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Interview Brooke Passmore Author of Scarlet Woods

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Title: Scarlet Woods
Author: Brooke Passmore
Series: Scarlet Woods (#1)
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 2012




Past, future, and love all exist in the door through time.

Modern and independent seventeen year old Morgan Westbrook thought she had seen all there was to her home town of Scarlet, Georgia, but one day while walking in the woods behind her house she discovers a mysterious door masked behind the trees. After admiring the door’s timeless beauty she walks through its entrance to venture into more woods, but what she doesn’t know is that the door is a gateway through time that takes her back to the year 1863 during the days of the Civil War in Scarlet.

Without knowing that she had traveled back in time, she stumbles upon Danny Carson, an attractive young man who is appalled to see that Morgan is wearing skimpy modern clothes instead of a nineteenth century dress. Although they find each other completely different than anyone they’ve ever known, they cannot help but feel drawn to one another. After spending time in another century, she discovers that she's time traveled back to the year 1863 and that the door took her there. For months she and Danny journey back and forth through the door to experience the joys of traveling to both of their centuries. When dilemmas of unwanted marriage, slavery, and war are thrown at them, they must face the perils that time travel has delivered them in both the future and the past.




Where do the ideas for your books come from?

I am a huge daydreamer so I’ll always plot out different stories in my head about what wonderful trouble a boy and girl could get into. I have woods behind my house and walking through the trees clears my head and also gives me ideas. Having woods behind my house gave me inspiration to write Scarlet Woods in the first place. But I also have ideas after The Scarlet Woods Trilogy is done and I like to walk in the woods for inspiration even though the books I plan on writing don’t involve woods.

Have you ever co-written book/books? If so was it difficult? If not would you ever consider co-writing with another author?

I have never co-written anything really before, but if I ever co-written anything I’d do that with my dad. He has always talked about writing something with me for a little project and we always mean to but never seem to have time. If it wasn’t him I probably wouldn’t consider co-writing with someone. Two brains equals too different of opinions. I wouldn’t want to compromise on something that I truly care about like a book. Marriage is a place for compromising but writing heck no!

Where do you get your character names from?

I really don’t know. I’ll hear peoples’ names throughout my life and if I like a name enough it’ll stick with me. I have several names I have in mind for future characters in books after The Scarlet Woods series. I sometimes do need help with last names. Sometimes for inspiration I’ll get on facebook and browse through my friends and look at last names. I think that’s how I got Morgan’s last name Westbrook for Scarlet Woods haha.

What type of research goes into your writing?

I occasionally have to do big research for my books since they’re back in the civil war period. I will go on many historical sites that have helped me learn ladies’ undergarments and facts about slavery. I also have to make sure I have certain dates correct like the dates for when the Battle of Gettysburg took place.

Are your family and friends supportive of your writing?

My family is incredibly supportive of my writing. They build my spirits up about everything. My grandma was actually the first one to read my book haha. It was the first draft and I thought it really sucked but she ate it up and kept asking for more. I thought she would have been bored by it but she really loved it and wants me to give her hints on what comes in the second book since she’s excited to see what happens next. My best friend Bailey has read the latest version of Scarlet Woods and wouldn’t stop bugging me for more emails of the next pages she hadn’t read yet. She’d text me every now and then while reading and kept me informed on what part she had just read haha, I love her.

Do you remember when your interest in writing came about?

When I was a kid I was always coming up with stories while playing with my Polly Pockets or whenever my friends would come over we'd pretend to be princesses and mermaids in my pool. I started writing stories at a very young age, though none of them were well written at all since I was like nine.

Other than writing what are your interests?

I love movies! I love to read, don’t get me wrong, but I grew up with a  dad who is a videographer and watching movies as a family is a huge deal. I go to the movie theater at least once or sometimes four times a month. I also love movie soundtracks. I’ll listen to music from movie composers sometimes more often than music played on the radio.

Did you learn anything from writing your books, if so what was it?

I matured a lot while writing Scarlet Woods. I was 19 when I started writing it and finished it when I was 22. In all those years I learned so much about my writing style and myself. I learned that the book isn’t strong without strong characters or relationships. If the story doesn’t have characters you care about the story doesn’t work. If the main couple’s romance doesn’t connect with the reader then the reader doesn’t feel the connection to the couple either.

What are your current WIP? Can you share with us?

I am writing the second book to the Scarlet Woods Trilogy right now and I hope to be done with that soon. After that I’ll write the third and final installment of the series and then I'll be able to move on. I plan on writing a book that isn't a part of a series. It’s an intense, thrilling, contemporary love story that I've had in my head since I was in tenth grade. Part of it has been written but I can't truly focus on it until my Scarlet Woods Trilogy is done. After that I have an idea for another Trilogy that's more fantasy/science fiction. I just came up with the idea this year and have started writing that sometimes too, but the Scarlet Woods books come first. 

Faves

Food – Skittles, ribs, cheeseburgers, fries, okra

Color – royal blue, aqua, deep purple

Quote – The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

Movie – Titanic

Music – Country, Pop, Classical. (Florence and the Machine, The Civil Wars, Taylor Swift, Birdy, Ellie Goulding, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley)

This or That -

Day or Night – Sunshine!

Rain or Snow - Snow

Facebook or Twitter – Facebook J

Mac or PC – Mac

Coffee or Tea – Sweet tea


I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and am a 22 year old young woman who probably will never fully grow up. As a kid I played with Polly Pockets, swam in my swimming pool practically every day during the summer, and went on vacations to Disney World with my family (favorite days of my life). I loved telling stories as a kid by playing with my Polly’s and dressing up like princesses with my friends. Eventually everything that went on in my busy imagination I wrote down on paper in the late hours of the night.When I was in sixth grade I moved into a new house with woods directly behind my backyard. I’d walk about the woods and loved trampling through the creek or getting lost in the trees. These trips through the woods gave me my inspiration for my book trilogy Scarlet Woods. My main character in my book is Morgan who lives in a house where the woods are right behind her backyard. My love for trees and anything woodsy definitely shows in my book and I hope I painted a pretty picture in readers’ heads about what Scarlet Woods looks like.
My favorite candies are Skittles and M&M’s. I put ketchup on practically anything with meat (even with chicken quesadillas). I’m a great fan of Florence and the Machine, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Birdie, and recently The Civil Wars. My favorite books are The Hunger Games, Shiver, and Wither. My favorite movies are Titanic and Gone with the Wind. The Vampire Diaries is the wonderful TV show I’m obsessed with (I’m a Delena lover!!). I hate ads on youtube that I repeatedly have to skip every single time I want to listen to the newest song from Glee. I love to smile, laugh, and purposefully sing loud and off key whenever my brother is around just to pester him. I have a cat named Phoebe who we named after Phoebe from Friends, a yorkie named Coco who we named because he likes to eat Cocoa Puffs, and a shih tzu maltese we named Indy after Indiana Jones. My favorite princess is Cinderella but I think my personality is a tie between Ariel and Belle so they’re all my ultimate faves. If I could choose a century to time travel to I’d probably choose the Victorian age, the roaring 20’s, the 1950’s, or the 1940’s. I think the Victorian age and the 1940’s were probably the most romantic eras in history and the 20’s and 50’s would probably the most fun!


Places to find Brooke


Places to find Scarlet Woods

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