AUTHOR PROFILE
Brandy Montgomery is a Midwest girl making her way in the Pacific Northwest. She can often be found exploring the local breweries and coffee shops surrounding her new home or at a softball tournament or swim meet for one of her two daughters. She is new to the published world with “His Shoes” being her first traditionally published work. Currently, she is working on a Middle Grade Fantasy novel and other various YA and MG fiction pieces. You can find her at www.brandymontgomery.com or on Facebook @montyb613 or Twitter @bmontgomery613.
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Why do you write?
I write to be heard. And, because I can’t not write. I’ve tried. It’s not a pretty picture. Even on the hardest days when the only words I have are the wrong ones, I would choose writing over anything other profession in the world.
What other creative activities are you involved in?
I love reading because the book is always better. Always. I also knit and crochet.
Who is your favorite author and why?
This question always trips me up. How does a person pick a favorite when there are so many amazing authors out there? I love how that Stephen King writes horror in a way that gets into your bones and keeps you up at night. I love the way that Jodi Picoult writes people that could walk off the pages and continue living their lives long after the story is finished. I adore the way that Jeanine Frost makes me laugh at awkward moments in her books and the way that JK Rowling paints magical words just on the outskirts of the mundane. Mitch Albom and Ray Bradbury and Terry Brooks and thousands of others with their worlds ready for my escape. Each of them hold a special place and I can’t ever pick just one favorite.
Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.
I like to start my stories from a ‘what if’ and expand them. The first drafts tend to be stream of conscious writing. From there it depends on the length of the work as to what process I will use. If it’s a shorter piece, like flash fiction or a short story, I’ll simply write and then revise until I feel like it’s right. I love brainstorming and will spend a lot of time just writing about the story. Longer works take more planning. I wouldn’t say I’m a true outliner and my scenes often go ‘off script’, but I do like the idea of having a road map, especially for a longer story that can get overwhelming in the editing process.
Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?
As I type this, there is a goldfish swimming in a 5 gallon tank behind me. He was never meant to be a pet. In fact, we purchased him as a feeder fish for my daughter’s axolotls. He refused to let himself be eaten. The axolotl had him in its mouth at one point and the fish escaped. He’s a survivor. So now this twenty cent fish that was never meant to be anything other than someone else’s dinner greets me when I enter my office every morning. He is my reminder that other people’s purposes for you don’t have to be your purpose for yourself.