Author Interview with Brooke Riley!

Hello to all my lovely readers!

Today we have a special interview with the amazing author, Brooke Riley! She’s the author of the already well-loved novel How We Rise, which is set to publish tomorrow! Whoo! I actually have the privilege of starting off this wonderful book tour, which I feel is quite the honor 😉 But now, I’m sure you’d all rather not read about me rambling on, so we’ll get right to the interview!

1. What is the first story you ever wrote? What can you tell us about it?

The first story I wrote was a fantasy story about a princess and an evil mage who came to take over the kingdom. The concept, itself, is pretty good. The execution of it, at the time, was horrible. I do plan to go back to it one day and give it a facelift. This is the first story I took seriously, anyway. Before I began writing as a passion, I hated it, but I know I had to write short stories for school, as well. But I don’t really remember any of them, hahaha.

2. If you had to pick a favorite character you’ve ever written, who would it be and why?

Ooh, that is a tough one because I love all my babies. I’m going to go ahead and use a character from the How We Rise trilogy just because that’s what we’re talking about today and I am most familiar with them. I would have to say Peter. Peter has such a complex character arc beyond what is in this first book. His arc has been, in some ways, therapy for me. I love him so much.

3. What do you hope readers will take away after reading How We Rise?

To stand up if they don’t like something. Stand for your morals and beliefs, even if it means rebelling against something you usually play safe against. I want people to also take away that we all have inner demons we face and we can overcome that.

4. What has been the most difficult part about publishing?

Hahah, can I say all of it? But, no seriously each step has been a difficult one to overcome. And each time, I learned what not to do with future books. You can research as much as you want until you are doing the thing, it is going to be so difficult to figure out. The hardest process, for me, was formatting. I learned how to format my own books, thanks to friends of mine who knew how and YouTube videos. I can’t say that I won’t try to improve my skills, but the formatting came out so clean and nice that I’m honestly really glad I learned the process and saved money that way.

5. What is your favorite scene in How We Rise? (No spoilers!)

Ooh, my favorite scene is kind of a spoiler so I can’t tell you that one entirely, but the second favorite scene of the book is probably when Raegan and Peter have a deep conversation while unloading the moving van. He’s just returned to Texas and they’re taking a break. (Texas summers are no joke, my friends.) And they’re just talking. I love that moment between them because you really see how their dynamic as best friends still remains even though they had distance between them for so long. 
6. Lastly, what’s one thing you’d tell younger you concerning writing? (All aspects of it)

I love this question so much! I’d tell myself to not rush the process. Many times I rushed and nearly published with zero knowledge of what I was doing and it wouldn’t have been something I could be proud of. I wanted to make sure I published as a teenager so I could feel like I accomplished something huge and that is definitely the wrong reason to publish and become a teen author. I have so much respect for teen authors and those who actually knew what they were doing. But for myself personally, it would not have been a finished product I was happy with. So I’d tell myself to slow down and enjoy the process as it comes because everything will work out the way it needs to. 

Book Blurb

When the truth gets you killed… will you still Rise?

Raegan MacArthur is content with her simple life. But lately, her life hasn’t been all that simple. She can’t drown out the screams in the night coming from the military base up the road. And she can’t ignore the truth behind them.

Peter Daniels thought moving back to Texas with his mom for senior year was a good thing. A chance to reconnect with old friends and finally feel at home again. But his life now can never be the same as it was six years ago.

Signs of government overreach are everywhere, and an unknown- yet familiar- enemy lurks in the shadows, watching their every move. The government is clamping down tighter and tighter on anyone who resists their ways. Raegan and Peter have to make the hardest decision they’ve ever faced: will they go quietly to save their lives… or will they rise? 

Author Bio

Brooke Riley has been seriously writing novels since she was fifteen, the thrill of creating new worlds and broken humans with a greater purpose is something that inspired her to begin writing in the first place. Before then, she hated writing but loved books and literature. She’s always been drawn to new worlds and fascinating books. Not limiting herself to one genre, you will find she writes in dystopian one day, contemporary another day, and even historical the day after that.

When she’s not writing, Brooke is probably thinking of some random idea for a new novel that’s come to her in the most inconvenient of times, and how soon she can make a Pinterest board and Spotify playlist for it. 

Now, here’s the rest of the stellar line-up for this blog tour!

Tuesday, May 19th- Me, Book release day+ aesthetics @ https://wordsinhersoul.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, May 20th- Lia, Book review @ http://lilahsmusicals.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 21st- M.K, Author Interview @ http://sarcasticscribblings.blogspot.com/

Friday, May 22nd- R.F. Gammon, Review/book shoutout @ https://thefloridsword.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 23rd- Elizabeth Dragina, Guest post @ https://elizabethdragina.wordpress.com/

Sunday, May 24th- Nicole Dust, book shoutout @ http://legendofawriter.blogspot.com/

Monday, May 25th- Merie Shen, book shoutout @ https://imperialscribis.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, May 26th- Bree Dawn, author interview @ https://thelongvoyage.org/

Wednesday, May 27th- Lisa, book review @ https://thisinkwell.blogspot.com/p/home.html

Wednesday, May 27th- Sarah Rodecker, guest post @ http://sarahrodeckerwriter.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 28th- Clare, book review @ http://moviesmeetmatch.blogspot.com/

Friday, May 29th- R.F. Gammon, author interview @ https://thefloridsword.blogspot.com/ 

Saturday, May 30th- Allison Riera, book review @ http://allisonriera.blogspot.com/

Sunday, May 31st- Lila Kims, book review @ http://lilakimswriter.blogspot.com/

If you’d like to purchase this amazing book (I’m reading it now myself), then you can find it here! (Please note that it might be available elsewhere as well, but this was the only platform I was aware of)