Isabella May Author

We Talk Little Gray Dresses, Tattoos and Vanilla Ice Cream Chocolate Milkshake!

Welcome, Aimee Brown! Please tell us a little about your brand new book, “Little Gray Dress.”
Hi! Thank you so much for having me. Little Gray Dress is a book full of weddings, breakups, engagements, and many laugh out loud moments.

Here is the official blurb: Emi Harrison has avoided her ex-fiance, Jack Cabot, for nearly two years. Her twin brother Evan’s wedding is about to end that streak.

From bad bridesmaid’s dresses, a hyperactive sister-in-law, a mean girl with even meaner secrets, and too much to drink, nothing seems to go right for Emi, except when she’s wearing her little gray dress.

When she speed-walks into Liam Jaxon’s bar, things get more complicated. He’s gorgeous, southern, and has no past with Emi. He may be exactly what she needs to prove for the last time that she doesn’t need or want Jack!

Her favorite little gray dress has made an appearance at nearly every major event in Emi’s adult life. Will it make another grand appearance when she least expects it?

What inspired you to write it?
I’ve always wanted to be a published author. I’ve started and trashed at least a hundred manuscripts over the years. For some reason, this one stuck. I wrote it quickly because the characters never seemed to shut up. Ha!

I’m also obsessed with anything wedding as well as the 90’s romantic comedies that they no longer make. I wanted to write both of those things and I think Little Gray Dress is a great mix of the two.

Can you give us any clues as to what you are working on next, or are you taking a well-earned breather?
Since I signed my publishing contract I’ve been mostly working on Little Gray Dress in some way or another. If it wasn’t editing, it’s been marketing. But… I have had some time to start a couple different projects. One is a story surrounding one of the characters in Little Gray Dress. It seems everyone who has read it needs a happy ending for this particular character and I’m super happy to oblige.

I’m also about ¼ of the way through a kind of cozy chick lit-ish mystery book that is set in a vintage Tiki bar. It’s such fun and I’ve really fallen in love with my characters.

Some of my favourite people sport an interesting cluster of tattoos, but it’s no secret, I’m not their biggest fan – (at this point I duck for cover) – and probably therefore in a very small minority nowadays! What sparked your love of them? I must confess, when I first saw your picture, I thought “Oh, what a beautiful necklace she’s wearing!”, but in actual fact, it is a slightly more permanent piece of art, isn’t it?
Yeah, so I guess I should tell everyone reading that I’m a BIG tattoo fan and when I get one I don’t go small or hidden. I have a big tattoo across my chest, armpit to armpit you could say. I have heard people mistake it for a necklace upon first meeting me, which is OK because it’s gorgeous. It’s vines, interweaving into a heart with a sparrow on each side. I also have an ‘in process’ ¾ sleeve on my left arm that is chrysanthemums right now, and in the future will also be air and the wind, plus a few more random flowers.

I love the look of tattoos. One of the reasons I chose to get them was just for the simple ‘shock and awe’ of the visibility of them in someone like me. I really love seeing the obvious judgment on people’s faces who disapprove of them. It’s art, who disapproves of art? Really, I’m about the least judgmental person you will ever meet. People’s choices in life are just that, their choices. I have no opinion on them because I’ve never walked in their shoes. But, I will say, tattoos bring out the worst in people who are against them. I’ve heard a lot of awful things said about myself because of the tattoos. I was once stopped by an older woman in the store who let me know she would pray for my children. Why would she think my children (who were standing well behaved and all clean and shiny, next to me) weren’t taken care of because I have beautiful tattoos? It doesn’t make me regret the tattoos at all when I’m treated that way. If anything it makes me want more to keep exactly those people outside of my comfort zone. Lol.

I understand that they aren’t for everyone and that’s ok. I got them because I love them. My tattoos have no special meanings, besides the fact that I fell in love with them and wanted to break the stereotype of what a ‘responsible mother’ should look like. I’m not a drug user, (never have used a single one) I’m not a partier or drinker (all stereotypes pinned to tattooed folks). I’ve been married 20 years, I have three teenagers that I’ve home-schooled (one even graduated a year early!), I run a successful business and I’ve been the face of many hospital ER’s, despite being heavily tattooed under the cover of my scrubs. My tattoos have never held me back from a job and they don’t devalue my worth as an honorable human on the planet.

One of the most popular blog posts I ever did was about my tattoos as a woman. You can find it over here à http://authoraimeebrown.com/im-a-tattooed-woman/

Now that I’ve written a book you see that tattoos, and those that have them, are a subject close to my heart because of they equal individuality, and a stereotype that is so often wrong. I believe no matter how someone looks, they deserve to not be judged based on negative stereotypes.

I also understand you are a coffee aficionado… but what about cake?
Oh, my goodness, who doesn’t love a great piece of cake?! Cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot cake. YUM! Cake seems to represent the celebration of something great so that could be part of my obsession. Is it my fault that getting all the laundry washed, dried and folded counts as ‘something great’ in my house? No way. LOL.

When I was a child my family served a lot of cake during family get togethers. My grandfather used to mix his vanilla ice cream and his chocolate cake into a sort of milkshake. I do that. It’s one of my favorite desserts and every single birthday I have, the requirement is always chocolate cake with chocolate icing and vanilla ice cream so I can mix it. Now that my grandfather is no longer with us, it makes me think of him every time I mix the two together (or when I see my 19-year-old, who’s picked up the habit, do it too!)

Favourite place you have ever visited anywhere in the world?
I’m truly sad to say I’ve never left America, though my list of ‘go to’s’ is rather long. I’ve lived all over the states though, from Oregon to Nevada then on to Oklahoma and now in Montana. I love the deep south and the warm humid days, palm trees and laid back atmosphere. But I also loved the southern coast of California with the tall palm trees and gorgeous beaches. It’s safe to say that if there is sun, warmth, beaches and palm trees, I’ll love it.

Life with three teenagers must be a roller coaster of fun and games! How much do your kids influence your writing, and how understanding have they been of your need for a quiet space?
I’m not sure they yet understand my need for a quiet space, even though they are 19, 18 and 13. My house always has some kind of chatter and laughter happening and luckily for me I’ve learned how to tune most of it out.

It’s kind of funny because when I think of writing a character with children, I always decide against it. For me, a book is a vacation and writing about kids is no vacation. I’m with kids all the time. I homeschool them as well so we are literally together nearly 24/7. So I can say if they’ve influenced my writing at all it’s to make sure there are no children front and center in the stories. Lol.

Your one piece of advice for anybody writing in your genre?
I say write what you know. I didn’t really choose my genre (romantic comedy/chick lit) it chose me. I’m sarcastic,  flawed, and funny by nature so it’s really easy for me to write that way as well. You can’t force something that isn’t there so if you’re bound and determined to write a chick lit but a suspenseful mystery is what keeps coming out, go with it.