Visit with Courtney Brandt

www.thelinebook.com

Today we're visiting with Courtney Brandt, author of the LINE series, which revolves around one of my all-time favorite things - band! The series includes THE LINE, A FINE LINE, and the newest title, KEEPING IN LINE, which was published by iUniverse on 11/23/09!



With many familiar characters returning for an encore performance and some new faces you won't want to miss, audiences will definitely want to check out the latest in Courtney Brandt's young adult marching band series.

In KEEPING IN LINE, sophomore Bronwyn Flueger eagerly anticipates her upcoming season as a member of the highly competitive Forrest Hills snare section. Disappointed by a slow start and lack of chemistry with the upperclassmen that surround her, Bronwyn decides to take matters into her own hands. With a not-so-hidden agenda, she turns to cute senior drum major, Drew O'Malley, and together they devise a way for Bronwyn to become a drum line insider. When their plans don't go as anticipated, the season takes an unexpected turn. With the entire band caught in the middle, will Forrest Hills be able to fulfill another championship year?

Full of humorous twists, a memorable supporting cast, and lots of marching over a challenging semester, KEEPING IN LINE is a must for the library of any marching band member or alumni!



I had the chance to ask Courtney a few questions about her life, her writing, and, of course, band! I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did!

If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

Although she is currently unpublished, Ayah of Macedonia (no last name) would be amazing to meet. Without giving too much of her story away, she’s got a long history, speaks every language, and has her own super yacht. I think it would be fascinating to hang out with her!

Your own six-word memoir.

Great question! Here goes: Southern girl travels, writes, and explores.

Twitter your newest or upcoming release in 140 characters or less.

Digital copies of the entire LINE series are available for $3 each!

You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books. Who would you choose and why?

Betsy Ray Warrington from the BETSY-TACY series by Maud Hard Lovelace. The books were (and still are) a favorite of mine. I would love to talk to Betsy about life in Deep Valley and, of course, Joe Willard.

What was your favorite book growing up as a teen?

LIONESS RAMPANT by Tamora Pierce. The entire SONG OF THE LIONESS series was one I read many times. Alanna is such a strong female character.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer! Seriously. I have a picture of myself sitting on the front steps, crayons in hand with my notebook at the age of 7. Although I’ve swapped writing tools, I still love telling stories.

Your favorite subject in high school – and your least favorite.

Since drumline was actually a class (at least during the fall semester), I’m going to count it as a subject and it was definitely a favorite. Drumming every day with my friends for an hour was awesome. Least favorite? Math. I was never very good at it.

The one book everyone in the world should read.

SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse.

The book you wish you had written.

FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand.

Your five favorite reads from 2010 (books you read during the year; they do not have to have been published during 2010).

I finally downloaded and devoured THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy by Suzanne Collins (team Peeta FTW!). I liked THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin and although this might ‘out’ my guilty pleasure, I found DREAMFEVER (and the entire FEVER series) by Karen Marie Moning, a lot of fun to read. While I mix up my reading quite a bit with my local book club, I view novels as escapism and love to get caught up in new (well written) worlds.

Also, as a resident in Dubai, for the record, I am completely missing libraries! They are places I will never take for granted again.

The 2010 release you’re most looking forward to reading.

It was MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins – I was on vacation and was checking my Kindle every five minutes until it uploaded. I started reading it on our return flight and finished it somewhere over Saudi Arabia.

Your family has the chance to describe you for an interview. What ten words would they say describe you best?

Motivated, creative, ambitious, thoughtful, random…that’s about it. Maybe I should get them a thesaurus!

You have the chance to go back and change a scene from one of your previous releases. What book would you choose, what scene would you change, and how would you alter it?

Ah, the power of digital releases. I did this recently when updating THE LINE for its Kindle release. I didn’t make any major changes, but I think every author continues to enhance and improve their writing and revisiting a book written four years ago isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As I am self-published, I like to break the standards of regular publishing. In KEEPING IN LINE, I included a number of short stories at the end of the novel (relating to all of the books). I think these little vignettes help to enhance character development and tell different sides of the story from other perspectives than the protagonist.

You’ve invented a new national holiday. What is it called, and what does it celebrate? (Plus, would we get the day off of school and work??)

Diversity Day – I think it would be fun to smash all the various national days around the world into one large holiday. Each country has a unique way to celebrate itself, and it would be interesting to share with others. For example, Thanksgiving is very American, and it was fun to include all our various ex-patriate friends in the tradition last year. My husband and I are definitely planning on doing it again this year.

Our friends were like, “All you do is eat?”

And we said, “Yes, but each family has their own tradition of what to eat.”

Using the letters J L W (my initials!), create the title of your next bestseller. (For example, Jumping Love Walrus.)

Just Love Winking. (I realize this would be a very strange book).

What is your astrological sign? How closely does it match your personality?

Although I am a Pisces (St. Patrick’s Day, for the record), there are only parts of my personality that work within the star sign. More interesting, I had a chance to meet my identical birthday twin (a friend born same day, same year as me in Australia) and we’re actually a lot alike!

You’re going off your diet for one day and only eating food from restaurants. What do you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? (Include the restaurant each meal comes from.)

Breakfast – Chik-Fila chicken biscuit w/lemonade! (Again, my ex-pat status is showing here – but this is the restaurant I miss the most from the States!)

Lunch – Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwich from CPK

Dinner – Sushi from Rockin’ Dan’s Sushi on Ventura in the Valley

What is your ultimate vacation destination?

Antarctica! It’s my goal in life to visit all seven continents – I’ve got five covered so far, and have lived in three.

The world has suffered from a one-day only loss of power. You have no cell phone, computer, lights, or anything else that requires a computer, cell battery, or electricity. What do you spend the day doing?

Reading, writing (by hand) and playing cards with friends at the beach.

If you weren’t an author, what job would you be doing?

Something in the entertainment industry. I worked off and on in the film/television industry before moving to Dubai, and although it’s a lot of hard work, it’s fun to be a part of.

You get the chance to star in an upcoming film release. What movie would you star in for your acting debut? (If you can’t choose an upcoming film, you can choose a past release.)

Another excellent question! I would have loved to have been in Inception. I’m not sure what role I would have, but to be a part of such a great film would be incredible.

You’re invited to a White House function, and you have the chance to give a 10-minute speech to the President and everyone else attending. What do you speak about?

I’m a strong believer in equal rights for everyone. I think people should be able to marry whoever they want without interference from the government. Given how many other countries have no problem with this, I would like to see the same liberties granted in the United States.

Your publisher has instructed you to write a new series based on an endangered species. What animal do you choose?

I’m a little sad to see so many animals listed on the endangered list. :( In the spirit of making this humorous, I would choose the Ghost Bat, mostly because I feel that’s already a great title to a book and would generate a lot of interest.

A movie is being made of ONE of your books. Which book is it, and who will star as the main characters?

A FINE LINE – I’ve already written the screenplay! Now all I need is a production company and a couple million dollars. Seriously, I think the pageantry of marching band would lend itself to the big (or small) screen. I would like to see Ellen Page (circa Juno) as the lead character, Lucy Karate, and I’d like to see Chace Crawford or Kevin Zegers as her love interest, British jock, Wes Mallinson.

Interested in reading the film? Check it out here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20465077/A-Fine-Line-Screenplay

The paranormal genre is big in teen/YA literature right now. Most bestsellers feature vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels, or the like as a main character. In your opinion, why are teens currently fascinated with all things paranormal?

It’s fun to think of a world different than this one. Fiction, movies, music are all forms of escapism – and I think paranormal activity plays into that.

You’re writing a book where you can change one major historical event. Which event do you change? (For example, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t assassinated, or Japan never bombed Pearl Harbor.)

This is a concept which already affects one of my (unpublished) characters. From her view, and mine too, I would take back the Holocaust.

Remember those “classics” that you were made to read in high school English class? What was your favorite, and which title should students never have to be subjected to reading?

I had some excellent teachers for English, and enjoyed a variety of the Classics. The thing about reading classic works is that you would probably never do it on your own, but when forced to study, it’s actually kind of interesting. I loved Jane Austen (we did an entire unit on her), but would never force anyone to read THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE – it just didn’t do anything for me.

Someone tells you that you’ll never publish another book that you write. Do you still keep writing?

Yes. Writing is something I do every day…also, there are plenty of avenues to share stories with the world that are not through published literature. (I’m looking at you, fanfiction!)

A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Write. Write every day. When you’ve written enough, edit the hell out of your manuscript. While you’re doing that, research who would be the best agent for your work. Let others read and give you feedback on your work. At the end of the day, I think the industry is one you only learn about through trial and error – so why wait? Get started now!

**Thanks so much to Courtney for visiting with us today! Be sure to check out her website, listed above, or you can also find her at Facebook, on MySpace, at her YouTube Channel, or email her directly at courtneybrandt@hotmail.com.

Courtney has promised to stop by later today to see what we're discussing and to answer any questions, so be sure to leave any comments or questions you have for her in the comments section. She's also going to be rewarding three lucky posters today - two will receive a copy of THE LINE, and one will receive a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.com, in order to download all three books in the LINE series!

Post, ask, and comment away!