Interview with sci-fi author PJ Braley

Helping me wrap up the week is adult science fiction author PJ Braley and we’re chatting about Finding Persephone.

During her virtual book tour, PJ will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Deciding that copyediting other writers’ manuscripts was not enough to satisfy her literary aspirations, PJ decided to do something about it. Purchasing a new laptop because new beginnings require new tools, she began transitioning from copy editor to author. She started by writing essays and short stories, but it wasn’t until she met Grant and his brothers while writing The Fire Slayers that she felt she had a real story to tell. PJ blends science fiction with love, friendship, and betrayal in her newest book, Finding Persephone, when an alien assassin charged with protecting the secrets of their underground brotherhood risks everything when he falls in love.

When she isn’t writing novels about aliens saving the planet, you can find her sitting on the sun deck with her husband, Jim, and their rescue corgi, Nymeria. She will be the one with a book in one hand and a glass of sangria in the other.

Welcome, PJ. Please tell us about your current release.
Caroline Taylor is very good at pretending.

The polished surface of her life appears perfect until the morning a smitten grad student brings the cracks in her illusions into sharp focus. No longer willing to live a lie, Caroline’s journey of transformation sets her on a collision course with Dr. Grant Gates. Blinded by his quiet power, good looks, and impressive credentials, Caroline fails to see that Grant is also very good at pretending.

Created from flesh and fire, Grant has a past he would like to forget, an assignment he cannot reveal, and a forbidden obsession with his newest client whose beautiful eyes miss nothing. As the enforcer of an underground brotherhood, he must protect their secrets at any cost, but Grant is determined that Caroline will not become his latest victim. Striking a devil’s bargain to keep the woman he has been searching for safe from his brothers’ plans, Grant struggles to hide who–and what–he is until he becomes her only hope of escape…but will he let her go?

There’s not a chance in Hell.

A contemporary retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with a conflicted yet compelling male protagonist and a voice-driven narrative from the woman’s perspective, Finding Persephone is an intriguing tale of an alien assassin’s search for absolution and the woman whose love lies at the heart of his redemption.

What inspired you to write this book?
Good question!

I only knew two or three things when I started writing Finding Persephone. 1 – the main male character was part of an underground society that had lived undetected by humans for thousands of years, 2 – he falls in love with a human, and 3 – because such feelings are forbidden, he would have to hide his growing affection for her.

A fan of history, myths, and legends, the idea of blending the myth of Hades and Persephone with a contemporary love story came to me in the early stages of writing Finding Persephone. Although that setting made world-building a bit easier, writing a credible backstory for the aliens became more challenging. So many “what if” questions had to be answered without opening the door to dozens more.

Also, Grant could not be a simple villain. Therefore, it became necessary to instill specific components as part of his identity. One of those elements is that Grant is more than an assassin; he is also a fire slayer, which means he can send pain, like bursts of lightning, into the minds of his brothers. For most fire slayers, this power is a minor part of their communication abilities, but Grant is slowly being consumed by the fires within him and craves nothing more than the kind touch of a human woman – something he has not known since childhood.

Despite Grant’s importance to the story, Caroline actually inspired the title. As she becomes critical to Grant’s emotional stability, she simultaneously becomes the moving force of the narrative. When Caroline finds herself in an impossible position, Grant offers her refuge in an underground human habitat he has designed for her comfort. Believing she is in love, she accepts his offer and joins him there without realizing that he has not created this sanctuary for her – but for himself.

 

Excerpt from Finding Persephone:
Grant held me as though these were the last few minutes we would ever spend together.

“We have had different beginnings, you and I. Different cultures,” he said.

“I know. Your brother said your family lived somewhere on the other side of the world.”

He was silent for several moments. “Not this world.”

“I, I don’t understand.”

“Think about it, Caroline.”

It only took a moment. I sat up quickly.

“Wait, Grant, are you saying I am having a ‘close encounter’ here?”

I stared at his handsome face. His eyes watched me like he was waiting for me to dissolve into hysterics, but I didn’t. I tried to laugh and couldn’t. I wanted to move, but my body seemed frozen. It wasn’t Grant or even fear that held me, but incredulity mixed with a sense of undeniable truth.

“Then there are no secrets?”

“No. Not between us. Not anymore.”

 

What exciting story are you working on next?
Well, there is always more to write about how handsome and highly dangerous aliens navigate the labyrinth of human emotions, but I am also working on a draft of an urban fantasy set in a large city in Florida (where I’m from) that blends history, love, and murder. I think both of these narratives are exciting because Grant is the protagonist, the villain, and an unreliable narrator, so it’s always interesting to see what he plans to do next. The Florida work in progress involves a lot of research into Florida’s past, and I am continually amazed at what I am discovering. Stay tuned!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I first considered myself a writer when I stopped thinking about writing and actually started putting my stories on paper. I had been writing little bits here and there for school or pleasure, but when I deliberately wrote for strangers’ eyes, I knew there would be no turning back; I was a writer.

Do you write full-time?
I wrote The Fire Slayers and Persephone’s Children while working full-time at a local university. The only time I could find to write then were evenings and the occasional weekend. It took years. Now, however, my primary responsibilities are to my family and my sweet rescue corgi, Nymeria, so I have a lot more time to write.

What’s your work day like? What do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I prefer to write in the mornings, but it’s amazing how many days begin with running errands and doing housework before I “allow” myself to write – like a child having to clean her plate before she’s allowed dessert. I am trying to break out of that box and make my writing a priority. My new mantra is “Dessert First!”

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I cannot seem to just pick up where I left off from my last writing session. Instead, I must go back and immerse myself in the last few scenes/chapters to find where I left that part of my mind. I’m a pantser rather than a plotter. I find it’s not only a good idea to revisit what I have written previously to prevent awkward transitions, but it is essential for continuity.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
At first, I wanted to be a famous singing ballerina, but when I graduated from sixth grade, I received a  world globe and a manual typewriter. From that moment on, I wanted to be a teacher and a writer. I eventually lost the globe, and my typewriter became a laptop, but I never lost the dream. It was a longer journey than I ever thought possible, but tenaciousness can be a virtue, and I found a way.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Regardless of what life throws at you, never lose sight of your dreams. And, I don’t mean just the  dreams themselves, but their validity. There had to be a reason they were important to you…hang on to that and never let go.

And me? Well, I’m just going to keep writing.

Thank you.

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