An Author Enchanted // Brenda Moguez Interview

Thank you to Brenda Moguez, author of Nothing Is Lost In Loving, for answering a few personal questions about her writing and what is yet to come.

Enjoy!

Author Brenda Moguez Interview

When was the moment that you knew writing would become part of your life?

I’m not one of those writers who wrote feverishly in a black and white competition book but I was a storyteller.  As a kid, I was always telling stories to my little sister and the neighbor kids we played with after school. Jet ahead to marriage and a move to London. I was never without a paper-thin blue Par Avion tablet and matching envelopes. I was constantly writing letters home. When I ran out of news to report on my new life, I took to penning my observations, exaggerated my experiences and the events of daily life. When I eventually moved back to the States, my best friend returned my letters and told me to think about becoming a writer. It wasn’t the first time I thought about writing but that moment stands out.

From your about page, while living in Hollywood, you mentioned being “enchanted by the romantically tragic lives the actresses lived.” How do you feel their stories shape your writing?

Hollywood made me a romantic, a hopeless one at that, but it also clued me into the frailness of human nature and how our lofty ideals about relationships and how our cinematic view of bliss and ever after often get in the way of reality. Happily ever after is certainly achievable but not without effort.  Men want Gilda, and if pressed and a glass of wine, a woman will confess she wants the equivalent of Rhett Butler and healthy peppering of Prince Charming. If I were Dr. Freud, or someone equally degree-ed, I’d wager they’d say I was working on an understanding of what love really is and how a woman, me, might lay out the blueprint for making it work perfectly so none have to suffer the pain of a broken heart.

Are your books in someway based around those tragic lives with a modern twist?

I’ve written three novels, the first one I have sold. The latest next two—I am about to pitch or self-publish—deal with the aspects of love but in entirely different ways. Each of the three stories explores a different aspect of love and none are similar, but to answer the question, not directly.  I’ve recently written a confession from the POV of Cupid. He explains his motives and attempts to enlighten lovers on their unrealistic expectations. It’s part of a collection of love stories I aim to publish.  Writing in Cupid’s voice allowed me the opportunity to challenge my own views on the power of the heart and its command over a person’s logical self.

Have you experienced writing in different genres, but feel a calling to write romantic women’s fiction?

Believe it or not, I do not consider Nothing Is Lost In Loving, a genre romance. I think of it as Women’s Fiction, but the publisher deemed it romantic. Granted there is romance but the point of the story is how a woman finds the courage to start over and give her life and love another chance.

I’ve come to feel that the story reveals itself to me and later after it unravels itself, I write it. I don’t think of myself as a formulaic romance writer, mostly because I don’t believe love is predictable. I don’t intend to limit myself to a genre, nor do I believe a writer has to check a box. An artist is only constrained by her/his imagination and any innate fear of trying something outside of their respective comfort zones.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? Why this specific character?

I love Stella Delray, star of Nothing Is Lost In Loving because she was my first date, my first love, my first novel, and because she is beautifully flawed. Of course, she has bits of me in her because all virgin novelists pull directly from their lives and selves when penning the first one-hundred-thousand words. One day soon, I will write the sequel. She is the kind of woman I aspire to become and I want to give her the sort of ending she has earned.

What author has inspired you the most in your writing?

I can’t say I have an author who inspired me in the way you describe. I have favorite books I wish I had written.  I do love reading Marion Keyes, because she does a brilliant job of showing, in a humorous way, the flaws of us mere mortals. Her stories always end positive, not necessarily perfect, which is how I approach my stories. I have hope in life, no matter how dire it might happen to be at any given moment, and believe a story should leave the reader with the same feeling.

Can you tell us your favorite book and why?

Hard one to answer.  I fall in love with a book because of the characters in the story. There are characters in movies and books that are larger than life, who haunt, who we love, who we’d give something substantial to meet, kiss, share a bottle of wine and conversation with.  Favorites not listed in order of importance:

• Rhett Butler
• Atticus Fitch
• Captain Mccall (Lonesome Dove
• Jane Eyre
• Désirée (from the novel of the same name)
• Nick & Nora Charles
• All of the Disney Princess (they seem to have the key to happily ever after)

Of course we have to know, what is in-store next – books, events, etc.?

Wicca My Way, currently in final edits is the planned next release. Definitely a romance, with a better than good enough ending. Charly–the star–is the daughter of a famous Wicca, who would prefer it if she could step into Jan Brady’s shoes and not be empowered with gifts she cannot control and wants nothing more than to go on a second date.

Brenda Moguez writes the kind of stories she loves to read–women’s fiction, starring quirky, passionate women who are challenged by the fickleness and complexities of life.

She’s particularly drawn to exploring the effects of love on the heart of a woman. She has aspirations for a fully staffed villa in Barcelona and funding aplenty for a room of her own. When she’s not working on a story, she writes love letters to the universe, dead poets, and Mae West. Her second novel, Nothing is Lost in Loving, is set to release April 2016. You can find her at https://www.brendamoguez.com  where she explores passionate pursuits in all its forms.

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