1--What is the title of your latest release?
ONLY IN DARKNESS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
ONLY IN DARKNESS is based on an actual Mayan legend. It is a story of love, blood lust, and the horrors of coming of age. The novel is a multi-cultural horror story based in modern-day southeastern Idaho with a twisting back story in ancient Central America and the emerging drug war of the 1970s.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I live near the Massacre Rocks area of Idaho and have always found the dark lava formations and cliffs to be beautiful but also haunting. I traveled to Guatamala and was intrigued by the area and the Mayan culture of the past. It was fun to weave the two areas together in this story.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
He is a young man I admire, and I feel a great deal of empathy for him. He is trying to get through life as a young man who is going through significant changes and feeling like he doesn’t belong in the world.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Strong, Smart, Anxious.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so much from this story, including the ancient legends of the Mayans, the more recent history of the pioneers who settled in Idaho, and the early days of the drug war in the United States.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I start my books by writing the ending and how I want the story to resolve. I then go to the beginning and weave the story from there.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Seafood. I grew up spending my summers on the Southern California coast. I could eat crab every day.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a home office that is full of memories. My window looks out over acres of fields and animals (I live on a small Idaho ranch). The space is my comfort spot, and my dogs are usually at my feet while I write.
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are many, but Charlotte Bronte is who I really admire. She is one of the best writers of all time, and she did it at a time in history that would have been very difficult for a woman author.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Jane Eyre. The character development and the discovery of his wife were incredible influences on my love of literature and my writing.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was sitting in the hairdresser’s chair in Pocatello, Idaho, when I got the call. My agent had sold my novel to a large publisher in New York City. It was like a dream. I wrote that novel as a teenager and kept it hidden for decades. I was blown away when it was accepted for publication.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I usually read literary fiction, but I love a good mystery/thriller. And there have been several memoirs that are favorites.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Stand By Me. It is such an incredible story, and when I learned that it was written and based on a true story that happened to Stephen King, I was even more intrigued.
15--What is your favorite season?
Probably Spring. It is the season of hope and new beginnings. I live in Idaho, and after months of snow, I am ready for green grass and new blooms.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to cook, so even when it’s my own birthday, I love to gather with friends and family and cook a huge meal.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I have loved the series “Shrinking”. The characters are each so well done and the writing is so clever. It is heartfelt and funny and makes you feel so good.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Seafood and baked goods. It’s a weird combination, but oh well!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to ride our horses in the river bottoms around our house. The woods are beautiful, and the trail follows the river for miles. I love to see all the wildlife that live there.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I have just finished the first draft of a story set in Idaho. It is told from the perspective of two boys. One is a foster child who comes to live on a farm near the river, and the other is dead and telling his story from the other side. Both are in limbo and trying to figure out how and why they are where they are.
Based on ancient Mayan mythology comes a story of bloodlust, love, and the horrors of coming of age.
In ancient Central America, the legend of the Camazotz: large, bat-like creatures that desire blood and terrorize the villages in search of prey. When the volcano, Masaya, erupts and kills the tribe from which the Camazotz are from, they discover a miracle ash in the ruins.
Years later, in present-day eastern Idaho, 17-year-old Emilio Chavez lives in an isolated area near the lava rock cliffs of the American Falls reservoir. From birth, he has been different. After Emilio's friend Clara falls victim to a terrible accident, suspicions about Emilio arise, and he discovers an astonishing secret about his past.
As a sinister force tightens its grip on Clara, can Milo save her from those searching for blood while keeping his own internal demons at bay?
Coming of Age | Fantasy Dark [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: February 11, 2025, e-Book , / ]
Brenda Stanley has been a television news anchor and investigative reporter for two decades for the NBC affiliate in Idaho. She has been recognized by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Idaho Press Club, and the Society for Professional Journalists. Brenda is a graduate of the University of Utah and holds an MBA. She is the author of six novels and four cookbooks. Brenda is the mother of five children, including two sets of twins, and a grandmother of eight. She and her veterinarian husband, Dave, live on a small ranch in Blackfoot, Idaho, with their dogs, horses, chickens, sheep, and whatever else Brenda decides to add to her “petting zoo.”
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