A Bookish Chat with 'Wounded' Harlyn Bryan @RaeOvSun #books #urban #romance

Harlyn Bryan (1985-) was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. At an early age Bryan expressed an interest in the arts, specifically writing, sketching and painting. Throughout her pre to late teens Bryan penned numerous poems, song lyrics, and short stories. In 2007 she self-published the novel Wounded to much local success. Her second novel, Wildfire, was released in May of 2017 with the second edition of Wounded following in November 2017. Bryan currently resides in the southern US with her husband and their three children.

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About the Book:

Title: WOUNDED
Author: Harlyn Bryan
Publisher: RaeOv Sun Publishing
Pages: 282
Genre: Urban Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Sometimes there is a sense of comfort in chaos that peace cannot provide. After a tragic murder on the streets of her old neighborhood Sierra Vincent left town vowing to never return to the place of her nightmares. It is by chance that she meets and falls for big time hustler Nick Maguire and from that point forward she finds herself once again entangled in the web of a war that she did not create. Follow her path back to a place she never wished to go and to a person that she believed she had left behind.

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Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I initially began writing this book in the early 2000s and about halfway through it I kind of stalled out. I was trying to write something outside of the norm for me since I primarily wrote what I like to call romantic dramas. I didn’t want to lose the drama by any means but I wanted to write something authentic to a life that I hadn’t experienced so it just kind of drifted into the background. I picked it up again a few years later after gaining some life experience as a young adult as opposed to being a teenager and was able to complete the second half. I released the first edition in 2007. It received a makeover during 2017.

Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

The most difficult aspect of writing Wounded for me was authenticity. I had to do some research and ask questions and really observe things that I hadn’t personally been exposed to in my life. I think it’s easy to write something that is happy and loving but it is more difficult to compose something that is gritty, raw, and not necessarily pleasant. I don’t feel like all of my characters are as much likeable as they are believable. You understand their choices without necessarily agreeing with them. You find yourself rooting for a criminal when normally you’d look down upon their actions.

The best advice I could give is to submerge yourself in what you are trying to write. Do the work. We as authors make up a lot but be true to what you are trying to exhibit.

Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

I self published my novel utilizing both Amazon (eBook) and LuLu.Com (paperback). I think they are great avenues for writers to be able to put out their own material and maintain complete creative control of their work.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

The most surprising thing to me was how easy the process was. It definitely took work to figure out formatting and navigating through portions of the self-publishing process but overall it wasn’t an unpleasant experience.

Q: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I actually released a romance novel titled Wildfire shortly before this release. Both pieces are novels that I wrote in my youth that have received face-lifts prior to publishing. Following up Wounded however are the working titles of Adenium and Minor Offenses. The first being an erotic thriller and the second a more socially conscious coming-of-age piece.

Q: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

That it was written by me! It’s completely unlike anything else that I’ve written before or since. I also ended up in a similar situation of loss like the novel’s heroine a few months after the original release in 2007.

Q: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

That trust is not a weakness. That everyone has a story and that no matter how ugly and raw it may be there can be a beauty to it and that beauty should be acknowledged.

Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?