Interview with Author Kylie Brant:
Hi Kylie. Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you as we possibly can, so lets get started...
- Please tell us about your latest book.
WAKING NIGHTMARE is a September 2009 release from Berkley Sensation. It's the first in a trilogy of dark gritty romantic thrillers and kicks off my series entitled THE MINDHUNTERS. Each book features a heroine who works for a private forensics firm that consults with law enforcement on particularly puzzling or high profile crimes. Here's a blurb for WAKING NIGHTMARE:
He knows where you live. He knows your deepest, darkest fears. And now he’ll make you live them. . . .
A serial rapist is stalking Savannah, injecting women with a designer drug before subjecting them to sadistic sexual torture. The Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department has no leads. No suspects. What they do have is a mounting victim count and task force lead detective Ryne Robel.
His team is short on time and manpower. What he needs is more hours in the day and another detective. What he gets is forensic psychologist Abbie Phillips assigned to the task force. Not only is she an outside consultant from THE MINDHUNTERS agency, she’s a shrink, or close enough to it, who is unlikely to be of any use at all, except to needlessly drain the already strained SCMPD budget.
Abbie isn’t worried about having to prove herself to Robel, and the case offers the opportunity to put old ghosts to rest once and for all. But the past melds with the present when her emotionally fragile sister shows up unexpectedly and Abbie is forced to face her own childhood trauma inflicted by her sexually abusive father.
While Abbie and Ryne get closer to catching the person terrorizing women in Savannah, suspicion falls on cops and family alike. Not until nearly too late do they discover that the person they’re looking for has been allowed much too close. What the vicious psychopath has learned about each of them has provided him with the necessary information to plan his next attack. One that will use their greatest fears to destroy them, unless they can unmask him first.
- What can we expect from you in the future?
The books are being released back to back so you won't have to wait long for the second and third in the series :) WAKING EVIL is being released in October 2009 and WAKING THE DEAD comes out in November 2009.
- How do we find out about you and your books?
You're welcome to visit me at my home on the web at http://www.kyliebrant.com. The site has recently been revamped and I think she did an awesome job on it! You'll find updated news, a message board, a place to subscribe to my newsletter and of course regular contests. I'm also on MySpace and Facebook.
- How may readers contact you?
Readers can reach me at kylie@kyliebrant.com.
- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?
They really do. I enjoy hearing readers' responses to the books and to the characters. Often they see things I never expected would come through in the writing. And although no one enjoys criticism (!) I learn from that as well. In one of my SWAT books a reader complained there was too much police jargon with no glossary to look up the meanings, and you know--she was right! I was on the third book by that time and I made sure I didn't make the same mistake again.
- Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?
I love to hear that what I've written has touched someone in some way. Maybe they deeply identify with a character or with a situation in one of my stories. My copyeditor wrote a note to me about WAKING NIGHTMARE and that blew me away to have her tell me how much the book spoke to her.
Then there was the reader who compared me to Nora Roberts
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
Because my favorite authors couldn't write fast enough to keep me in reading material! Seriously, I was just reading so fast and had to re-read books the second half of the month because I'd finished all my new buys. I thought putting down some stories myself would help fill the time :) Which was certainly true....writing has eaten extensively into my reading time.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
I think an author's voice is imbued with her/his personality. I'm not sure the two can be separated. But as for life experiences...I don't really have any! At least none that would make for a compelling read. My books are extensively researched but little of the suspense plots stem from personal experience. Which is just as well, since I doubt I'd react as bravely as my characters do when faced with danger
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I teach full-time and have the summers off. I believe it was the summer of 1989 when I first thought about writing a book. I didn't get around to it until the next year. The youngest of my five children--a set of twins--were four in 1990 and I figured I'd have all sorts of time on my hands. I'm blindly optimistic that way! I wrote the story that summer and fine-tuned it for a few months then decided
That manuscript was eventually published, but it underwent major surgery a few times first! My second manuscript was actually bought first.
- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?
As long as they give me :) You know what they say, hard work pays off in the long run but procrastination pays off now! I'm the queen of procrastination. But I'm also a fairly fast writer. I was under two different contracts at the same time, finishing up one for Silhouette and then the new one for Berkley. I managed to write four books in 17 months (two single titles, two categories) while teaching full-time, having surgery, a new grandbaby, two sons getting married, and all the various other things life threw my way. It's sort of a blur, but my husband doesn't especially ever want to live through it again.
- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
When I have deadlines I'm very disciplined about writing as fast as I need to in order to get the books done on time. I typically write summers and weekends, and weeknights when I have to. I try to get 10-12 pages written a day.
- What is your writing routine once you start a book?
First I exercise in the morning to make up for the fact I'm going to be stretched out in a chaise lounge for the rest of the day, laptop ready. I re-read what I wrote the day before, make some edits and then start working on the next ten pages. Evenings are often saved for research, copyedits, promotion...oh yeah, and having a life, LOL!
- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
Hmmm, sounds like you know them! When I started writing my kids were 4, 4, 7, 11, and 12. Constant interruptions were the norm. Now that I have an empty nest, I find that I self-distract, because that's what I'm used to!
- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I do my best plotting while I'm taking long walks in the morning or on the treadmill. I find exercise relaxing in a sense, because my mind is free to wander. And I enjoy flower gardening and getting out to dig :) Other than that, spending time with family and friends is the best. My husband and I like to get away for a week in the winter to tropical locales and just veg on the beach.
- Where do your ideas come from?
I have no idea :) My mind can be a scary place
- Do you feel humour is important in women's fiction and why?
It is for me, but I suspect that's an individual taste. Although my books tend to be suspense / action oriented, and my characters grapple with pretty weighty conflicts, there's still some humor in my books, showing up occasionally in dialogue. For some reason, a lot of my stories have at least one smart ass character. Hmmm. Have no idea where *that* comes from!
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What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write? They are the most difficult part of the book to write for me. I dread them and it takes me easily twice as long to write a love scene as any other part of the book. I think because each needs to be unique to the characters, to who they are and what they've experienced. They're *hard*. And once I write them I do very little editing of them.
- What kind of research do you do?
Well, since we've already established I know nothing of interest ;0) I do tons of research. I usually buy three-four books on whatever subject I need to know about. I do copious research on the internet and whenever possible tap real life experts to answer my questions so I get things right. In my November book, WAKING THE DEAD, I actually went to Oregon and hiked through the forest, crawled through caves and talked to people in the area. It was the most difficult book I've ever had to research because it turns out I know very little about skeletal remains, defleshing bones, molecular biology and forensic anthropology, LOL. Luckily I hooked up with some very generous experts who assisted me with all my questions.
- What does your husband think of your writing?
My husband is my greatest fan and reads all my books. He actually gets a bit embarrassing, especially in book stores, when he tries to introduce me to the sales people!
- Do you ever ask him for advice?
His mind tends to travel in one well-worn path and I'm not sure his 'advice' would be suitable :) At least not for the kind of books I write!
Seriously, I do ask him car questions...and others that have to do with his background and experience. Sometimes when I'm writing a fight scene I'll have him stand in so I can work through the moves, but he's sort of made it clear he's not interested in doing *that* again
- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)
I've been married 31 years (yes, I was a child bride
- Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.?
I belong to RWA, our local chapter HIFA, Kiss of Death, Sisters in Crime, PASIC, Novelists, Inc., and International Thriller Writers.
- What do you think of critique groups in general?
This is a very individual preference. They aren't my cup of tea, because I don't like anyone reading my work until it's done. Others swear by critique groups and credit them for making their work better. I think it's important that you have a good relationship with everyone in the group and know how open they are to feedback, because I've seen new authors crushed by someone who didn't like their work. I do think people in critique groups should be certain of information before they pass it on to others. Lots of the misinformation of supposed 'rules' or publishing 'standards' can be passed through groups like these.
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I've written 28 books and all of them have been published. The first 25 were for Silhouette and the most recent three are mass market single titles for Berkley.
- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
I used to read every book I'd written. Now it's hit and miss and has a lot to do with looming deadlines. It's usually only a matter of weeks between the time I've finished galleys on a book and when I receive my advanced copies on the same work. So I usually feel like I've just read it!
- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?
The characters come first, barely, then the suspense. As the suspense is developed the characters do, as well. The setting is usually last. I do like to use setting that figures largely into the plot the way it does in WAKING EVIL and WAKING THE DEAD. But I can't say that all my books rely on setting to the same degree.
- What are the elements of a great romance for you?
Unforgettable characters who have overcome something substantial and come together in spite of it all. These story people will live in my imagination long after the book is done.
- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
A little bit of both, I think. My characters reveal themselves to me as the story unfolds. I learn about them as I'm writing. But they do what I tell them to. Mostly. Almost always
- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?
Exercise always helps me. If I get stuck, I hit the walking path or the tread mill. I often find that if I just worry the problem as I walk, I usually come up with a solution.
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Seeing my books in print *smile* That is very cool! And hearing from readers who tell me the story touched them in some way. Those types of reader responses make my day.
- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
Finish the manuscript. I judge lots of contests and mentor a few unpublished writers. I'm always appalled at how many will get an invitation to submit a manuscript and then never follow through. The first step to getting published is letting an editor look at it and give you feedback. Take that opportunity and while you're waiting start on something else so even if the feedback isn't positive, you can use it to polish your new work.
I think it's important that writers learn to finish a manuscript even when it bogs down and flaws begin to appear in the story. Because that's the most important part of the learning process--punching through when you hit an obstacle in the plot, and figuring out how to work through the snags. No matter how experienced the writer, we still hit those stumbling blocks, and we still have to figure out plot problems. That takes practice.
Just remember, we all started at the same point you are. We all go through the same ups and downs. There aren't shortcuts. Writing is hard work but the rewards are pretty awesome! So push through the tough spots and get the thing done!
Thanks for the opportunity!
Kylie Brant
Thank you very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
Author Links:
Kylie's Website Email Kylie's Blog Kylie's Myspace Kylie's Facebook Subscribe to Kylie's Newsletter
RaH Links:
Interview Review coming soon
Purchase Links:
Buy Kylie's Books At Amazon
Buy Author's Books at Penguin Group
Buy Author's Books at Berkley Jove
Buy Author's Books at Barnes & Noble
Buy Author's Books at Books-a-Million
