The Last Summer is an achingly beautiful story that all everyone can identify with. Those years of being single, friends getting married, who likes who, will broken hearts ever heal. No matter your age, this story will resonate. Brandy Bruce does an amazing job of conveying real-life emotion. Leave at comment at the end of the interview to enter to win a Kindle copy. Sign in on the Rafflecopter to share and Tweet on social media and earn even more chances to win!
Fabulous Fridays
The Last Summer
Welcome, Brandy! Please introduce yourself and tell us how you started writing.
Hi Norma! Thank you so much for having me today. I started writing way back when I was about twelve years old, filling up spiral notebook with stories. Fast forward many years and I graduated with my BA in English and got a job as a nonfiction book editor for a publishing house. After ten years working at a job in an industry I loved, I had my third child and needed a little break. Now I’m freelance editing and writing more fiction!
Who was the first author who inspired you to write?
Probably Ann M. Martin (the Babysitter Club series). As a very young reader, I absolutely loved her books and would write my own sequels to her stories (the original fan fiction!). Then I read Robin Jones Gunn’s Christy Miller series and realized how fiction can shape our worldview and influence us in so many ways. I wanted to write like that.
Please tell us what inspired The Last Summer.
The Last Summer came to me during my first year of college. Of course, that was a time when friendships and romance were forefront in my mind. The story revolves around seven friends who are as close as family, and what it looks like as people change and go in different life directions. I wrote and rewrote the novel several times over the years. Finally, when I was pregnant with my third child, I rewrote it one last time. That version is the one that was published. I feel like the story is now what it was meant to be all along, and I’m so happy with the finished product.
What distinguishes The Last Summer from other books in the same genre?
I think the friendships make this novel unique. There’s a romance thread woven through the story, but, to me, it’s the group of seven friends—their dynamics and how their actions and choices affect each other—that make this story a little different from others in the contemporary genre.
What is the most surprising thing about being a published author?
I think I’m mostly surprised that I am a published author! It was the dream of my heart for so long. To have books on my shelf that were stories I told still feels like a dream come true. I’ll always be so grateful for that.
Are you a full-time writer or do you hold a day job? What is the biggest challenge/obstacle you face in protecting your writing time?
I’m currently a stay-at-home mom for my last little one, Miss Lily. And I take on freelance editing projects pretty frequently. After working at a publishing house for more than a decade, I do love the freedom that comes with being home and taking on projects as my schedule allows. The challenge is always having free time to myself, of course. But when I’m inspired to write, I find time.
If you could spend the day with a character from your all-time favorite novel, who would it be and what would you do?
That’s a hard question! I have so many favorites. But I have to say I’d love to spend a day with Dumbledore from Harry Potter.
How did you choose the theme in The Last Summer? How would you like to inspire your readers?
The theme of friendship was there from the beginning. All seven of them seemed to come to me almost from the very first! But over time, as my writing changed and I changed and had more life experiences, other themes made their way into the story, such as themes of grace and forgiveness and acceptance. I hope readers relate to those aspects of The Last Summer.
What do you have planned for future writing projects?
I’m hoping to finish the sequel to The Last Summer. I also have a short fiction piece coming out in Brio Magazine (for younger readers) in March that I’m excited about. And there are a couple of other works-in-progress that I’m currently working on.
Please share a favorite passage from The Last Summer with us.
It occurred to me that God much ache with love for us. Hurting for us. Wanting us. And sometimes we respond to Him in kind. Other times we reject Him.
Love is love, after all. In that moment, I felt God so close to me. Calming me. Reassuring me He loved me and that I wasn’t alone. That there would be more for me. If He hadn’t shown up, I don’t know what I would have done. If He hadn’t held me. If He hadn’t promised to stay no matter what . . .
But He did.
Love is the undoing of all of us, my heart whispered. I thought of the painting, that girl staring out at the water, her ribbon falling, and I sat outside until the last light of day faded.
Book Blurb:
A group of seven friends navigate relationships and personal growth during a season of change.
About the Author:
Brandy Bruce is a mom, a wife, a book editor, an author, and someone who really loves dessert. She’s the author of the award-winning novel The Last Summer, Looks Like Love, and The Romano Family Collection. Brandy, her husband, and their children make their home in Colorado.
Connect with Brandy:
Website: https://brandybruce.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Brandy-Bruce/e/B004GF1FG8/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandyBruce @BrandyBruce
Instagram: @ALittleBitofBrandy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorBrandyBruce/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brandybruce/
6 Comments
Lovely interview! I enjoyed reading it! I have not yet read The Last Summer or any other of Brandy’s books, but now I look forward to reading them. Thank you!
So happy you stopped by!
Enjoyed reading this interview. I love giveaways… thanks for entering me.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful interview! I’m glad to read the author is so giving to our Lord.
Thank you Alinn!