5 Q's with Sandra Brown - Plain Talk Book Marketing

I have been running this blog for the last two years and I have had many wonderful authors come and chat with me. Today I am truly humbled to welcome Sandra Brown, author of over 60, you read it right 60 New York Times Bestsellers! I have been a fan of Ms Brown for as long as I could remember, so naturally I jumped at the chance to be a part of her blog tour.

Here’s my interview:

What made you switch from writing thrillers to writing a heartwarming story like Rainwater?

The characters of Ella and Rainwater wouldn’t leave me alone! They kept coming around every few months, insisting that I tell their story. In between contract books, I began writing, and before I knew it, I had a first draft. I put it away, wrote another thriller, took it up again. I worked on it that way for about a year and half before I sent it to my agent, who had no idea I’d been writing it. She liked it and sent it to my editor. I’m pleased it was received so well. Their story deserved to be told.

When you started writing did you ever think you would make a full time living off of it?

That’s a yes and no question. From day one, yes, I wrote with the intention of being published. I knew that if I approached it as a hobby, something to dabble in, I’d never make it. So I treated the writing like a job, “going to work” every day, although it was only a commute to the spare bedroom where I’d set up a typewriter on a card table! Did I think I’d ever write over 75 books, be a bestseller, be published worldwide? No. But I’m so grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to do what I love doing and making a living at it.

The publishing industry has changed a lot since you started your career. What are your thoughts on the changes and how have they affected you?

I think we in the industry are still on the learning curve of the changes and how they affect us! Publishing is evolving. What I love about the introduction of electronic books is that it has enabled me to grow my audience. Readers on every spot of the globe have access to my books. The disadvantage to it is that readers on every spot of the globe also have access to me! Constantly feeding social media requires a lot of time. It’s a juggling act to allocate time to it, without sacrificing time that should be spent writing. Writing a good book is the best thing I can do for my reader.

What was your biggest challenge when you first started writing?

Not so much the writing itself (because I had dozens of stories basically outlined in my head and couldn’t wait to put them on paper) but combining my new “habit” with daily life. Fortunately, I had a good husband, who knew how badly I wanted to write, and was willing to help with kids and all the craziness that family life entails. We ate carryout a LOT!

What is your biggest challenge now?

What it’s always been: Writing a story that people want to read. I still approach each day with a healthy dose of FEAR. Is this character compelling? Will this plot excite and engage the reader? This self-doubt is actually beneficial. Complacency would be deadly.

Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown
Published by: Grand Central
Publication date: February 26th 2013
Genres: Adult, Suspense, Thriller

Synopsis:

On a rainy Southern night, Jade Sperry endured a young woman’s worst nightmare at the hands of three local hell-raisers. Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy “company town” where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who with his two friends changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she’d return . . . exacting a just revenge, freeing herself from her enemies’ grasp, and, perhaps, fulfilling a lost promise of love.

Add Breath of Scandal to your Goodreads shelf.

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About Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), & HELLO, DARKNESS (2003).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program “PM Magazine.”

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write, Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

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