#BadMoonRising If the Light Escapes by Brenda Marie Smith #thriller #dystopian #postapocalyptic #TuesdayBookBlog

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising

I’m currently reading today’s featured book, and if real life didn’t make demands on me (seriously, why can’t I read all the time?), you’d need a crowbar to pry it from my hands. It’s a sequel that can be read as a standalone, but trust me when I say you won’t want to miss the strong-willed, no-nonsense main character grandmother Bea Crenshaw in the first book. This author combined a few of the questions and created quite a humorous Halloween scenario that I’d love to witness. Welcome Brenda Marie Smith!

Which urban legend scares you most?

The idea of a Chupacabra scares my pants off (which is a scary idea in itself), but I like the Mothman because he’s scary but also tragic and mysterious. Mae Clair has written a fictionalized account of him: The Point Pleasant Series, in which he sometimes goes into a rage and haunts the residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, but he also shows compassion and gives aid to certain people who have shown him kindness. Ultimately, he is all alone, the sole member of his species, and I can’t imagine much that would be scarier or more tragic.

Was there a horror movie you refused to watch because the previews were too scary?

I never liked Alien or Aliens because the monster was so SLLIIIIMYYY, but I watched them with my hands over my eyes. I refused to watch The Walking Dead for ten years because zombies are so gross. My son finally convinced me to try one episode, and I was instantly hooked—not on the zombies, but on the excellent human drama, all based on the well-drawn characters in extreme peril.

I’d like to answer all of these questions at once: Candy apple or candy corn? If you watch horror movies, are you the person who yells at the characters, covers your eyes, or falls asleep? Do you ever see figures in your peripheral vision?

If you were to find me watching a horror movie on Halloween, I’d be sitting near a pile of untouched candy apples, munching candy corn, alternately yelling at characters and covering my eyes, while trying to avoid looking at the floating spot in my eye that looks like a spindly black spider and ignoring the monsters in my peripheral vision. If the caramel is soft and the apples are crisp, I might eat a candy apple anyway. If the caramel is hard, I’ll use it to whack the monsters on the head or poke them in the eye with the apple stick.

If you decided to write a spinoff of a side character, who would you choose?

I did write a spinoff of If Darkness Takes Us, with its standalone sequel, If the Light Escapes. The first book was told from the point of view of grandmother Bea Crenshaw, the second in the voice of her 18-year-old grandson Keno Simms. I chose Keno because he was a standout character in the first book. I was a little worried that, being so young, he wouldn’t be able to carry an adult novel, but he surprised my socks off by spewing out of me so fast that I literally could not type fast enough to keep up with him. I’d like to write a third book in the series from the points of view of both Keno and Bea as well as other characters, perhaps Keno’s younger cousins Milo and Mazie, maybe his mother Erin and/or his uncle Pete.

How do you celebrate when you finish writing a book?

For me, there are different levels of “finishing” a book. Finish the first draft: take a day or two off from writing and marketing. Complete a rewrite: have cocktails and a special dinner with the hubby. Polish off the various publisher edits: hoot and holler with my family and my critique partners. Finally see my book go up for sale: sit there stunned, laughing and crying, refreshing the book buy link hundreds of times per day, tearing myself away to sleep for a week. For my first two novels, I threw a book launch party. For this one, due to COVID, I might have a much smaller gathering then do an online event sometime soon after.

If you could spend the day with another popular author, who would you choose?

I would have chosen Toni Morrison or John LeCarré, but, sadly, these amazing authors are no longer with us, unless I could contact them in a séance. I would love to spend a day with Margaret Atwood and absorb some of her talent and wisdom through osmosis. I would do my best not to turn her off with my pesky questions and be on my best behavior. I admire her so much. I’m sure I would be a nervous wreck but also happy as a clam.

A Standalone Sequel to If Darkness Takes Us

A solar electromagnetic pulse fried the U.S. grid. Now northern lights are in Texas—3,000 miles farther south than where they belong. The universe won’t stop screwing with 18-year-old Keno Simms. All that’s left for him and his broken family is farming their Austin subdivision, trying to eke out a living on poor soil in the scorching heat.

Keno’s one solace is his love for Alma, who has her own secret sorrows. When he gets her pregnant, he vows to keep her alive no matter what. Yet armed marauders and nature itself collude against him, forcing him to make choices that rip at his conscience. IF THE LIGHT ESCAPES is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in a near-future reality, a coming-of-age story told in the voice of a heroic teen who’s forced into manhood too soon.

Purchase Link

Amazon

Author Bio and Social Media

Brenda Marie Smith lived off the grid for many years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. She’s been a community activist, managed student housing co-ops, produced concerts to raise money for causes, done massive quantities of bookkeeping, and raised a small herd of teenage boys.

Brenda is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their limitations to find their inner heroism. She and her husband reside in a grid-connected, solar-powered home in South Austin, Texas. They have more grown kids and grandkids than they can count. 

Website: https://brendamariesmith.com/

Twitter: @bsmithnovelist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaMarieSmithAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brenda_marie_smith/

Blog: https://brendamariesmith.tumblr.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJlLSnORIyoaygvZ1j49ZKw

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58043963-if-the-lightescapes#

68 thoughts on “#BadMoonRising If the Light Escapes by Brenda Marie Smith #thriller #dystopian #postapocalyptic #TuesdayBookBlog”

      1. brendamsmith53

        Thanks, Teri. You inspire me to try to be funny. Thanks so much for hosting me here today. I love this event and I’m very happy to be here again for the third year.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
  3. Victoria Zigler

    Loved those answers, especially the one that combined several questions in one. The first of these books is on my to-read shelf already, and this one is joining it for sure.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
      1. Victoria Zigler

        I hope to. Ah, if only I could fit more reading time in a day… *sigh* On the bright side, if it takes me a while longer the third book will be out by the time I’m ready to read them, and I won’t have to suffer like Teri now is. 😉

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

  4. LOL! Loved this interview. Brenda has such a fun sense of humor. Combining those questions was so entertaining!

    I also have to say many thanks for mentioning my Point Pleasant series with the Mothman. And finally, I LOVED If the Light Escapes, and also the first novel, If Darkness Takes Us. Both are utterly engrossing with a unique spin on dystopian. Highly recommended!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    2. brendamsmith53

      Mae, as always, you are too kind, but I love it! My dad was all about having fun, and I learned it from him. If only someday I could tell spontaneous jokes like he could.

      I’m very happy to mention the Point Pleasant series. You brought the Mothman to life and made me care for him, quite a feat. I appreciate all the help you’ve given me with getting the word out about my books.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
    2. brendamsmith53

      Thank you, Jan. Even as a kid who loved sweets, I had a hard time with the candy apples, and they were everywhere back then on Halloween. What I really loved were the popcorn balls. Anyone else remember those? Most of you are probably too young. Bobbing for apples–that was a blast!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
    1. brendamsmith53

      Yes, Miriam, that’s a good way to approach it. Like every good pusher, my son got me to try “just one”, lol. He also got me hooked on several vegan foods.

      In The Walking Dead, the zombies are just the source of continuous peril. The show is really about the individual characters and how they each rise to the occasion or fall short, how they band together to save themselves. The first 6 or 8 seasons are riveting. It has slowed down since, but I still watch every one, even the spinoffs. I got the hubby hooked, too.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. It sounds like your son has wonderful approach to convince you, Brenda. It’s a great skill. Vegan foods are healthy. It’s nothing wrong with that. My daughter and son-in-law are vegetarians for more than 15 years. They eat vegan sometimes.
        I think I peeked a little when hubby watched some zombies movies. I don’t know which ones though.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  11. Another winner of a guest, Teri! Loved this post!

    Brenda, you piqued my interest from the start, but your answer to multiple questions at once really reeled me in! Best answer ever! And I’m very intrigued by your series, too. (Adding another book to my Amazon list, even as I type … and don’t think that isn’t a real trick! 😄 )

    Here’s wishing you much continued success with this series, and many more to come! 🤗💖

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Pingback: #BadMoonRising – Post 19 Featuring Brenda Marie Smith | The Write Stuff

    1. brendamsmith53

      I’ve seen a couple of interviews with her recently, and she is fascinating. How prescient was The Handmaid’s Tale, written so long ago and seemingly more relevant every day. And she has such range in her writing as well. A treasure.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
    1. brendamsmith53

      Thank you, Joan. It was fun for me, too. I always have such a good time on Teri’s blog during this event. She makes it easy to be fun with her good questions.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  17. brendamsmith53

    Ms. Teri Polen, I cannot thank you enough for hosting me and my books in your wonderful Bad Moon Rising event. I always enjoy it so much and you have a lot of great followers. The event seems to get stronger every year, and it’s much deserved. You have worked very hard on it, and it’s so helpful to us authors.

    I nominate you for Writer Sainthood!

    Have a wonderful autumn!

    All my best wishes,
    Brenda

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. brendamsmith53

      That’s funny, Chuck. Maybe you could convince her that you have to practice up for a potential apocalypse? I would recommend trying it before you dive in, maybe rent a cabin in the woods or something like that. Find a beautiful place to camp out. Remember, there would be no internet, and even if you keep a cell phone, you’re likely to have bad reception. I did live off the grid when I was young and healthy, but I wouldn’t do it voluntarily now that I’m old. But when we had the Texas Snowpocalypse last Feb., my old skills kicked in and helped to get us through it.

      Best of luck, Chuck, and thank you for the kind words.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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