Interview with Brogan Thomas

For SPFBO 9 I’m returning to my old tradition, where I offer to the authors in our batch a spotlight on Queen’s Book Asylum. While in previous years I created a new feature, this year I let them choose between all of my available ones: What the Hungarian?!, Tales from the Asylum, Stuck in the Pages, Party with the Stars, To Be Continued…, as well as the regular author spotlight options of an interview, and a guest post.

Brogan Thomas, the author of Rebel Unicorn, chose an interview and so, we sat down for a chat!

Brogan lives in Ireland with her husband and their eleven furry children: five furry minions of darkness (aka the cats), four hellhounds (the dogs), and two traditional unicorns (fat, hairy Irish cobs).

In 2019 she embraced her craziness by writing about the imaginary people that live in her head. Her first love is her husband followed by her number-one favourite furry child Bob the cob, then reading. When not reading or writing, she can be found knee-deep in horse poo and fur while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

Connect with Brogan Thomas

• Link
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Amazon

Her heart is broken, and her wrath is boiling over. Will she atone for her violence or fall to darkness?

Tru Dennison is tired of being judged a freak. Sick of monstrous villains wreaking havoc and mayhem on her city, the half-unicorn, half-vampire shifter channels her energy into an undercover role as a black-ops assassin. But when her alluring angel mentor finds her standing over a pile of dead bodies, she’s horrified that her unrequited crush accuses her of serial murder.

Unable to persuade the resolute man of her clearance to make the hits, Tru is thrown before the grand creature council to answer for her actions. But even after her sanctioned kills are verified, her fuming anger fuels her determination to become a force no one dare cross…

Will Tru’s battle to deliver justice destroy her soul?

Rebel Unicorn is the action-packed first book in the Rebel of the Otherworld urban fantasy series. If you like underestimated heroes, electrifying twists, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you’ll love Brogan Thomas’s epic quest for redemption.

Welcome to SPFBO! Is this your first time in the competition? If yes, how did you learn about it? What are your expectations/experiences so far? How do you plan to cope with the stress/waiting? If this isn’t your first time, what advice would you give to first-timers? How did the competition treat you so far?

Hello Timy, thank you for taking the time to interview me. Yes, this is my first time entering SPFBO. I missed out last year–the places fill super fast! This year I was ready, and within two minutes of the competition going live, I was in. 

Then it was instant fear and I urm… well, I’ve ignored everything with a combination of fingers in my ears and a head in the sand technique. I’m not brave enough to follow anything.     

Have you read any other books that entered into SPFBO9? Or are there any that caught your attention? 

They are so many amazing books this year and I’ve read several.

Tell us about your self-publishing journey! Why did you decide to take this path? What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of it? What advice would you give to someone who is considering to self-publish?

I love reading, and I will read 400+ books in an average year. I have dyslexia, so although I had a vast imagination, I never thought I could write a book. But I had these stories in my head that would not go away. But my fear kept me from writing. Technology changed everything: spell checking and dictation for tricky words. So I wrote my debut book, Cursed Wolf, and strangers loved it. It was surreal. 

My readers are incredible; they keep me going, and I work harder to make each book better for them.

What advice would I give? Read lots and write the books you’d love to read. Do not let the fear win.

What inspires your writing? Do you listen to music, stare into the fire, listen to the whispering of the wind, make deals with the Devil?

Definitely make a deal with the devil. Hahaha. Seriously though, my books are very character-focused and always spring from an idea about a character first. For example, Tru is a half-vampire, half-unicorn shifter in Rebel Unicorn. I really get into my characters’ heads. They do everything and I write it down.

Is REBEL UNICORN your debut novel? If yes, is there anything you’ll do differently with your next book? What were the biggest lessons during the process? If not, was your approach to this novel different to any previous one? Has it gotten easier or harder to write books?

Every book gets harder. The more I learn, the less I know. The pressure (from myself) of ensuring each book I write is worth the time of the people who read it—is massive. I want to entertain and keep the outside world away for those who need it. 

Reading is amazing, and I still can’t believe I write books.

What was the main inspiration for the story? Which aspect of the book was the most challenging to write and why?

I don’t particularly like hurting my characters. I hate it. But they need to grow and sometimes go down the wrong path. Like our own lives, beautiful things bloom from the bad. I promise I will always give them the strength to fix it. 

Which character of your book do you identify with the most and why? Who would you like to live with in an asylum?

Forrest, the main character from Cursed Wolf and who is also in Rebel Unicorn as a side character, would be very entertaining in an asylum.  

What are your plans for 2023? Any particular events you plan to visit?

I have a quiet 2023 planned. Rebel Vampire book two of the series has been released, and I’m currently having all my books translated into German, which is very exciting! I’ve just begun writing my next book, Cursed Fae.    

While you are locked in here for eternity, we will allow you to invite one visitor (fictional and otherwise) – who would you invite? And no, they can’t help you to escape.

My husband. He is amazing and my rock.

Well then, it was a pleasure to have a chat with you! Please allow these nice attendants to escort you out. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay in the Asylum! Any last words? 

Thanks to Queen’s Book Asylum and all the bloggers participating in SPFBO9 for being part of this unique competition, and good luck to all of this year’s writers!

*locks door*

Grab a copy of Rebel Unicorn by Brogan Thomas!

For more SPFBO 9 content, please check out our SPFBO 9 page!