Interview and Giveaway: Kylie Brant (Update: Winner announced)

Today we have a special host. If you are a fan of Romantic Suspense then you probably know about her and if you don’t then here is your chance to change that.

Please let’s give a warm welcome to Kylie Brant. You probably know her from her Mindhunters series but she is also the author of several Silhouette Sensation and Silhouette Intimate Moments novels. Her newest book, Deadly Sins, is the latest addition to the Mindhunters series and it hits the stores next week.

As someone with no imagination I really admire the ability that suspense writers have to come up with all those twists and turns that make this particular genre so enjoyable. Can you tell us a little about your writing process?

Kylie: I tell everyone that I have ‘a dark side’, LOL. That’s just where my mind goes…how convenient that I have a reason for it! I’ve always been a lover of police procedural and forensics shows that are based in reality rather than Hollywood. But always for me, the characters appear first. Something has to be really compelling about these story people for me to begin to spin a story about them.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Kylie: I used to be able to say that I was a constant reader. But the truth is, my writing time comes out of what used to be my writing time. It’s a treat for me to be able to stop working and just read these days. My inspiration comes from brilliant plots, whether from movies, books and TV or just hatched in my imagination from a news story.

How much research do you do?

Kylie: I love to research—I can get lost in it! I always get a couple books on a topic I’ll be covering in my books but I’m really not satisfied unless I have a real life expert on the topic that I can talk to. For Deadly Sins I spoke several times to a former Supreme Court Justice clerk, a field agent in the DC FBI office, an expert in spyware and a former sniper. There is absolutely nothing in my background that would have prepared me for experience in any of those areas!

How do you come up with the ideas for the bad guys?

Kylie: I think what makes the villain scariest is when I can make readers understand why they act as they do. It’s easy to write a cartoon evil bad guy but once the reader can guess how the villain will respond and why, the suspense mounts. So first I come up with the evil deeds, then I flesh the bad guy out to make him truly evil. He has to be a match for the hero or there is no real suspense. The reader has to really wonder if the hero can win!

Is it hard for you to find a balance between the romantic and the suspenseful aspects of the story?

Kylie: It really isn’t hard for me to imagine two characters falling in love while facing a suspenseful obstacle in their lives. Danger makes emotions more tangible and drives people to see what’s important in their lives.

I love that your books have a paranormal element but nothing too overwhelming. Why did you decide to add that touch?

Kylie: Sometimes my books will have a touch of the psychic. Two of The Mindhunters books did—Waking Evil and Deadly Dreams. I find myself fascinated with psychic phenomena. I really do believe that there are a few amongst us with extrasensory skills. And those skills add all sorts of ‘what if’s’ to a suspense plot!

What can you tell us about Deadly Sins and about Adam and Jaid?

Kylie: When I began writing The Mindhunters, I’d planned three books. Adam Raiker was this legendary enigmatic character whom was only to appear at the end of the books, as the head of the agency the others worked for. I was unprepared for the volume of reader mail I’d get about him. Readers wanted to know more about him and wanted his story. Which was fortunate, because he became more and more fully fleshed out with every book I wrote. He’s stealthy that way :). I firmly believe he intended to have his story all along…he was just taking up more and more space in my imagination until I couldn’t NOT write him! Then my editor asked for three more books, with an overarching suspense plot involving him and a story featuring Raiker. Deadly Sins is his story.

In the fourth and fifth books, aside from the plot central to those stories there’s been a thread involving Adam and threats on his life. In Deadly Sins all those threads get tied up into one explosive plot. Details of that last case he worked for the FBI are also wrapped up in the story…and so is the only woman he’d ever loved—and lost—Jaid Marlowe.

Are you planning on writing more Mindhunters books?

Kylie: At this point in time there are no more Mindhunters books contracted. I’m ready to try something else for a while! But I won’t so never…I could see myself revisiting the agency and the characters again with some continuing stories!

What types of books do you like to read? What are your favorite romantic suspense novels? Do you have a favorite author?

Kylie: I like to read romantic suspense and straight suspense. Some favorites are JD Robb, Nora Roberts, Lee Child and Robert Crais.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions (even though interviews are not my forte). I hope this is not the last time we hear from you, feel free to visit us at any time!

Kylie: Thanks so much for having me. Readers can visit me at www.kyliebrant.com. Subscribers to my newsletter will get a FREE read—see what happened on that last case Adam worked for the FBI eight years ago—the one that tore he and Jaid apart forever…or so he thought!

GIVEAWAY!

Update

We have our lucky winner! Congratulations to Ju Dimello who won the book, be sure to check your email to get all the details. Thank you very much to Kylie for the giveaway and to all of our readers for participating.

Don’t go yet! Kylie has generously agreed to give away a copy of Deadly Sins. To get a chance to win just leave a comment. Easy right? Then what are you waiting for?

This contest is open internationally (as long as The Book Depository ships to your country) so everyone can participate. I’ll select the winners using random.org on Monday, August 1st at 5pm EST. You have until then to leave a comment.

Leave your email on the comment so I can contact the winner, if you are afraid of spam then do it like this: brie.clementine (at) gmail (dot) com.

You don’t need to follow the blog to participate, but if you can let other people know about the contest (via Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc.) I will be very grateful and if you let me know about it I will enter your name as many times as you post about it.

Remember that we are not responsible for items lost during shipping.