Interview With Barbara Ellen Brink

Today I am sharing with you the author, Barbara Ellen Brink and her novel, Entangled. (Any responses of mine are in red).

Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink

A Minneapolis attorney inherits a small California winery, reawakening memories that have lain dormant for twenty years. One summer of her childhood is a mystery she intends to solve. But digging up her past also lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother’s. Entangled between what she once believed and a new reality, will she be able to live with the consequences of full disclosure?

Hello Barbara and welcome to my blog. Thank you for sharing a bit about yourself and your book, Entangled.

Firstly I would like to ask, what inspired you to write about a Winery? 

When I was a child we lived in Washington State on a small fruit farm. Among other things, we had rows of grape vines. One summer day, my older brother decided that it would be funny to squish grapes all over another boy’s bare chest and have him lay on the side of the road to see if someone would stop. We crouched in the bushes and watched. Low and behold, a man did stop, but when he realized it was a prank—was he ever flaming mad!!

Actually, that’s not what inspired me to write about a winery. I just wanted to share that funny storyJ It does show where I was born and raised, and that’s where I got my inspiration.

Washington is now one of the premier winemaking states in the U.S.A.  So when I went back to visit a few years ago and saw all the vineyards and wineries that had multiplied in the area where I once lived, I wondered what it would be like to own and operate such a place. I’d read numerous articles about wine-tasting rooms and how popular they had become. I realized that a winery was a perfect setting, and rows of tangled vines a perfect metaphor for a mystery.

LOL, I love the childhood memory. Living surrounded by vineyards, I can see the attraction.

How did you create characters for Entangled. Did you base them on people you know?

I don’t consciously base my characters on people I know. Sometimes they tend to have similar traits that I realize only after the book is finished. I am a people watcher and often notice tics or nervous habits people repeat that I can use as characteristics.  When I write a story, my characters’ personalities slowly emerge a bit at a time just as in real life when I meet someone and get to know them.

I know what my writing desk looks like, is yours a mess or organised? What writing aids support you?

My desk is usually a mess. I print out articles and things that interest me or that are fodder for my story, and they lay in piles on the desk, along with writing magazines, stick-it notes, and my ereader in case I want to take a break from writing and read someone else’s story for a while. I get things organized about once a month and then it all goes to pot again.

I have an Apple laptop but my husband set up a large screen monitor and keyboard so I don’t have to squint all day. It’s wonderful! And sometimes I use a whiteboard to remind myself of details, names, or scratch out a brief timeline. 

I like the whiteboard idea, I am going to try it out.

Do you have any other works in the pipeline or novels out there for The Important Ones to read?

I am currently working on a sequel to the Fredrickson Winery saga. It will be a stand-alone story, but will have many of the same characters as Entangled. I also finished a suspense/thriller recently and am in the middle of sending out query letters to snag an agent. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?  Tips are always welcome.

I would certainly encourage them to continue writing and not give up. It takes years to learn the craft of writing and even after we think we should know it all, we learn something new. I definitely believe getting involved in a small critique group of fellow writers is one of the best things you can do to stretch yourself and hone your writing. Also, try to attend a writer’s conference somewhere. They have great classes and you get to meet people in the publishing industry and better learn how it all works.

Attending a conference is a dream of mine.

What do you do away from your writing desk? What other hobbies do you have?

My husband and I have motorcycles and we enjoy taking weekend trips when the weather permits. I also collect and read lots of books—which is why I recently bought an ereader. I ran out of shelf space. I’m also somewhat of a movie buff and love to watch classics with old stars such as Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, or Audrey Hepburn.

Mm, not sure about the bike, but the movies get a thumbs up.

Please feel free to share with us a little about your writing background and life...

I’ve always loved writing. I made up stories and wrote them down in notebooks when I was a child. But I don’t think I seriously began to pursue my dream of being “a writer” wholeheartedly until about eleven years ago. The stories were clamouring to get out and I couldn’t keep them tamped down any longer.

 The first thing I wrote was a 600 page time travel novel set between the 1940’s and 2000. I sent it out to a few publishers but didn’t get any serious interest, probably because I had a lot of learning to do. I later read somewhere that to learn your craft, you should start with short stories. So I looked for publications that wanted stories with a certain theme or topic and began writing and sending them out. It was a great way to learn story structure and a thrill whenever one of my stories or articles was published.

I’m still struggling and looking for my “big” break, but in the meantime have published Entangled and look forward to seeing where I go from here. I’m a writer, so I will continue to write even if I don’t become the next Patricia Cornwell and my husband has his dream come true to retire from accounting.

Thank you for a fascinating interview and useful tips, Barbara. 

Thanks for having me! I enjoyed sharing my love of writing and my novel with you today. I hope everyone will check out the free sample of Entangled at Smashwords and let me know what you think. I’m always happy to get feedback and reviews. Entangled is also available at Amazon, Sony, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, & Diesel online bookstores. I hope to have it available in paperback by Christmas.

My blog: http://barbarasthinline.blogspot.com

Facebook Novelist Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Ellen-Brink-Novelist/145508512158754

My webpage: http://barbaraellenbrink.com/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbaraellenbrink

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Below is my review of Entangled.

I am not a huge fan of prologues. They have to have a great hook to draw me into them. I skip to the first chapter. Entangled has a wonderful prologue. It drew me in,  I wanted to know more.

For years I’ve had nightmares. They started when I was fifteen--after the night Paul

attacked me and tried to rape me. I dream of wine, and blood, and a desperate struggle.

The nightmares relating to the attack and blood, I thought, yes I would have those dreams. Wine?  I had to read more to find out why someone would dream about wine.

Wilhelmina Fredrickson is an independent divorce lawyer. She comes across as a strong character, with an efficient manner in her office. Her thoughts about the practicalities behind running a winery, moments after finding out she had inherited one, indicate a practical mind. 

Barbara Brink’s ability to describe ‘Billie’s’ emotions in various circumstances made for good reading. Her POV has vulnerabilities and they are described with subtlety throughout. Woven into memories and present day events.

When the young woman saw two people embrace, it changed her life. You felt her disappointment, her sadness. Memories of her childhood touched your heart. The hot and cold feelings she felt for Handel, the lawyer handling her uncle’s estate, were not over done, they slotted into the story without overuse of dramatic dialogue. 

The author’s clever play on words kept me reading. 

Mother made a noise that sounded like a whimper, but when I reached my hand out

toward her she remained still, her beautiful face turned to stone. Petrified mother.

The story flowed and had a clever Entangled twist, an ideal title for the book and a great read.