Michelle Browne & 'After the Garden' @SciFiMagpie @GoddessFish #DarkFantasy

Today we have author Michelle Browne visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer from Calgary, AB. She has a cat and a partner-in-crime. Her days revolve around freelance editing, jewelry, phuquerie, and nightmares. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible. She is all over the internet, far too often for anyone’s sanity, and can be found in various places.

Today Michelle Browne will be talking about how she became a writer and what inspired her in regard to the story she's promoting.
* Hello hello!
* The inspiration for the Memory Bearers series is more complex than it seems at first glance. In a way, I’ve been writing the story backwards, but I also started from the beginning. The original ending of the book, which was intended to be a stand-alone rather than a series, saw Ember and Kerrick literally riding off into the sunset! But who are Ember and Kerrick, you’re asking? Well, before Ember, there was Ambergris, and before Ambergris, there was Iris.
* Iris was a friend of mine in ninth grade. My family had just moved to Calgary, Alberta from Lethbridge, Alberta, and the large city was both daunting and exciting. Staring lovingly out my window at the
skyscrapers, thinking about the almost one million residents going about their business, was a thrill in and of itself. I loved the sounds of the city at night, even the alarms and ambulances.
* But still, I couldn’t help wondering what the city would be like if it crashed, or broke; what buildings would look like in a state of ruin. Broken things and abandoned places have always excited my imagination, for as long as I can remember, and an entire city as my mental canvas allowed my imagination to roam free.
* Then, too, my friend Iris excited my imagination. She was Korean, new to Canada, and we’d met in Tae Kwon Do classes. Because of her, I began to imagine a young woman of Asian-Canadian descent making her way around this ruined city. Because Calgary is diverse and multicultural, I populated the cast with culturally ambiguous and diverse people.
* It took a long time to get the story into a shape I liked. For years, it sat in my files, mostly-finished but missing a scene and a few transitions. I kept plugging away at it. Then, finally, I decided it was time to edit that sucker and see if I could release it to the world. It was ninety percent finished, I reasoned to myself.
* I send the first draft to my editor, and she liked it, but had a lot of questions about the style and the ideas. I decided to gut a lot of the content and rewrite it. I found myself stuck at about the halfway point of the original manuscript—by this point, I’d decided to make it a series, but I couldn’t figure out how to make the story outline work.
* It came to me in flashes and spurts. Edmonton inspired my creativity quite a bit, filling in the pieces that Calgary was missing. Writing The Underlighters helped, too. I can’t tell you how that one was helpful, but trust me when I say, it’s important!
* The biggest thing is that I gave the story time to mature and turned it over in my mind, and worked on lots of other projects so I could get it right. I’ve gotten much faster at writing, and the next book, Within the Tempest, which continues The Memory Bearer Saga, will be out soon!
* Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Leave your comments, rebuttals, and vehement agreements below. Don't miss any of the phuquerie--get on the mailing list. Find Michelle on Twitter, Facebook, and on Tumblr, and find her work on Amazon. Check back on the blog to see when one of the irregular posts has careened onto your feed. This is the one and only SciFiMagpie, over and out!
A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Memories of another life and lover guide her, but are they even hers? She is a Bearer—keeper of past lifetimes and gifted with strange talents. Ember must find her answers away from safe Longquan Village, snared instead in the sensuality and dangers of The City. Hidden among spider farmers and slaves, prostitutes and weavers, a nest of people like her are waiting.
* A powerful man outside The City raises his forces, determined to hunt down the ‘demons’ who could taint his followers. Threatened from without and within, can the Bearers even trust each other?
* Powers will rise and alliances will be forged in a dark new world. The Memory Bearers are coming.
* This book includes violent and mature content. Reader discretion is advised.
~ Excerpt ~ * She was looking in a mirror, marvelling at her powdered face. You can’t even tell, she thought admiringly. She picked up a bottle of perfume and sprayed some on her wrist. She dropped it, and there was a heavy sound, a clunking noise, as the bottle connected with the tile. Not plastic, but thick glass.
* Hearing the crash, he appeared from behind the bathroom door. “Are you all right, honey?” he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.
* “Oh yes, I’m fine,” she said, nuzzling him.
* “You look exquisite. I can’t believe you spend most of your time in a lab coat when you look like this.”
* “Believe it,” she said. He twisted her around suddenly and kissed her.
* “How much time do we have before dinner?” he asked.
* “Enough.” She took him by the hand. “Come with me.”
* The memory slid away to another part of her mind. She considered telling—no, wait, who could she tell? Their names eluded her. She winced, frustrated. She’d already forgotten her family’s names. That was part of the deal, she told herself; she’d known what she was in for. Paranoid, she wondered if she would forget her own name next. It wouldn’t be that bad, though; and after all, she knew she would remember someday. When the time was right, the lock would open again, and she’d have the things she was giving up back. And though they were frustrating and mildly debilitating, she still had the fragments. That annoyed her, but it was a comfort.
* Philosophy was the path of madness, she decided, shoving the bottle in her satchel. In the meantime, she had other things to do—she had to see if there was anything of value left in this house and get out of here as quickly as possible. Something unpleasant had happened here after The Time Before had come to an end, a small disaster after the fact, and she was eager to leave.
Buy After the Garden here... Amazon Find Michelle Browne here... Blog | Amazon | Facebook | Mailing List | Tumblr | Twitter | Smashwords Thank you for joining us here today, Michelle Browne! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Michelle Browne will be awarding an autographed paperback copy to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway