Interview with Aida Brassington and More
This week I am taking a break from YA and featuring Between Seasons, an adult fiction novel with a paranormal romance flare. Author Aida Brassington has stopped by the blog to share a some things about her book, its characters, and herself. Be sure to check it out!
Author Interview with Aida Brassington
Can you tell us a little more about your book, Between Seasons? What was your inspiration for this paranormal story?
Between Seasons tells the story of Patrick Boyle, a nineteen-year-old man who falls down the stairs of his parents’ house and dies just days before reporting for the Vietnam draft. Instead of moving on to whatever comes next, he gets stuck in the house as a ghost. When a mysterious young woman buys the house forty years later, Patrick isn’t sure if she’s a blessing or a curse, especially when she starts unintentionally channeling his memories in her writing.
The inspiration was my own house. I live in a house that was built in the 1940s, and one of its former inhabitants appears not to have left — every now and then a man appears on my staircase. He doesn’t do anything but look around, almost as if he’s checking in to make sure all is well. It’s not scary or eerie; it’s just one of those things we’re grown used to. Of course, I started wondering who the man was in life and what his life (or afterlife, if you want to call it that) is like — is it a conscious thing, if you know what I mean. And that’s how the idea for Between Seasons was hatched.
There are two main characters in Between Seasons, can you tell us more about them?
Patrick lives with his parents and works as a mechanic in his father’s garage — as I mentioned, he gets called up for the Vietnam draft. He’s pretty typical of a nineteen-year-old in 1970: he’s got friends, he doesn’t particularly want to go to war and considers — though not seriously — escaping to Canada, and he’s fairly self-absorbed (really, not so different from a nineteen-year-old today). He grew up in a small town outside Philadelphia, and he probably would have lived there his whole life if not for his accident on the stairs and the interruption of Vietnam. Sara’s quite a bit different than Patrick. She grew up in a more urban area on the other side of the country, moved to California with her husband, went to college, and went through a pretty serious crisis that precipitated her divorce. Even though they’ve had different life experiences, both of them are capable of making the best of their situations, which is something that allows them to find each other. I genuinely like them as people — if they were real, they’d definitely be in my circle of friends.
Your bio says you have a Great Dane, can you tell us about your dog, Patrick?
Patrick the dog is a sweetheart. My husband and I adopted her (yes, Patrick is a female) from a friend who was moving when the dog was about a year old, and she’s lived with us for about four years now. As I’m giving this interview, Patrick is taking up most of the couch beside me.
Do you have any other books or pieces you are working on?
I’ve written three novels this year (Between Seasons was written last year), all of which are in various stages of revision — a psychological thriller, a dark comedy, and a YA horror novel. I plan to start outlining a new novel shortly, although I’m not sure which of my ideas is going to get the green light (I have a gigantic list of plot bunnies).
Do you have any funny or odd habits, writing related or not?
As far as writing goes, I don’t think I do anything out of the ordinary — sometimes music, sometimes not; sometimes on my couch, sometimes in the coffee shop. In real life, I’m a bit of a control freak: I can’t stand open drawers in the kitchen or things that are out of place. It’s nitpicky, but it works for me.
Is there anything else you would like to say to readers and fans?
I’m grateful to have the opportunity to have people read what I’ve written, and every time someone buys my novel or leaves a review on Amazon, Goodreads, etc., I actually squeal and do a little dance. It’s true — ask my husband. So thank you!
Between Seasons
- Publisher: Green Needle Press
- Publish Date: October 30, 2011
- Format: Paperback
- Links: Amazon
Patrick Boyle dies in the fall of 1970, just days before he’s due to report for the Vietnam War draft, which seems like a good thing until he realizes he’s stuck in the house with no indication of when he’ll be escorted to heaven. And after his parents leave the house, he’s trapped without company — until a mysterious woman who can channel his memories buys the house forty years later. The spring brings with it new life, but falling in love with the new owner may only bring heartbreak to them both.
Author Bio
Aida Brassington is a writer who lives in a haunted house in the suburbs of Pennsylvania with her husband of five years and a Great Dane named Patrick. She loves all things related to Halloween and spooky movies, but not because she shares her house with a ghost (and it should be noted her ghost does nothing more than occasionally appear in the second floor hallway and hide her keys) — she just likes being scared.
She is a former political junkie with a deep interest in artisan food, reading, and scuba diving. She has never spent time in a mental institution but often questions her mental health.
Author Links: Website