Intimate Interviews

Tease and Tell with @breannejay

Hello Darklings,

Today, we sit down with a bold author whose stories will have your jaws dropping and minds titillated. Welcome, breannejay 

Welcome to Intimate Interviews! Can you tell us more about yourself?

I've been writing on Wattpad since 2014, but I only started getting serious with the hobby in 2018. Spicy Contemporary Romance has been my comfort genre. I love characters with deep baggage that eventually unloads them as they slowly find themselves in each other. When I'm not writing, I'm a freelancer and an art director in the advertising industry. I create commercials and campaigns for big brands and hope to the heavens that my work will bring them the sales they're after. LOL. During my free time, I either hang out with my wonderful dogs, pick another book, or watch a series.

What made you pick up the pen and start writing?

The short answer is it's hard to find one book that has all the subgenres I want to read about. Haha! The long answer is writing keeps me insane. My profession is mostly visual. Graphic design, storyboarding, videos—these are the things that take up most of my days in a week. But literature is a different arena altogether. Writing is not the same as bringing images from your brain to life by picking up a tablet or launching a software. In writing, you have to feel all the emotions in your bones. You have to look deep into your being and ask difficult questions. In retrospect, it's my low-cost therapy.

What inspires you as an author?

The reality that I live with is my inspiration. Every character that I write has a part of them that is me—whether it's a small hobby, a quirky mannerism, or an impossible dream. Which leads me back to what I said previously, writing is therapeutic. Being able to translate my deepest and darkest emotions into fictional experiences that people can actually relate to? It's a win-win. It feels good to let go, and it feels good to let people know that they aren't the only ones who feel a specific way.

What inspired you to write your first steamy scene? Could you tell us more about that experience? Was it a slow buildup to a not-so-innocent kiss, or did your characters' jump right into the action?

There is this BDSM book that I wrote called 'Papers for Roses'. It's the first book for me that feels whole, and I obsessed over a million times before I swore to myself that I'll never rewrite it again, which is just this year so who knows? Anyway, it's a pretty interesting experience.

Before writing the first steamy scene, I made sure to do extensive research about the topic. BDSM has always interested me, but had never gotten around to experience so writing it in a realistic way was a bit of a challenge. I asked myself the question: For someone who's warming up to the idea of not having control, how can I make the scene feel safe? Communication is highly emphasized in every article that I read about the topic, so I make sure that it's present and clear before my characters jump into the scene.

Of course, hot and steamy is the goal. But feeling seen, safe, and pleased should always be the primary, and that's what I want my audience to feel when they read such an unconventional scene, even if it's fictional.

Was writing "after dark" material something that occurred naturally to you, or was it a craft that you practiced till you perfected?

Fun fact about me: I live in a conservative household. What's taboo in the environment I live in, I'm drawn to it. But while I want to say that writing "after dark" material occurred naturally to me, I also know that it's been a wild journey before I got to this point where I can say that it's easier.

Before, I wrote this kind of material with steamy scenes because that's what couples naturally do, you know. They do the deed and that's it. But over time, I realized there's more to it than that. Emotions, baggage, their environment—it all plays into the character's experience to make it enjoyable and keep the plot moving.

Do you have any challenges that you face during writing, especially spicy or mature topics? And how do you overcome them?

I never had any trouble when writing spicy or mature topics. Usually, it's the part that I'm most excited to write. Haha! But the challenge I frequently encounter in general is actually sitting down and writing. Life keeps me busy that at the end of the day; I just end up sleeping. So, what I do is choose a time out of my day, eliminate all distractions, and set a timer. As long as the timer runs, I'm not touching anything other than increasing the word count while maintaining substance in those words.

What is one thing about writing that no one told you about, or what is one piece of advice you would like to share with other writers especially when it comes to writing AfterDark material?

I have read somewhere on the internet that I wished I read when I first started writing: When writing about steamy scenes, don't write primarily about the steamy scenes.

It's a short quote, but there's a lot I've gotten from that. As I've mentioned in the previous question, there are more things that play into the experience to make it more enjoyable. As simple as what the MC cooked for dinner can play into how the other MC feels about stripping themselves vulnerable to the other. If they hated the dish, then they're doing it with more passion. If they remembered the other's favorite and worked hard for it, the scene must be more loving and tender.

More awareness is what I'm getting at.

More than what they obviously want—to get off, to do it for the sake of—it's also important to write about how they have gotten to that point, what they're feeling, what questions are in their heads, what they're seeing etc. Use all their senses, don't strip them into the person who's only focused on the body parts. They have personalities, right? Bring them to the table—err to the bed!

Do you have a favorite novel from the titles you've written and why is it your chosen one?

Ah, hard to choose! I've spent a lot of time working on them and I love them all. But I guess, if I truly have to choose, it's Filthy Storm. It's not simply because it's another story about a famous star quarterback falling in love with a poor, plain Jane. Other than it's my comeback novel, it's also a product of all the pent-up emotions that I've gathered in the past two years that I didn't write. The happiness, successes, heartbreak, and grief that made me who I am today. Though, in truth, when I first started writing it, I planned it as a regular, feel-good novel that I wanted to make an audience hot and bothered. Now, it has all these layers that I wouldn't have been able to write when I was younger.

Are you a panster, or plotter, or both? How does that work for you?

I'm a panster! Once I have the title, the characters, and the initial plot, I surrender everything into the hands of the universe. Where will the characters lead me? I'm also sat down because I don't know either! Though I have to say, it's working perfectly for me. What I do is I just write five chapters in advance before they get published so it will all tie up together in case I missed something, even the smallest details that won't affect the plot at all.

Do you have any writing projects you're currently working on? Any future titles your readers should look forward to?

Currently, I'm working on "King of the Mafia Wolves". It's the first installment of the Urban Wolves Trilogy that I plan to finish in December 2025. The books will revolve around three brothers who have infiltrated the human politics and underworld, while also finding their romantic counterparts that will either help them in their objective or make them see their ways differently.

If you could, what is one thing you would tell your younger self today?

Just show up. Everything else will naturally come together in ways you wouldn't have imagined.

Before we wrap it up, do you have any message for your readers and possible future readers?

I always say this at the start, middle, and end of the book, but I'll never get tired of saying this so I'll say it again: Thank you for reading my books. I doubt myself every minute of the day in the past twenty-something years that I'm on this Earth, but writing is the only place that I can let go and be myself. So, I'm grateful to every one of you that gave them a chance and encouraged me to keep writing.

To connect with Breannejay or read more of her stories, check out her profile HERE

Until the next one, dark lovers! 

Xoxo 

Afterdark.