Meet Author Laurisa Brandt

Laurisa Brandt writes immersive and heroic sci-fi fantasy adventures sweetened with romance.

She was once hired to write a TV pilot episode and enjoys supporting other indie authors.

She currently lives in Central PA with her husband and their adopted Timneh African Grey parrot, Hercules.

You can visit her online at laurisabrandt.com.

Meet Laurisa Brandt:

If you could be friends with one character in your debut novel, who would it be? Why? 

I'd want to be friends with Alta, the female mentor character in “Birthright of Scars,” because she is a clever, intuitive person who enjoys nurturing others and brings peace to situations with her discernment, sensitivity, and insight. She has a unique ability to discern information about a person's past, present, and future when she puts her hands on them or their belongings.

What’s one piece of advice you wish you’d known when you first started writing?

It's okay to be a mediocre writer. As a child, I possessed an inflated confidence in my artistic

abilities that was constantly at war with my demands for perfection. My skills and talents felt like the only way to get approval and validation.

Each story I wrote was the most amazing work of fiction the world had ever seen, and I couldn't understand why publishers weren't accepting of my queries. Now that I have thoroughly enjoyed books that were not well written, or even as well written as others, I am all the more confident in my abilities, yet more relaxed and able to embrace the joy of writing for writing's sake.

I understand that well-written and best-selling books are not always synonymous. There's no need to compete or astound friends and family. I can be proud of the unique journey I experienced writing a book, whether or not it is my best work. Relax. And enjoy writing.

What was the first piece you ever wrote? (If you’re comfortable, feel free to tell us a little about it.) 

The first piece I wrote and illustrated was a children's book called “The Cat and the Dog,” which was about the two creatures learning to share and get along. I was three years old. I wrote it on ruled paper and had my mother staple it together between two sheets of red craft paper.

I was an early writer and reader, so most of the story is badly misspelled but still understandable with a little patience.

Did you have an invisible friend in your childhood? If so, what was their name?

In the 6th grade, I had a pet dragon who would follow me around between classes and run

beside the school bus on the way to and from school. His name was so creative: Draco.

His dominant color was red, and he protected me from bullying and the social pressures of middle school. I cut pieces of paper and taped them together in the shape of a dragon to try to make him real so I could hold him and take him to bed with me, but my father quietly threw him away, believing I was entertaining something evil.

I continued drawing Draco in the margins of my notebooks in school.

What are some helpful tips you would give a fellow writer who’s having a hard time

plotting, developing, etc.?

Whenever I struggle with plotting or developing a story, I remind myself that the writing

process for any two books will never be the same. Forget that anyone will ever see the book you're working on. Pretend you're writing for the fun of getting this idea out on paper.

Remember that creative writing requires a subconscious muscle. This is why your best ideas often come while you're doing menial tasks where your mind can wander, or at night when you're falling asleep.

Deadlines, reader expectations, and external pressures kill your imaginative energy. Your play time. And this exacerbates writer's block. Creative writing is a sandbox, and you'll do your best plotting and developing when you can lose yourself in the sand. Just let go and play.

What would you tell your younger self not to care about?

Since I continue to struggle with this, I'd want my younger self not to care about being

misunderstood.

This is not something we can control, and creatives are more likely to be misunderstood than other types. Being misunderstood can cause us to feel isolated, but it is not the worst thing in the world.

You can always find a community of other like-minded artists and writers online, but I highly recommend making local connections. As a child, I did not have access to online communities, and as a sheltered teen, I had no friends, so that intense feeling of being different, alone, and misunderstood shaped me, but today, it no longer defines me. Your time for connection will come.

Stay true to yourself and your vision, and your people will find you.

If your core main characters could say one thing about you, what do you think (or hope) they would say?

I know my core characters would say that I'm dedicated to telling their stories truthfully and

treating them with dignity. I listen to them and stay true to their stories as best I can with the information they give me.

They'd say I'm patient when they aren't forthcoming about details of their lives, which embarrasses them, or struggle to share.

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Want to learn more about Laurisa Brandt?

Instagram: @thetourmalinerenegade

Email: laurisa@laurisabrandt.com

Website: https://www.laurisabrandt.com

What would you like to learn from other authors? I'd love to know your questions! More authors are signing up for the Meet an Author Monday series daily.

Are you an author or writer? Would you like to be part of the Meet an Author Spotlight? Let me know, and I'll send you some questions so we can get started.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

All the best,

Kara