Previous Coffee Chats--Coffee With Tess Gerritsen
Bestselling Author Sandra Brown
Kate: Sandra, I first met you back in the mid 80's. You were the first published author I had the pleasure of meeting...
Sandra: I didn't know that, but since you became such a success, I'm honored.
Kate: I thank YOU for my getting published in the first place. Something you said in your talk triggered a light on in my thinking, and after that, I finally got it right. For the first time, I have the opportunity to say, THANK YOU.
Sandra: You're welcome. My "mentor" came in the form of a professor at the University of Oklahoma who wrote a book regarding fiction writing. His name was Dwight Swain and he wrote Techniques of the Selling Writer.He's long since died, but years later, after I'd been published, I had the opportunity to meet him and say a personal thanks for "turning on the lights" for me.
Kate: So, I understand you've just completed your next mega-seller. What's the title and when will it be released?
Sandra: Hello, Darkness, taken from the Simon and Garfunkel song Sounds of Silence will be published in late September.
Kate: Of this year?
Sandra: Right.
Kate: Great! I can't wait to read it!
Sandra: I hope a lot of readers feel that way!
Kate: Would you care to give us a short plot summary of what we can expect?
Sandra: My heroine is a late night radio personality -- similar to [syndicated radio personality] Delilah -- who plays classic love songs, takes requests from listeners, etc., and often talks to them regarding their love life. One night she gets a call from a listener who promises to kill a young woman he's holding hostage unless Paris (the heroine) can identify and stop him within 72 hours.
Kate: Wow! I love Delilah! Sexiest voice on the radio! This sounds like a real page turner.
Sandra: My Paris has that smoky quality in her voice, too. Hopefully she's an enigmatic character. Lives and works in darkness, etc. for a reason.
Kate: Sandra, how many novels have you published now?
Sandra: I believe Hello, Darkness will make sixty-two.
Kate: That's amazing.
Sandra: No wonder I'm so tired!
Kate: Right! It boggles my mind just to think about it!
Sandra: Keeping in mind that about forty-five of those were short romances. Still a book is a book and none is easy to write.
Kate: Correct! You also wrote under several different names when you wrote the short romances, didn't you?
Sandra: Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan and Erin St. Claire
Kate: At what point did you decide to move out of the "genre" norms into more suspense focused books?
Sandra: In 1987 I wrote Slow Heat in Heaven. Publishers called it a crossover book. All the new books since then have been moving ever away from the genre of strict romance but it's difficult to change the publishers' or the book sellers' minds. I've written suspense and more mainstream for twice as long as I wrote romances, but the tag sticks.
Kate: Ah, Slow Heat in Heaven. That was a tremendous book! I still recall it vividly. That was the sexiest hero in the history of romance, I think.
Sandra: I sort of agree. I'd love to meet Cash Boudreaux!
Kate: So would I! What do you prefer to write? Suspense or the more romantic books?
Sandra: I like writing books, period. However, when I set out to write a book now, I begin with the suspense plot and put the characters into it, not the other way around. So I suppose you could translate that to mean that the emphasis now is on the mystery or suspense and the love story arises from it.
Kate: Do you find the suspense and mainstream books easier or harder to write?
Sandra: For me the books I'm writing now are much harder. I don't know if it's because the competition is stiffer, even the competition with myself, or if it's that the more I write, the less I know about it!! That seems to be a paradox, doesn't it? But the more I do, the better I want to be, and I never quite get there.
Kate: I can certainly relate. People believe the longer we write the easier it must get. I've found exactly the opposite to be true.
Sandra: Yes
Kate: Tell us a little about Envy. It seemed to be somewhat different than your other books in plotting.
Sandra: I loved Envy, and think it might be the best I've ever written. First, I loved the setting. There's a neighboring island to Hilton Head called Daufuskie. I patterned St. Anne Island after it.
Kate: I agree! Great book!
Sandra: Secondly, I loved the character of Parker. The first dynamic that occurred to me when plotting was this: pit two best friends against each other and let the competitiveness destroy the friendship. Then I had to determine what they were. Pilots, doctors, athletes. Wonder why I came up with writers?
Kate: I wonder! Is Envy your favorite book you've published to date?
Sandra: Interweaving the two stories was interesting and fun. Even when writing it, I was reluctant to leave the contemporary and return to the past. Then I'd get in the past and feel just the opposite. It was enjoyable to write. It would rank up there in the top five, maybe.
Kate: What is your ultimate pride and joy?
Sandra: Without question, my family
Kate: I understand completely. What's in the works now? What's the next project?
Sandra: Well......I must begin plotting a new novel. We're in the editing stages on Hello, Darkness, so as soon as it's sent into production, I'll have to get serious about another story.
Kate: Have you ever tried writing a screenplay of one of your wonderful books?
Sandra: I tinkered with it, but quickly learned that that's another art entirely. I couldn't "compress" my writing to fit the format. I have much more studying to do before I try again. But it's an ambition.
Kate: I do believe you've had your work turned into movies, haven't you?
Sandra: French Silk was made into a TV movie, I believe in '93. It starred Susan Lucci and Lee Horsley. Several others have been optioned, but never produced. I don't think much about it because I'd go batty! If it happens, it'll be wonderful, but I don't pine for it.
Kate: Were you pleased with the outcome of French Silk?
Sandra: The movie people probably wouldn't do it to my satisfaction, anyway. I'd want to be the cinematographer, the director, the set designer, etc. Movies are by nature collaborative efforts. My books are pure and undiluted me, whether they're good, bad, or mediocre. Guess that answers your question regarding French Silk.
Kate: Yes. Perfectly! Would you mind telling us a little about your writing schedule? Writers are such creatures of habit, I just wondered if you have a set rule about how you go about your work day.
Sandra: I have a set rule, but unfortunately the rest of the world doesn't abide by it!!! "Life" interrupts me constantly. Basically, however, I arrive at the office around nine, and have coffee while reading email. I take care of pressing business, then try to turn everything and everyone off for several hours while I write. I usually break around three to return phone calls, check the afternoon mail, then after everyone else leaves at five, I usually stay and write some more, until around six or six-thirty. This is an ideal day. It rarely turns out like this!
Kate: I understand that. Sandra, since we announced this chat, we've been flooded by questions from your fans. Would you mind answering a couple?
Sandra: Not at all. Fire away.
Kate: From Millenia B. from Coral Springs, FL: I'd LOVE to know if Sandra Brown would consider writing a sequel to Breath of Scandal--I read the novel many years ago while in middle school and still to this day have never forgotten Jade Sperry!
Sandra: Thank you, Millenia. I'm glad you enjoyed Breath of Scandal so well. I've never thought about writing a sequel, but I never say never! At this time, however, I don't have plans to.
Kate: This next question is from Dawn T., Shelton, CT: Hi Ms. Brown! Your books are fantastic! My question is: What are some important things to remember/do when trying to get an agent? Thanks for your time!
Sandra: Your agent should be your biggest fan and staunchest ally. It's a "chemistry" thing, too. Do you want to spend a lot of time with this individual? Do you trust him/her implicitly? Do you think he/she understands what you're about and what you want to do? These are important questions to ask yourself. Try and find the person that fills all these requirements.
Kate: This next one is from Carol B., Bloomington, IL: Ms. Brown, I just loved The Switch. Did you do any research on twins and the special bond they seem to have for it?
Sandra: Oh, and I forgot to wish Dawn good luck with her agent search! Hi, Carol. Yes, I tried to capture the inexplicable psychological bond that exists between twins. I hope I got it right!
Kate: And this from Suzy M., Oceanside, CA: With over fifty bestselling books, do you ever wonder what you can do that will give you the same feeling as that first published book?
Sandra: Each book is like the first. I go through the gestation period and labor pains. Gentlemen out there, forgive the analogy. I anguish over each one and am so relieved when it becomes a bestseller and devastated if it doesn't.
Kate: Last question -- from Mary T., Virginia Beach, VA: What were some of the challenges you faced moving from the romance market to the mainstream fiction market? Do you think authors face the same difficulties today? What is your best advice for them?
Sandra: I still confront a certain amount of labeling, even though as I said earlier I've been writing mainstream twice as long as I wrote genre romance. My advice to any writer is to be true to your instincts. Nobody should tell you what to write. Nobody can direct your career as well as you can because you know what's important to you. If you're not having a good time when you write your reader won't have a good time. I hope that answers your question, Mary.
Kate: Sandra, would you like to say anything to your legions of fans who'll be reading this?
Sandra: I would just like to thank anyone who has bought any of my books, and I hope you will find my next one, Hello, Darkness, a real page-turner.
Kate: Sandra, you've honored me, and ReadersRoom.com by sharing your valuable time and expertise. Thank you so much, and continued success.
Sandra: Thank you, Katherine. It's been virtually painless! Moreover, it's been fun. Take care!
