It's a special kind of friendship when you connect with someone purely based on a passion you share. That was the case for Brianna and I when we "met", albeit virtually, as interns for a fashion and lifestyle blog. She was in Hawaii and I in Texas. Nevertheless, we connected, became friends, and have been ever since. One of the greatest joys of my life was watching Brianna channel the biggest heartache imaginable into a poetry collection and then her debut novel. A brilliant and thought-provoking debut novel, might I add. We both agree that writing is good soul work; it allows you to delve deeper into the human psyche and acts as a saving grace for those of us that have much to say and many stories to tell. Brianna is a phenomenal storyteller, inextricably kind, and beautiful inside and out.
I am so excited to share Brianna with you! She is truly inspirational in so many ways and, after reading this interview, I don't think you'll have any trouble seeing that.
*Disclaimer: I did ask Bri if I could edit out part of the who inspires her question but I was categorically told NO.*
What is your job?
Previously, I oversaw the blog for the greatest publisher ever, The Parliament Press. Recently I’ve had to soul search and dial back some; COVID restrictions considered, our son’s schooling is affected and we’ve made the choice to school him at home for the semester. So! That leaves me a YA Fantasy author.
How did you end up in your chosen career?
I never saw myself writing books growing up. Was it my dream job? Yes. But it seemed farfetched, and for some reason, unattainable. I went to school for Journalism, thinking that was the writing I was meant to do—and I was dead wrong about that. Four years later, my husband and I went through a family loss where the only thing that got me through it was writing this random story about a spoiled princess and sullen monster. It developed into a manuscript that got picked up and here I somehow am, by the grace of happenstance and many a late night.
Where does your passion for storytelling come from?
I have always loved the persuasive, enticing nature of writing, starting with my elementary school persuasive essays and then in high school and college journalism classes, so on, so forth. My love of storytelling boils down to a personal level. I’m an empath so I tend to study people whether I want to or not, and I ended up discovering this helped when I was assigned to do features on people on campus for the high school monthly. From then on, in all ventures of my writing, I’ve discovered this need to immediately go to a person’s/ character’s wants and needs. What are their desires versus what society wants for them? What do they long for and what do they despise? What is the lie they tell themselves and who helps them face it head on?
How has motherhood affected your work?
In more ways than one, for sure. On the positive side, I only started writing books as a new mom, so it has actually gotten easier! And at the same time, they don’t stay young forever, so I have had to be creative and sometimes sneaky in my research and drafting. Writing book two of the Disenchanted series is the hardest thing because we have two kids now, and they’re gaining this unnerving independence which makes me simultaneously proud and terrified. So it’s like, technically I should be able to get more words in now with a 3 and 1 year old, but at the same time I find myself writing less? It’s helped whip my time management into shape, for sure.
What obstacles did you face in getting your work out there?
None that I am aware of so far, and I’m thankful for that. I have been blessed with an incredible team within my publisher, an amazing support system of family and friends also gracious strangers who are so open to reading a new author’s work. Word of mouth is everything so if anything, an author can be their own obstacle. It was probably me, until I discovered that I had to be unafraid in talking about my work and the characters I’d spent so much time on. Introduce yourself, and by taking time to get to know your individual readers, people will remember your name and face.
What is your proudest moment/biggest accomplishment?
My proudest moment was when my dad told me he’d read it. He’s an avid reader but loves Dan Brown and James Patterson. I knew he’d gotten a copy but didn’t expect him to read it! He told me that he’d been in a recent reading slump but this book pulled him back in again. It totally made me cry.
Have you come across any issues being a person-of-color in your industry?
No, but I also chalk that up to being very new and perhaps naive in the scene, and so maybe I am ignorant to things that might’ve been issues. I know that they do indeed exist. Right now, honoring OwnVoices authors is so important and yet, somehow a topic of hot discussion. Since I was a child I enjoyed stories about medieval lands and towns, faraway kingdoms and what have you—those are the fairytales we grow up exposed to here. There can be a lot of pressure for immigrant families and descendants to assimilate. We don’t even necessarily do it on purpose anymore; I’m a second generation Filipino-American, and until recently I did not think twice about this factoring into my writing career. The most beautiful thing about the OwnVoices movement is it encouraging and empowering POC to write cultural matter if they so choose. We have the agency to do so, but sometimes we do not realize it. My next project is a pre-colonial Philippines/ Austronesian fantasy work, but not without due diligence.
Advice for people who want to tell stories?
It’s important to write for yourself first and foremost. People either love or scoff at Disenchanted and that’s to be expected for anything you put out into the world, but I try to remember that I wrote the book I wanted to read, told the message I wanted to tell. Cultural inclusion, highlighting and recognizing privilege, language preservation is something that resonated with me personally, and also as I’ve learned, the Breton/ Brythonic Celtic peoples.
Who inspires you?
Jason Tanamor, whose Aswang-inspired novel, Vampires of Portlandia, releases in September; Krys Janae, who narrates the upcoming Disenchanted audiobook and is a fellow Fil-Am Fantasy author who shares a love for medieval studies; Olivia Swenson, who helped me flesh my world and encouraged me to dig deep with my characters; Loni Crittenden, who content edited Disenchanted with my publisher and is a force to reckon with in this industry (just you wait); Aimee Jones, the incredibly talented host of this blog and women empowerment website, journalist/ fashion blogger extraordinaire. Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo, too!
What’s next for you?
Honestly, just adjusting to online learning life and writing Disenchanted 2 and outlining my second work-in-progress!
What did you learn while writing your book about yourself?
I learned that I am capable of so much more than I had originally thought. And so are most people.
Check out Brianna on social media:
Instagram: @petit.beignet
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