Suzanne Brockmann Q&A, Part 1

Suzanne Brockmann is answering questions today at the message board on her website. Since her message board scrolls without archiving, I thought I'd post the questions and her answers here for future reference. Feel free to jump over to the board and post a question, if that interests you. Questions are lining up fast; it looks like she may be answering them for the rest of the week. Questions are noted in italics.

Hey, gang!

Happy March 15th!

Isn't it supposed to be spring or something??? Here in Boston, it's cold and the sky says "SNOW!!!" I continue to do my FDR imitation and sit at the computer with a blanket over my legs. BRRRR.

BREAKING POINT is moving along rather nicely -- if you can call yesterday's hair-pulling 14 hour writing fest "nicely." It was one of those days where I hadn't showered or nordic tracked by 11:30 p.m., staggered down to Ed's office and talked him into watching a movie on DVD and ate waffles instead of nordic tracking.

Okay. Here we go. I'm going to start by answering the questions at the bottom first and work my way upwards!

Remember, I still have to write today, so I'll be visiting the boards in spurts, all the way up to midnight tonight, okay?

-- Suz

Which book is your biggest bestseller?

Hi, Bonnie!

That's a tricky one! I'm not good with numbers, but both GONE TOO FAR and NIGHT WATCH won awards from the Borders Group (Waldenbooks, Borders, etc). GTF won Bestselling Hardcover Debut for the year, and NW won Bestselling Series Romance. Of course, Borders Group is just one of the major chains. Sometimes stores like Sam's Club or other discount clubs outsell bookstores in a mega-huge way. (And GTF wasn't available in those chainstores -- I'd yet to be placed there at that time.)

So... Because publishers always look to build authors and increase sales -- and they do this in part by producing larger print runs of books (thus making the books more easily available to readers), I'm probably going to have to say that the very last book I've written is usually the official best bestseller!

But GTF did very very VERY well!

-- Suz

Which book was the hardest to write?

Yikes -- and I haven't even had my coffee yet!!! LOL!

Okay, Bonnie, it's probably still IDENTITY: UNKNOWN -- my TTD book where the hero had amnesia and was very depressed throughout the entire book because of it -- very painful to get into his head each day...

WHAT was I thinking??? Amnesia -- gee, that'll be fun?!! LOL!!!

As far as easiest... The early books -- my first years of writing -- were all insanely easy to write. But THE ADMIRAL'S BRIDE was pure fun. I LOVED writing that book -- I really adored Jake.
In the same way, I loved spending time with Kenny from OUT OF CONTROL, but that book wasn't quite as easy to write for various other reasons.

In my head, easy = waking up each morning saying, "Wow, I get to write XXX's story today! I'm so lucky," singing as I skip to my computer, laughing gaily while I race to get the next 25 pages onto paper -- oh, what the heck, I'll write 35 today!

So... maybe I should change my definition for easy?

-- Suz

Are any of your characters based on a real person?

Yo, Bonnie!!!

Short answer: Nope.

Some of my characters have small bits and pieces of real people, but when you mix them with all the other many, many bits and pieces that make us all individuals, they're hard to see.

For example, my bud, Eric, was chubby when he was a kid, and even when he was in his 20 when he was wicked thin, he still watched his weight religiously. That always fascinated me -- the way he still saw that chubby kid in the mirror. I used elements of that when I created Mike Muldoon. (I also used elements of a sorta of geeky kid I knew in high school who, at my class reunion was jawdroppingly good looking to help Muldoon come to life.)

But you wouldn't meet either of those two real life people and, upon meeting them say, "Oh, Muldoon's obviously based on him..."

Ed's sense of humor is the spark inside of Cooper in EMBRACED BY LOVE, but they are two very different people.

-- Suz

How many “voices” are in your head when you write?

Hey, Bonnie!!!

Man, you're giving me a workout first thing, eh?

I write my books the way you read them -- although now that I say that, I better but USUALLY in there, because sometimes, after they're written, I might flip a scene or two for various reasons.

But one of the first things I do when outlining a book is to decide which of the characters are POV (point of view) characters. This means that part of the story is going to be told from their eyes, using their perceptions and words.

And yes, it gets pretty noisy!!!

-- Suz

Will you ever come to Europe?

Marianne and Annie,

Actually, I was hoping to come to Europe this summer. I want to do a BAND OF BROTHERS tour, starting in England and following the route Easy Company took into Germany. But this is the year of the wedding -- both Ed's youngest brother and sister are getting married, which is wonderful! But the trip's going to have to wait.

(I'm scheduled to go to RWA National in Reno in July, as well as doing a book tour for BREAKING POINT, so a post-wedding trip isn't possible.)

Ed and Eric and I are in the planning stages for a documentary movie that we want to make that will involve a trip to Ireland. I noticed there was a Q above about our production company -- I'll get into that in detail up there, okay?

(And yes, we've been looking transatlantic cruises! I'm very excited about the idea of HAVING to be contained in a relatively smallish space for an entire week! LOL!)

-- Suz

Even if you can't tell us what will happen, do you know Jules's story?

Marianne,

I've been sitting here for several minutes, trying to figure out exactly how to word my answer to you.

I think I'm going to say that I know SOME of Jules story arc. I know where I WANT him to go, but, as I'm sure you can imagine, it's not going to be a quick, easy journey, over in just a book or two. And sometimes characters come to life and mess around with my plans.

-- Suz

What book was the hardest to be done with?

Hi, Jenny!

OUT OF CONTROL.

Kenny stayed inside of my head for years -- YEARS I tell you!!! LOL!

Usually when I finish a book, the hero rides off into the sunset, but Kenny was like, "So. What are we going to do today?"

And it was weird to see Sam & Alyssa's story "end," so to speak -- even though I think that committing to a relationship is the farthest thing from an "ending" in the world!

-- Suz

When can we expect the next TDD book?

Hi, Mel!

Alas, it's going to be a while.

I've written the proposal, but the last window of time I had to write it got slammed shut. (Teenaged kids syndrome...)

The next book is tentatively titled OPERATION: ASHLEY and features Colleen Taylor's former roommate Ashley, and the SEAL known as Spaceman.

-- Suz

What's next after Breaking Point?

Hi, Terri!

Ah, you hit the "no comment" buzzer with both feet on that one! LOL!

Sorry -- I'm not talking about what's next yet. (Partly because my head is so deeply into writing BREAKING POINT. I don't want to distract myself. "Next book? Next book?" Boom, my head explodes!)

Depending on how things go, I might have some info about the next book by the official Countdown to Breaking Point, which'll start mid-June-ish on my website. Maybe.

-- Suz

Do you run your storylines past the publisher? Do you use a critique group?

Hi, Heidi!

Thank you!

For each book, I write an outline/proposal, which I submit to my editor. She gives me the green light to go ahead and write the book. Sometimes, she says, "Are you SURE...???" LOL! (Like when I told her I was going to make Kenny "WildCard" Karmody the hero of my next book! She kind of gulped and said, "Okay!" She trusts me!!!!)

And no, I've never been part of a critique group. It's not my thing. I know lots of writers enjoy that, but I don't. I don't want other writers' input. Writing is all about choices, you see.

What I did (and continue to do) is find what I call my "First Draft Readers." They are, first and foremost Readers, with a capital R. They all love books and they all read voraciously for pleasure. My husband, Ed, is one of them. He gives me the (sometimes clueless in terms of romance novels! LOL!) male point of view. My friend Deede is another. I know her likes and dislikes (she's very PC), so, sometimes is part of the book doesn't work for her, my response will be "Yes! That's exactly what I'd hoped she'd say!" (For example, she HATED Sam in TDH.) LOL! My mom is another of my readers. Again, I know her well, and I can factor in her response (supportive mommy stuff included! ).

If all three of these readers have a major problem with a character or event in the book, I know I better look at the book again. If they all love a certain part of the book, and my editor wants to cut that very scene, I know I need to fight extra hard to keep that scene in.

They read each book as readers -- not writers. They're not concerned with the writing process -- only with being entertained by what is hopefully an enjoyable, fastpaced story.

-- Suz

What do you read when you have the chance?

Heidi,

It's actually a weird thing -- when I became a writer, I stopped reading as a reader. When I read now, I analyze -- I read as a writer. And I put down books that I would have loved fifteen years ago -- I'm unable to read them. They're just not written well enough, IMO.

Bottomline, I know that I'm super-critical, but if I don't enjoy a book, I'm not going to read it.
Which doesn't mean when I'm on vacation and able to read that I can't fill my time reading great books.

I've recently discovered Dean Koontz -- I loved ODD THOMAS -- it's probably my new favorite book of all time. And I really enjoyed LIFE EXPECTANCY, too. But I haven't read any of his backlist. I don't like scary books, so i'm going to be careful which of his I read.

I'm also a huge Carla Kelly fan -- I'll actually re-read her books, which is something I rarely do.
Another good re-read for me is Virginia Ellis's THE WEDDING DRESS. I'm eagerly awaiting her next book. I loved THE PHOTOGRAPH, too.

SEP -- I'd read her grocery list. I love her books. Jennifer Cruise, too.

I prefer reading outside of my genre -- historical romances, in particular. Jo Beverly. Julia Quinn. Connie Brockway.

I just saw in RT that Susan Carroll has a new book coming out. I'll be picking that up right away -- I loved her St. Leger series (THE BRIDEFINDER, etc.)

Right now, at the top of my TBR pile, awaiting me like a prize for when I finish writing BREAKING POINT, is Alesia Holliday's YA book (written as Jax Abbott), SUPER SIXTEEN.

-- Suz

After the HEA, how often does a character come back in other books?

Hi, Kelly!

Thanks for posting for Brenda! You are so nice!

Some are louder than others, that's for sure. Harvard, for example, wants to be in every single book -- regardless of whether it's a TDD book or a TS book! LOL!

Nils and Stan are pretty quiet, as is Muldoon.

Jazz, I think, is terrified. He's very smart, and I think he's like one of those kids in school who sits in the classroom, praying that he doesn't get called on. LOL!

Every time I sit down to plot out a book, I have to decide who is going to play a major role in the story.

There's always a place for the Big Team Leader. In the TS, Inc. world, that's Tom Paoletti. He used to fill that role in the Team Sixteen World. In the FBI world, it's Max -- see how that works? There always needs to be someone who is the Big Boss. They may play a large part, or they may be more like Charlie, in Charlie's Angels. LOL!

There's usually someone who's is going to play the role of "Wise Sage." Someone who talks to the hero (it's usually the hero who needs the advice). The Sage doesn't need to be particularly close to the hero -- sometimes it works better if the two are at odds, rather than good friends. Example: Sam filled this role for Muldoon in INTO THE NIGHT. I chose him over the obvious choice of Stan for several reasons: The biggest was that Sam had to play a part in this book because a major subplot was devoted to his relationship with Mary Lou. But I also thought it would be fun to toss Sam into that particular role. (And he does have good advice to give to Muldoon -- don't wait to ask Joan out to dinner. Clearly he's kicking himself for not pursuing Alyssa Locke at the end of TDH, right???)

Anyway, there are many other roles that need to be filled each book -- depending on the various plots and subplots. Each character that appears in each book must serve a purpose -- they can just show up randomly.

If they show up only for the sake of a "reunion scene," new readers really feel left out. I've read books where authors toss in past characters, and it's like walking into a room where everyone knows everyone else, and I don't get all the private jokes. Very excluding.

So there has to be a reason for a past character to appear in a book or story. And I have to juggle that with attempting not to include too many characters in each book! (Which is why Sam played Muldoon's sage, instead of bring Stan -- another character -- in to play that role!)

-- Suz

After Breaking Point, are you sure you'll come back after vacation?

Hi, Melissa!

Rest assured, I can't imagine never writing another novel.

Yes, I want to write screenplays and TV scripts, but Hollywood is a very crazy place -- and writers are extremely low in the pecking order. Stories get changed, rewritten... I can't imagine having to deal with that. (Which is why I want to produce and direct as well as write movies!)
But the creation of a movie is a group project -- there's no way I could completely control the outcome, even if I produced and directed.

A novel, on the other hand, is entirely the work of one writer. There's no way I'm going to give that up! Trust me!!!!

-- Suz

When will George be back?

Hi, Leigh!

Ah, George.

I've brought him (from BODYGUARD) into the TS world.

But he's kind of like Jazz (see my post below re: characters who make more noise than others) -- he's trying to blend in with the wallpaper, hoping I don't notice him! LOL!

Too many characters, too little time...

-- Suz

When will we get an update about Kenny?

I'm glad you liked them [Kenny and Savannah], Leigh.

Kenny's one of my personal favorites, so...

-- Suz

Watch for additional questions and answers as the day progresses.

Alyssa