Follow Fiona on social media:

Instagram: @fionabrennan8
TikTok: @fionabrennan4
Website: fionabrennan.co.uk

For this latest author interview, I’ve had the pleasure to ask indie YA contemporary author, Fiona Brennan, about her work.

Tell me a bit about yourself. Who are you and what do you write?

Hi Alan, my name is Fiona Brennan. I live in the North West of England in between Liverpool and Manchester. I have only written one book so far, Running Scared, which is a YA contemporary book.

What’s your favourite genre? Is it the same as the one you write in?

My favourite genre is Murder Mystery/Thrillers and although there is some violence in my book it is fairly mild.

What do you do for inspiration?

I love visiting Liverpool and Manchester. There is some amazing street-art which has inspired several scenes in my book. I also enjoy holidaying in North Wales which is where my book is also set.

How do you approach building your worlds?

I have visited parts of inner-cities to see first hand how they are laid out. I’ve watched lots of programmes that are set in big cities and Wales and taken the more extreme elements from them and added components from my imagination to create dramatic environments.

What comes first? Characters or plot?

Characters. I based two of my characters very loosely on my sons and one of them is quite sensible and mature, the other is a bit more adventurous and messier (I hope they don’t read this 😉). I tried to imagine how they would deal with certain scenarios.

The other main character in my book, Luke, is having to deal with difficult circumstances so I developed his personality on how I imagined a young person in his situation would handle events. He has to occasionally resort to doing some quite morally-grey stuff.

What was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?

In the sequel I have killed off a significant character, which was sad. I agonised over it for a long time.

What’s your favourite/least favourite thing about the writing process?

I really enjoy sitting with my laptop, disappearing into a whole new world with characters I’ve created. 

Unlike my 9-5 job, I have no one to talk to about my writing—apart from very general conversations with my family—none of whom are my target audience. They have read my stuff but it’s not their usual choice.

Are you able to share any short snippets from the cutting room floor?

He grabbed his hoody, picked up his keys and left the flat, which was in a rundown area of the city. Taking the lift to the ground floor he left by the back exit. The rear of the building was covered in a tribute to Manchester United. It had started as an enormous outline of the initials MUFC in the team colours of red, white and black, and had been added to over the years. The outside of the doors had been painted like a turnstile with two new players who had recently signed for the club entering the ground. However, on the inside of the doors, there was another painting of a turnstile with the back of the club’s owner, Malcolm Glazer, leaving the ground. Someone had added a boot to his backside to represent the animosity felt towards him by the United fans. 

What is your absolute favourite piece of your own writing? Could be a short scene, a bit of dialogue, a character or even the tiniest piece of worldbuilding.

Damian wasn’t the worst parent Luke had but he was in the top two. First place was still held by Luke’s real dad, who was doing a stretch in Strangeways for robbing a betting shop. Luke didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, but he didn’t want to end up like either of those two losers. He knew if he didn’t get some cigs Damian would be twitchy and irritable. He was already obnoxious; he didn’t want to add angry to the list.

What are you promoting at the moment?

Running Scared—I’m hoping to really get cracking with the sequel which has characters moving from Liverpool to the village in Wales. Watch this space!

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