Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author Brittany Severn about her book, Maggie’s List. Let’s welcome Brittany and learn more about the book!
Get to know the author: Brittany Severn
Welcome Brittany! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hi! I’m Brittany. I’ve been writing since I was seventeen, but I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. We’d have reading challenges in school and I would always go above and beyond the required number of books. I was the only fourth grader allowed in the high school section of the library. That is my only claim to fame in school!
Right now, I work in the pretty cool world of television. If you have Discovery+, you can pretty much assume I’ve worked on most of the shows that are on there. It can be a really hard job at times (the things I see and hear behind the scenes of, say, Evil Lives Here, can be really rough and bring all the producers to tears) but it’s also really fun and cool to see how the things that I do help put an episode together.
Besides a cool day job, I’m kind of a boring person. But I’m okay with that in this chaotic world. The hustle and bustle isn’t for me. I like to stay at home and read or binge a good TV show (usually one I’ve not worked on). I have a couple of rescue dogs that I like to hang out with. I like to garden. I like to learn new things. I’m always down for a good bubble bath. Honestly, just stick me in a cottage in the woods with some books and some animals and I’d be good to go!
What inspired you to write this book?
I was not in a good place, mentally. I was working four part-time jobs to make ends meet after some personal issues and it still wasn’t enough. I was really depressed and the depression needed to go somewhere so it didn’t completely consume me, and I’ve always found that writing is one of the best ways for me to get my emotions out. What better way to get depression out than writing about death? I have a sibling, but we don’t speak, so it was pretty easy to shift the story to sibling loss. Once I had that decided, the little pieces started to fall into place, like the bucket list.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
I started writing Maggie’s List on my Notes app, sitting in a Walmart parking lot, in August 2022. I finished it in January 2023.
What makes your story unique?
I’ve read a lot of books on loss and grief and dealing with a person’s unfinished business, but usually that unfinished business is boring. I wanted it to be something a little more exciting, something that would take my MC places and physically help her through her grief, so I came up with the bucket list idea.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
Loss is inevitable. Grief is horrible. But there are small moments in the days that can make you smile while you push through. And, though it may be very slowly, you will be okay. There might not be a cute tour guide there for you at the end of the day, but there will be something, and it will help.
Maggie’s List
Contemporary Romance/Drama, Published 2023
When Ivy loses her twin sister, Maggie, to cancer, she discovers a secret journal to be read after her death. Ivy discovers that Maggie has a bucket list that she was unable to complete. To honor her sister, Ivy sets out to complete it on Maggie’s behalf.
As Ivy works through her grief, visiting all the places Maggie never got to see, she finds herself in Scotland. Eager to tick off a few more items on her list, Ivy teams up with Evan, a handsome tour guide. Pouring her heart out in the journal, Ivy soon realizes that her old life is gone, but a new one might be ready to begin.
Content notes: Loss and grief. There are a few spicy scenes, but this is not an erotica book.
Book Excerpt from
Maggie’s List
“I was thinking,” Trevor said, taking a sip of his drink. “Well, my drink made me think, anyway.”
“Yeah?”
“Scotch, Scotland. I have a friend up there. He’s a tour guide. He does day trips, overnights, weekends, that kind of stuff. He’s a great guide, and a good dude, and I bet he could help you with some of that list.”
I leaned towards him a little. “Seriously?”
Trevor nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. He’s outside of Edinburgh, so you could fly in there. Just text him or give him a call to set something up. Mention you’re a friend of mine, he’ll give you a good deal.”
He pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card, black with white ink and an imprint of Scotland.
Evander McKinley
Guided Tours of Scotland
Est. 2018
2018. The year Maggie wrote the list. Evander’s phone number, Instagram, and an address were on the back. I fiddled with the card and then put it in my bag.
“Thank you,” I said. “Really, this is great.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m glad to help. You’re the first genuinely interesting person I’ve met since I started this job.”
He left it at that. He didn’t make a move; he didn’t press me for any more than a conversation. It was refreshing and I was grateful to have found a new friend. He paid for my drink and we said goodnight in the lobby. He would text me after his shift ended tomorrow afternoon and we’d go to the beach for my surfing lesson.
I went to my room and quickly showered and changed into pajamas. I took out my phone and entered Evander’s name into Instagram. The beauty of his feed pulled at something in my core. His excursions looked low-key and gorgeous. Small villages, beaches, waterfalls, castles. Even if he wasn’t free to show me around, I would go to Scotland anyway, I decided. I hit the follow button and then sat on the bed to focus on my text to him.
Hi, my sister died and this bartender in South Africa gave me your number? Definitely not.
Hi, can you help me herd cows? Too vague.
What’s a good place in Scotland to get a tattoo? Ugh.
“To the point, woman,” I told myself and tried not to overthink a potentially list-saving text to a total stranger.
Hello, my name is Ivy and I got your number from Trevor in South Africa. He gave me your card, and I’m interested in a tour. Are you free this week?
And send.
I blew out a breath and flipped through the channels until I got drowsy. I fell asleep to no notifications and a French film playing in the background.
The next morning there was no response, and I needed to make a decision. Trevor was off at three, so I went and strolled on the beach and tried to think while I killed time.
Do I just go ahead and fly to Scotland now, with no plan? Or do I go home, regroup, and fly in a few weeks? Or maybe Scotland wasn’t the answer and I was supposed to go somewhere else. But where?
“I just need one little sign,” I said, looking up at the blue sky. “Just one little… something. An inkling of a direction.”
I got a cocktail at a beach bar, a sandwich from a friendly street vendor, then admitted defeat and headed back to my hotel room to pack. I’d go home for now, figure out my next move. I changed into a bathing suit and threw shorts and a tee over it. My phone chimed and I figured it was Trevor with the details of where to meet. Instead, I felt a twinge of excitement in my stomach when I read the text.
Hi, Ivy. Always nice to hear from a friend of Trevor’s. I’m free this weekend. What kind of tour were you interested in?
“Thank you,” I whispered to the universe, and changed my flight from home, to Scotland.
Interested?
Thank you for hanging out with us today. Find Maggie’s List on Goodreads and Amazon. Connect with Brittany on Instagram and Amazon Author Page.
Check out my review of the book on Goodreads.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.
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