We had the good fortune of connecting with Brianna Love-Havens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna, what are you inspired by?
I am inspired these days by my younger self. When I was a kid, I was sure I was going to be an author some day. It wasn’t a matter of “if it’s possible.” I just knew I was going to do. As an adult, I get bogged down in trying to figure out the smartest way forward. But younger me never doubted herself or her ability. I’m trying to live a little more like a kid does: full of dreams and enthusiasm.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My mom says she knew I was going to be a writer the moment I started talking. Apparently, I used to tell the most extravagant tales about everything from the moon crashing into the beach, to princesses building rocket ships for space adventures, to talking cats and their magic broomsticks. For a while, she encouraged me to write all these silly ideas down.

And then came the real world, an all-too-familiar feeling to any artistic teen. It was time to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life. And as every adult explained to me, writing was a nice pastime but it just wasn’t secure enough to actually pursue. It took me a long time to come back around to writing. My confidence had been shot and, although I couldn’t find what these adults called a “secure career,” I knew writing wasn’t it.

It wasn’t until a global pandemic shut the world down that I started to realize a couple things about my life and life in general. First of all, not a single day is promised to you on this earth. It could all be taken away at any time. And secondly, there are much worse things to be in this world than a writer. Or a painter. Or a singer. Or a filmmaker. Or any of the other creative careers we are discouraged away from. So if I have only a short time on this earth, I want to spend it doing the thing that sets my soul on fire.

Although I am just at the beginning of my career as a writer, I am so excited for everything that lies ahead of me. I have big dreams and big plans. My blog is just getting underway with posts about writing prompts and how to use them, affirmations for all of our inner critics, and bits and pieces of my own creative writing. And I’m getting ready to set up my YouTube channel for those who would rather listen than read (no judgement!), along with some behind the scenes videos, and some other fun ideas.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m still pretty new to my corner of Colorado so a week long visit from my best friend would be a great excuse to do more exploring.

First of all, I’d insist on walking around my neighborhood. Being a military kid, I never had the chance to have a hometown or a place to belong to. But when I would imagine what hometown would create a creative, eccentric person like myself, it looked a lot like Greeley, Colorado. I want to show them all the historic buildings, open parks, and my favorite murals all over the city.

But before we can set out on our adventure, we have to pick up some coffee from one of the many, many local coffee shops. Aunt Helen’s, Margie’s, John Galt – I haven’t picked my favorite yet, so we’d have to sample them all.

Then we’d have to see what’s fresh at La Petite French Bakery and we have to go early because they sell out pretty quickly.

After we had our coffee and pastry for the morning, we would go tour Centennial Village Museum and learn about how the town of Greeley came to be. Worldbuilding is probably the most difficult and intricate part of writing, but learning about how the real world came into it’s own helps a lot. And it’s fascinating! All those stories coming together to build a real, solid place.

We would have to go to The Ginger Cat in downtown Greeley. The Ginger Cat is a fiber arts store and community, selling high quality yarn at prices that even a writer can afford. They also invite fiber artists (knitters, crocheters, loomers, sewers, etc) of all skills levels to come and hang out and work on your projects, or take classes to learn something new. The owners are wonderful, welcoming, hilarious people. I go every week, so my friend will just have to come with me.

We would also have to plan their trip around a production from our community theatre, the Stampede Troupe. Although, they would probably be sitting alone for the show, because I’ll be helping out backstage. Although, if they’re my friend, they probably have a background in theatre and would volunteer to help. But I digress.

Finally, we’d have to go out for dinner and desert at a local place. The Mad Cow downtown is a great place with a chocolate brownie I still think about weeks after trying it. The Rio is a great Mexican restaurant with a huge menu. Luna’s Tacos is perfect for more adventurous taco lovers and the waitress suggested a drink and taco pairing that my husband loved.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In writing and storytelling, you are never alone. Your characters, their wants, needs, and decisions, form themselves out of the examples you find all around you. So, in a very real way, everyone who has ever impacted my life – for the better and worse – has helped shaped my writing. My characters have strong family ties because of my vast and varied real life family. The worlds I create are complex and intricate because of all the different perspectives I have been fortunate enough to sample. My stories have heart and hope because there have been many times when I had neither. And my villains are subtle because in the real world there aren’t many people in tights with a giant letter on their chest. So to all those who are a part of my personal story, thank you for teaching me how to write.

Website: https://brilovehavens.wixsite.com/curiousbristories

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiousbristories/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CuriousBriStories

Other: YouTube is on it’s way!

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.