Author Interview: Brea Viragh
- fridaynightwritesi
- Aug 8, 2025
- 7 min read
Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Friday Night Writes! As always, our goal is to shine a spotlight on members of the book community and introduce readers to awesome authors, narrators, event hosts, influencers, and more.
This week, we'd like to introduce our featured guest, author Brea Viragh. Evie will be leading the interview.
Welcome Brea, can you tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you?
I am a USA Today bestselling author of romantasy and paranormal romance filled with fierce heroines, forbidden love, and magic-soaked worlds with a touch of darkness. I writes stories where fate is tangled, gods meddle, monsters seduce, and the heroine always has claws.
I live in a sleepy mountain town with one stoplight and my loyal dog. My obsession with Rook coffee borders on religious. When I'm not conjuring goddess journeys and steamy magical chaos, I'm reading gothic horror novels, hiking under moonlight, or bingeing scary movies with zero regrets.
That sounds amazing. I want to live in the middle of nowhere....oh wait, I already do! But enough about me, what are a few of your favorite things/least favorite things?
Homemade tapioca pudding, long hot baths, first kisses, the feeling of putting your feet in the sand and feeling the chill of the ocean on your toes, powerful thunderstorms, sex talk with girlfriends, organizations, trips to someplace I’ve never been before, autumn/October/Halloween, girly sandals…the list goes on!
As for least favorite, I dislike miscommunication (the trope and in life), Summer heat and humidity, pet names right off the bat, country music (it’s just not my favorite, I’m sorry).
I too love Halloween and thunderstorm, though you can absolutely keep the whole sand thing. Did you always want to be an author?
Not always, although I’ve enjoyed writing creatively since the third grade.
If you didn't want to be an author, what did you want to be when you were a child?
I wanted to be a marine biologist. I went so far as to get a master’s degree in marine biology until I realized that didn’t feed my soul.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I moved back home to VA after defending my master’s thesis and said…what the hell do I want to do with my life now? What makes me light up? What am I passionate about? Writing. That’s been the only constant.
Besides writing, do you have any hobbies?
Right now besides writing, I’d call reading a hobby. I love to garden. Cooking and baking. Travel. Hiking and kayaking. Can ice cream be a hobby?
Do any of your characters share the same interests as you?
I always put a little bit of myself into my characters.
Do you have anything that you’re truly passionate about outside of writing? (Could be a cause, a project, etc.)
Environmental protection and animal welfare. Those are my two main things.
Yes! I know we could talk for hours on those two subjects, but let's talk about your writing process.
How long have you been writing?
Since I was in third grade. My teacher knew I’d had a hard time in second grade so she put me in front of a computer and told me to go. I did!
I love that! Which genres do you write in?
For Brea (who is me) I write paranormal and romantasy, fairy tale retellings and why choose. For Melanie (who is me when I’m nasty), I write dark contemporary with mafia or why choose.
Are you independently published or traditionally published? Why did you choose this route?
I’m independently published. I attempted to find an agent when I was a baby author just starting out but I didn’t know what I was doing. So I did it all myself!
What do you enjoy most and least about being an author?
Writing and craft, hands down. I enjoy putting a story together and fleshing it out so that it’s something readers can relate too. Something that tugs at their emotions. The business side of it? Social media? I’m terrible at it!
I think we can all agree with that. Storytelling is our favorite part, marketing is always the worst.
Are you a plotter, a plantser, or a pantser?
A plotter. I used to be a pantser. Now if I don’t plot myself, I pay someone to do it for me. It’s faster for me to sit down and write that way.
Do you have any writing routines (things you do that help you write)?
I sit on my couch and put on a scary movie. It’s the perfect background noise because the stories are usually always the same format. Then from about 9-12, I just go. I can go back and fix things on the re read!
I like putting on shows in the background as well. Of course, I watch Ancient Aliens.
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I usually just push with a daily word count until my brain tells me to stop haha it’s not the best method but I’m trying to get better with managing my time and paying attention to my headspace.
How many WIPs do you have going right now? Can you tell us anything about them?
Oh, snap. That’s personal! Haha. Right now I have two open ghost projects, and about 6 for me. I bounce back and forth depending on my mood and which story is flowing well. The genres span from fantasy to fairy tale retelling to dark gothic and dark mafia.
How many books do you currently have published? Tell us about them.
Across pen names? I’ve had to unpublish a lot, and the majority of what I’ve written over the past few years are ghost projects for other people. But for me…37.
Where do you get the inspiration for your books? Do you insert pieces of yourself and people you know into your books?
I usually do! Sometimes I use actual dialogue, because I keep a journal. It depends on the character or the situation. Sometimes I’ll see a cover I like and come up with an entire series and characters just based on the design. Sometimes there’s inspiration in television shows, or music and lyrics. Sometimes I can read a particularly juicy book and say wow, this is fantastic, I’d love to use some of these elements (forced proximity, barista heroine, etc) and come up with something that fits my style!
Inspiration really can come from anywhere. Are there any other authors who have inspired you?
Nora Roberts was a huge inspiration when I started. PC Cast as well, and Christine Feehan.
Do you prefer standalone books or book series?
It depends on my mood. Most of the time I prefer a standalone.
What is your most popular book?
Love After Never for Melanie. Never Prey for me.
Do you have any advice for unpublished writers or people who hope to become authors?
Think about your craft and your marketing before you start writing. Reader expectation should be considered before you ever hit publish! And never stop learning 😊 It’s the most important thing!
You should absolutely continue to grow and learn as an author. Writing is a skill like anything else.
We're almost done, but we like to ask a few fun questions before we go.
What was your most recent five-star read?
What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
A fire broke out on our property and instead of running away, I ran into it, to help stop it from spreading. Oof. The adrenaline crash afterward hurt.
Are you a clean or messy person?
Very clean! But my dog sheds like mad, and I have two cats as well. I try my best to keep things organized.
Do you collect anything besides books?
Crystals and tarot decks. I have a lot more crystals than I can ever possibly display.
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Mint chocolate chip!
If you could be a shifter what would your alternate form be?
A hawk or a wolf. But I’d love to be able to fly!
What food have you never eaten but would really like to try?
Snake meat. I always thought it would be interesting to try it.
What would you use to survive the zombie apocalypse? Why?
I wouldn’t be able to handle a zombie apocalypse with my anxiety! I’d probably get bitten just so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Before we go, where can we find you online?
Email Address: bviragh86@gmail.com
WEBSITE: https://www.breaviragh.com
BLUESKY @authorbreaviragh
INSTAGRAM @authorbreaviragh
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brea.viragh
READER GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/161755864487884
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/breaviragh
GOODREADS: https://goodreads.com/BreaViragh
Do you have any planned events?
Authors Rock Little Rock on March 21,
TNTNC on March 27,
We have no more questions for you, but we understand you're doing a giveaway?
Yes, two signed paperbacks with character art.
Are there any rules or exclusions?
The signed books should probably only be available to US residents only, for shipping costs. Readers will have to follow me on Instagram and/or TT.
How can readers expect to hear from you?
Email? Or DM?
Awesome! Thank you so much for joining us, Brea. It's been a pleasure chatting with you!
To all of our readers, thanks for spending some time with our guest author this week! We hope you've enjoyed this interview! In the meantime, be sure to follow Brea on her social media platforms so you can keep up to date with her journey. Building a better, stronger community is what Friday Night Writes is all about!
We are taking a bit of a break next week, so our next interview will be on August 22nd, and we will be talking to Paranormal and Sci-Fi author, Jeff Beesler.
See you soon!
The Friday Night Writes Crew
Evie Black & Samantha Moran
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