Monday Author Interview with Lee Brazil

I’d like to welcome Lee Brazil to the couch this week. I’m so glad you’re here. Your books are fascinating and oh so hot! But you didn’t come here for me to chatter on about your books. Let’s get this interview started! Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I think it would be incredibly difficult not to base our writing on people and events from real life. I mean, that's the foundation of who we are, our life experiences. You may not recreate an event or a person from your life on paper, but every time you ask yourself, would a person really do this? Can that really happen? You're answering that question based on your own experience of people and life. So yeah, there's a little bit of my favorite student from my teaching experience in Mischa Blake, and there's a little bit of me in every one of my characters.


Very true. I never thought about it quite that way, but you’re right. Grin. What books have most influenced your life most?

I've read three books that I consider life altering – those are John Steinbeck's East of Eden, Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. There are others that I liked or even loved, but from each of these three books I took something that guides me to this day, whether it's a deeper understanding of human nature and familial relationships, a belief in the power of the individual to affect change, or the inexplicable need to pack towels for every trip and a firm conviction that the meaning of life, the universe and everything is 42.


Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

I have to give kudos here to my writing group, The Story Orgy. We gathered over a year ago to have fun and develop as writers by using prompt writing. What I found here, was the best group of supportive writers, critical readers, and friends that a writer could ask for.

Sounds like a great group. Makes me want to join. Do you see writing as a career?

Of course. Once I was a teacher, for about fifteen years. I spend more time and effort on my writing than I ever spent in the classroom- and that includes time spent at home grading papers. Like teaching, it's not the most lucrative of career choices, but it is extremely rewarding in many ways.


I taught school, too and I agree it’s rewarding, but not fiscally sometimes. Funny how that works. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I've written maybe a dozen books- but I write novellas, meaning they are between 15K and 40K. So they're short. My favorite has to be Keeping House, the first book in the Truth or Dare series. It's a May December romance between a young rich man who is looking for a job on a dare form his brothers and an older man who needs a housekeeper. One of the things I love most about it is the two supporting characters, Dex and Trick. Dex and Trick are twin brothers, who are extremely close. I liked them so much that I had to bring them back in the second book in the series as the love interests of the second Blake brother, Terry.


And they are yummy to read about. What animal do you think makes the best pet and why?

I have both a cat and a dog. I think cats make the best pets for writers, because of their attitude. A cat chooses you, you don't choose it. When it wants attention, it gets it. If you don't respond quickly enough to the cat's demands, you get it.

I agree. We have cats and neither one chose me. The DOG chose me. Sigh.Do you have any strange handwriting habits, like capitalizing all your “r”s or dotting your “I”s with heart (or anything like that)?

Oh, man- back in school many moons ago, I created my own shorthand- to make taking notes easier and faster. Yeah, we didn't have tape recorders, or i-anythings...we wrote notes, by hand in these notebooks...with wiry spiral bindings...but...that's a different story. Anyway- I figured out a way to write s, j, t, and l- so they all looked the same. I broke a lot of my shorthand habits, but I can't get rid of that one, so a lot of my letters look exactly the same when I write by hand.

Sounds complicated, but then no one can read my handwriting its that bad. Boxers, briefs, boxerbriefs…. Or commando? Why?

*Sigh* Commando. Why not? Just watch out for the zipper and it makes life a lot easier. *blushes*

Ouch. I can see where that might be a hassle. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

When I was in high school, I had a terrific crush on this boy in my biology class. He sat across from me at the lab table, and I liked that quite a bit because I could gaze at him under my lashes when no one was looking. One day, the guy behind him yanked his chair out form under him. It was so funny, I couldn't stop laughing. Like, stomach muscles aching, face reddening, heaving for breath, falling off my chair laughing. No point hoping after that, huh?

Grin. It’s high school. Things like that happen. What were you doing at midnight last night?

At midnight last night, I was curled up in bed, trying to sleep. It was difficult because E was curled up behind me, and the Great Dane was on the other side of him, and the cat was on the other side of me. We were like a giant jig saw puzzle, and it was so uncomfortable. I was terrified I would knock the cat on the floor and piss her off. Yes, I'm afraid of my cat.


I’m afraid of the cat’s claws. They have a tendency of being dug into my foot if it moves under the blanket. And then there’s litter toes. Ugh.

Do you want to know more about Lee Brazil? Here’s the official bio:

I’m an avid reader and former teacher of grammar and composition who believes that falling in love is the grandest adventure anyone can have. In a nutshell, that’s every story I have to tell.
Relocating from the crazy pace of life in Southern California's Orange County to the beautiful and leisurely atmosphere of the Illinois countryside has given me the time to indulge the desire to write that I set aside when I started teaching fourteen years ago. Readers can find out more about me and my writing by visiting me online.


Here’s where you can find Lee On-line:

Story Orgy FB page - http://www.facebook.com/SOGroup

Truth or Dare FB page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Truth-or-Dare/262636600433556

Lee on FB http://www.facebook.com/lee.brazil

Lee on Twitter @leebrazil

Lee Blog http://leebrazilauthor.blogspot.com/

Want to know more about his Truth or Dare series? Here you go!

Amazon , All Romance Ebooks And Breathless Press

Truth or Dare. The Blake twins upped the ante in their weekly poker game. When Terry loses, his debt of telling the truth sets him free.
Terry has lived his life according to the guidelines, by studying accounting, getting an MBA, and working for the family business. And while his work has its own rewards, something has been missing, and his eyes have only just been opened to what--or rather who--that could be.

Terry’s brothers have upped the ante in their weekly poker game. A Truth or Dare challenge. Terry can handle any dare his brothers dish out, but the demand for Truth is a different matter. Terry is honor-bound to divulge secrets he’s been ashamed to admit even to himself in the privacy of his own bedroom.

Twins Dex and Trick have finally found acceptance for their relationship in the homes of their friends. They’d never do anything to jeopardize that newfound sense of belonging. Fooling around with their friend Mischa Blake’s prissy, domineering, oh-so-sexy older brother is risky. A one-night stand might be okay, but they close ranks afterward, pushing Terry aside.

Terry isn’t going to back down without a fight. Dex and Trick are meant to be his, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make them realize all the safety and protection they need can be found in his arms.