#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR REBECCA BROOKS ON #WRITING, #ART, AND #MAGIC

Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She writes about outdoorsy guys with both muscle and heart, and independent women ready to try something new. Learn more about Rebecca and her books at her website. 

Writing, Art, and Magic

It occurred to me recently that I write an awful lot about artists. The heroine of my last romance is a painter. There’s a photographer in my upcoming release, and I’m outlining a new book in a series that will introduce a hero who is a sculptor—as soon as I finish up this next book about a bartender and a chef. (My other favorite thing to write about? Food.)

I’ve written elsewhere [http://avian30.com/2014/07/26/guest-post-writing-as-art-or-why-not-to-draw-the-perfect-nose/] about how my background in drawing shapes the way I write. But I think there’s more to it than that. Why do I keep coming back to these kinds of characters, the people who make and create?

I’ve decided it has to do with magic. Art is about making something new, transforming the ordinary into the extra-ordinary. Art is about a unique way of seeing and experiencing the world, and isn’t that true for writing, too?  

I write steamy books. But there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing, and too many overt sex scenes in a row can make a story start to lose its luster. I love to build tension and anticipation by finding other ways to insert sensuality into the narrative. Art is physical. It’s emotional, honest, and raw. When I describe an artist at work, I’m revealing something about the character and how he or she moves through the world. I’m also creating a point of connection—something the hero and heroine can experience together, no matter what other challenges they face.

There’s something special, something different, about those of us who are drawn to create, whether it’s a manuscript, a masterpiece, or something as simple as a cut-and-paste collage. The magic is there, if we take the time to notice it.  I think I’ll keep writing about artists. I want to find out what they’ll discover. And I love what they do with their hands.

How to Fall

Julia Evans has always put others ahead of herself—her high school math students, her troubled best friend, and her ex. But with New Year's approaching, she buys a round trip ticket to Brazil. For one week, she can put her needs first. She can meet a stranger in the hotel pool at midnight and dance all night on the beach. 


Screenwriter Blake Williams has to keep moving before Oz’s latest scandal catches up to him. But the dark-haired beauty with a backpack and an adventurous streak is messing with his plans. He can’t seem to walk away from her. But secrets have a way of coming out, and when the week is up, Julia and Blake will have to decide if they’re jumping into the biggest adventure of all or playing it safe.

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