ARIA Expo Blog Tour, Leigh Brown & Victoria Corliss

Mike:  Hi, Leigh and Victoria.  I’m happy to have two more Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) to introduce to my Overlords fan base.  As with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview.  Here we go!

Mike:  Leigh and Victoria, please introduce yourself to my Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.

Leigh:   Hi!  My name is Leigh Brown.  I grew up in New Hampshire, but I've lived in Rhode Island for over thirty years so I consider myself a "native".  In my other life, I was a corporate financial analyst and then spent many years as a decorative painter.  I met Vikki in 2007 and as we became great friends, we realized that we both were interested in writing.  We decided working together would be beneficial.  We finished our first novel Second Chances in September, 2013.

Vikki: Hi. Victoria is my proper name but my family and friends call me Vikki. So you should too! I’m originally from Connecticut, but like Leigh, I’ve lived in Rhode Island for a long, long time with my husband and son. Prior to my writing career, I was a Marketing professional for thirty plus years. In 2009, I began dabbling in the craft of fiction writing, a lifelong passion of mine. In 2012, I became a full time writer.

Mike:  What are you working on these days and what’s the current status of that project?

Leigh:  Originally Second Chances was published as an e-novel, but we had people tell us that they would love to have a printed copy.  So, we self-published the book this past summer.  It's nice to offer both options. 

Vikki: People read e-novels on readers, tablets, even their phones these days. You can’t beat an e-novel for easy, convenient, and lightweight reading. But, I hope we never see the day that paperbacks go out of style. We are so excited to offer Second Chances in both formats at http://www.amazon.com.

Mike:  Can you tell the audience what inspires you to write?

Leigh:  Vikki and I laugh about how differently we are inspired to write.  I need to set aside a block of uninterrupted time and I write as though I was watching a television show or movie.  I get in a mindset and the details just come.  For instance, recently I wrote for 6 1/2 straight hours and wrote nearly twenty pages.  It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

Vikki:  Writing is my passion. It is also my job.  I write for several hours, every day, Monday-Friday, and sometimes on weekends if the creative juices are flowing.  I may write several paragraphs or several pages at a time. Leigh and I map out each chapter beforehand, so I always know what has to be accomplished on those pages. But how it happens just sort of comes to me as I stare at my computer screen.

Mike:  What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

Leigh:  I enjoy writing general fiction.  I like to write about things for which I have a personal reference. For example, our forthcoming novel, The Pie Sisters, is about three sisters who summered at a lake when they were children.  Both Vikki and I had summer lake cottages in our families, so many of the details in the story come from our own experiences.

Vikki: I agree with Leigh. I enjoy reading non-fiction books, but not doing the extensive research required of an author to ensure the accuracy of his/her writings.  Writing from the heart and from personal experience is a much more subjective process. Readers either relate to your story or they don’t, but no one can say it’s wrong.

Mike:  Any upcoming projects we should know about?

Leigh:  Lots! First and foremost, The Pie Sisters, our second novel will be available on Amazon soon!  We want to thank our loyal readers for waiting so patiently for this next Brown/Corliss collaboration. Vikki and I also have a very busy event schedule coming up including:

1) October 5—The Southern New England Women’s Expo at the Twin River Event Center, Lincoln, RI.

2) October 11-12--The Scituate Art Festival with colleagues from the Association of Rhode Island Authors to sell copies of Second Chances. 

3) November 1—Cumberland Public Library’s Adult Writer’s Workshop, Cumberland RI.  We will be sharing our writing experiences and thoughts on how to publish a book. 

4) November 8—The Second Annual Author’s Expo at the West Warwick Civic Center.

Vikki:  Three words: The Pie Sisters.  In many ways, this book was a walk down memory lane for both of us. It was such a joy to write. We are very excited to share it with all of our readers.

Mike:  OK, time for some quick ones, ready?  Favorite movie?

Leigh: At the risk of exposing my childish humor, I just love the movie Bridesmaids.

Vikki: The Princess Bride

Mike: Favorite food or dish to make?

Leigh: I love ANYTHING that involves Buffalo chicken; but I make a mean lasagna.

Vikki: I just love to cook, period.

Mike:  Favorite place you have ever visited?

Leigh: My favorite place to visit is Bermuda; really a slice of heaven.

Vikki: I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to have visited many different places.  Right now, I’d love to make a return trip to Ireland and Scotland.

Mike:  Favorite music band?

Leigh: My favorite band is tough. I could easily reel off bands from the 1980s and 1990s that are long dissolved. For a current band, I would say the Zac Brown Band.

Vikki: I’m an 80s girl through and through but I like a lot of the newer music as well. I also became a fan of country music five or six years ago.

Mike:  Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of yours!

Leigh: I don’t have a single favorite book. I have favorite authors and will read most of what they have written. John Grisham, David Baldacci, Dan Brown, Elin Hilderbrand, and Karen White, to name a few.

Vikki:  I read too much to have just one favorite book. But a few recent favorites include, Karen White’s House on Tradd Street series (fiction), and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (non-fiction).

Mike:  Leigh and Vikki, thanks for being such a good sport!  Is there anything you would like to leave my fans with?

Leigh: I think it’s an exciting time to be a Rhode Island author. The Association of Rhode Island Authors has well over 100 members who cover every genre. I would encourage your fans to explore and support the publications of local authors!

Vikki: Ditto

Mike: Leigh and Vikki, thanks for being part of this great blog series.  Please follow the links below to get in touch with Leigh and Vikki and most importantly, buy their books!

Their second novel, The Pie Sisters, is almost complete and is expected to be published by year end.