Meet Brittany Darga | Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Darga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
About a year ago I started writing a children’s book called, “If a Petoskey Stone Could Talk.” I have a journalism and corporate communications background but took some time off when starting a family. I always had the idea of writing a book but never felt it was the right time. Well, last year my two youngest (twins) started preschool I had some time to simply breathe and think and felt the time was right! And I even had a great idea to start with. My business is called MBBooks, LLC, which I formed soon after.

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.
I started out my career as a journalist working at newspapers. After working in newspapers for a couple years, I attended graduate school in communications, and then landed a job at a Fortune 500 company doing internal and external communications. I took some time off to start a family after that, and moved back to my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. I worked in magazine writing in Traverse City for awhile, then decided to try writing and publishing a book!

My career seemed to fall in my lap at times, but then at others it was very hard. Such as during the 2008 recession when I was laid off from my newspaper job. I had to take a step back and think about what I really wanted to do. That’s when I chose to go to graduate school. After graduate school I worked in the corporate world and then I had my first daughter. After having her, my wants changed. I wanted to be home more and not work 40+ hours a week. I am lucky I was able to do that.

What sets me apart is, because of my journalism and communications background, I feel like I know what makes a good story and what doesn’t. I also feel like all of my experiences led to this. I wouldn’t be who or where I am without each one of those jobs, and the good and bad experiences.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The beach is the first spot — to not only swim but look for Petoskey stones! And not just one beach — several. On Lake Michigan, Lake Leelanau, and West Grand Traverse Bay. We’d go to Leland to get Village Cheese Shanty sandwiches and swim at Van’s beach. We’d go to the Old Mission Peninsula to show where my relatives once lived (my grandpa was a cherry farmer there). We’d go paddle boarding or kayaking down the Crystal River. We’d go to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and bike the Heritage Trail. And along the way we’d check out local bookstores to see my book. 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Two people- my husband who encouraged me and helped me figure out logistics along the way. And Kristy Kurjan who, when I went to with the idea, told me to get words on paper. So, I went home that very day and got words on paper! She gave me the courage to try.

Website: https://www.brittanydargaauthor.com/

Facebook: Author Brittany Darga

Other: Local bookstores and Amazon

Image Credits
Headshot: Rolling Fields Photography
Illustrations from book (paintings): My illustrator is Jennifer Franzoni
I’d like to put her web site in this story if possible: https://www.jfranzoniartist.com/