Avery Brooks

Q: What genre or format do you write in? (for example: romance, fantasy, short stories, poetry, etc.)

A: Contemporary romance

Q: Who do you write for? Who is your audience, and are you seeking to reach a particular type of reader with your work? Why?

A: I write sapphic romances about strong female characters who are relatable and navigating trauma and other obstacles on their path to finding love, self-worth, and joy. While my books do have HEAs, they tackle serious issues and the characters will pull on some heart strings. So, my audience is readers of sapphic fiction who enjoy complex stories with emotional payoffs and a healthy dose of humor along the way.  

Q: When did you decide you wanted to write?

A: I have always wanted to be a writer. I remember writing a story during a break in second grade and then my classmates all wanting me to write a story for them. But I really started reading sapphic fiction heavily around 10 or 12 years ago and then decided to commit to pursuing writing. 

Q: What got you interested in the world of writing originally?

A: I’ve always been a strong writer and used that medium to express my feelings about the world. However, my studies and career took up most of my time and I had always put it on the backburner as something I’d like to do one day. It wasn’t until I turned to sapphic fiction as a reader while living in a place with no queer community that I really became immersed in that genre and decided to write my own stories. 

Q: There are so many possible avenues to take. Why write?

A: After being an evolutionary biology professor where everything I wrote had to be accompanied by a citation, creating my own stories and not having to cite anything felt like absolute freedom. I love the magic that happens as you build worlds and characters and it all comes together. Writing opened up a world of possibilities for me to express myself, explore themes that are important to me, and share them with others. 

Q: Similarly, why pursue being an indie author? What is your goal?

A: I publish through Bywater Books, a small, queer press. And I’ve also self-published several anthologies of poetry by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and AAPI poets. For my fiction, I wanted to reach people like me who have been through trauma and other obstacles and help them see themselves in a story and know that they can find their happily ever after too. For the anthologies, it has been very fulfilling to create platforms to lift up artists from marginalized communities so that the world can benefit from hearing about their experiences. 

Q: What do you do to hone your craft?

A: Reading the work of others is really important to continue learning and to see how others solved problems that may come up in my own writing. I also regularly take online webinars or other forms of classes and go to conferences to continue to develop my craft. 

Q: What tricks do you use to get out of writer’s block?

A: Unfortunately, I have let it get the better of me at times, but forcing yourself to sit in the chair and write almost always works. I think it can help to not put so much pressure on yourself with word count during those times and try to figure out an issue with character development or a plot point that has been holding you back. Then, that momentum can help create a spark to keep moving forward. Sometimes it helps to do a fun writing prompt or class to get back into the fun of writing and then see if it stirs thoughts on your WIP.

Q: Would you mind telling us about your writing process?

A: I’m what some would call a plantser, a mix of a plotter and pantser. I plot the main beats and spend a good amount of time developing my characters before I start writing, but I don’t like having every scene mapped out beforehand because I like the spontaneity that comes as the story develops and being able to see that through. 

Q: Do you have any other writing “hacks” that other writers might benefit from?

A: I think it’s helpful to spend some time figuring out what process works for you. For example, when you’re outlining a new project, try out different techniques like the snowflake method or the three-act structure. Some people need more details figured out, whereas that can be creatively stifling to others. Also, try to figure out what time of day works best for your creative energy. The answer might surprise you. It also is helpful to create a list of issues you do repeatedly in your writing that have to be addressed during editing. We all have certain ways of talking and that can often come out in our writing either in the way we structure sentences or words we overuse. If you keep a list, you’ll be more cognizant of these issues and able to avoid them in the first place or address them during editing. 

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: Everywhere. For my first book, Other Girls, a lot of the story developed when I was thinking about an object and how that object may be important to an individual. As a former evolutionary biologist, I tend to think about why things occur and exceptions to those “rules” and that can send me down some interesting paths for potential stories or themes to pursue. Sometimes inspiration comes from the lyrics of a song. 

Q: Would you like to share anything about your current work in progress?

A: Sure! I just released my second book in the Other Girls series, Beautiful Disasters. And I’m currently working on book three in that series, which is also set in New Orleans and focuses a lot on the culture and traditions of that city. Social justice issues are central to the story as well. 

Q: Do you consider yourself a minority? If so, would you be willing to share the ways in which you are?

A: I do consider myself a minority in that I’m a queer woman. And I’m so glad I am. 

Q: Does this impact what you write about? If so, why and how?

A: Definitely. I write sapphic fiction, so as a lesbian/queer woman, I am writing about my own community. I view writing as an act of resistance to stand up for my community and create the stories that we deserve to read. Stories where we find love and joy. Knowing that I’m part of a group of authors who help others see themselves in a story is pretty rewarding. 

Q: What do you wish you found more of in books today? Why?

A: That’s a good question. For me, and this is what my books are about, it’s relatable characters who haven’t had an easy life whether it be due to loss, grief, trauma, and so on, but who take the risk to reach for a better life and push themselves to grow along the way. In my new sapphic romance, Beautiful Disasters, alcohol addiction and depression come up, but the story still has a lot of humor and emotion to keep it from getting too serious. I think that is true to life. Tough things happen, but there’s also beauty, connection, and laughter along the way. 

I also think it’s really important to advocate for the inclusion of marginalized voices in literature and to support books from authors with diverse lived experiences. Learning from other’s experiences, not banning them or erasing them is the only way forward.

Q: What does representation in literature mean to you? Is it important to you? How so?

A: It’s one of the most important things to me. It’s why I write sapphic fiction and why I focus on the topics that I write about. I absolutely think queer books save lives. I know they saved mine. So it means a lot to be a published author of sapphic fiction and know that my books have reached people when they needed it and brightened someone’s day. 

Q: How do you think representation in literature affects culture? Does it?

A: Such a good question. In 2019, I organized a panel called the Generation Gap at the Golden Crown Literary Society annual conference. Lee Lynch, Ann McMan, Georgia Beers, Melissa Brayden, and Anna Burke were the panelists representing different generations, and the focus was to understand what was going on in the world when they started writing and how it informed what they wrote about and how that evolved over time. It was such an illuminating conversation seeing how their answers differed from one another and how they stayed the same as well. My only regret is that it wasn’t recorded. But I think artists have a unique opportunity to influence culture. Look at fashion, novels of certain periods, art. We are a product of our culture, but also the instigators of the evolution of thought, values, and beliefs. It’s a dynamic process and so cool to be a part of. 

Q: What advice would you give to new writers?

A: Don’t give up. It’s easy to look at a published novel that has been through multiple drafts and rounds of editing by the author, developmental editor, copy editor, and proofreader and compare that to your first draft and only see the distance between the two. You don’t get to see the first draft of that other novel. If you did, you’d probably feel much better about your own first draft. But we only get better by continuing. Continuing to write and to hone our craft. There is no deadline on our goals. Also, don’t forget to enjoy the process of writing. A lot of things will come with being published—some great, some not so great—but don’t forget to enjoy the magic that happens when you write because that’s what it’s all about.  

Q: What do you wish someone had told you when you were finding your path?

A: Don’t give up. Writing can be a solitary path and it’s really important to find others to talk to about writing and to cheer you on as you go, especially when things are tough. 

Q: Do you have any work already out there that you would like to talk about? If so, please tell us about the project, why you wrote it, and what you hope readers will take from it.

A: My debut novel was a sapphic romance called Other Girls. It was a GCLS Goldie finalist in contemporary romance and focused on themes of loss, grief, bullying, and self-worth. My newest release, Beautiful Disasters, returns to New Orleans and tells the story of Drea Cordeira and Cassie Sullivan, who were secondary characters in Other Girls. It’s an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance about authenticity, vulnerability, and found family. Many of the characters from Other Girls appear in Beautiful Disasters, and it was really fulfilling to be able to continue that world in this new book. Drea is a captivating character and so it was important to me to share her story. I hope readers enjoy it. 

Q: Where can readers find your work? Please share links and pertinent information.

A: My website, averybrooksauthor.com, has information on all of my books, including the poetry anthologies I edited, and where you can buy them. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky @averybrooksauthor. 

Q: What would you like to share or say to the Underground Bookshelf audience that hasn’t already been brought up?

A: Thanks for supporting writing by diverse authors!

Q: Thank you for sharing your thoughts, today. Any final words?

A: Thank you for having me!