How did you get started?
When I decided to get serious about writing, I took seeral screenwriting classes at a university. Those classes helped me tremendously with plotting and dialogue, which I think are the hardest part of any kind of fictional writing. After that it was just write write write.
What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
I usually plan to the extent that I jot down 1-2 sentences about each chapter, what happens, major plot points, etc. But I don't usually plot scenes or details ahead, since they'll probably change by the time I get to that point in the book. Still, I like having a framework to follow so i don't go off on tangents or get lost, which is easy to do. Kills the pacing!
Do you write best at a certain time of the day?
Afternoon usually.
What type of writing schedule do you have?
Since I have kids in school, I try to do my writing while they are out during the day. I also bring my laptop and work at soccer/baseball/swim/etc. practice.
How do you handle life interruptions?
With annoyance <G>.
Do you get blocked? Any hints how to stave it off?
No, almost never. I realize if I start getting blocked it means there's something wrong with the plot - the characters are trying to tell me something. So I listen and usually discover there's some flaw somewhere. Hopefully it's fixable. If I just can't decide what comes next, I analyze where I am using Scene and Sequel, which tells me exactly what needs to follow, structure-wise (highly recommended technique). Voila, no blocks.
What authors do you look to as a role model and inspiration?
Nora Roberts - gracious, tireless and skilled storyteller, Linda Howard, Kathleen Eagle, Patricia Gaffney - wonderful writers all.
What's the best advice you ever received?
Write every day, even if it's just one page. If you write a page a day, after a year you'll have a book. If you don't, you'll have nothing but unfulfilled dreams.
What sparks a story?
A specific scene that captures my imagination. A scenario or situation I find sexy or compelling, which I can use as the opening for a book. There has to be a real chemistry or it's not my kind of story. Then I try to figure out who would be in that particular situation and why. By the time you figure out those things, you have your basic plot. That's how I prefer to work.
What was it about your genre that interested you enough to choose to write in it and not in another genre?
I've always loved mystery, but when it came to writing my own stories, I missed the emotional content which is usually missing from mystery or detective books. When I discovered romantic suspense I knew immediately I'd found my genre.
Have you seen an evolution in your writing? What steps did it take?
Absolutely. If your writing doesn't evolve, you've stopped learning, and probably stopped reading - - both essentials for a writer. I've seen my work take on a more serious tone over the past few books in response to the deepening of the internal conflicts I've been using. But I think I'd like to get back to a bit lighter style. What do you think?
What have you always dreamed of writing, but haven't yet?
A NYT bestseller <VBG>.
What one thing do you like most about writing? Least?
Most: typing " The End"; Least: writing the last 3 kchapters. By then I just want to put all the characters on a plane and crash it. But seriously, the best is getting to know my characters. By the end of a book I feel as if I've known them forever and they've become good friends. I miss them terribly when they're gone, even though I know they're enjoying their happily-ever-after. That's why I like to reisit them in later books.
What is your next project?
I currently have about 4 proposals in for various books. We'll see which one comes through first. Meanwhile, I'm starting a mainstream women's fiction book just to see where that goes.
What advice would you pass along at this point in your career?
Write every day, come what may, even if it's only one page.
"A woman with a varied and checkered past."
I guess that's how I would describe myself (tho' it makes my husband crazy).
By profession, I'm really an archaeologist (an Egyptologist), but I've worked
all kinds of jobs, from real estate to a fabric store clerk to student counselor
at the Fulbright Commission in Stockholm, Sweden. My favorite was a work-
study job in grad school, reorganizing the ancient Egyptian pots at the University
of Chicago's famous Oriental Institute. The pay was lousy, but holding ceramic
jars actually touched by Ramses II and King Tut was inspiring and unbelievably
exciting.
I've lived all over the USA and even spent six years in Europe. I love to travel. Maybe because my great-grandfather was an Hungarian gypsy - my only ancestor who was not Danish. My family and I recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, which has also been a wonderful adventure, it's amazing here.
Although I love archaeology, doing fieldwork in The Sudan, Africa, (my specialty) isn't too practical with children and a husband who has a normal job. So when I thought about what I'd like to do instead, I set out to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a writer. Now I have my adventures through my characters. I can give my heroines the thrills and excitement all women dream of having, but I never have to change out of my jammies to do it. My kind of job!
Although I've only been writing for Silhouette for some three years, I have already been blessed with national attention for my writing. Four of my books were nominated for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, winning in both 1997 and 1998. Other awards my books have won since being published are the National Readers Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence for Overall Best Romantic Suspense, the Golden Chalice Award for Best First Novel, the Rising Star Award, the Write Touch Readers' Award and three Dorothy Parker Awards of Excellence among many others, as well as making it onto more than one national bestseller list.
I love writing about unusual situations and unique settings, something a bit different from the average romance, which I think my readers enjoy. I try to write with a large dose of humor and usually with a dash (or more) of suspense thrown in as well. There's nothing like an unexpected chuckle or a dead body to liven things up. I also like to turn up the heat on my characters till the pages smoke.
Sensually, I'll admit I enjoy pushing the envelope in my stories. I think much of the appeal of romance is the seductive fantasy it allows women to indulge in safely. A woman whose days are filled with diapers or spreadsheets, PTA or sales meetings, wants to be swept away in a romantic fantasy for a few hours, into a world where she can quench her thirst for love and romantic adventure and fulfill the dreams of a man who instinctively satisfies her deepest yearnings. I love writing about fearless women who do things I would never dare to do in real life. My heroes are dark and dangerous men who ooze sensuality but who definitely know how to treat a lady.
Along with writing for Silhouette Intimate Moments, I also write women's erotic romance under the pen name Nikita Black. My books CAJUN HOT and THE RENEGADE'S WOMAN were groundbreaking in the newer subgenre of ultra-steamy romance, known for not being afraid to bare it all for the reader-body and soul. My objective in writing the Nikita Black books is to explore the depths of the erotic fantasies all women have, which have so long been denied us or trivialized by the predominantly male outlook of critics and analysts. Nikita Black's raison d'être is to show women it's okay to fantasize. That it doesn't make you a pervert.
Still, as much as I enjoy writing my Nikita Black books, I also really love writing for Intimate Moments. It gives a nice balance, I think. With the Silhouette books, I concentrate mainly on the emotional side of the relationship between the hero and heroine, rather than the sexual. For me, there is just nothing better than creating a heart-tugging love-story with characters you love and an ending that leaves a big smile on your face. I hope you agree.
My March SIM, SINS OF THE FATHER, is a spin-off from WARRIOR'S BRIDE (May 2001). It is a passionate reunion book featuring Native American hero Roman 'Renegade' Santangelo and his long lost love RaeAnne Martin. Roman is an FBI agent looking for answers to the mystery of his father's death, along with forgiveness from RaeAnne for breaking her heart long ago. But all RaeAnne wants is to forget Roman and the hurts of yesterday, and move on with her life as an archaeologist. What they find is (you guessed it!) a dead body, more questions than answers, and a sizzling passion that refuses to be buried in the past.
Please look for SINS OF THE FATHER at your favorite bookseller's next March 1, 2003.
If you've read any of my books and liked it, drop me a line! I love to hear from readers. You can visit me on my websites at www.NinaBruhns.com and http://www.NikitaBlack.com or email me at Nina@NinaBruhns.com.
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