Questions 3, 4, & 5

Question 3, from Krystle: If I could travel anywhere in the world, where would I travel?
A: I’ve been to a lot of really fun exotic places, from the LITERAL jungle in the Amazon in Brazil, to all the beaches in Hawaii. And, I LOVE THE SUN. (Except for the fact that last weekend in Bear Lake I got SECOND DEGREE BURNS for being out in the sun…and after a bit I even had 50 SPF on! Turns out that with the antibiotics I was taking for my Pneumonia, I wasn’t supposed to be in the sun because you have like an increased sensitivity to it or something. That better be it, because if it turns out that the sun is the freaking 58th thing I’m allergic to, I’m totally done!) But anywaysies. Really, right now, I’d choose to tour Italy. The Vatican, all the amazing churches and museums; there is so much beautiful history there, and I’d love to be able to see it all with my own eyes. At some point I’d love to travel to Israel too, but me no likey the idea of entering the Middle East right now, but someday, yes, that’s a great wish of mine too.

Question 4, from CookieGirl, and also my sister Brooke asked relatively the same question: May we hear about the novel I’m working on?
A: Wow, this is seriously a very tough one for me to answer, mostly because I want to keep it private because I’m embarrassed that I’ll fail. But yes, I am (or at least I was) working on a novel – it was more a memoir (I know, so corny, so "everybody’s doing it these days…") but the term “write what you know” is so so so true. :) The working title is Saving my Soul, but who knows what’ll it eventually end up being. I’ve written quite a bit, but quite honestly, have stopped at a very difficult period in my life – I cannot even write about it because it hurts too much, and I’m scared of having it be on paper, because that means it’s there, it’s real, and anybody could read it and do the taking and the judgments could begin circulating. I know that because I feel this way, there is no way that I am ready to have it published. I have sent the beginning of it to a publisher though, and though I’m assuming they’re not going to publish it because I never heard back, haha, but I did, however; hear from a worker there that they really did love it, and I came close to getting it published. And, I’m not worried. There are hundreds more publishing companies out there.

But yes. One of these days, you will ALL purchase a book by Brie B______!!! And also, I’m seriously contemplating writing more and publishing my From Behind Bars series. Not sure if it’s marketable, though…?

I yearn to do these things, more than any of you will ever, ever know, but I’m afraid of failure, but mostly I’m truly unable to do it right now because of how ill I feel – I have no energy for it. I don’t want to be unremarkable, and writing a novel and having it published; I know that I will have made a mark in this world. And I desire that more than anything.

Question 5, from Stella: If my house was on fire, what one material thing would I grab? (Cade, Brandon, and my kitties are already safe.)
A: Okay, so I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this, and it’s so hard to narrow it down to one thing. I mean, pictures, because we can save them on the computer these days, are replaceable. I no longer use a journal, so I wouldn’t need to save that. I think, in the end, I would save the blanket that I was wrapped in the day I was born. It’s a beautiful cream and soft purple, all silk, with small purple flowers on it. Up until I got married, I slept with it every night. It’s been sewn up and repaired more times than I can count, because it’s turned so ragged from how much I’ve used it. It’s tucked safely away now, though I’ll admit that I’m tempted often to get it out and nestle with it again. That thing has gotten me through so much in my life; no, sorry, I’m not kidding. When I think of it and I think of safety and comfort.