Meet Bri Mooney, author of Scorched Feathers.
About Bri Mooney
Bri Mooney writes dark, and a tad romantic, fantasy novels. Her 5-star debut novel Scorched Feathers takes place on both Earth and Hell.
Born in Queens, New York, she is used to the obscure. She now lives amongst the trees in North Carolina.
During her spare time, Bri is a bookworm, serial hobbyist, horror movie enthusiast, gamer, and travels the world with her partner.
So let’s talk a bit about Scorched Feathers.
First things first, tell us a little bit about Scorched Feathers:
It’s a story about a woman named Aradia who has lost some of her most important memories and her journey to get them back. Scorched Feathers takes place in Heaven, Hell, and Earth.
When did you start writing Scorched Feathers? What inspired you to write it?
I’ve always loved myths, fairytales, and legends. My mom has this old copy of Aesop’s fables that I would beg her to let me read. Anderson’s tales, the Brothers Grimm – I would devour the stories and movies.
A while back I did a deep dive looking into the Goddess Aradia and found there to be barely anything about her. I wanted to know more about her and her story.
Then, in May of 2020 I spent ten months furloughed from my job. For the first month I completed odd projects that I had never had time to do before and then the insanity started seeping in. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember and I had always wanted to write a book, but I had never managed to finish a story. So I made it a goal and woke up everyday to sit in my office. By then, Scorched Feathers kind of poured out.
Who is your favorite character?
Aradia is definitely my favorite with Asmodeus as a close second.
Aradia is the poise and grace tempered by steel that I had always craved for myself. I wrote her based on the myths surrounding her with a sprinkling of what I thought true divinity would be like; her fierce love of not only her friends but for all of life, her ability to seek out peace mingled with the strength to fight for it when necessary. I wrote the Goddess I think the world deserves.
As for Asmodeus, I’ve read a lot of romance and noticed that most love interests are alphas wrapped in red flags. Don’t get me wrong, I love dark romance. But I’ve been craving a kinder, more green flag kind of male love interest. And Asmodeus was born. He remembers the way you take your drink and your favorite things. And, at the end of the day, he’ll slaughter all of your enemies. What’s not to love?
What was your favorite part to write?
The flashbacks. I actually wrote all of them first and grew the story around them later. It was so much fun just letting myself write any scene that came to mind and seeing how they all stitched together as the story came to life (there was very little plotting done for this book). And I love the way the story begins with the reader and Aradia both on equal footing. No one knows what the heck is going on in the beginning, but you grow with her
What is the general message you hope readers pull from Scorched Feathers?
It’s a bit of a ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ story. A glimpse at internal biases and a shattering of expectations for mythical beings.
What is ONE reason readers should pick up Scorched Feathers?
If you enjoy found family, dark themes, and a little bloodshed mixed with some romance, grab a copy!
Scorched Feathers sounds like an amazing story that breaks tropes and molds. So I definitely want to know more about the person behind it!
So, tell us a little about yourself.
Why do you write?
I don’t think I have a choice. Since I learned to read, I’ve been devouring stories. Everytime I went to the library, I’d go and take out the maximum amount of books. Growing up, I read every book we had in the house, no matter the genre. Then all it took was one creative writing class and I was hooked on writing. The stories come to me, characters speak, and I love putting their voices to paper.
Do you have any hobbies outside of writing? Do they influence your writing in any way?
I’m a bit of a serial hobbyist. One of my favorite past-times is baking. Tell me a flavor or combo you love and I’ll whip up something. I baked a Dr. Pepper cake once for a friend. Cupcakes are my favorite. In my latest book, The Witch of Fire and Shadows, my MC owns a bakery.
What does your writing routine look like, if you have one?
I’ve found that a strict routine doesn’t work for me. The whole ‘sit and write 1000 words even if it’s garbage’ thing left me with no words and a headache. I do my best to write or edit everyday, but I count reading, researching, learning, or even watching TV as getting work done. As long as it can be applied to the stories, it counts. That way I avoid burnout and keep a steady speed while still loving what I do.
What software do you use for writing, publishing, marketing, etc.?
I’ve been playing with a few things. I use scrivener to write. I really like how customizable it is. I’ve recreated my character sheets and reference material in it and am pretty hooked.
Atticus is my go-to for formatting ebooks and it seems pretty great. Affinity Publisher is what I use to format my paperbacks and I love it.
My covers are done with photoshop but I’m switching to Affinity Photo and Designer as they’re more economical and almost identical to photoshop.
I use draft2digital for my wide ebooks and I’m currently on the waiting list for paperbacks (which is a huge bummer). I’ve been toying with switching to Ingram Sparks because of that. I’ll probably always be trying different things, though. There’s so much out there!
If you could give one piece of advice to your past self, what would it be?
There are a lot of pieces of advice floating out there in the void that will tell you how to be a writer or author. A writer writes, that’s it. As far as publishing and all of that, there is no playbook for success. There is no ‘perfect’. It’s all trial and error. Learn new methods, apply what seems to fit, throw away what doesn’t. Be flexible and open minded. At the end of the day, just keep writing!
E.S. Barrison 