love.  It’s beautiful.  And yeah, I know, I’m fucked up.

K-Lee asked– If you could take any fictional couple or character (television, movies, real-life, books) and add them to one of your books, who would it be and why? 

The entire cast of Downton Abby.  I want them in every book I write and I want them in every room of the house.  And I want to have Maggie Smith simply sit there and pass judgment upon me.

AE asked– What kind of quirky habits do you have before or during the time you write?

I have a very strict routine I follow.  From the food I eat, to the coffee I drink, to how long I write at a time.  I’m not one that can sit and write anywhere.  I’m a creature of habit.  And I have all of my My Little Pony characters assembled to the left side of my computer.  Whenever I start a new book, they get rearranged.

Alexa asked– When you write, do your characters hijack the story, or do you keep a tight grip on the reins?

I’m a huge planner and outliner.  We’re talking family trees, pages of characters notes, lists of questions and problems, etc.  That said, I may have to do multiple outlines, as the characters nearly always change what I think is going to happen.

This was great! Thanks for answering all those fun questions. For readers who wonder about some of his other books, I'll list a few.

Bio: 

Brandon Witt's outlook on life is greatly impacted by his first eighteen years of growing up gay in a small town in the Ozarks, as well as fifteen years as a counselor and special education teacher for students with severe emotional disabilities. Add to that his obsession with corgis and mermaids, then factor in an unhealthy love affair with cheeseburgers, and you realize that with all those issues, he's got plenty to write about....

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