INTERESTING PEOPLE INTERVIEW

Meet: Brita Addams

 

Contest:

At each stop of the tour, I'll give away a copy of an ebook from my backlist to one randomly drawn commenter. For Men Like Us, the newest release isn't eligible.




 At the end of the tour, I'll select one person from all of the commenters and that person will win a swag pack, containing *tons* of Brita Addams swag.

 http://britaaddams.com/

What are your 2 favorite careers?

I grew up in a time when women weren't as focused on careers as they were other things. I know I'm aging myself here, but it's true. I was raised with the knowledge that I would one day become a wife and mother, which I did by the age of 20.

I wasn’t "allowed" to go to college, but while I wanted to, I didn't think too much about it. I married my high school sweetheart, a marriage that lasted long enough to have two kids and grow up. It was then that I realized that I needed that education. I got some and since then, I've done many things, from secretary, to office manager, to running a kiosk in the mall.

I didn't enjoy any of them. My first favorite career would be being wife and mother to my family. In my mind, a woman can do nothing as important as guiding her children to adulthood.

The second for me, is my writing, something I postponed until my family was grown. Now is my time, and I take full advantage of it. I spend nearly every day writing, even if for only an hour or two. The rest of the time is spent with my husband, who is my best friend and the most wonderful person on the planet. He cooks our meals and keeps the house going while I indulge in bringing my characters to life.

What is the hardest thing you ever had to do?

 Let me preface this answer with this. I believe we all tend to live in our version of fantasy, until we have something in life that tests our mettle. This is my story.

I had two children, born perfectly healthy and able, as they should have been. After divorcing their father, I met the man who is now my husband and has been for nearly thirty-three years. He had no children of his own and while we were content with my two, we eventually decided to have one.

When she was born, there was definitely something very wrong with her body, which we quickly learned was a disease called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congentia. In short, she can't bend her arms or her legs due to undeveloped muscles.

"She'll never brush her teeth or her hair, feed herself, walk, she have to have multiple surgeries, and will live her life in a wheelchair. But she'll be above average in intelligence."

Not much consolation for heartbroken parents.

We struggled for a very long time to come to grips with this revelation and its impact, not only on our daughter, but on the entire family. The other two kids were 14 and 10 at the time, and fairly well established in their ways of life.

To face the future was difficult, even when I was assured that her disability had nothing to do with anything I did or didn't do. Arthrogryposis happens.

Watching her in therapy, where the therapists "wrenched her arms and legs off," was horrible. When they taught us how to do it, and informed us we had to do it at home, three to four times a day, it was not a pleasant prospect. Listening to my child cry while I did something to her that is so extraordinarily painful nearly unwound me. Successive rounds of plaster casts and metal braces were unending.

Surgeries were horrible, as I watched her being wheeled into the operating room and I couldn't be there to protect her. Her Daddy and I waited through seven of them in seven years, some dismal failures, and others giving her only moderate mobility. Her body was left massively scared, but somewhat more functional that before.

She was the March of Dimes Youth Ambassador for the New Orleans for six years, which brought her to the notice of many local celebrities, some of whom became friends.

On September 4, she turned 28 years old, amid trepidation over Hurricane Issac. In her short life, she has accomplished amazing feats, all done with a courage that isn't born in someone, but instead, is wrenched loose from the depths. She has graduated from college not once, but twice, with honors. She is employed, married, and a wonderful mom to her puppy, Fiona, whom I'd steal if she'd allow it. J  She brushes her teeth, her hair, dresses herself, walks and has since the age of 4, and doesn't live her life in a wheelchair.

Two years ago, she wrote a book called Most Eligible. It is a sweet romance about a guy who goes on a TV show to find love, published at Decadent Publishing. Such a lovely story The best $2.99 you'll ever spend!

The hardest thing I've ever had to do was allow her to show us the way she wanted to grow up, rather than cosseting her as was our natural tendency. She is an amazing person and I am so blessed to even know her, to say nothing of being her mom. 
 

Favorite music, song or band

It has been ages since I've actually listened to music. I love country though, and George Strait is my favorite.
 

Are you usually late, early or right on time?
 

I am always ready early. I think it's in the DNA. My husband is wired like that too. To be late is rude and to be right on time is nerve racking. If invited somewhere, we never arrive early, but we are just down the street ready to pounce in, on time.


Are you happy with your life for the most part right now?

 

I am one of those people who is naturally happy. Having gone through many trials in my life, I recognize what's important, what's normal, and what doesn't warrant my attention.
 

 I am married to my best friend. He is wonderful, in ways I can't begin to describe. We laugh a lot in our house, as he is a jokester. We attend to the big stuff and never sweat the small stuff.
 

Is my happiness contingent on his? You bet it is. He takes making me happy very seriously, and do the same for him. It's worked out for a lot of years, so we'll keep doing it. J

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

That's easy. England. I write and read about it so much, I want to go and visit.

What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up on?

If I ever had to give up on my marriage, for reasons that are unthinkable, I would be done in, no doubt about it.

Email address: Brita@britaaddams.com

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Twitter: @britaaddams

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Blurb from Brita's latest release, For Men Like Us:

After Preston Meacham’s lover dies trying to lend him aid at Salamanca, hopelessness becomes his only way of life. Despite his best efforts at starting again, he has no pride left, which leads him to sell himself for a pittance at a molly house. The mindless sex affords him his only respite from the horrors he witnessed.

The Napoleonic War left Benedict Wilmot haunted by the acts he was forced to commit and the torture he endured at the hands of a superior, a man who used the threat of a gruesome death to force Ben to do his bidding. Even sleep gives Ben no reprieve, for he can’t escape the destruction he caused.

When their paths cross, Ben feels an overwhelming need to protect Preston from his dangerous profession. As he explains, “The streets are dangerous for men like us.”