Mixing It Up

When I first started writing the blog, I asked me web administrator, Sarah Stegall, for ideas. I had never written a blog and, until I wrote a novel, never felt any leanings to do so.

“People want to know about you and the book,” Sarah had said. “They want to know about the author, what Bryony is about, how you wrote it, the research that went into it, and where you got your ideas, stuff like that.”

I was relieved Sarah did not feel the whole point of the blog was to sell the book. I’m not a fan of using social media and blogs as solely marketing tools. I’m uneasy when someone wants to “friend” me in order to sell me a product.

Of course, I want to sell books, but not because I see Bryony as a huge money-making venture. Fiction writing falls outside my normal business hours (whatever those are). It’s born from a pure desire to create a story that entertains me and entertains my readers. It’s twenty-six years after Bryony’s conception, and I’m not tired of the story yet.

However, because there would be no Bryony without its author (me!), this blog is a mish mash Bryony-related topics, including the research that went into it, Victorian themes, hints and references to incidents and people in the story, as well as a glimpse into my writing style, my personality, and interests.

My reporter hat comes out here, too. I like to share other people’s stories and voices, so the blog will contain guest postings from time to time. These may be from real people, real with people with nom de plumes, fictional characters, or people who are part real and part fictional, such as Ed Calkins, the Steward of Tara, who posts on Saturdays.

This is why blog postings about the habits of vampires and a commentary on last Sunday’s sermon can all be part of the BryonySeries blog. Don’t like a particular post? Scroll down or come back tomorrow for someting different.