1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A golden-retriever Knight and a disgraced nun fight romantic feelings as they solve a murder on their utopian planet, where violence is supposed to be impossible.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The Halcyon Universe is a fantasy-flavored sci-fi world that I’ve been building for a long time. Halcyon is a seemingly utopian planet where the peace is enforced by the alien “dragons” who claim it as their ancestral home. I’m fascinated by the idea of utopias and solarpunk-esque futures. No matter how perfect a society is, there’s always going to be someone for whom it’s a dystopia, and that was something I wanted to explore with this book.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Probably! In the book, Miri goes through a lot of things I’ve experienced in my past. Becoming disillusioned with a religion she once placed her trust in. Losing a first love in a painful way. Finding happiness and fulfillment in a place she never expected. I think we’d have a lot to talk about. Leo and I have less in common, but it’s hard not to like someone who’s so earnest and well-meaning, even though he screws up a lot.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Miri: Sensitive, courageous, introspective
Leo: Goofy, goldenhearted, reckless
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
In a writing seminar I went to a few years back, the author Maggie Stiefvater gave a piece of advice that proved true with this book. It was, “You can’t solve a problem for your character until you’ve solved it in real life.” I think it physically was not possible to end the story in a way I found satisfying until I’d deconstructed and made sense of my own past. Another thing I’ve learned: writing a book with a lot of your own experience is a squishy, scary, uncomfortable feeling! Next time, I’m writing about something I’m not as emotionally attached to. Haha.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go, which I do NOT recommend! It’s a surefire way to get stuck in the first half of a book, editing over and over and never finishing it. But I don’t know if I can write any other way—events in the beginning inform everything else that comes after, from character arc to external events. So if I get to a place where something is not working, I have to go back to the part where things went wrong, make a change, and then go through the rest of the draft incorporating that change.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I’m an absolute raccoon for mashed potatoes. Actually, any potatoes in any form. Particularly if they come with cheese.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I usually write on my laptop while sitting in my enormous, comfy brown leather recliner. I call it “the black hole chair” because once you go into it, there’s no getting back out. Especially once my cats settle onto my lap—after that, it’s illegal to move.
10–Who is an author you admire?
I really enjoy Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style and LOVED her writing seminar—as you see above, I literally still quote it years later. I also think she’s just a really cool person for being unashamedly Maggie as loudly as possible.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
I feel like everyone knows my embarrassing obsession with “Eragon” by now, but I can’t not shout out the book that inspired me to start writing novels. I was fourteen when I read it, and knowing that Christopher Paolini was the same age when he wrote it gave me the hubris to think I could do the same. “Eragon” also got me into writing fanfiction, which helped me hone my writing style and learn to write for an audience in a low-stakes, fun, supportive environment. I will never not hold a soft place in my heart for the Shur’tugal Fan Fiction forums circa 2006-2008.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It was a pretty wild few days! I had been stalking City Owl Press for a few months waiting for one of their editors to open to queries. As soon as I got the offer from them, I knew I was desperate to accept it. But I still had a ton of queries out to agents, so I went through my spreadsheet emailing them all to withdraw. One of the agents who still had my manuscript got back to me and said, “Oh no! I was just about to get back to you and discuss the possibility of an offer!” Cue my jaw scraping the floor. I had been waiting so long to hear a “yes” from an agent, but in the meantime, I’d been considering the merits of a small press more, and it was 2021 and the big trad publishers were kind of a hot mess from the COVID fallout. I emailed the agent back and forth a few more times, but ultimately decided to sign with City Owl agent-free. I may get back into querying and try to find an agent for future projects (maybe even the same agent? Who knows?) but I’m really happy with my decision to debut working directly with a small press.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Anything sci-fi/fantasy is guaranteed to catch my eye, especially if it has romance, MORE especially if it’s queer.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
I LOVE the movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Stardust.” It has everything I want in a movie—magic, royalty, romance, adventure, coming of age. And, uh, a lot of really good-looking actors/actresses. That doesn’t hurt.
15–What is your favorite season?
Not to be basic, but I am an autumn girl. Sweaters, gray skies, tea and blankets, pumpkin spice…mmm yes.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I deeply hate surprises and gift-giving isn’t my love language, so I’m pretty low-key about birthdays. Usually, I’ll either cook my favorite food or go out to dinner. My favorite birthday dessert isn’t cake—it’s a chocolate eclair dessert recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
If anyone else grew up reading The Golden Compass like I did, I HIGHLY recommend the HBO series adaptation. It’s in my top two best adaptations of a book to screen that I’ve ever seen in my life (the other being Lord of the Rings, obvi). I also have to shout out Netflix’s k-drama “Alchemy of Souls,” which is my new favorite k-drama for its stellar fantasy worldbuilding and huge cast of interesting characters.
My favorite recent read has been “A Taste of Gold and Iron” by Alexandra Rowland. The pining! The worldbuilding! Be still, my fantasy-nerd heart.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I could eat Japanese food for the rest of my life and never get bored. And I lived in Korea for a couple of years, so Korean food hits the nostalgic comfort food spot in my heart. Oh, but then there’s Irish pub food too… I’m sorry, was I supposed to pick one?
19–What do you do when you have free time?
I work full time, so my off hours are dedicated reading and writing time. My husband and I like to play board and video games together—we’re working through Mass Effect: Andromeda right now. I sometimes knit and have been known to do Scottish country dancing. I’m also thinking of taking up bookbinding and edge painting. Tiktok made it look super fun!
20–What can readers expect from you next?
After “The Invisible Bright,” I have one more book planned in the Halcyon Universe series. When that one’s done, we’ll see! I have a lot of ideas kicking around.
THE INVISIBLE BRIGHT by Mindi Briar
The Halcyon Universe #3
Miri harbors a secret, and if it comes to light, it may cost her everything.As part of the Ediya Experiments, a group of children genetically modified with dragon DNA, Miri must hide her ability to see emotions in color. But that’s not easy when she keeps accidentally altering people’s feelings, often with disastrous results. When her latest mistake ends in her losing her job, she’s desperate to find a way to control the powers she never wanted.Leo has been hiding his crush on Miri ever since they were children. But when she shows up in his hometown, adrift and looking for answers, even wounded feelings can’t keep his past love from rekindling. He doesn’t understand why she insists on holding him at arm’s length.When the two of them witness a shocking crime in Leo’s idyllic community, the investigation pushes them together, forcing them to admit feelings they thought long buried. But as they uncover secrets that cast an ugly light on their society, they find their lives unmoored.Miri’s powers are more dangerous than she knows, and if she can’t get them under control, their future—and the world—could go up in flames.For Leo, her childhood friend (and crush), Miri’s the one who got away. When she shows up in his hometown, adrift and looking for answers, even wounded feelings can’t keep his past love from rekindling. He can’t understand why she insists on holding him at arm’s length.When the two of them witness a shocking crime in Leo’s idyllic community, the investigation pushes them together, forcing them both to admit feelings they thought long buried. But as they uncover secrets that cast an ugly light on the society they’ve grown up in, both of them find their lives unmoored. Miri’s powers are more dangerous than she knows, and if she can’t get them under control, their future—and the world—could go up in flames.
Romance Science Fiction [City Owl Press, On Sale: July 1, 2023, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781648983917 / eISBN: 9781648983924]
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About Mindi Briar
Mindi Briar’s favorite book as a child was “Commander Toad in Space,” an early sign that she was destined to become a gigantic nerd. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three cats, two of whom are named after punctuation marks. She will be your friend if you offer tea, or if you want to talk about Star Wars.
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