Interview with Brenda Novak
Published 2014-03-31.
You began your writing career because you needed to do something that would keep you at home because of a terrible daycare provider incident. Did you think this would last only until your children started school?
Why do you think it turned into such a successful career for you?
I certainly wanted it to be a successful career from the beginning. I’d just never dreamed I’d be a writer until that difficult time sort of forced me in this direction. So I feel fortunate to have had the longevity I’ve had so far. I believe my willingness to take advantage of every opportunity has made all the difference—that and a bit of luck. ☺ (Both of those things are important in any career, I think.) When I was orphaned before my first book ever came out (my editor was let go when Harper merged with Avon back in 1999), my career could easily have ended with that one book. But only a few months before that unlucky event, I had attended a chapter conference in Utah, where I pitched a contemporary romance (even though I had no real intention of ever writing in the contemporary genre at the time) to my current editor. That set my feet on the path of selling to Harlequin, and they have bought just about everything I’ve written since--more than fifty books!
What did you do to learn how to become a writer?
I read. And I wrote. I learn best by example and trial and error, so I put those two techniques together.
Ever miss that career as a loan officer?
Absolutely never. LOL!
You also write historical romance and romantic suspense. Do you have a preference for a specific genre?
I am an eclectic reader. I love just about every genre (except sci-fi), so I don’t really have a preference. Each sub-genre has its own appeal. The suspense titles are more difficult and time-consuming to write, because I must weave the romantic conflict together with the suspense puzzle and execute it all within the pages of the same book, but the challenge keeps me going after that genre. I also love history, and the research required to recreate the world as it once was is fascinating to me. (As far as movies go, my favorites are all period pieces like LAST OF THE MOHICANS.)
I'm such a big fan of the Whiskey Creek series. How did the idea of the town and characters develop?
Whiskey Creek is a fictional town modeled after Angel’s Camp, Coloma, Jackson, Sutter Creek and others founded during the gold rush in Northern California, not far from where I live. If you’ve never visited these places, it’s like stepping back in time a century and a half. They’re atmospheric and unique and so much fun to visit. The characters are loosely based on my oldest son’s clique. In Whiskey Creek, the men and woman who form the backbone of the series have all grown up together. And even though they’re now in their thirties, they still share a special bond as well as a weekly coffee date at Black Gold Coffee.
The dynamics of the group of friends at the center of the series are extraordinary. Not all if them can be considered friends and they can often be judgmental. Was this your intention when you created the characters?
How would you describe the group?
I wouldn’t call any of them judgmental. But they do have opinions on what’s going to keep their friends safe from harm and hurt, and they express it occasionally, just like any good friend would. Only if you don’t care can you completely ignore when you think a friend it heading for disaster, you know? I would describe the group like a small-town contemporary version of the hit TV series FRIENDS.
Do you have a favorite character or story in this series?
Dylan Amos is probably my favorite hero. He’s sort of a bad-boy, or rough around the edges, and yet he is strong in overcoming adversity and great at loving those around him. My favorite heroine is Phoenix Fuller, but you haven’t met her yet. I’m writing her story right now. It’s called THIS YEAR OF MINE and will be out in April 2015.
This newest story is about Presley Christenson and Aaron Amos, two very volatile and troubled characters. Are we going to be emotionally conflicted about them?
I love redemption stories, and COME HOME TO ME is definitely a redemption story. I also love it when books show that people can overcome challenges, even big challenges, and change to where they can indeed find happiness. I don’t think readers will be emotionally conflicted about Aaron and Presley, but I do believe they’ll be rooting for them to finally pull their lives together and grab the happiness that is within reach.
I'm hoping there's no end in sight for the series because there are so many stories left to tell. Is there a specific number of books planned for Whiskey Creek?
I have twelve plotted out in my mind, but there could certainly be more. The more books I write, the more characters seem to pop up who deserve a story of their own. LOL
What else do you have planned aside from Whiskey Creek?
I have a new historical romantic suspense coming out October 7th, and I absolutely adore that book. It’s called A MATTER OF GRAVE CONCERN and deals with a gang of body snatchers in London (those people who used to dig up bodies and sell them to medical schools). It’s a bit unusual for the genre, but I think it turned out well. I’m also nearly finished with a suspense novel titled HELL BENT. It’s the first of a new series I have planned, but I have yet to submit it.
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Books by This Author
Hanover House: Book #1 of the Hanover House Chronicles
by Brenda Novak
The first story in a new series featuring Evelyn Talbott, a psychiatrist who studies serial killers at a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska. She’s determined to unlock the mysteries of the anti-social mind, even if it kills her—and being surrounded by murderers who feel no remorse means it just might do that.
