Brittany Elise Interview
Welcome to Ink & Magick. I'm your friendly neighborhood witch. What kind of spell can I get for you (or your character) today?
There are so many spells I’d love to have in the real world, but if I had to pick just one (as cliché as it is) I’d like to be able to cast a spell that would allow me to know what a person was really thinking. So, the “Mind Reading” spell it is for me!
I'm sorry, but I'd don't have the proper licenses to perform such a complex spell. Why don't you tell us about your YA paranormal fantasy Awakening the Trinity.
n the seventeenth-century, an all-powerful witch called Rionach the Dark ruled the Celtic nations with an army of enslaved werewolves. In order to restore balance between Light and Dark, the Trinity of Light was summoned to vanquish the Dark Witch and end the Battle of the Dark Ages.
Seventeen-year-old Quinn Callaghan lives in the small, rustic town of Silver Mountain. Its location may be rural, but it is home to an ancient pine forest that surrounds a supernatural hotspot—a nexus of raw and powerful energy.
When a charismatic witch from Ireland, and a mysterious guy with a secret of his own are drawn to the area, Quinn finds out that she inherited her rare abilities from a revered ancestor. Could it be that she shares a bloodline with the Original Trinity? Nearly 300 years later, the Darkness is returning to Silver Mountain, and the Trinity must stop it.
Excerpt:
“Yeah, well, I’m not a hero.”
“Maybe there are no heroes.” Maybe we all just try to do the best we can and that’s enough, or it isn’t. Maybe we just complicate things by drawing a straight line and deciding that one half is black and the other is white. What if there wasn’t a line at all and life was just meant to be blurry?
OOOOO Witches and werewolves! So much can be done with those types of characters. Tell us about the rules that govern/what characterizes your supernatural beings? What are your witches like? What are your werewolves like?
My witches in specific get their ability to perform magic from nature. Their power source is derivative from all things nature made. The elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and even Spirit) play a huge role in my story. I did want there to be rules involved so my characters wouldn’t be running around casting any spell they please without consequence. They aren’t allowed to cast spells for “personal gain,” which is pretty standard in the supernatural world—and if they do, nature punishes them for abusing their powers.
My werewolves are a little different. There’s a lot of information out in the world about werewolf mythology, but I wanted to romanticize them without taking away that raw and fierce power of the wolf itself. I don’t have any man-eating monsters in my novel as a result—when the werewolves shift, they do take on the physical body of an actual wolf. I’m very fascinated with Irish mythology, and I knew I wanted to write something akin to old Irish folklore, so I had to do a bit of research. The oldest link I could find to werewolves in Irish mythology does pop up in my novel; however, I definitely put my own spin on things and involved witches in the making of werewolves so to speak. In terms of what governs them, they can change into a werewolf anytime they want, but they are subjected to changing during the three phases of the full moon in what I call the “Moon Change.” The witches have a lot to do with “why,” so you’ll have to read to find out!
Sounds like there is a lot of backstory here. What kind of research did you do for this book?
There is a lot of backstory, but most of it is just straight from my imagination. The biggest thing with this novel was just how I came by the inspiration. I’m an avid music lover, and I do this thing when I’m listening to lyrics—I guess you could say I make my own music video in my head. Anyway, I was driving to work one morning listening to songs that I’d loved from high school when one in particular sparked the start of what later became Awakening the Trinity. The lyrics to Aqualung’s “Strange and Beautiful” gave me this idea about a guy feeling drawn to a girl and wanting to be part of her world because of this intense connection he couldn’t explain. I sat down at my laptop after that and typed out the first two chapters and began building the story from there.
Interesting! Which one of your characters surprised you?
I have to say Blaire Alderdice. When I first began developing her character, I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to take her in—and then she became a monumental part of the storyline.
Who is your favorite (or least favorite) character and why?
Wren is my favorite character—hands down. He’s just a great male lead with steadfast convictions; I don’t want to give too much away about him because the readers will get to know him little by little over the expanse of the novel. He was fun to create.
Are you teasing me right now? If you could time-travel, would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go, and why would you choose that time period?
Great question. I’m kind of an old soul, so I think I would probably choose to visit the past. I wouldn’t necessarily want to go to the future because I don’t want to see something that I don’t have control to change. That being said, I’m thinking I’d probably visit the 1920s or 1930s. There was so much change in America at that time—so much history. So much to experience.
I agree. It was a tumultuous time. What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
Leaving feedback and reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads is very helpful. I know for me, when I get excited about a good book, I always share it with friends and family that are most likely to enjoy and get the word out.
You heard the lady! What can we expect from you next?
I left the ending pretty open, and I’m happy to announce that Awakening the Trinity will have a sequel and quite possibly a third to wrap up in a trilogy. I love writing YA supernatural stories, so there will definitely be more like Awakening the Trinity. I don’t like to adhere to one particular box though; I aim to surprise.
We will have to stay tuned then. Thanks for stopping in to chat with us.
Brittany lives in Ohio with her husband, Benjamin, and their houseful of animals. Brittany graduated from college with a degree in photography and later became an obedience instructor. During the day, Brittany manages an FBO at a local hometown airport and services aircraft.
Writing has always been her greatest passion. She enjoys the outdoors and exploring new places in an endless quest to keep that artistic inspiration burning.
You can get your copy of Awakening the Trinity on Amazon.