CB The Soldier and the Swan.
AW What first got you into writing and why?
CB I started reading a book from the "New Releases" section at my local library. After the first chapter, I remember thinking, that's not what happens. I put the book down and spent the next few years daydreaming about how the story should have gone. Eventually, I decided to write it myself. That became my first novel, though it will probably never be published.
AW You write historical romance; is it all imagination, or do you do research?
CB I do a lot of research, but probably not in the order most people expect. I usually write the emotional story first and then dive into the historical details. For The Soldier and the Swan, I researched 1940's San Francisco, ballet, and Swan Lake. The history gives the story its foundation, but for me it's always the relationships that matter most.
AW Have you tried/dabbled with other genres or writing for other forms of media?
CB My first book was a romantasy. Creating an entirely new world while learning to write a novel was a challenge. Looking back, I'm glad I started there because it forced me to learn so much about storytelling.
AW Famous authors such as Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas had a special space for writing. Do you have a writing shed of your own?
AW And finally, what would your eight-year-old self think, and say about you and your achievements today?
CB My eight-year-old self is sitting beside my mother at the typewriter, writing a story about a mermaid and a sunken ship. I don't think she'd be nearly as surprised as my teenage self, who became afraid and started believing she wasn’t good enough. My eight-year-old self would just shrug, smile, and say, "Figures."
about the book... She gave up the stage for love.
Now the man she married barely looks at her.
A love story inspired by Swan Lake.
San Francisco, 1943: Vivienne Hartley was once San Francisco's most celebrated prima ballerina. But when her husband, Charlie, returns home wounded from the war, she gives up her dreams to care for him. The man she married has become a shell of the man she once loved. As Charlie withdraws further into himself, Vivienne tries to become the wife she believes he needs until she barely recognises herself anymore.
When Charlie's younger brother, Danny, returns home, he sees the woman beneath the caregiver and challenges her to audition for Swan Lake. As rehearsals begin, Vivienne rediscovers the life she thought she'd buried forever. But the more she finds herself again, the harder it becomes to ignore the impossible truth.
The only man who truly sees her...is the one she can never have.
about the author...
Catherine Brooks writes novels with love at the centre. As a former ballet dancer, registered nurse, and caregiver, she draws on her own experiences to write stories with emotional honesty. The Soldier and the Swan is her debut novel.
An Arizona native, she lives with her husband and two children, a diva dog, a very hungry tortoise, and a bird named Sprinkles.
