Sarah Branson

I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. I only lived there for about three months since my folks were born under a wandering star. It’s also the same city that one of my bonus daughters was born in- fun coincidence!

I had a great deal of thinking time during long commutes and on-call time when I was working as a nurse-midwife 90 minutes from my home. After exhausting podcasts and audiobooks, I tended to essentially play make believe and at some point, I looked over at my passenger seat and Kat Wallace, my protagonist-to-be, had hopped in and she wanted her story told.

The first parts I wrote, I wrote privately, never assuming anyone else would want to read them. After a few weeks, I asked my husband to read a section and he really, truly liked it. And, for me, that was huge. Rick, my husband, has been my biggest support and cheerleader as well as THE alpha reader for everything I write.

What a great question!! My prenatal care approach is based on one of the vision statements of the American College of Nurse-Midwives– “Listen to Women” (though I have broadened that to listen to people with uteruses). My favorite prenatal care approach was created during my homebirth practice days in Maryland. I would visit pregnant people in their homes for each visit. By seeing clients in their homes, I was able to get to know the whole family–including partners, children, and pets. I could also assess safety, nutrition, and necessary supplies for birth and beyond. Appointments lasted about an hour and the majority of that time was spent talking and especially listening to my clients. The physical part of the visit was the same as any office: blood pressure, weight, belly measurements, listening to baby’s heartrate and, if needed, blood draws.

I cannot ensure anyone’s safety–that is beyond my pay grade, after all, any of us could get hit by a meteor walking out the door–but I safeguarded mama and baby by careful physical assessments, providing education, having obstetric specialists I could consult with, and especially, by listening to the pregnant mama and trusting them and their innate understanding of their body and their baby.

Kat Wallace required I become a writer! She really wanted her story out there and if that meant shoving me out of my comfort zone, then so be it. She is a pirate, after all.

I would also say my family of origin started me on this path because my mother, my father and my sister were and are voracious readers and held authors in high esteem. My husband also carries a love of writing and reading, and books and storytelling have been a part of our family from the beginning.

I have always loved writing. It was a favorite thing to do in school and I often fantasized about someday being an author. The trouble was I did not feel I had a story to tell. Of course, that was in the days of raising small children and working full-time, so there was precious little time for additional endeavors. I really admire and am impressed with writers who can balance raising a family, working a day-job, and getting a book written.

I also feel like the universe provided a series of events that allowed the writer in me to be birthed. At the birth center I worked at, we had an informal report we completed after each day on call to be sure the on-coming midwife was up to date on happenings. Since it was not a medical record, we could add in our opinions and general comments, and I tended to make my comments humorous. One morning, one midwife was reading report and turned to me and said, “Have you ever published anything before?” I scoffed and said “No, of course not.”

But that seed was planted. Then Kat showed up and here we are.

I actually enjoy most everything about the writing process– the pre-writing, the planning, the story creation, watching characters appear and do things of their own free will (I often come down from writing and say to Rick, “I had no idea this character was going to do this, but they are here, and they did”). I also enjoy editing and revising because the story becomes richer after each pass.

The most challenging aspect for me is the double job that is required of authors. First, I must be a writer–something that requires solitary time in my own head and at my computer, and then, I must be a promoter of the writing–which requires I get out in public, both virtually through social media and in person, to tell the world about my stories. Balancing those two things is a huge challenge.

I have addressed this challenge by working to learn from those who have come before me, and by accessing people who have talents in book promotion and social media. By not trying to do it all alone, I am able to create a team that I have confidence in (and it also gives me more time to write!!)

Greenwich has the largest circulation of all items and of adult circulation while West Hartford has the largest YA circulation and Stamford has the largest children’s circulation and, no, thanks to COVID, I have not been to any of them. We moved to Connecticut in 2019, so I have been to the two libraries in the towns I have lived in–the Mystic-Groton Public Library and the Southington Public Library.

I love a good action/adventure book and movie. From Star Trek to Star Wars to Indiana Jones to Die Hard to the Grey Man series, to Hail Mary, Tolkien, The Hunger Games, Jack Ryan stories, and so on and so on, all these amazing stories fed my love for action scenes. Early in the series, I watched a few fight scenes from movies to get a good sense of how they would go, and I took up boxing to get the feel for the movement. But, by the time I got to Blow the Man Down, the final book in the Pirates of New Earth series, the action was pretty much directed by the story and the characters.

You *may* have been able to find me acting out portions of the pivotal scenes to know how to describe the body motions and reactions. I suspect my neighbors may be terrified at this point….

I definitely planned the story as a series. My zero draft was a 110,000-word stream of consciousness that lacked a few things- like a plot and a narrative arc. My daughter mentioned that it felt like there were three stories in the draft and one of my sons thought that Abernathy was a great antagonist, though he sort of disappeared in the earliest draft. So, armed with those pieces of advice, I brought Rob Abernathy back on the scene and created a plan for a series. It started in my planning as a six-book series, but I felt like that was asking too much from readers, so I divided up the zero draft into three books and added Blow the Man Down as the finale.

Navigating certainly makes people feel. I have gotten many texts and emails about certain happenings in Navigating the Storm, most of which included the phrase “but, why??”.

I want people to feel the frustration Kat feels, understand her confusion and vulnerability, laugh at her swaggering antics, cheer for her when she makes strong, positive decisions and struggle with her as she navigates loss and grief. I want readers to take away the understanding that they, like Kat, can face the worst and still prevail, and that it’s okay, hell, even essential to find someone to help as we all navigate our own storms.

Initially, it was truly hit or miss. I have now connected with enough other writers to get a feel what attracts and engages readers that I can apply that learning to my own socials. I also now work with the team at Valkyrie Visionaries (the name itself is amazing!) to plan and create post that speak to my audience. They are amazing and do such a good job listening and creating beautiful posts for me to use.

I definitely did not expect it. I was thrilled and astounded and amazed and (checks word hippo) stupefied. I mean, I adored the story and I love, love, love Kat and her people, but putting out a debut novel is like sending your little one off to school for the first time– you just hope people are kind and will like her even a quarter as much as you do. The fact that Kat has resonated with so many people, and A Merry Life has garnered awards is just so immensely gratifying that it brings me to tears of thankfulness as I write this.

Oh my, you are asking this of a person that still dances on occasion with imposter syndrome.

If you had asked me this a year ago, I would have simply said it was the presence of a strong female protagonist.

Now I can expand on that- yes, Kat is strong, but I don’t think it is her strength that speaks to readers. There are plenty of strong female protagonists in books and movies. I think what people love about Kat is that she is messy and flawed and makes so many mistakes, but she picks herself up and works hard and pushes forward. She loves intensely and she does not suffer fools. Often times her passions get in the way of her better judgement, but when it comes to her children and family, she will lay down her life and anyone else’s that threatens them. Basically, she is everywoman. Just with a really nice knife and a pirate force at her disposal.

You ask very good questions.

Certainly, a theme throughout the series is what it means to be a family. From Kat’s unofficial adoption by Miriam and Teddy to her growth from a lone wolf to a team leader to her growing her own biological family, Pirates asks readers to consider who family is and what one will do for those they love as family.

The theme of growth is continuous throughout the series as well. Kat and other characters do not remain stagnant- they move forward, maybe not in a straight line, but ultimately thay do make progress.

Another pair of themes is inclusivity and diversity. The people of Bosch are very diverse– racial, sexually, religiously and they all accept each other for who they are. They share the culture of Bosch and the passion of the Bosch Pirate Force. This diversity is contrasted by other places in New Earth where bigotry and dogmatism still thrive.

These themes are important to me because I am so passionate about my own family. In addition, I believe people are happiest when they embrace a growth mindset. And I created Bosch as kind of my own private utopia when it comes to diversity and inclusivity. However, Bosch is still flawed. After all, they sell Glitter, a mind-altering drug, as their primary export. This is definitely problematic. And it is a problem that will have to someday be addressed. (Writer slyly smiles)

Budding authors: At the risk of sounding like Nike: just do it. Find the path that is right for you. For me it was as an independent author because what else would you expect from a home-birth midwife? For others it may be a more traditional path. But no one can read a book that is languishing in your desk drawer or on your hard drive. When I put A Merry Life out in the world, I worked to make it the best I could; however, I told Rick (and quite honestly anyone else who would listen) that I hoped it was not the best written book I would ever write. Again, growth mindset, I want to know that my writing gets richer and better with each iteration. So if you have a story to tell- tell it.

Readers: I am not sure I can offer any words of inspiration to you because it is you who inspires me, so: thank you, thank you, thank you. The comments I read and hear when Kat affects someone’s life or acts in a way that they can relate or causes you to laugh out loud or throw the book across the room warms my very soul. It would be very lonely to be a writer without readers. Thank you for joining me on the New Earth journey. There will be more to come.

I came across AllAuthor at the beginning of this year as I was looking for places to promote my series and connect with readers and authors. I like the breadth of services AllAuthor offers including the magic tool and the promotional banners. I honestly need to dive deeper into all that AllAuthor offers because I think I could utilize the services better.