For as long as she can remember, Monmouth County local Brianna R. Shaffery has been writing stories. Her love of literature started at a young age and like many authors before her, stories have been a focal point of her life.
“I was always coming up with new worlds and games, and as I got older, I started writing them down,” she says, “though I never really finished them until I took Creative Expressions in high school.”
It was there and with the encouragement of her teacher, that her dreams became a reality. During a free-write session, Brianna started to write about a girl with silver hair and lilac-colored eyes. While it was a little rough, she admits, Brianna was totally enthralled by the girl with no name and the story without a title.
“I was immediately captivated and obsessed over the story and I just remember working on it every chance I got,” she laughs. And soon enough, the girl had a name: Nyla.
Nyla would go on to become one of three main characters in Brianna’s now completed Heirs of Tenebris trilogy. The award-winning young adult fantasy-adventure trilogy transports readers to a new world marked by sapphire leaves and shrouded in mysterious legends that may be more fact than myth as Nyla, Xander, and Shamira come to find out. When asked about her inspiration for the trilogy, Brianna says that she has a curious mind and likes asking questions. She also claims to spend a fair amount of time with her head in the clouds. Brianna speculates that’s how the two years since publishing her debut novel and the first in her Heirs of Tenebris trilogy have passed her by.
“It’s crazy to think that Fire & Flight came out in July of 2022, and here I am, two years later with a completed trilogy and a new book on the way. It’s been an amazing journey thus far and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s helped me along the way.”
One of Brianna’s favorite things, aside from seeing her books published, has been meeting readers at local signings. From markets like the Bell Works Fresh Market and signings at Barnes & Noble stores throughout the area, Brianna is always excited to connect with new readers and chat with them about her books, and their own writing if they mention their work too.
As she reflects on her journey to becoming a published author and the upcoming anniversaries of her Heirs of Tenebris books, Brianna is also looking toward the future. Already working toward the publication of her next book, a standalone romance-fantasy, Brianna says she has a few ideas of what she’ll write next. The best place to stay in the loop on her upcoming events and publications would be to sign up for her newsletter at BRSwrites.com/newsletter or by following her on social media.
Brianna’s books can be found anywhere books are sold online like Amazon and Barnes & Nobles, though if you’re looking for signed copies, she says it’s best to visit her at her website BRSwrites.com/shop. Always happy to meet new readers, Brianna encourages any one hoping to get a signed copy visit her at one of her book signings.