{"id":305,"date":"2018-12-31T11:41:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T11:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=305"},"modified":"2018-12-31T11:41:36","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T11:41:36","slug":"sandra-brown-100415","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=305","title":{"rendered":"Sandra Brown 100415"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sandra Brown<\/span> is the author of more than sixty New York Times<\/span> bestsellers. 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 thirty-four languages.<\/p>\n

A lifelong Texan, Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth, and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English.<\/p>\n

She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television hostess. Her episode on truTV\u2019s Murder by the Book<\/span> premiered the series in 2008. She appeared in 2010 on Investigation Discovery\u2019s new series, Hardcover Mysteries.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write Rainwater,<\/span> a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Brown holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University, where she and her husband Michael Brown, have instituted the ELF, a scholarship annually awarded to a student pursuing a fiction writing career. In 2008 she was named Thriller Master, the top award given by the International Thriller Writers organization. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 she and four colleagues went on a week-long USO tour to Afghanistan, meeting with service members on numerous bases.<\/p>\n

She is the past president of the Mystery Writers of America in 2012. She lives in Arlington, Texas, with her husband.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Praise for Sandra Brown’s works<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDeadline<\/span> is both a breathtaking and heartbreaking story; one that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished. Deft characterizations and eye for detail make this a winner…. Satisfying, vintage Brown storytelling.\u201d \u2014Kirkus<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSexual tension fueled by mistrust between brash Denton and shy Bellamy smolders and sparks in teasing fashion throughout.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Publishers Weekly<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHair-raising . . . a perfect mix of thriller and romantic suspense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014USA Today<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrown has written another gripping page-turner with a few surprises that will enthrall both her fans and anyone who enjoys their tales mixed with a romantic flair.\u201d \u2014Washington Times<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRomantic thriller fans can get in line now for one of the hottest Sandra Brown books ever. This lady knows what her fans like and this time out she delivers on every requirement and need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Huffington Post Books<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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10.04.2015\u00a0
Sandra Brown: the road from \u201cCowtown”
to the bookstore in your town<\/h1>\n

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Native Texan Sandra Brown \u2014 <\/span>whose popular thriller titles measure in the dozens and whose copies in print measure in the millions \u2014 has just wrapped up a tour of Texas book haunts where readers were doubtless familiar with her crime-plus-romance storylines and dramatically recognizable covers. We corresponded with her by email to learn how she became a household name in the Lone Star State and around the world.<\/p>\n

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE:<\/span> You grew up in Fort Worth. You know, I\u2019ve noticed a lot of Texas authors start life there. What was growing up in Fort Worth like? What makes it such fertile ground for authors? How did growing up there influence your writing?<\/span><\/p>\n

SANDRA BROWN: <\/span>Despite the fact that Fort Worth is a progressive city with its eye on the future, it somehow retains that \u201ccowtown\u201d feel of the past that attracts tourists . . . and inspires writers of both fiction and non. Legendary people have either sprung from this Texas city or spent time here. I grew up thinking that every place had its \u201ccharacters.\u201d What I didn\u2019t learn until I traveled further afield was that Fort Worth (and, indeed, all of Texas) has the superlatives \u2014 biggest, strongest, meanest, wealthiest, weirdest, bravest, and so forth. What a rich heritage from which to draw stories and characters, such as Texas Ranger Crawford Hunt in Friction.<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember seeing you on “PM Magazine” on WFAA out of Dallas when we were both a bit younger, and I read that you wrote your first book on a dare from your husband. What was it that kept you writing?<\/p>\n

Getting fired from PM Magazine<\/span> was the best thing that ever happened to me! Although it didn\u2019t seem so at the time. I was despondent and, at the ripe old age of twenty-eight, was wondering what I was going to with the rest of my life. My husband, Michael, reminded me that I\u2019d always loved books, and had repeatedly said that I wanted to write. \u201cYou have time and opportunity now. Are you going to keep talking about it, or actually do it?\u201d Faced with that challenge, I went to work. From day one I approached it as a job. There was no question of my keeping at it. I loved it. Whether or not I could profit from it, I didn\u2019t know. But the day I set up shop on a card table in the spare room, all the lights came on, and I knew this was what I was destined to do.<\/p>\n

Who gave you your first big break as a writer, and how long did it take you to \u201cget discovered?\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d been writing for a little over a year when I attended a writers\u2019 conference at the University of Houston. I went, feeling that I didn\u2019t belong. I wasn\u2019t officially a writer because I hadn\u2019t published. At the conference I met Mary Lynn Baxter, who owned an indie bookstore in Lufkin. She did such a brisk trade, she\u2019d become acquainted with publishing house editors who respected her opinion. She told me to finish what I was working on and send it to her, that she would give my work an honest assessment. I did so. Within a few days, Ms. Baxter called and told me that Bantam Doubleday Dell was about to launch a line of romances, and that my book was perfect for it. \u201cSend it today,\u201d she said, and gave me the editor\u2019s name. The editor called a few days later and told me she wanted to buy Love\u2019s Encore,<\/span><\/a><\/span> then asked if I had anything else she could see. In the meantime, I had finished another manuscript. I sent it; she bought Love Beyond Reason<\/span><\/a><\/span> thirteen days later.<\/p>\n

How did you balance raising a family and writing books? Your son, Ryan, an actor, has followed in your footsteps by being an author as well. Do you ever envision an opportunity where the two of you might collaborate on a book?<\/p>\n

I balanced writing and family life the way any working woman is called upon do to. It was like a holiday when both children got into elementary school and I had the whole day to write. I wrote on notepads at soccer games and while waiting for ballet class to end. I\u2019ll always be grateful to Michael, who pitched in a lot! Without his full and unflagging support, it would have been so much more difficult. Ryan has moved into photography, but we\u2019ve talked about projects we\u2019d like to do together. One of these days perhaps . . .<\/p>\n

How has publishing changed since you started?<\/p>\n

Well, there was no such thing as an eBook! Now, that market represents more than half of my sales. That\u2019s the biggest change, and its affect on publishing continues to evolve. We\u2019re still on a learning curve. I don\u2019t know how it will all shake out, nor does anyone. But my primary concern is that we create readers,<\/span> no matter what format one chooses.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your writing process like? How often do you write?<\/p>\n

I still go to work every day. I have an office outside the home. I have two full-time employees who do almost everything except write the books. I tend to business for the first couple hours, then settle in to write and try to get in four to five hours each day. At certain times of the year, and at particular stages of the book, I go away for weeks at a time, lock myself in, turn off, unhook, and simply write. Those are my favorite times.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been very active in various outreach efforts supporting our troops. What inspired you to start those efforts?<\/p>\n

Going to Afghanistan on a USO tour was the experience of a lifetime, and I still regard it remarkable that I was afforded that opportunity. The sacrifices made by our service members cannot be emphasized enough, and we should constantly be reminding ourselves that their lives are on the line each hour of every day. Anything we do to support them is little enough.<\/p>\n

What Texas writers have you enjoyed reading through the years?<\/p>\n

Tommy Thompson<\/span> wrote wonderful books set in Fort Worth and died far too young. Stephen Harrigan, Larry McMurtry. Dan Jenkins,<\/span> who is not only brilliant, but whom I\u2019m lucky enough to call a friend. Texas truly has produced some talented writers, hasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

What advice would you give aspiring authors?<\/p>\n

Before even beginning to write, one should determine how badly he wants to do it. What\u2019s he willing to give up in order to do it? It\u2019s hard to do when one has a passion for it. If the passion isn\u2019t there, my advice would be to choose another endeavor. One must be willing to spend hours, days, months in solitary confinement. I don\u2019t know any shortcuts to putting words on paper one at a time \u2014 and that\u2019s so much easier said than done.<\/p>\n

So can you tell us just a little bit about what your latest book, Friction, is about? I\u2019m sure our readers would love to know more.<\/p>\n

I built Friction<\/span> around the character of Ranger Crawford Hunt. Playing the \u201cwhat if?\u201d game, I asked myself what would be the one thing most incompatible with his job, the antithesis of a gun-toting chaser of bad guys. And I came up with: a little girl. Pink glitter slippers, ballet tutus, tiaras, fairy wings. The story opens with a custody hearing between Crawford and his late wife\u2019s parents. Before Judge Holly Spencer renders her decision, a gunman barges into the courtroom and \u2014 well, Crawford instinctually springs into action. From there, everything he does in the pursuance of his duty (and of Judge Spencer) contradicts his argument that he can provide a stable and safe environment for his five-year-old daughter. There\u2019s friction between him and every other character. He\u2019s in a constant tug-of-war between being \u201cdaddy\u201d and \u201cDirty Harry.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers. 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 thirty-four languages. A lifelong Texan, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}