Sunday, October 31, 2010
Fabulous Interview with Kylie Brant, Mastermind of the Mindhunters
*Captain Jack Sparrow’s face looms suddenly in the camera before he backs up a little bit so we can see his hand gestures*JACK: ‘ello, luvlies, it is your lucky day. Today, we’re having another Fabulous Interview with Captain Jack Sparrow. Our prize—our booty, if you will—is the delightful and gregarious Kylie Brant, author of the treasure-worthy series, the Mindhunters… *leans in furtively* She writes about catching criminals. So don’t tell her I’m a pirate. It’s just our secret. *camera nods* Excellent. Then let’s meet her! *opens door to cabin and halts* Er…what are you doing?
*camera zooms, sweeping around the cabin to show its disarray, crime scene tape, and one innocent looking woman holding a brush and powder*
KYLIE: *straightening* Jack! You were running late, so I thought I’d do some investigation and research for my current WIP. I hope you don’t mind. Your fingerprints are everywhere.
*camera zooms in on Jack’s face who looks stricken by this knowledge*
JACK: Yes, er, how industrious of you. You Americans, very, very hardworking. *removes the crime scene tape from the door and crosses threshold* Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your writing. I know you’re very disciplined.
KYLIE: Well, yes, I have to be. Are you okay, Mr. Sparrow? You’re quite pale.
JACK: Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow. And I’m fine, thank you. The word ‘discipline’ makes me a little queasy. *braves a smile* Let’s start the interview, shall we? Would you like some rum? *pulls a bottle from under a loose board and undoes the cork with his teeth* I’d like some.
KYLIE: *finding a cup, wiping it out with her shirt, holds it up to Jack*
JACK: That’s okay. I don’t need a glass. *Kylie gives him a look* Oh! Yes, of course, luv. Have a drink. *laughs, pours a healthy amount in glass* This is more like it. *sweeps off the chair next to him, dumping a pile of romances to the floor* Have a seat and tell me more about your series, the Mindhunters.
KYLIE: Ahh, The Mindhunters! An admirable team of some of the best criminologists in the country, headed by the legendary ex-FBI profiler, Adam Raiker. The investigators pair with law enforcement agencies to solve particularly high-profile and puzzling crimes. *She smiles meaningfully.* One might say the bad guys can run, but they can no longer hide.
JACK: So just so we’re clear, even though you’re hunting criminals, you’re not hunting affable pirates who happen to be looking for the Fountain of Youth, right?
KYLIE: Oh, we wouldn't think of it. Affable pirates are some of my favorite people.
JACK: Good. *reaches out and pulls her chair closer to him* You were too far away. *smolders at her* So the new book, Deadly Intent, you said? What is it about? And how pretty is the heroine? Does she like pirates?
KYLIE: Macy Reid is a forensic linguist who pairs with fellow investigator Kellan Burke to find an eleven-year-old girl who's been abducted. And Macy is pretty enough to have already captured the attention of Kell. He's never been able to forget the one night they spent together. You might want to watch it with her--he's the jealous type.
JACK: *appearing unfazed by the warning* You write about some interesting topics: rape, kidnapping—is there something about you we should know? *reaches in his jacket and pulls out a folded piece of paper* See, this is your biography from your website. You wrote you love to read, hang out with family and friends, exercise, and flower garden. You’re not killing your characters with flowers, are you? What sort of research do you do for your books?
KYLIE: If there are any bodies hidden in my flower gardens, you don't really expect me to tell you, do you? You're not the most trustworthy pirate sailing these seas, you know. I talk to all sorts of interesting people who advise me on plot elements for my books. For Deadly Intent, I consulted with a forensic linguist, a mask maker, an assistant director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and a crime writing doctor who advised me on how long a severed thumb would keep--shall we say--fresh? *Noting Jack's look of alarm, Kylie reaches over and pats his shoulder soothingly.* Don't worry, I wouldn't think of using that last bit of knowledge on you.
JACK: *smiles again, taking her hand to kiss it* That is reassuring. I always think a fine fantasy life is just the thing, though mine usually involve treasure, buxom wenches, and rum, but to each their own! What do we have to look forward to once we’ve read this book? What’s coming out next—and when?
KYLIE: Deadly Dreams, book five in the series will be released in April 2011. Someone is enacting revenge on Philadelphia police detectives by burning them alive. Risa Chandler is yanked back from semi-retirement by homicide detective Nate McGuire when her prescient dreams of death and fire might be the only hope of finding the killer. In August 2011 Deadly Sins is released, which will be Adam Raiker's story. Someone is targeting high profile people in Washington, DC for murder and suspicion falls on Raiker and his team.
JACK: Serial killers? Really? How do you sleep at night? *takes a drink of rum, then pauses to pour more rum for Kylie* Never mind. Let’s move on. What is your Call Story? That’s always fun and upbeat and doesn’t involve dead bodies.
KYLIE: *smiles blandly* I sleep fine, Jack. And I don't think I dare ask about your night time activities. *She sips daintily from her slightly grubby glass* My call story? My, that's ancient history. It so happens that I was home in bed-- *She frowns at the immediate look of interest on his face.* --in bed sick with laryngitis. *She pauses to enjoy his crestfallen expression.* The phone rang and it was Leslie Wainger's (senior editor for Silhouette) assistant on the phone. She'd been searching for my contact information since apparently I had neglected to include that in my cover letter. The assistant told me that Ms. Wainger was reading my manuscript as we spoke and would be calling me in the next hour or so. She went on to say that she was excited because she'd found me herself in the slush pile. Now I was too ignorant to know what a slush pile was, and besides, I thought she'd said flush pile, which didn't sound like a good thing at all! After I hung up I started to question whether I'd dreamed the whole thing. Had the assistant really called or had it been the result of a Vicks Vapo-Rub hallucination? It was a few hours before Leslie Wainger did, indeed call and offer me a contract for the book. When she discovered that I could barely talk she offered to call back in a couple days but I wouldn't let her hang up! I managed to croak out my acceptance and so launched my writing career.JACK: Ms. Brant, Kylie, I can call you Kylie, right, luv? It has been my esteemed honor to host you today here on the ship for another edition of *turns to camera and grins* Fabulous Interview with Captain Jack Sparrow. I hope your Mindhunter series grows even more popular and successful. Is there anything you’d like to say to the crew? Any last recommendations or advice?
KYLIE: Thanks for 'having' me, Jack. *She smiled sweetly at his quick look.* It's been...surreal. I wish I could say I hope to meet again, but I'm very much afraid if we do, it might involve handcuffs, and I'd certainly hate to be the one to put you behind bars. So I've got a bit of advice for you and your crew. *She leans forward and drops her voice conspiratorially* Always use gloves, luv. This place is lousy with prints, and you and your crew all have records in the system.
JACK: Okay, crew, you heard her--start wearing gloves, for crying out loud. In the meantime, let's parlay: are you avid fans of crime shows? What is your favorite? Do you also like to read books of romantic suspense? In your current WIP, do you have a villain, and if so, how would you profile him/her?
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22 comments:
I love crime shows! I often spend hours watching the Discovery ID channel. No idea why I enjoy these shows, really. I suppose they are research??? But I seldom go the crime route with my characters...
I love CSI, Bones, the new Hawaii 5-0... Yes, I am a crime show junkie...
Profiling my villain? Lord...he's a sadistic pedaphile, boys and girls... He's brilliant, though more driven by his sexual hunger than his intellect.
Jack! Worried about finger prints? All I've ever stolen were drink recipes! Last I looked, that weren't no crime! What have ya been up to? Eh?
Brilliant call story, luv! Sounds like a devious bit of fiction...
Hi Kylie, Welcome aboard!
Afraid I haven't tried your books yet, but they certainly sound interesting.
I think, on the whole, I prefer the visual portrayal of crime detection. Favorite detectives include Inspector Morse, Lord Peter Wimsey, Poirot and Miss Marple.... all golden oldies!
I am always looking to add to my favorite sleuths though, so I reckon that I will try one of yours, especially as most seem to be available as e-books in the UK. Any particular book recommended for starters?
The books always precede the videos of course so when writing the novels do you keep in mind the possible potential for videos and audio books?
Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie are pre-Internet blog, so today we must grab this wonderful chance to get at the root of crime writing, from the horses mouth so to speak.
I imagine you must prepare a very detailed plot before writing.
May I ask whether you use a 'top down' approach, identifying the culprit and solving the crime before detailing the events leading up to the crime and its detection?
The dropping of clues must also be an art in itself. They mustn't be too obvious or the reader will 'solve it' before the end. They also mustn't be too obscure or the reader will be completely baffled until all is revealed on the last page.
Could you perhaps enlighten interested readers as to the strategies you employ when constructing your devilish crimes?
Do you imagine yourself as the master criminal or the supreme detective when writing and just how important is the romantic input to your books?
Lovely to meet you .... brilliant handling of Jack by the way!
LOL at Captain Jack. LOVE "The Fabulous Interview" part. :) I'm surprised he didn't add ANOTHER "fabulous" before his name.
Welcome, Kylie. I loved your "flush pile" story. LOL And you handled Captain Jack very well.
I'm not a fan of crime shows, and I tend to steer away from ones with graphic depictions--I got to be immersed in those things too much in my previous career as a lawyer.
I can enjoy detective shows/books because I enjoy helping them solve the puzzle. I'm sure they're glad I'm with them all the way. LOL
2nd Chance, I'm a crime show junkie, too. But I insist on realistic (as much as possible) portrayals of the investigative and forensic process. My favs are NCIS (not the LA one), Justified and Dark Blue. Still missing Hillstreet Blues (that's an oldie!) and NYPD.
Quantum, back in the day I read all the Agatha Christie books and loved them! Waking Nightmare was the start of the series, so although the books are all stand alone you might start with that one. On the other hand, Waking the Dead was the Rita finalist....
I don't really consider the possibility for video/movie when writing because exercising those rights is such a long shot. I just try to write the best book I can.
I'm afraid I'm not a plotter, I'm more of an organic writer. The plot evolves a great deal from my original sketch and provides me with a lot of surprises along the way!
I do use a top down approach. I know the crime, the culprit and the final climax scene. So as I'm writing I'm laying in the foreshadowing and clues necessary to solve the plot.
I don't employ any specific strategies...I say I have a dark side :). I'm afraid those plots develop pretty naturally fed by all the horrible things in the news these days. I do have to research the exact details. For example, until I was writing Waking the Dead I knew very little about defleshing bones. But once I learned about dermestid beetles, the rest was a snap!
What I've learned along the way is that I am not nearly smart enough to be a master criminal :) The supercriminal is mostly a work of fiction. There are such great tools used these days to trip up crooks these days. That's why it's such big news when a guy is getting away with murder, literally, over and over. Because it doesn't happen that often.
Because the books are romantic suspense, the romantic tension and satisfying closure are of utmost importance. What I'm finding is that a lot of men are picking up my books and they are saying 'less romance'. Of course the female readers want more. It's a balancing act!
'Handling' Jack was my pleasure :)
Donna, I think that's what I like too when I watch those shows, the solving of clues. Surprisingly, it's my husband who calls it right every time. I find my biases get in the way. I *always* think the husband did it, LOL!
Of course the husband always did it. Duh.
Actually I look for someone within the first act, the first 10-15 minutes of the show who seems unlikely. He/she is the culprit. *LOL* You know, how Professor Quirrell met Harry Potter in the Leaky Caldron, or how Professor Moody had domestic trouble on the first day of school. Then they both ended up being the culprits.
Okay, it doesn't always work because I can't always identify them--but in general, it should work.
I'm not a fan of "dark" suspense/crime dramas. I mostly watch Castle, L&O: SVU and L&O: LA (since the old L&O went off the air). Just love the L&O sound bite...you can't help but watch.
I also try to keep my "villains" more on the fluffy side. No Lord Voldemorts for me. The world is chock-full of Voldemorts without me creatively dreaming one up. I'd rather make my characters their own worst enemy. :)
Welcome aboard, Kylie!
I love suspense plots. I've added something suspenseful to every story I've ever written. I don't think I realized that until just recently though. (Marnee=not in touch with her process)
The villain in my current historical is abusive to women. But not all women, just blonde, blue-eyed, "English beauties." Like my heroine.
His French heiress mother got pregnant and then passed over by his titled English father at the French Revolution after her family lost her fortune/dowry. His father went on to marry a blonde, Englishwoman and produce only girls, so he sent for him in France to be his heir.
He's spent his life being belittled by his father, his mother called a whore, etc. He's come to resent his "stepmother" and his perfect English stepsisters.
Hellion, your process of figuring out the bad guy is interesting. I'm going to have to try it! I love to watch Medium, despite the dreadful acting of Patricia Arquette, LOL. And I think your idea might hold true in that show.
Love Castle, but have to suspend disbelief BIG time!
Marnee, your villain has 'issues' and its just the sort of baggage that one finds motivating our dark bad guys!
Awesome interview, Kylie! I adore dark romantic suspense, and I especially love reunion stories, so I absolutely must track down Deadly Intent.
I love stories with profilers, and love watching Criminal Minds (though I often have to cover my eyes on that one). I always love villains that are deeper than just being evil for evil's sake. Profiling in general fascinates me, and your research alone sounds like something I'd have so much fun with!
Hal, the research *is* fascinating. For this book I spoke to an assistant director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, a forensic linguist, a mask maker and a doctor (had to find out how long a severed thumb would *keep*, LOL.) I enjoy the dark romantic suspense but can't go too graphic, ala Karin Slaughter. I read her but have to set the books down sometimes because they just too too graphic at times.
Oh yeah, Hillstreet Blues, I remember that one! i honestly am more inclined to stick with a show if I like the characters...why Bones, Castle, NCIS does tend to be at the top of the pile And the original CSI... I don't get caught up in the 'realistic' parts of it because, as I'm always telling my husband...if they did it that way the show would be over in ten minutes...
I tend to go that way with books, too. Give me good characters and I can forgive a 'silly' process to a certain extent.
Hal? You watch Criminal Minds? Man, I like the people but the violence against women in that show is just too over-the-top for me!
2nd Chance, I can't watch Criminal Minds. Fantastic plots, absolutely zero chemistry among the characters. They just seem to dull and lifeless to me. LOVE NCIS, because the characters are so fantastic. That's why I love Justified and Dark Blue, too.
I absolutely hear you on characterization. No matter how brilliant the plot, if I don't invest in the characters, I'm not going to stick around for another book.
I love NCIS for the same reason. Half the time I don't even pay attention to the plot, but the characters, and the relationships between them, are incredible. And I love the variety of relationships -- rather than one based on sexual tension, it's all different sorts and types of relationships. Bones and Burn Notice with a primarily romantic relationship are great too (11 days until Burn Notice comes back!!!!), but there's something about NCIS I find especially enthralling (or maybe it's just Gibbs. lol.)
Hal, it's probably just Gibbs. *LOL*
I second or third (or whatever number we're on) about the characters. Even though I'm not a major suspense reading fan, I will read just about anything if the characterization is wonderful!
Although I have read stories that had good characters--I thought the characters were well drawn--but the chemistry between the characters wasn't as sparkly as I like. (I like sparkly. Things that glitter appeal to me.) I imagine it's difficult to keep the seriousness of the subject matter and balance it with the sparkly though...there should be a class on that. :)
Nah! I love Tim and Abby...though Tim's new weight loss bugs me...too skinny! Gibbs has gotten almost a bit too chummy so far this season...
And Burn Notice, yippee!
It's definitely just Gibbs. Though I have a real soft spot for Tony. :)
Can't believe I almost didn't get here. Love the interview and these books sound great. Talk about real conflict and danger involve. Sheesh!
I love Castle and Bones and NCIS and I used to watch CSI but they really do take liberties with the technology, don't they? It seems like it to me and I don't know much about that stuff.
I've caught a Criminal Minds here and there, but that one messes with me too much. That's the psycho-thriller type stuff which makes me a bit uncomfortable.
Yes, it's definitely Gibbs :) Hawt guy!
But I love all the characters, and the relationships between them. But what's up with McGee's weight loss? I liked him better chubby!
The one thing that's difficult to balance with the danger and suspense is the romance. This book only has one love scene in it. When a child is in danger, really...gonna have sex now? I just couldn't work it in realistically. But the chemistry is there and I think it works...most readers would object to people thinking about sex in those circumstances. Like everything else, the romantic relationship has to be realistic.
Well, Kylie, a romantic relationship and/or scene doesn't have to be bound up in the physical... I can totally see that sex when a kid is in danger really don't make sense!
I feel like the season started and a whole bunch of character seem to have spent the off-time not eating!
LOL, maybe I should have tried that!
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