{"id":4206,"date":"2015-08-06T05:20:24","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T09:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/?p=4206"},"modified":"2015-08-06T05:20:24","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T09:20:24","slug":"the-questions-bryant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/index.php\/the-questions-bryant\/","title":{"rendered":"The Questions with Samantha Bryant: writer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The characters in Going Through the Change<\/em>… intriguing, eh?<\/p><\/div>\n

As you probably have (not) noticed, I haven\u2019t been blogging (again). I\u2019ve been dealing with my health issues, and trying to sleep, and crying a lot. But that\u2019s not why we\u2019re here today, and I\u2019ll tell you about that in a (probably much) later post.<\/p>\n

I actually meant to publish this edition of The Questions<\/a> back at the beginning of May, because today\u2019s featured author, Samantha Bryant<\/b><\/span>, was one of my partner\u2019s for the #AtoZChallenge<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

But of course, I didn\u2019t get there\u2026 and then Samantha asked if I could publish the interview in conjunction with a promotion for her debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel<\/i><\/a>, and I said \u201csure!\u201d. Of course, I almost *missed* said promotion, because well, the promo is August 5 & 6, and it\u2019s 4:48am on August 6\u2026 (le sigh)\u2026 But you, my dear readers, still have ALL of today to get this promo, which is:<\/p>\n

Get the #kindle edition of Samantha\u2019s book for #FREE via #bookbub<\/a>! From what I hear, bookbub is the best thing since sliced bread if you are a book lover.<\/p>\n

Anyway, check out the book, sign up for the promotion, then come back and read all about its author!<\/p>\n

The Questions<\/h2>\n

4. What\u2019s the worst meal you\u2019ve ever eaten and where?<\/h3>\n

When my first daughter was born, I had serious complications and spent most of the rest of that day unconscious. By the time I woke and felt well enough to notice I was hungry, the kitchen of the hospital was closed, so there was no food to be had. The then-husband was dispatched to find food and, not being familiar with the area, ended up at White Castle. I had chicken sliders as my first meal post childbirth. Yep.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: Coulda been Krystal. Oh wait. It basically was.)<\/p>\n

6. What do you want on your tombstone?<\/h3>\n

Ewwww. I’m completely grossed out by the idea of burial. And even more disturbed by the idea of people coming to stand on the ground over my corpse and talk about me. So, no thanks. No tombstone. Unless you’re referencing that old pizza commercial for Tombstone pizza. If you are, then I’ll have chicken and pineapple, please.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: Hawaiian. Yum.)<\/p>\n

9. What is a guilty pleasure?<\/h3>\n

I love really cheesy old movies. Things like Flash Gordon, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes<\/i>, and any of Vincent Price’s horror milieu. (Are you allowed to use words like milieu when talking about House of Wax<\/i>?). There’s just something about that nod and wink attitude they have that pleases the schmaltzy part of my soul. Just like the old Batman series.<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: You\u2019re a writer. You can use any word you want. \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n

23. Where is your heart home and why?<\/h3>\n

Nome, Alaska. I always wanted to go to Alaska, ever since I first learned about it in elementary school. But my parents stubbornly refused to move, no matter how many times I brought it up. So, when I graduated college, I went. I got to live there about a decade. A couple of years in Kodiak, one in Kenny Lake (population 400), and the rest in Nome, Alaska. People think I’m crazy because it got so cold (even the ocean froze!) and it was nearly completely dark for a few months of the year and the landscape might be considered bare and bleak with no trees. But I found it so beautiful. There was room to think. There’s something about being alone in a practically wild place, about driving a mile further down the coast so you walk along a section of beach with no other people in it. Gosh but I loved it there. There’s this saying about Alaskan men and the ratio of men to women that I think describes the personality of the state very well: the odds are good, but the goods are odd. I’m an odd duck myself, very much a “march to the beat of her own drummer” sort of gal and Nome was full of exactly those kinds of people. It’s the only place I ever really felt like I truly belonged.<\/p>\n

33. Why do you create in your medium\/genre? What about it speaks to you?<\/h3>\n

Superhero stories speak to me like no other stories. Maybe it’s the larger than life characters and situations. Maybe it’s the “what if” aspect. Maybe it’s the comfortable tropes. I’m not sure. But I know that some of the stories that speak to the deepest parts of me are superhero stories. I love underdogs who make good, little guys that everyone underestimates, curmudgeons who tell you they don’t care because they care so deeply. The best ones are about universal struggles we all face: identity, love, respect, responsibility, and inner darkness. But when these themes are played with in a fantasy world with imaginative elements like flight, elemental control, and invisibility, it’s all thrown into such dramatic contrast. It gives me the feels.<\/p>\n

34. Why did you agree to this interview?<\/h3>\n

I’m an odd sort of introvert. I kind of want to be famous, at least author-level famous, like Jim Butcher or Margaret Atwood sort of famous. But I’m not good at schmoozing. I’m terribly earnest and a very sincere person. I don’t have that facile, glib humor that makes a person the darling of the cocktail party. Trying to perform like that wears me out. But, like I said, I want to be famous, sort of. I want people to know about and read my books. So, that means putting myself out there, seeking opportunities to talk about myself and my work. That’s stressful and makes me want to curl up in a little ball on the sofa with a cup of tea and my computer. But, see, I already know you, at least online, and this interview is being done asynchronously with me answering the questions whenever it works for my life. That makes this kind of interview just about perfect for me!<\/p>\n

45. What is the best birthday gift you\u2019ve ever received?<\/h3>\n

The best was my book! My birthday is April 28, and when I was discussing release dates with the publisher, they were talking about a date in mid-spring. I suggested they give me my book for my birthday. They got pretty close: April 23rd. That was just a little early. I mean, I’ve had some great birthday presents: an engraved iPod, child-made cards with heartfelt wishes inside, trips, a daughter (she was early, too), a boyfriend (who became a husband), and some really awesome Converse sneakers. But this one would be pretty hard to top. It’s like, hey, Samantha, how about we give you a lifelong dream for your birthday this year? Would that be okay with you?<\/p>\n

(dSavannah note<\/span>: I certainly wouldn\u2019t mind that, and I\u2019m the birthday queen!)<\/p>\n

About Samantha:<\/h2>\n

\"meandbatman\"Samantha Bryant is middle school Spanish teacher by day and a novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her secret superpower is finding the things her family has lost.<\/p>\n

Samantha Bryant’s debut novel, Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel<\/i>, came out on April 23, 2015 with Curiosity Quills Press. It’s available on Amazon<\/a> (paperback and Kindle) and Barnes and Noble<\/a> (paperback, both online and in store!).<\/p>\n

Find Samantha:<\/h2>\n