I am/will be a multi-genre author. However, I generally write stories led by social issues and emotions, which could make most of my writing literary fiction (but I've never read enough to understand it as a genre lol, but I've been told my stories sound like literary fiction and that focusing on social issues and emotion more so than plot is a large part of it)
I enjoyed writing Moments Late in a normal modern setting, as it made it familiar and easy to navigate the world while I explored many heavy and difficult topics. The truth was simple to implement as it is the truth that already exists in our world. As I write my current WIP, though, I have to explore how this other world works and how God may reveal Himself in this fantasy realm, and what truth this world highlights and how the setting and atmosphere can affect that theme, which are things I didn't consider as much with my contemporary book.
In Moments Late, it wasn't given as much thought as my current WIP. Most of it just takes place in each characters' home, with a few outings where I just went with the first thought that fit. Most of the homes are roughly modeled after different houses I lived in throughout my childhood which I didn't even notice till I was done writing lol.
For my WIP, I knew from the start I wanted to pay more attention to setting, especially with it being non-magical fantasy, the world itself has to have something about it that sets it apart. I knew I loved flowers and generally wanted a landscape filled with life. I saw a picture of a glowing flower on Pinterest, and that started my worldbuilding inspiration. A world where, at night, instead of stars, the fauna and wildlife glow. I wanted it to be part of the rhythm of my world, where this light comes after a period of total darkness that draws people into prayer and rest as they await the light. Then I had to consider if they get light from plants, how might they use that to naturally illuminate their homes rather than use fire (they still use fire for cooking and when necessary, but it's far from a preferred means) so it influenced the way I designed their homes—hobbit like, built into the landscape, and inside the roots are trained into patterns, around or between the stonework and other plants may be planted inside, skylights and windows for daytime illumination, with lots of flowers at the sill. It's been very fun to design.
That is so hard...cause there are a LOT of characters in Moments Late (being a series of short stories and all lol) and I love them all... but I especially loved writing the characters that grew up throughout the series. There's a few kids that appear and have their own stories. Kathie first appears at 5 years old in her father's story, and she is so sweet. She has her own story when she is 15, and appears in the background of at least one other story in the series as an adult. There's just something more moving about seeing how much one story impacts the other, and loving her through every moment of it, rather than just the moment of her own struggles, and how her life and choices go on to change others. Michael and Milli were also a lot of fun, their banter as kids is adorable, and is part of my favorite scene in the entire series.
So I don't think there is a specific line or scene in Moments Late that in and of itself changed everything (Though I suppose the central story "Before my Eyes" is the story that without it, the second half of the series wouldn't make as much sense. It is what poses the question, and ushers in the second half of the stories.)
Then I was told by a friend (now my husband lol), "You're the author, write a different ending."
We almost had a single hopeless story...now it is 17 stories all intertwined to tell one truth: there is always hope. Even if it isn't the way we expect it. Even if it doesn't take away the pain or struggle. Even if nothing is changed and the world remains broken...there is a hope stronger than all of that.
While writing Moments Late, many of the stories pushed me to learn a lot. But A Future of Lost Lullabies, was especially challenging. Each draft I wrote, I struggled to understand the characters (who had two very different personalities from my own) and to rightly capture the issue they were struggling with. Each time I finished a draft, I prayed for permission to skip the story. I had so many other stories in Moments Late. I didn't need this one. It was very far outside my sphere of knowledge (I didn't have any relatives who struggled with this, and I was unmarried at the time I was writing it. Many people kept saying, why write that? just wait till you're older, and I very much wanted to agree with them.) but every. single. time. God said keep going. In very obvious ways.
Writing has frequently pushed me to rely more on God, and trust His lead. To grapple with my own beliefs and lies, and go outside of my comfort, and rely on His understanding and faithfulness to bring each thing into completion. Even in things I do understand...there's so much I don't know. Small things can make a situation so different from my own experiences. Even now, as I write my current story, I have to grapple again with the feelings of being incapable of expressing the heart and meaning of this story. I sometimes want to give up on it. But I know that this story is the one I am supposed to be writing right now. Just like I knew it with Lullabies and the rest of Moments Late. Even if I don't understand yet, I know that God will provide the tools and wisdom needed to write the story with the grace and truth and love that it deserves, and make it into something beautiful.
Thanks for allowing us a chance to get to know you, Brianna.
Thanks for the interview opportunity!