I’d like to welcome author Fern Brady to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time:

Free time? I’ve heard of this mythical beast. All kidding aside, I love to read or binge watch shows and movies. On my next binge watch wish list is to see all the Star Wars movies and series and shorts and animated series in the chronological order that they would have happened if the Star Wars universe existed. That means it will be summer before I can even begin to expect to have enough time to be able to do this.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list:

Laundry. I have so much clothes that I could probably go at least six months without having to actually do laundry. However, I almost always wear the same clothes. I have a bad case of a closet full of nothing to wear. But if I can procrastinate laundry, I will.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave:

I need my posters and my dragon figurines and my sword collection. Having these and all my reference books as well as my book outline on sticky notes up on the wall make my writing space ready for me. Plus having the view of trees or water out the window. At home, I have two windows that let in sunlight and from which I see the beautiful trees that grow in our neighbor’s front yard. It’s a nice view, though I miss my old house where I could see to the backyard with our pool.

Things that distract you from writing:

Music with words will distract me from writing. I find myself singing along and listening to the lyrics and losing track of the storyline. Interestingly, I can write in a public space with people talking all around me, and I can write while others in my family watch the TV even when the sound of it flows up to my study. Yet, music with words, song lyrics, they do me in every time.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Finding time to write. Sadly, I don’t make enough money yet as a writer or publisher to be able to focus on this profession full time. I have a day job like most other authors. So finding time to write, making writing a priority in my allocation of time can be very difficult. Besides the day job, there are other things that require time such as family, laundry, cleaning house, cooking, and even other friends that need help. Finding balance between work and life and writing can be challenging.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Creating new worlds. I am a world builder. I love creating new cultures, languages, political affiliations, religious traditions, and all manner of other background elements that will make a story for my novel come to life. As a science fiction fantasy author, the universe of my books is vast and nuanced and creating the elements of it is the best part of my time as a creative writer.

Things you will run to the store for at midnight:

Okay full disclosure, I’ve never actually run to the store at midnight, but I have had door dash bring me donuts at midnight. Which I have to say I was surprised I found a donut shop that delivered that late, but then again I was like in New Orleans at the time, so they do have a lot more stores and shops open late. I think if I had to go out, it would probably be for something sweet like Oreos or cake or ice cream. I have a terrible sweet tooth.

Things you never put on your shopping list:

Vegetables. I don’t really like vegetables. I mean like potatoes, tomatoes, or avocado are great, but broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, yeah, no. I’m not a healthy food person as you can clearly tell. I’m getting better though at balancing my eating. Having been diagnosed with diabetes, I am scared enough to have made some adjustments and added more vegetables, but mostly just reduced amount of sweets and cut out sodas entirely.

Favorite snacks:

I love Target’s monster mix. That is yummy. Now they have a Peanut butter monster’s mix which is event better because I love peanut butter. Now when I’m really trying to be good, I enjoy an apple with lots of peanut butter.

Things that make you want to gag:

Oysters. To be honest, they just look dreadful, like snot. I’ve been told they aren’t actually gross in texture, but the look is just not appealing. I would also add escargot to this answer and Brussel sprouts. Though in all fairness to Brussel sprouts, a very dear friend once cooked some in the oven and they were delicious.

Something you’re really good at:

Training dogs. I’m actually really good at training dogs to behave for indoor living. I don’t use a lot of treats, just a few every once in a while. Instead, I use repetition and a lot of praise and hugs. Dogs really want to please you, so just showing them how proud you are that they sat until you told them to move will make them willing to keep doing it. They are the best and most noble of animals.

Something you’re really bad at:

Remembering people’s names. It is very hard for me to remember people’s names for some reason. It can be a terrible thing because many remember me because I’m the head of the Houston Writers Guild or because of Inklings Publishing, but then I’m standing there searching and getting nothing for who they are and I feel terrible. I don’t know what it is about it, but even when I was a teacher full time, I always had the kids in a seating chart so I could remember their names by looking at where they sat on my cheat sheet.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid:

I wanted to be an actress. I thought it would be so great to become an actress and be in movies. I grew out of it fast because I was too chubby to make it in Hollywood. For a short time, I wanted to be a lawyer, mostly because of my dad. But eventually, I realized that didn’t really fit as well. I loved being a teacher and still stay in the classroom as much as I can. Writing, however, has been at the heart of my life’s passion since I was a kid.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do:

I never dreamed I’d have my own company. I thought I would work for someone else always. I enjoy working for myself and helping authors get their books published. Being the head of the Houston Writers Guild is great as well for this very reason. But owning Inklings Publishing, watching it grow to the good reputation it has today, well, that’s something totally unexpected.

Something you wish you could do:

I wish I could retire to a small cabin in the highlands of Scotland and just write. Do nothing else but just write. NOW that’s the dream of a lifetime.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

I can’t honestly think of a good answer for this one except for maybe I wish I’d never had to learn to be resilient. When you are strong and resilient it’s because you’ve had to handle some difficult and heart wrenching things in your life. Honestly, I could have done without all the hard knock lessons and heartbreaking betrayals and losses. But, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t gone through what I did, so I guess they were needed.

Things to say to an author:

You don’t need to be published to feel like you’re a legitimate author; You don’t need anyone to tell you they like your writing to be a legitimate author; you don’t need anyone to even read it to be a legitimate author. You are an author because a story is in you, and you feel the need to write it. That’s what makes you a writer, an author. The fact that you desire to do it.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

So, when are you going to finish writing this book?

Favorite places you’ve been:

Oh, my favorite place to visit is Paris, France. There really is something magical about Paris and the heart of an artist. I’d love to get to go there again and just visit special places and sit and write in that energy of creativity and love of life. I am also really fond of Scotland. If I could live there, in those mountains by a lake, I would be in heaven.

Places you never want to go to again:

The dentist’s office. Honestly, if I could just avoid those people, life would be near perfect. It isn’t so much pain, because they numb the area, and you don’t really feel pain. Some discomfort afterwards for sure. It’s the noise and the vibration of the tools. Why can’t they find a way to make those machines less stressful in terms of the noises they make? Surely there must be something to be done about that?

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):

George Lucas, George R Martin, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King. To have a dinner party with these amazing authors and creators, to hear them talk about their writing process and share their journey with me would be so cool.

People you’d cancel dinner on:

As an introvert, I am actually very prone to canceling plans and often last minute. I’m all excited to see friends or family when I make the plan, but then, somedays, there’s that introverted part of me that just doesn’t want to go. It’s too peoply out there, and I prefer my happy little lair. Now, once I get myself out the door and am present with them, I enjoy every minute of it, but getting motivated to go can be hard. And if I’m going through a tough season, I’m definitely canceling on everyone. You’ve been warned.

The most exciting thing about your writing life:

Getting to create worlds and build characters that come alive in my mind. The sheer joy of the creative process, the map making, the background writing, the creation of symbols and other props of the world, the research into the science of things to extrapolate and see what marvels might be possible… all these are the things I love most.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life:

I wish I had chosen to be a writer sooner instead of doing the sensible thing and getting a job as a teacher. Make no mistake, I love teaching and those year’s in the classroom teaching social studies world cultures and reading and writing influenced my writing in marvelous ways. But if I could, I would go back to when I finished my masters, and forge a career as a writer of creative fiction from the word go. If anyone has a time machine, let me know and I am happy to help test it.

About Fern:

Fern Brady is the founder and CEO of Inklings Publishing. She holds multiple Masters degrees and several certifications. She began her professional life as a foreign correspondent, then taught for 15 years in Alief ISD. She has published numerous short stories, two children's picture books, and a couple of poems. Her debut novel, United Vidden, which is book one in her Thyrein’s Galactic Wall Series, was given a glowing review by Dr. Who Online, the official site of the fandom. It also won the silver medal in the Global Book Awards for 2022. She has returned to the leadership of the Houston Writers Guild, with whom she served as CEO for four years previously. She co-hosts Author Talk and is a member of various organizations in Houston, including Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (WiVLA), Blood Over Texas, Romance Writers of America, and American Booksellers Association. Follow Fern's writing at: www.fernbrady.com

You can contact her at: fernbrady@inklingspublishing.com