7 Questions from The Serrulata Saga Desk: Brittany M. Willows

Pen Name: Brittany M. Willows
Pronouns: she/her
Book Series/Latest Book Published: The Cardplay Duology

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?

I love all of my brain children dearly, but I can’t lie, Iori—my cat-eared, ink-wielding protagonist of Bloody Spade—holds a very special place in my heart. He’s become a real comfort character to draw, write, and I just love watching him spin around and around in the microwave of my brain. I’m not sure what it is that makes him stand out from the rest. Perhaps it’s that I relate to him in a few key ways, or that he has a depth to him others haven’t quite reached. Maybe he just ticks a bunch of my favourite quality boxes. Whatever the case, I’m glad it’s him, and I’m glad he’s endeared himself to many readers too!

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain? 

An interesting villain for sure. This is a part of my writing I’m actively working to improve, as I often feel in hindsight that I’ve fallen short with them. Part of my personal challenge, I think, comes from wanting to keep their motives secret from the reader, leaving those twists and lore drops for later. Villains typically don’t get the same page time as the heroes either (especially if you’re trying to keep their motives/actions somewhat secret from the reader for a while), so you have to find ways to make them interesting in a fraction of the words afforded to the protagonists.

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?

If Iori knew who I was, he would either be giving me the silent treatment or grilling me about all the awfulness I’ve put him through. And probably the only thing stopping him from kicking my ass would be the fact I gave him Ellen and a decent life at the end of everything haha.

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?

Ooh, good question. I enjoy the concept of cross-overs, but my characters feel so embedded in their own worlds that it’s hard for me to envision them in anyone else’s or having anyone else’s characters’ enter theirs (for anything beyond a one-off scene, at least). It’s why I used to struggle to insert them into forum-based RPGs, where a bunch of us would toss our OCs into a brand new world together. I always found my characters acting wildly out of character in those scenarios.

I am, however—in a somewhat similar vein—a big fan of creating AUs (alternate universes)!

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?

For me personally, the purpose is mainly to entertain (myself first and foremost, and others second). I just want to tell a good story that’ll make people cry and laugh and yell at my characters for making bad life choices. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any meaning to be found within my stories, just that I’m not writing with the intent to share any specific message or anything like that. Whenevr someone does resonate with my characters or themes, though, that’s massively rewarding! 

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had characters bouncing around inside my head. I’d draw them all the time, but that wasn’t enough. I needed more space to tell their stories, and for a while I toyed with the idea of creating video games or comics, but later realized both were too ambitious for me. It was only after I began reading the Warrior Cats books that I decided to pursue novelwriting, and I’ve been nurturing my love/hate relationship with that process ever since haha
 
As for why I write what I write: because I’m a sucker for it. Everything I write is super self-indulgent. I love exploring worlds beyond ours, or worlds that are similar to ours but with a twist, so I write scifi and fantasy. It’s fun to imagine the ways in which life may succumb to or adapt to catastropic change, so I often add in a dash of post-apocalypse for good measure. Anything that makes my brain go brrrr--that’s my reason for writing it.

Here's where to find Brittany:

Website: https://brittanymwillows.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @BMWillows
Instagram: @brittanymwillows

---