Welcome to my interview with novelist, Braxton A. Cosby, author of The Star-Crossed Saga and The Sect Series.

Braxton A. Cosby is the CEO of Cosby Media Productions and is a life-long learner who loves the experience of creation and wishes to inspire others to embrace it as well. He is an award-winning novelist and health and wellness specialist who has created various series and books to inspire people to think, live, act, and love. His health care programs have helped thousands to achieve their goals and his many endeavors include various forms of entertainment from acting to screenplay development. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and three girls.

Hello, Braxton, 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?  Right after I finished the first two chapters of Protostar. I fell in love with the challenge of creating a story and the love/hate dichotomy of weaving good characters into an awesome backdrop.

What inspired you to write your first book? Believe it or not, I was in church and God spoke to me and asked me to write a novel, based on a series. It was to be a love story as a gift to young people about the beauty of falling in love for the “Right” reasons that span way beyond popularity or comfort. Just that good old fashioned love that centers on people being pulled together by fate and holding one despite the challenges. 

What genre do you consider your books? Although the main focus (protagonists) of the stories are usually young adults, I’ve been noted to drift into the newly popular New Adult genre as well (especially with The Sect).

How did you come up with the title?  Well, for the most part, my titles take on multiple meanings. For The Star-Crossed Saga, Protostar is the birth of a star (birth of a series) and in Sydney’s case (main character) she is in the phase of Protostar where she – being a Star-child – is coming into the fruition of her powers. As for The Sect, The Windgate is a mystical place where the Holy Spirit dwells on Earth and it is the place where Ziv encounters the antagonist of the series – Akabod –  for the first time and tries to stop him from destroying the Windgate.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?  It’s a wide range of love, hope, courage, faith, and commitment. I hold these values very dear to my heart, especially that of accountability. People should always try to keep their word and stand by things that they believe in now matter how controversial or inconvenient. In the end, you’ll be able to sleep better at night knowig who you are rather than what people want you to be.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?  I really try to create from a part of my own experiences. I know people – a whole lot of people – and I’m so blessed to have been both encouraged and discouraged by them. I understand the struggle of holding fast to dreams and working like crazy to see them come to light. So, what quite naturally ends up coming from those stories is my personal experiences and weaving my characters into these experiences so that feel very real to the readers.

What are your current projects?  Well, currently I am readying for my re-release of Protostar as a Deluxe edition, which has timelines and much smoother storytelling to keep the pace of the first book. That is set to come out in May and the sequel (highly anticipated) Supernova will be coming out in June. The Sect: The Windgate is currently out on eBook, and the audiobook and Paperback will be out in April. I am also working diligently to finish a Hero novel that will connect characters from other authors we have with Cosby media Productions for a late 2015 release. Beyond that, a few other books that I will co-author in 2015 for later releases in 2015 and early 2016. 

Who designed the covers?  I come up with the designs and my cover artist does a stellar job at bringing them to life.

What was the hardest part of writing your book? Find the dream, construct the framework, kiss sleep goodbye and work relentlessly to perfect it. Don’t be afraid to throw away pages of text that does not keep the story moving. It seems vital to you because you wrote it. But most readers don’t really want to know all the details you fond so important. Good editing is invaluable for this.

Do you write an outline before every book you write? Absolutely. My outlines are life-savers. Once I have all the chapters set and go back through them over and over again to make sure it all fits, I can begin the journey of crafting.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book? We are working to secure Ariana Grande as the lead for Sydney in the movie adaptation of Protostar for The Star-Crossed Saga. We are so excited and I just let that one slip on your blog. Wow! You got a nugget.  Heard it first here folks.

THIS OR THAT—The Speed Round

Which do you prefer – Reading or writing? Writing
Writing during the night or writing during the day? Night
Writing from home or someplace else? Home
Reading a eBook or print? eBook
Buy books online or buy in a bookstore? Online
Weather: Hot or Cold? Hot
Music or Silence? Music
Classic Fairy tales or Fairy tale retellings? Classic
Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
The Beach or The Mountains? Beach
The World being taken over by zombies or sexy blood sucking vampires? Zombies
Time travel to the future or past? Future
Facebook or twitter? Facebook
Being able to fly or being able to go invisible? Invisible
Bookmark or Dog eared? Bookmark
1st character POV or 3rd character POV? 1st
City or Country? City
Pen or Pencil? Pen
Polk-a-dots or Stripes? Stripes
Pancakes or Waffles? Pancake
Books or Movies? Books
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Elbows the size of pumpkins or knees the size of watermelons? Elbows

How can readers discover more about you and you work?

Website and Blog: www.braxtoncosby.com
Facebook
Twitter: @BraxtonACosby
Amazon Author Page
Smashwords
Goodreads

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