Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wednesday Promo- Brenda Novak


Today, I'm happy to Welcome New York Times best selling suspense author Brenda Novak. Brenda and I became acquaintances through her annual online auction for juvenile diabetes.

Bio:

New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has three novels coming out this summer-THE PERFECT COUPLE, THE PERFECT LIAR and THE PERFECT MURDER, all part of her popular Last Stand Series. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she's raised over $770,000. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

What lured you to writing suspense?
I'm fascinated by the criminal mind. If you think about it, so much of that kind of behavior is illogical because it's also self-defeating. And yet we still have people doing terrible things to others. The motivations behind these actions overcome all prohibitors. It provides a puzzle for me that I will probably never solve. LOL

What is the hardest part of writing a suspense novel? Plotting, making realistic characters, or just the writing?
The hardest part of writing is trusting your intuition. This trust is a learned process. It takes time and practice. And I don't think you ever get "perfect" enough at it that you don't have to occasionally go back and rewrite and restructure. It is nice to know, however, that our subconscious mind seems to be ahead of our conscious mind in whatever it is we're trying to create. If we can free ourselves from our internal editor long enough to trust our intuition, it really helps the pages fly.

How long does it take you to research for a book? Does the research and gathering of information get easier over the years since you can fall back on some of what you've already gleaned for an earlier book? It's tough to give an estimate on research time because every book is different, and I don't set aside a specific amount of time for this. I do some preliminary reading to get the creative juices flowing, and then I research various points as they come up in the novel. I'd say that it gets easier as you go along, because your vault of knowledge grows, but there are always things that change or are very specific and need to be double-checked.


Blurb for The Perfect Couple:

A mother faces her greatest fear...

One afternoon in May, Zoe Duncan's thirteen-year-old daughter goes missing from her own backyard. The police think Samantha ran away because she's unhappy about her mother's upcoming marriage--but Zoe doesn't believe it. In fact, she's willing to do anything to bring Sam home, even if it means losing her job, her beautiful home, her fiance. Even if it means divulging all her secrets to a private investigator.

A detective faces his hardest case...

Jonathan Stivers is a P.I. who donates his time to The Last Stand, a victims' charity in Sacramento. He's good at what he does, the best. But never has he had fewer leads to work with--or been more attracted to a client. Jonathan's sure of only one thing: Sam was taken by someone close to the family. He doesn't know how close until he realizes that the "perfect" couple next door is anything but...

16 comments:

Mona Risk said...

What a blurb, Brenda, but then we already know you are such a fabulous writer. I can't wait for The Perfect Couple to come out. In addition to enjoying a good thriller, I am sure I will learn a few things to improve my own romantic suspenses.

Jennifer Ross said...

Fabulous blurb. And I'm glad to see someone of such stature say it's okay to research as you go along--not necessarily have all the answers up front. Heck, I don't even know the questions!

Brenda Novak said...

Hi Mona--

Great to "see" you here. Actually, THE PERFECT COUPLE came out a few weeks ago. I have three coming out back to back. THE PERFECT LIAR might be the one you're thinking of. It'll be released next Tuesday.

Good luck with your writing. May you turn out a ton of pages today. :-)) (And since I have a book due at the end of the month, I'm hoping the same for myself. LOL)

Brenda Novak said...

I'm glad you enjoyed the blurb, Jennifer. You make a great point about research. You have to know enough about your story to be able to decide which questions to ask. That said, I do find it's helpful to read up a little on whatever subject I'm approaching. It gives me a base to start from and helps me write with more authority. Then I research the finer details as I go along.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, awesome cover, Brenda! I love the spiderweb effect. Very sexy!

You said... "I don't think you ever get "perfect" enough at it that you don't have to occasionally go back and rewrite and restructure. It is nice to know, however, that our subconscious mind seems to be ahead of our conscious mind in whatever it is we're trying to create. If we can free ourselves from our internal editor long enough to trust our intuition, it really helps the pages fly."

Thanks for sharing that. It's sooo true and it's so relieving to hear it from a successful writer such as yourself. Sometimes it's very hard to turn off that nagging editor in our mind and just flow with it.

Your blurb for "The Perfect Couple" is so intriguing and I can tell your hero is wonderful just from that little bit. :)

Thanks for blogging here today! Now I'm off to check out your website and book list!

Karen Duvall said...

Hi, Brenda! I just wanted to say I love your cover. :)

Paisley Kirkpatrick said...

Waving Brenda. I was so impressed at how many fans you had at your recent book signing. So glad I was able to attend and help a little bit. Best of luck with this new story.

Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel said...

Hi, Brenda! Good to "see" you again!

Three novels this summer is awesome! Gives us a good excuse to visit the book store often. :)

Glad to see your career is still zooming!

Elisabeth Naughton said...

Great interview, Paty.

And Brenda, congrats on your recent release and on the success of the auction this year!

Deborah Wright said...

Hi Brenda! What a wonderful cover!

If we can free ourselves from our internal editor long enough to trust our intuition, it really helps the pages fly.

Thanks for that reminder that every writer deals with that pesky internal editor at times. It can be so hard to silence, but so rewarding when it happens!

K.M. Daughters said...

Hi Brenda! Sending a BIG hug! The Perfect Couple and The Perfect Liar arrived yesterday. I wasted no time. Only had enough late night energy to read the first chapter of The Perfect Couple, but lady, WOW. A gripping, stunning read from the first sentence on. Love it. You keep getting better and better. :-)

Judy said...

Great blurb and interview. I really enjoy your books. I also love this cover!!

Great auction this year, can't wait for next years.

Happy August!!

Mary Ricksen said...

Great blurb, wonderful cover, and interesting blog. I'm looking forward to reading The Perfect Couple. Good luck!!!

Lauri said...

Wow! Sounds like an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it today! I like to research as I go as well.

Thanks for another great interview, Paty.

Helen Hardt said...

I like to research as I go along, too. I agree with Jennifer -- it's great to learn that someone so well known does the same. And you're a mother of five, too? How do you do it all? You're amazing!

Jackie said...

Great information from Brenda.
August
JFWIsherd@aol.com