Interview with Romantic/Comedy Author Brooke Williams

Brooke Williams is a former radio announcer turned stay at home mom/freelance writer/author. She has two daughters and has been married since 2002. Brooke has written numerous novels including “Someone Always Loved You,” “Beyond the Bars,” and the recent romantic comedy “Wrong Place, Right Time.” She looks forward to releasing “Mamarazzi” in August and her first children’s book “Baby Sheep Gets a Haircut” in February 2016.

“Accept This Dandelion is a humorous romance, full of amusing and witty narratives. The author not only wrote a sweet love story, but the humor she added made this story delightful. I was chuckling and even laughing out loud at times because it was hard to keep quiet. When Renee decides to be on a dating show, everything seems to go wrong in each interview, but Ben thinks she’s fun and charming despite her foibles. The author has developed the characters so well that I fell in love with them. This is a story that would be fun to read over again.” –Review by Author Linda Weaver Clarke

Welcome to my blog, Brooke. Please tell us about your novel, Accept This Dandelion.

Thanks so much for having me today! It’s an honor! This book is about a radio announcer named Renee Lockhart. She wants to move up at work and get a position on the Morning Show, but her boss doesn’t think her public image is large enough. Her co-worker signs her up to try out for the localized version of “The Bachelor” TV show…in part to help her heighten her public image and also to help her get a date! When Renee lands on the show, she has low expectations for the outcome…and let me tell you, nothing goes right for this girl! Talk about a date gone bad! Again and again! We get to see all of her dating disasters and groan right alongside her as they turn from bad to worse…on TV, no less!

Where did you get your inspiration for this book?

I enjoy “The Bachelor” TV show and I have to say, my favorite part are the bloopers and outtakes they show at the end sometimes. The show, to me, is an escape from everyday life. It puts a smile on my face and it’s the only show I follow on a regular basis. So it really inspired the book because the book is about a localized version of the dating show. Probably some of my own bad dates inspired it as well, but I never did anything quite the way Renee does! I also gave Renee a job very similar to what I used to do in radio. I’ve heard it’s best to write what you know and I was in radio for a decade so I know how that world works. Most of all, the story came to me and I was inspired by the idea itself!

That is hilarious. I love hearing how a story comes about. What kind of research did you have to do?

Just watching TV and going on bad dates! Ha. I don’t often research. I prefer to make things up. Hence the reason I’m a fiction author and not a journalist. I had enough of a background in both radio and TV to pull this book off without any research. That isn’t the case for ALL of my books. Mamarazzi, for example, is based largely in and around LA, a place I’ve only ever visited once. Some books take more and some, I just make it up! J

Hey! If it works, that’s all that matters. Haha. Please tell us about the main character in this story and what you love about him or her.

Renee Lockhart is a hot mess, but she’s a real girl and someone I felt like I could really relate to. She’s not a size 0. She’s a normal, average American woman! She doesn’t care about hair and make-up or what she’s wearing either. She wants people to see her for who she is. She is ambitious and wants to work her way to the top in her job, but her reason for wanting to be on top is sweet…she simply wants to be able to help more people with her station at the top of the totem pole. But she’s also pretty set in her ways and stubborn. She has her ideas about people and her opinions on how things should be, whether she’s right or not! She also seems to be a natural born klutz…at least when it comes to dates! The things that happen to this poor girl on the local TV show…!!

I absolutely loved Renee. She had me laughing quite a bit. Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

I only cut my hair once every two years. IT used to be once a year, but I’ve cut back. Ha. I like my hair longer in the summer and shorter in the winter, strangely enough. In the summer, long is good because you can put it up in a variety of ways. In the winter, I don’t want it up so down is best! But the real reason I grow it and cut it is to donate what is cut for a wig for someone who has cancer. I’ve probably cut it 5-6 times by now.

That’s so interesting. I love learning things like this about the authors I interview. Thank you very much for this wonderful interview.